26Cosmonauts Tradition
Russian cosmonauts have the tradition of urinating on the right rear wheel of the transfer bus before liftoff. Female cosmonauts are excused, but some dash a cup of their own urine in solidarity.
27. In 1997, Mötley Crüe released a soda called "Mötley Brüe", which promised to turn urine blue.
28. Asparagus was once included in the emergency ration kits given to American pilots because it made their urine attractive to fish, making them easier to catch.
29. In the 1950s, physicians performed accurate pregnancy tests by injecting urine from the supposedly pregnant women into a frog. If the frog produced eggs within 24 hours, the test was positive.
30. There is a medical disorder in infants called “Maple Syrup Urine Disease,” where the child's urine smells like maple syrup or burnt sugar and it can be fatal.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31WW1 Respirators
During WW1 Canadian soldiers used urine-soaked clothes as primitive respirators against chemical attacks. The ammonia in urine would react with the chlorine, neutralizing it, and then the water would dissolve the chlorine, allowing soldiers to breathe through the gas.
32. The urine of ginger boys was prized in medieval Europe for making stained glass.
33. Ancient Egyptians used the urine from a pregnant woman to germinate seeds to determine the sex of the child. If barley sprouted first, then it was to be a boy. If wheat sprouted first, then it was to be a girl.
34. In 1984, a giant pee-icicle formed on the outside of the space shuttle Discovery. Astronauts had to break it off using a robotic arm and shut down the toilet for the remainder of the mission.
35. Aztecs took two showers every day and used flowers as soap and cleaned their mouth with them as well. The Spaniards at that time avoided water because it was thought water on your skin made you more susceptible to the plague and they used urine to clean their mouths and teeth.
