12 Trivia Tidbits for Thursday, May 30, 2024
The A.I.-Powered Head Transplant Start-up
BrainBridge is a tech company that just released its blueprint for a process to combine A.I. and cutting-edge robotics to perform head transplants.
A Cancer Drug May Be an Asthma Cure
In further evidence that we have no idea how a lot of medicine works, a common cancer treatment, CAR-T cells, has been found to effectively treat asthmatic mice.
Billionaires Yearn for the Depths
Wealthy real-estate dipshit Larry Connor and private submarine CEO Patrick Lahey have vowed to take a submersible down to the Titanic, to prove that the dramatic implosion of the Titan in 2023 was but a fluke.
We’re Number One! For Shark Attacks
The United States was just ranked the number one place to get bit by a shark in the world, with Florida’s waters in particular being declared the Shark Attack Capital.
It’s a Scientific Fact: We’re All Stuck in Our Childhoods and Have No Sense of Objectivity
A recent survey asked Americans which decade since the 1930s was the best, and it turns out the human brain is hardwired to believe that whenever you were a kid was when everything was great. The best TV, movies and economy happened whenever respondents were 12 to 15 years old, the best fashion, music and sports happened when they were 16 to 19 and America had the most close-knit communities when they were 4 to 7.
How Much Did the Dad From ‘Home Alone’ Make? We Have a New Data Point.
The house from Home Alone just went up for sale, and the owners are looking for $5.25 million. Adjusted for inflation (and nothing else), that house may have cost $2,188,420.91 in 1990.
I Don’t Want to Alarm You, But the Pope May Not Be Super Woke
Pope Francis apologized after being caught using a gay slur when talking about his ban on gay priests, causing some concern that there may be a vein of homophobia hiding deep within the Catholic Church.
Boeing’s Slapping Some Proverbial Flex Seal on Their Rocket and Sending It to Space
Boeing’s disastrously delayed Starliner has most recently missed its launch date because of a leak in its helium propulsion system. They haven’t fixed it, but deemed that it’s “not a safety of flight issue,” and are planning to hurl the thing into the cosmos and hope for the best.
The Geek Squad Is Being Impersonated at an Alarming Rate
The FTC released a list of reputable companies that are most often impersonated by scammers, and Best Buy tops the list, with Geek Squad imposters raking in $15 million in 2023. Microsoft was only the fourth-most impersonated, but cost victims a whopping $60 million.
Humans Only Had About 7,000 Years to Pork Neanderthals
A new study found that modern humans arrived in western Eurasia about 47,000 years ago, giving them a relatively short 7,000 years to fool around with their evolutionary neighbors.
The Three Longest Bridges in the United States Are All in One State
Louisiana is home to the three longest bridges, thanks to its general wetness: the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, the Manchac Swamp Bridge and 1969’s longest bridge in the world (currently ranked #11), the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
Babe Ruth’s Most Famous Jersey Can Be Yours for $30 Million
The infamous “Called Shot” jersey is about to go up for auction. Babe Ruth was wearing it when he made a vague, but historically powerful gesture between strike one and strike two during the 1932 World Series. The gesture has been interpreted as him calling his shot, since he immediately rocketed a home run to the part of the outfield he had apparently pointed to. But some people think he may have been pointing menacingly at the pitcher, or just waving at the gathered crowd.