12 Trivia Tidbits for Wednesday, July 31, 2024

A new study that looked at number of steps, elevation and daytime temperature found that Norway’s Fløri Stairs, an old hydroelectric dam with 4,444 steps, had the highest “exertion score” of any attraction in the world.

In 1911, Chicago’s Hotel Sherman made a big deal about their grand, 400-guest “cold-storage banquet.”

Oscar Gomer Swahn was a Swedish gunslinger who holds records for oldest athlete to compete as well as oldest athlete to win a medal (1920, age 72), and oldest athlete to win gold (1912, age 64).

When participants were asked to match names to faces, an amount “significantly above the chance level” were able to match adult faces to the correct names. But when asked to do the same thing with those same adults’ baby pictures, respondents struggled to make the right matches. These researchers’ takeaway is that people’s faces change over time, somehow, to fit their names.

Paris’ insistence on holding the swimming portion of the triathlon in the dook-infested Seine is, predictably, coming back to bite them. For the second day in a row, triathlon swim practice has been canceled because the river is still a toilet.

A 19th century shipwreck in the Baltic Sea has been discovered, and divers found 100 bottles of champaign, wine and clay jars full of mineral water. Experts believe it was on the way to the court of the Russian Emperor Alexander II.

Cambridge added over 3,200 words this year, including “the ick,” “boop,” “IYKYK” and “chef’s kiss.”

“Facial fitness gum” is being hawked on TikTok to desperate young men who don’t like their jaw line, with claims that chewing this special gum will chisel their skull like a GigaChad.

This new blood test can detect colon cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. It was just approved, and may be available within a few weeks.

A study found that search terms like “gynecologist meaning,” “what does a gynecologist do,” “why see a gynecologist” and “do I need a gynecologist” spiked 154 percent in the week after the film premiered. Less gendered searches like “doctor’s appointment” didn’t see a similar spike.

West Texas has experienced 103 earthquakes over the course of a week, causing officials to declare a state of emergency. It’s thought to be the result of oil and gas extraction run amok.

Chipotle just released its first-ever beauty product, an avocado-green, “foil-inspired” lip stain called Lipotle.