12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, August 9, 2024

The Bible! Just kidding, it’s Pokemon. With licensed merchandising making up the lion’s share of its $98 billion all-time revenue, it’s also raked in scraps from mobile games, movies and even a fleet of Japanese commercial jets.

Scientists on the cutting edge of existential bummers have concluded that cats experience grief over the loss of an owner, or even of a fellow household pet, regardless of species.

A year after the Maui wildfires devastated Hawaii communities, a huge tree that was thought to have been destroyed has begun flourishing.

Researchers have found that some trees are capable of closing the pores on their leaves when air quality is bad, like during a forest fire.

Mr. 305 bought the naming rights to Florida International University’s football stadium for five years, for $1 million per year.

French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati went viral after his junk visibly got tangled up on the bar at the Olympics, taking him out of medal contention. A porn company has since offered him $250,000 to do naked workout videos.

The newest bastardizations of the subscription model include Logitech’s proposed lifelong mouse subscription (which would combat planned obsolescence) and Lyft’s proposed fare subscription (that would combat surge pricing).

Bloomberg isn’t launching a third party presidential bid, as far as anyone knows. So it’s unclear why the billionaire just donated $600 million to HBCUs to help close the racial divide in American healthcare, and $1 billion to Johns Hopkins to make tuition free for pretty much every student. It could be altruism, but that seems statistically unlikely.

McDonald’s found that jacking up their prices has, shockingly, led to its worst sales since the pandemic started. A half-assed attempt at a $5 meal didn’t turn things around, so they’re trying a half-assed attempt at nostalgia: Happy Meals will now come with Beanie Baby, Barbie, Hot Wheels and Jurassic Park-themed cups.

Archaeologists have discovered the 3.5-inch upper arm bone of a deceased Homo floresiensis, the smallest known type of human in history, who lived about 700,000 years ago.

Australian researchers have attached cameras and tracking devices to a group of eight endangered sea lions, and are using their movements to map out 2,000 miles of the ocean floor that have never been seen before.

Trademark lawyer Jeremy Green Eche bought HarrisWalz.com (along with several other domains) for $8.99 in 2020. He’s asking the campaign for $15k for it, because that’s what he sold ClintonKaine.com for a few years ago.