15 Trivia Tidbits for Saturday, December 14, 2024
In the 1960s, scientists discovered a substance that they dubbed “polywater.” It had the power to convert pure water into more polywater, which meant that if it escaped containment, it had could easily spread and end all life on Earth.
Later, they realized that polywater was just normal water with some sweat dissolved in it. It posed no danger at all.
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Of course, you’re too smart to fall for that sort of thing. That’s because you know stuff. And you’re about to know even more stuff, including facts about space magic, drunk murderers and secret money stashes.
Like and Sub
A British submarine, the HMS Poseidon, sank and was abandoned in 1931. Then China secretly salvaged it and put it back into operations. We’d never know about this, except China let a local magazine called Modern Ships write all about it, and this issue of the magazine leaked to the West.
Never Going Back
The 1993 music video for “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum featured photos of missing children, and popular lore says this led to 21 kids getting found and saved. Reporters checked on these kids decades later and discovered that, actually, those who ran away had good reasons for running away. None really had been rescued, and those who chose to reconnect with their parents always had the ability to.
Itchy and Scratchy
Scratch an itch, and the itchy feeling goes away. You might assume this is because you’ve addressed whatever it is that caused the itching. Actually, you’ve just fooled your body into ignoring signals from your itch receptor nerves, by adding new stimuli to touch and pain receptor nerves.
Maintenance Millionaire
A Vermont man died in 2014, having spent the previous 17 years working as a janitor at JCPenney’s. People were surprised to learn he left behind $8 million. He’d made it all by working and making smart investments in reliable stocks.
Cure for All Ills
Ancient Romans used butter as medicine and in cosmetics. They never ate it, however. It’s possible that this was because it’s impossible to understand how good butter tastes unless you add a little salt.
via Wiki Commons
See the Flowing Bowl
The most giggle-worthy line in the Christmas song “Deck the Halls” is “Don we now our gay apparel.” This was a late addition. The original lyric was “Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel.” The whole song is about being jolly, with an emphasis on alcohol.
The Water Must Flow
The small town of Salisbury, Massachusetts, spent half a million dollars this year to truck in 14,000 tons of sand to form artificial dunes. A couple days later, a storm struck, and it washed the entirety of those dunes out to sea.
Who’s Your Daddy?
It’s possible to extract sperm from a body after the man has died, for fathering children. The first time this resulted in a successful birth was 1998, and some countries have since made it illegal without the man’s permission, but it remains legal in America.
Mere Players
Men used to play every female role onstage in the 15th century. But in 1662, King Charles II issued orders saying the leading theater companies could cast women in those parts. Earlier, he had come to a performance, which was delayed because the actors playing women were taking too long shaving their faces.
A Face for Radio
There was a ventriloquist named Peter Brough, who had a radio show in the 1940s and 1950s. Then he made the move to TV, at which point people realized his lips moved whenever he made the puppet talk, making him an utterly unimpressive ventriloquist.
via Wiki Commons
No One’s Laughing Now
Back when Samuel Colt was looking to raise funds to produce his pistol, he toured the country showing off laughing gas. He called himself “The Celebrated Dr. Coult of New York, London and Calcutta,” and he claimed to be able to use the gas to cure cholera.
Dun Dun Dun DUN
One of the most famous opening riffs in rock belongs to “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. One of the most famous opening motifs in classical music belongs to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. The “Smoke on the Water” riff was actually deliberately based on the Beethoven one, inverting it.
Come Back Wrong
CPR is able to revive only a small fraction of those it’s tried on. Perhaps more surprisingly, 30 to 50 percent of those who are revived later say they wish they hadn’t been.
Water, Water Everywhere
Water forms on the surface of the Moon almost constantly. The Moon doesn’t have a water cycle, as it has almost no atmosphere. But solar wind brings in hydrogen ions, which react with oxygen content in minerals and produces water.
Might as Well
The last words of Englishman Neville Heath were, “While you’re about it, sir, you might make that a double.” That’s because he was being executed for two murders, and at the time, it was tradition to offer the condemned man a final glass of whiskey.