12 Trivia Tidbits for Monday, June 10, 2024
Parasocial Relationships May Be the Second-Best Type of Relationship
A University of Essex study found that intimate relationships (spouse, best friend) are the most emotionally fulfilling, but that watching a favorite YouTube personality may fulfill more emotional needs than casual relationships (a la a coworker you kind of like).
In Confusing News, Fracking May Be Great for Electric Vehicles
It turns out that fracking wastewater contains a bunch of lithium, which is crucial to EV batteries. You know, those things that are supposed to save the environment? All of Pennsylvania’s fracking plants could cover about 40 percent of the United States’ need for lithium.
The U.N. Proposed Banning Fossil Fuel Advertisers
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres proposed blocking these companies from advertising their deadly wares, the same way the U.S. banned tobacco companies from advertising theirs.
New Pompeian Frescoes Just Dropped
Archaeologists just uncovered a stunning sky blue room with paintings of female figures representing the four seasons and other agricultural allegories. It’s thought to have been a ritual room, or just storage for cool rituals that went on nearby.
‘Big Mac’ Doesn’t Belong to McDonald’s in the EU
McDonald’s lost a big trademark battle to an Irish fast-food chain, Supermac’s. McDonald’s tried to claim that “Big Mac” applied to chicken products, too, despite never selling a chicken-based Big Mac.
After 10 Years in Georgia, Invasive Paragliding Spiders Are Moving to New York
Yellow Joro spiders somehow made their way from East Asia to Georgia about a decade ago, and despite their ability to float on the wind, they’re just now making their way to New York and New Jersey. The only silver lining is that they eat worse bugs, like spotted lantern flies, mosquitoes and yellow jackets.
The Most Expensive Cow in History May End the Human Race
A mesmerizing smooth, all-white cow sold for $4 million at auction, making her the most expensive cow ever purchased. Her owners have bought a bunch of billboards encouraging Brazilians to continue farming and eating cows, no matter what climate alarmists say. This cow may kill us all.
Missouri’s Invasive Amphibious Snake-Fish
The northern snakehead fish is exactly what it sounds like, and it sucks. When a fisherman realized he’d caught one, he “left it on the pavement for several hours thinking it would die.” It didn’t, because it has adapted to live on land. This was the fourth sighting in Missouri, and the Department of Conservation is bracing for more.
$700 for Stolen Taco Bell Art
Three designs of Basquiat-style canvas prints popped up in Taco Bells back in the 2000s, gaining a cult fan base. In the intervening years, lots of them have been stolen, and resold for as much as $700 a pop.
Three North Dakota Kids Found a Freaking T-Rex
Three little boys screwin’ around in the North Dakota Badlands found a Tyrannosaurus rex bone sticking out of the ground. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has been summoned to start extracting the whole thing.
The Dr Pepper Museum’s Ghost
The Dr Pepper Museum offers a two-hour, $35 paranormal tour, but doesn’t really go into any detail about what ghosts are stuck in the Dr Pepper Museum.
This One Otter Won’t Quit Stealing Surfboards
Otter 841, a tagged otter in Santa Cruz, spent last summer biting and occasionally fully hijacking surfboards. And she’s back. It all sounds like a Nickelodeon cartoon from 2002.