Random #371 – From Orangutans to Outer Space: 50 Awesome Facts

Philosopher Mencius, also known as Mengzi, was a Chinese philosopher of the Confucian school who lived during the Warring States period in the 4th century BCE. He relocated three times during his childhood as his mother sought a suitable environment. When they lived near a cemetery, his mother found him conducting burials. After residing near a market, he pretended to be a merchant. Ultimately, his mother moved him to a school, where he pursued his studies.

27. Bonus tracks are occasionally concealed after several minutes of silence on records or CDs.

28. The average adult human brain can store the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes of memory.

29. Vinegar isn't added to sushi rice solely for flavor; it also serves to inhibit the growth of harmful pathogens.

30. During the 23 years that The Three Stooges worked for Columbia Pictures, they were repeatedly informed that their show was not performing well, resulting in them being severely underpaid.

The Roman public baths known as the Thermae were abundant and immensely popular, to the extent that senators aspiring to become a Tribune would cover all the admission fees for public access on their birthdays to gain fame. The Thermae also featured a gym equipped with weights and discus for throwing.

32. Gold is remarkably malleable, capable of being flattened to a thickness of .0001 inches, or three microns, in contrast to the average thickness of a sheet of paper, which is approximately .004 inches.

33. In 2019, Toyota released nearly 24,000 of their patents for royalty-free use, including patents related to modern electric and hybrid vehicle technology.

34. Airports employ ultrahigh-pressure washing trucks to remove rubber residue from runways. When an aircraft lands, the tires are not spinning and create drag, resulting in a puff of smoke. The accumulated friction causes the rubber to polymerize and harden, necessitating periodic removal.

35. Avenue Victor Hugo in Paris, named after the famous French author, was christened while he was still alive and residing on that very avenue. Victor Hugo playfully received mail addressed to him as "Victor Hugo, en son avenue," meaning "Victor Hugo, in his avenue."

The well-known chemical brand WD-40 derives its name from "Water Displacement-40," signifying the 40th attempt to develop an effective solution for water displacement, originally intended for aeronautics.

37. In a study, researchers discovered that intense sweetness can be more addictive than cocaine. When rats were given the choice between water sweetened with saccharin and intravenous cocaine, a significant majority (94%) preferred the sweet taste of saccharin.

38. At the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, a priest named Arius proposed a heretical belief so strong that he was punched by St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus. Legend has it that Arius later died from rectal prolapse, excreting parts of his organs.

39. The MS Hans Hedtoft, which was on her maiden voyage's return leg in 1959, was the last ship to hit an iceberg and suffer a fatality. She sank in four hours, resulting in the loss of all 95 people on board.

40. The narrative of NASA spending millions on a space pen is a falsehood. Paul Fisher actually created the pen, which he sold to NASA for $6 each.

TGI Friday's Loaded Potato Skins stand out as the unhealthiest chain restaurant appetizer, containing a staggering 2,120 calories, 92 grams of fat, and 1450 mg of sodium.

42. Potatoes were introduced to Europe only in the late 16th century, with their believed origin in the Andes region of South America, encompassing parts of present-day Peru and Bolivia.

43. HAVOC, short for High Altitude Venus Operational Concept, envisions the creation of artificial floating islands on Venus at an altitude that offers more favorable living conditions than the surface of Mars or Titan.

44. The first scientific specimen of the world's largest butterfly, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing, was collected "with the assistance of a small shotgun."

45. Transgenerational obesogens refer to substances that, when consumed by pregnant individuals, have lifelong effects, predisposing their future children to obesity by altering adipogenesis.

Airports employ teams of "birdmen" who utilize methods such as horns, sirens, lasers, and pyrotechnics to deter large flocks of birds. They even intentionally remove horizontal branches from nearby trees to discourage significant bird migrations from settling near the runways.

47. Mark Boyle, also known as The Moneyless Man, is best recognized for living without money since 2008 and without modern technology since 2016.

48. According to reports, the U.S. military has used Nine Inch Nails' music as a form of music torture to break down detainee resistance. Trent Reznor, the creator of Nine Inch Nails, vehemently objected to this practice, stating, "It's difficult for me to imagine anything more profoundly insulting, demeaning, and enraging."

49. The fastest speed a human has ever reached was 24,791 mph (36,360 feet per second) during Apollo 10's return from the moon.

50. The Book of Swindles, released in the 16th century, serves as both a guide to avoid scams and a manual for perpetrating them. It categorizes scams into 24 groups, covering areas such as marriage, kidnapping, women, government corruption, gambling, poetry scams, alchemy, sorcery, and illicit passion.