12 Trivia Tidbits for Monday, March 25, 2024

In 2012, two men went on an overnight fishing trip off the coast of Mexico, but a five-day storm knocked them off course, swept away all of their food and destroyed their radio. Only one of them survived, and he washed ashore in the Marshall Islands 438 days later. He returned to Mexico, where he met widespread skepticism, accusations of cannibalism and a lie-detector test.

To be elected to Parliament, Churchill needed to echo a popular opinion that a veritable army of about 60,000 Chinese immigrants were performing literal slave labor. But once elected, he found he needed to keep the country profiting off of their labor, without blaming the government. To justify his flip-flopping on the issue, he said his remarks on the campaign trail were a case of “terminological inexactitude.”

A medicinal chemist has been testing a drug cocktail that appears to be able to recreate many of the physical benefits of exercise. So far he’s only tested on rodents, but he hopes it’ll benefit humans with heart disease and other ailments that limit or preclude a person’s ability to exercise.

In the midst of a widespread kidney shortage, a man was just implanted with a kidney from a pig that had been genetically modified to avoid organ rejection and the transference of any pathogens. He’s reportedly pissing like a champ so far.

Pokes never went away, but Facebook did kind of bury the feature a while back. They recently made it more visible, which caused a (very predictable) uptick in usage.

A group of hackers figured out how to bypass some Saflok brand door locks, which are used mainly hotels. What’s more, they made their process available to the public. Saflok has a fix, but they may not be able to roll it out fully for months.

Eight hundred Walmart locations are going to start carrying bougie stuff, like silk sleep masks, blazers and duck breast. They’re also adjusting their migraine-inducing warehouse lighting to something a little more chic.

In 1770, a bricklayer found an old handwritten text in the rafters of Shakespeare’s old home. The writer promised to die a devout Catholic (which was bold, because at the time Catholics were pariahs). Long thought to have been written by Shakespeare’s father, a closer examination has revealed it was probably by his relatively obscure sister, Joan.

When weather fluctuates drastically, it can create the perfect conditions for berries to ferment. When birds eat fermented berries, they get schwasted. They fall out of trees, fly into stuff and even slur their songs. Yukon residents have been making little birdhouses for drunk birds to crash in for the night, with bedding and plenty of water.

Zulu mythology tells of the Abatwa, a race of tiny little guys who hide in the grass and ride ants like horses. They’re very sensitive about their size, so if you see them, you have to assure them you noticed them from very, very far away, or they’ll pelt you with poison arrows. They usually only reveal themselves to children, magicians and pregnant women.

Marcus Garvey was a controversial political activist in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A rival of his started rumors of his death, causing a bunch of newspapers to print his obituary. His secretary said that, after two days of reading about his own death, he suffered a massive stroke and later died.

That whole “I’ve got a bridge to sell you” thing comes from a real-life conman, George C. Parker, who falsely sold the Brooklyn Bridge likely dozens of times. He would convince people, usually immigrants, that he was the head engineer, and needed someone to handle tolling. Police repeatedly had to respond to victims of his who had begun closing off the bridge and erecting toll booths.