12 Trivia Tidbits for Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Fill up your canteen, partner. You got a long trek ahead of ya, and you never know when King George V's final words, or the poorest elites in America, or the Australian ladies-only toilet museum church might come in handy.
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The Most Famous Beekeeper in Arizona
When a bee colony spontaneously gathered on the Arizona Diamondbacks’ field before a game, local beekeeper Matt Hilton was called in to disperse the hive in front of a full crowd. Fans were so psyched about their new hero, he was asked to throw out the first pitch, in full bee garb.
Boeing Is Blowing It in Space, Too
Boeing was supposed to send up its first crewed flight of their new Starliner rocket, but they decided to try something new and inspect their equipment before putting it into use. Two hours before it was supposed to jettison two astronauts into space, they found an issue with a rocket valve, and called it quits. The whole project is already years behind schedule.
Submarines Are the New Yachts
Australian company Migaloo claims it’s working on a 540-foot yacht that that can duck underwater in a pinch, reaching depths of 800 feet, where it can remain for up to a month.
Alaska Has the Country’s Poorest Billionaires
Forbes released a list of the richest people in every U.S. state, and Alaska has two real estate mogul losers tied for $.4 billion.
Someone Is Stealing Rare Books All Over Europe, and Leaving Convincing Fakes in Their Stead
Librarians and researchers have begun noticing that many rare books sitting in European national libraries are fake. To date, they’ve discovered 170 supposed first editions of books by Russian writers Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol that are actually faithful forgeries by some unknown literary bandit.
King George V’s Final Words Were ‘God Damn You!’
Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, was straight-up euthanized by his doctor in 1936. His health had been flagging for a while, and his lead doctor just happened to be a proponent of euthanasia. Dr. Bertrand Dawson had his nurse put the King to sleep, which is when he uttered his angry final words, before administering a lethal dose of cocaine.
A Huge Leap in Syrup Technology
Syrup producers currently have to run batches of sap through the entire production process before they know if they have a good batch or a dud. But scientists just developed a way to test for low-quality goop, known as “buddy sap,” all the way at the beginning of the process. This will save time, money and may help Canada restock its critically low maple syrup reserves.
A Women-Only Museum Is Becoming a Church and a Toilet to Receive Protected Status
Australia’s Museum of Old and New Art declared itself a safe haven for women, refusing to let men into its lounge. One guy is suing for his right to go where he’s not wanted, but the museum believes its ladies-only policy will be legally protected when they convert the lounge into a combination church/toilet.
Creatine May Be Good for the Biggest Muscle of All: The Brain
A German study found that participants given a high dose of creatine while staying up all night did better on random cognitive tasks than their counterparts who received a placebo. It was significantly more creatine than the average bro is choking down before going to Equinox, so it’s best not to try to recreate it without professional supervision.
Fake People Are Having Less Sex Than Ever
An analyst looked at the 250 highest-grossing American films of the 21st century, and found that “the level of sexual content in films has fallen by almost 40 percent.”
The Modern Internet Started in 2014
The Ringer did a deep dive on seminal memes and movements that shaped our modern web culture, and there’s a lot of evidence that points to 2014 as the year it all began. The Oscars selfie, the Kermit sipping tea meme and the birth of affiliate marketing all happened that year. Within the span of a single month, the internet kicked off the Ice Bucket Challenge (and all the inane challenges that would follow), Gamergate and #BlackLivesMatter.
Jet Lag Has a Real Effect on Professional Basketball Players
A study of 25,000 NBA games found that West Coast teams traveling East won 63.5 percent of the time, while East Coast teams traveling West only won 55 percent of the time.
