12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, March 15, 2024
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People Keep Turning Abandoned Mental Asylums Into High-End Restaurants and Hotels
For all the horrors that went on inside of them, old-school asylums are often architecturally stunning. As floundering health-care systems solve mental illness by ignoring it and defunding care, these temples are left unused. Entrepreneurs around the world have been buying them up and turning them into haunted Michelin-star destinations.
Fancy Pants in Ancient Rome Probably Consumed More Than 180 Micrograms of Lead Per Day
It’s been estimated that the Roman autocracy might easily chug two liters of wine per autocrat per day, which was both served in, and sweetened with, lead.
The Robotic Helmet That Hand Feeds You Tomatoes While You Run
Japanese tomato company Kagome created a little tomato-bot that sits on your shoulders and periodically feeds you tomatoes. They argue that the nutrients and hydration they provide make tomatoes the perfect companion for long-distance runners.
Menopause Is Extremely Rare
Only humans, chimpanzees and five species of whale experience menopause. It may actually be an evolutionary advantage, as whale species who experience it live up to 40 years longer than similar species who don’t.
Scientists Sequenced the Genome of an Ancient Malaria-Carrying Parasite Found on the Bones of a Dead Roman
That sounds like a horrible idea, but the plan is to study its genetic signature to help examine how malaria spread throughout the ancient world.
A New World’s-Largest Museum Is About to Open
The Grand Egyptian Museum was proposed in 1992, designed in 2002, began construction in 2012 and is supposed to open... any day now. At 50 hectares, it will be the largest archaeological museum in the world.
For $49, You Can Guarantee an Empty Middle Seat on Your Next Flight
Frontier Airlines has a new seating upgrade called UpFront Plus, that guarantees they won’t book anyone in the seat next to you. Of course, it only “starts” at $49, so it’s safe to assume there will be all kinds of hidden fees that’ll help them make up the money they’re losing on that extra ticket.
Someone Stole a Whole Shipment of Custom Pittsburgh Penguin Bobbleheads
A bunch of bobbleheads designed to look like famed team captain Jaromir Jagr were stolen while being delivered to the stadium, forcing the team to indefinitely postpone bobblehead night.
British Airways Couldn’t Stop Announcing False Emergency Landings to Passengers
In 2012, someone hit the wrong button and delivered an announcement to all passengers that they would be making an emergency water landing. This was at 3 a.m. The same thing had happened a year earlier, too.
The Author of ‘Mary Poppins’ Wasn’t Invited to the Premiere of the Movie
P.L. Travers hated everything about Disney’s adaptation of her book series, especially the adorable animated segments. She aired some of her grievances at a test screening, and Walt Disney walked out on her mid-sentence, eventually cutting ties with her entirely.
What’s the Deal With Pig and Rooster Foot Tattoos?
Sailors used to get a pig tattooed on one foot, and a rooster on the other. Both animals are notoriously poor swimmers, and the idea is that they would help the sailor's feet find dry land if they ever found themselves overboard.
NASA Once Recreated Primordial Ooze
Trying to test the best hypothesis for the origins of life, they recreated the chemical, pH and temperature conditions of the ancient ocean, specifically those near thermal vents. Oxygen was removed, and pyruvate and ammonia molecules were added. Once a small amount of oxygen was reintroduced, amino acids and other basic building blocks of life quickly formed.