12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, July 12, 2024
Imagine getting kicked out of the Olympics because you got too drunk for the gun fight. 1968 was a wild time, man.
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Gene Editing Your Gut Biome
In a world first, scientists have been able to edit the genes of gut bacteria inside of a living mouse. Considering your gut biome is often considered your “second brain,” this could have some pretty far-reaching effects.
The First Performance-Enhancing Drug That Led to an Olympics DQ Was Beer
The 1968 Mexico City Games were the first Olympics to institute drug testing. Pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall sucked down two beers to calm his nerves before the pistol shooting event, of all things, and later blew over the allowed limit of .04 BAC.
A Bitcoin Mine May Be Causing Mass Illness in a Texas Town
Granbury, Texas is the site of a huge Bitcoin mining operation, and locals are reporting mass migraines, nausea and vertigo they believe may be related to the constant, dull, rattling hum that comes from the mine.
Time Moves Faster on the Moon
One of the strangest, least believable quirks of physics is that observers experience time slightly differently based on the gravity fields around them. And so, time on the Moon goes by about 0.0000575 seconds per day faster than on Earth.
America’s Fastest Growing City Is a Gigantic Retirement Home
Georgetown, Texas has been the fastest-growing U.S. city for three years in a row, thanks to the 17,000-occupant planned community of Sun City. Residents’ carefree lifestyles are funded by millions in pensions and generational wealth. One member, saying the scariest part as if it’s cute, summed it all up: “We have more fun than our daughter!”
Three Mile Island Is SO Back
An energy company is in “beyond preliminary” talks to rev the infamous Pennsylvania nuclear power plant back up, after it very famously, very nearly Chernobyl’d in 1979.
High-Altitude, High-Stakes Cleaning Crew
Local Sherpas began a multi-year cleanup of the camps and paths leading to the Summit of Mount Everest, which the world’s rich idiots have left littered with trash and dookie. They’ve already retrieved 11 tons of garbage, four dead bodies and a skeleton.
U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Has Nearly Doubled Their Crystals
The designer of the team’s uniforms declared, “The more crystals, the more impact,” after upping the crystals-per-uniform from 6,400 at the Tokyo games to 10,000. Imagine the power of a Simone Biles wearing 2,000 Infinity Gauntlets.
A First-Edition Frankenstein Was Up for Sale, But You Missed It
The only privately-owned first edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein sold at auction for $843,750.
Is That 100 Snakes in Your Pants?
A man attempting to pass from Hong Kong to mainland China tried to saunter through the “nothing to declare” gate, despite looking a whole lot like he had something to declare. Officials stopped him and found 100 snakes in his pants.
'Inside Out 2' Is at the Top of the Charts
Inside Out 2 just became the highest-grossing Pixar movie of all time at $1.25 billion. Brace yourself for a decade of spin-offs for every age, every mammal and probably Grogu and Groot while they’re at it.
Only Three Things Have Been Recovered From the Great Pyramid
Two of the so-called Dixon Relics, recovered (i.e., stolen) by Waynman Dixon and James Grant, are in the British Museum. The third relic was miscatalogued and has been lost. There’s a wooden plank, a stone ball and a copper hook. It’s thought they were either used by construction workers, or they’re tools to help the king’s soul get out like it’s one big escape room.