12 Trivia Tidbits for Thursday, June 27, 2024
These facts are like a ginger shot for your brain — in that they won't really have any appreciable impact.
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Adidas Still Can’t Offload Its Abomi-Collaboration With Kanye West
Adidas’ Yeezy line has been struggling ever since Kanye came out as an unabashed anti-Semite in 2022. About a year after Kanye said, “I can say anti-Semitic shit, and Adidas cannot drop me,” Adidas dropped him. Then they were hit with a class-action lawsuit for making false claims of scarcity to get people to buy their remaining stock. They’re now just selling them online at a 50 percent discount.
An Homage to Lincoln Turned Grotesque
A wax statue of Abraham Lincoln chilling out in his huge marble chair was placed on the site of a Civil War-era refugee camp in Washington, D.C. But D.C. is pretty darn hot in the summer, and his head melted so badly, it had to be removed for repairs. So a headless Abe Lincoln is currently sitting outside of an elementary school.
Who Drinks the Most and the Least Beer?
The World Health Organization has reported that the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland drink the most beer per capita (1.5 to 1.8 gallons per year on average), while Djibouti, Jordan and Indonesia drink the least at .01 gallons.
The Moon’s Dark Meat
China’s space program successfully returned five pounds of moon rocks from an ancient crater on the dark side of the moon, the first time such a sample has been retrieved.
Denmark’s Cow Fart Tax
Starting in 2030, Danish farmers will be taxed $17 per metric ton of cow fart emitted per year. This is the first carbon tax to be implemented on cow farmers, who account for nearly half of the country’s CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s ‘Burp Tax’ Was Defeated
New Zealand farmers racked up a big win, forcing the government to scrap its proposed livestock gas tax, and instead come up with “practical tools and technology” to fight carbon emissions. Great idea, New Zealand beef lobby! Wonder why no one else thought of that first!
Ondine’s Curse
A condition called central hypoventilation syndrome was once known as the much more metal-sounding “Ondine’s Curse.” It usually manifests as an inability to breath properly, or at all, while asleep. Neurobiologists were recently able to pinpoint the genetic mutation responsible for this curse.
Cybertrucks Are on Recall Number Four
All 11,688 Cybertrucks currently plaguing the world’s highways have been recalled once again, this time because its big stupid windshield wiper can break, and a couple other parts can whiff off at random.
Bacteria That Produce Antifreeze
Scientists have discovered that some worms survive in frigid waters thanks to a bacteria that produces antifreeze-like enzymes.
The New Worst Hypothetical Use of A.I.
A company called Cognify wants to use A.I. to implant memories of crime victims into the brains of the perpetrators, while artificially eliciting emotions like remorse and regret. This “therapy” session, according to the company, could replace lengthy prison terms with a short, hellish stint in an Oculus. Just for fun, they say a 20-minute Cognify session could feel like a decade to the user.
Japanese Scientists Just Made Robots Scarier and Wetter
Researchers have attached lab-grown skin to the faces of androids, with the aim of making realistic, self-healing, fleshy exoskeletons. For the time being, they look like blobfish that ventured about 4,000 vertical feet too far from home.
There’s a New Way to Search for Intelligent Life, and It’s Insanely Sci-Fi
Instead of hurling a golden mixtape out into the cosmos, scientists have posited that they would be able to detect the immense gravitational waves produced by the catastrophic failure of a alien race’s warp drive.
