12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, March 22, 2024
We’ve spent 18 hours, 1,400 feet underground, just to harvest these rare bits of trivia for you.
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Kia’s Dishing Out $145 Million for Making Their Cars Extremely Stealable
A group of teens who came to be known as the Kia Boys figured out how to easily hack into certain Kia models, and would steal and crash them just for the fun of it. Kia was aware of the vulnerability, but opted not to patch it in American cars because our lax regulations didn’t specifically require it.
America Reigns Supreme in Throwing Trash Into Space
The world hurled 2,664 objects into space in 2023, over 2,000 of which came from the U.S. We were neck-and-neck with Russia for a few decades, but the U.S. has dwarfed their space garbage numbers every year since 1995.
What Do George Santos and Danny Masterson Have in Common?
A guy in Texas was charged with fraud after getting caught targeting accused celebrity criminals. He’d leave them video messages, which were later used as evidence against him, promising he could make the evidence against them disappear. He offered his services to Masterson for $1 million, but apparently gave Santos a discount at $900k.
The Assyrian Empire Would Install a Temporary King During Eclipses
Total solar eclipses were considered extremely bad luck, and no king wanted it to happen on their watch. One go-to solution was to install a king for a day — and then kill him.
Robotic A.I. Death Panels Are Here!
Dutch tulip farmers have developed a fleet of large robots that roll up and down tulip fields, use A.I. to detect a dangerous virus that could spread from plant to plant and kill infected specimens on the spot.
We Have No Idea Why Lithium Is Helpful for People With Bipolar Disorder
Lithium is a common and effective treatment for bipolar disorder, helping to stabilize a person’s mood, but doctors don’t know how it actually works. Their best guess is that it helps regulate the release of serotonin, dopamine and other chemicals that affect mood.
Glassdoor Pulled a Bait-and-Switch
Glassdoor is a great place to anonymously warn prospective recruits about how bad your job sucks, but users who joined via Fishbowl, a third-party app that’s recently integrated with Glassdoor, have found that their names and titles have begun appearing next to their posts.
Jerome: Canada’s Mysterious Legless Stranger
In 1863, a 20-ish-year-old man was discovered on a Canadian beach by some fishermen. He appeared to have recently undergone a double amputation, and there was a jug of water and some bread left with him, but he couldn’t explain what his whole deal was. The fishermen thought they heard him say his name was Jerome, but after a brief few words, he never spoke again. The community took him in and took care of him, and he lived there for almost 50 years.
A Renowned Chiefs Superfan Was Caught Robbing a Bunch of Banks
A guy who goes by ChiefsAholic became a local celebrity after dressing up in a full-body wolf costume for Kansas City Chiefs games. After police traced a black glove from a bank robbery back to him, they expanded their investigation and believe he robbed a whole string of banks, across seven states, on the way to and from Chiefs games.
A Desperate Family Sued a Genie
After experiencing all kinds of harassment for two years, ranging from creepy phone calls to stones being thrown at their children, a Saudi family filed a lawsuit against the jinn they said had been haunting their house.
The World’s Deepest Hotel
An abandoned slate mine in Wales has been turned into a hotel 1,400 feet underground, called the Deep Sleep Hotel. For over two centuries, miners performed backbreaking labor by candlelight, but now you can hang out there and watch Netflix for $500 per night.
Throw Your Teeth on the Roof for Good Luck
When a kid loses a baby tooth in Greece, it’s customary to wish upon it for healthy adult teeth, then huck that bad boy up onto the roof.
