12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, June 21, 2024

MIT scientists have embedded DNA in a synthetic, amber-like polymer with a method they’re calling “T-REX.” The idea is to create a safe, stable storage device for everything from genomes to digital entertainment.

The Wall Street Journal found that of the 50 million people making money from social media posts, 48 percent made less than $15,000 per year, and only 13 percent made over $100,000.

Just Stop Oil activists dumped a bunch of bright orange paint on some of Stonehenge’s massive pillars, to draw attention to how Big Oil is murdering the planet and everything we like on it. The summer solstice is a big day for the mysterious rock arrangement: both the sun and the moon will be aligned with its pillars thanks to a very rare lunar event.

In a symbolic embrace of the inclusion of Negro League stats into the MLB’s official stats, the San Fransisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are playing at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, a storied venue that was previously only used in the Negro League.

The longest walkable path on the planet spans from Cape Town, South Africa to Magadan, Russia, a little under 14,000 miles. As far as we know, no one has ever completed it, as it would take over a year, require entry to 17 different countries and the ability to traverse wildly diverse terrain.

Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which features some familiar maps and gameplay, but for the first time, features Zelda as the playable hero instead of the damsel in distress.

The late host and food guy co-wrote a comic, Get Jiro!, about a murderous sushi chef in a dystopian future where people literally kill for restaurant reservations. It just got picked up for series at Adult Swim.

The translucent orange plastic keeping your meds safe is designed to keep out UV rays, which can nullify or even chemically alter the pills inside. Another fun fact: The lid can be flipped upside down for a less childproof seal.

When the Starliner finally took off a couple of weeks ago, it did so despite some known technical issues, including leaky helium tanks. They’ve just announced that the astronauts’ return has been postponed by at least a few days while they figure out some technical issues, including leaky helium tanks.

Costner cast his 15-year-old, non-actor son in his upcoming film series Horizon: An American Saga, saying, “He didn’t have a lot of experience, but he’s really beautiful in the movie.”

A labor protest in Michoacán, Mexico led to two American USDA fruit inspectors being detained and beaten. As a result, all avocado and mango imports from the country are on hold.

When a Democratic Vermont representative noticed the inside of his bag was constantly wet, he set up a hidden camera and caught Republican representative Mary Morrissey surreptitiously dumping water bottles into his bag.