12 Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Thursday, August 22, 2024
You thought the dodo was slow and stupid? Well think again, you big dumb idiot.
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Meet Buddo, the Oldest Li’l Guy on the Planet
The Skara Brae Buddo, a whale bone carving from around 2900 BC, is on display at Scotland’s Stromness Museum. It’s thought to be the oldest known depiction of a human figure.
The World’s Oldest Person Has Died
Maria Branyas Morera, or “Super Catalan Grandma” on social media, was born in San Francisco, but lived most of her life in Catalonia. She just died at age 117 (after being the oldest known COVID survivor at 113).
There’s a Huge Drop-Off Between Centenarians and Supercentenarians
There are about 722,000 people worldwide who are at least 100 years old, but only about 250 who have made it to 110.
Scientists Believe Humans Will Eventually Top Out at 150
The oldest known person in history was lifelong smoker and drinker Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at age 122. Studies have led researchers to conclude that 150 might be the best the human body has to offer.
Pythons’ Hearts Physically Change After a Big Meal
Pythons occasionally have to squeeze entire hoofed mammals down their gullet, a process that leaves little permanent room for important organs like the heart. Scientists have found that the tissue of their hearts becomes more flimsy in order to allow a stray ribcage to slowly squeeze past without sending it into cardiac arrest.
In Other Python News: A Guy Got Bit on the Sack While Sitting on the Toilet
A man in Thailand says that, despite flushing first to push unwanted roommates back into the murky depths, he got bit in the last place you want to get bit after sitting down on the toilet. He was, however, able to beat the python to death with a toilet brush.
An Escaped Convict Crashed the DNC
A guy who escaped from a Mississippi courthouse in June was just found working at a restaurant adjacent to where the DNC is currently being held in Chicago. He barricaded himself inside the restaurant before being captured by police.
The Ozempic Competitors That Fight Diabetes, Too
Eli Lilly’s weight loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro have been found to decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94 percent. Unfortunately, but predictably, they cost $1,000 per month.
Justice for the Dodo!
A team of researchers has published a comprehensive article in The Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society that seeks to set the record straight on the dodo: “It was neither fat nor stupid, it was adapted to the ecosystem in the isle of Mauritius that it had been living in for millions of years.”
Disney Admits It Doesn’t Have the Right to Murder You
Disney recently argued that a man couldn’t sue over his wife’s death at their resort because he had once downloaded Disney+. They have finally backed off of that argument.
Patagonia Is Giving Employees the Day Off to Vote
Patagonia is the first major company to give everyone off on October 29th to encourage early voting.
The Only Literature Contest That Matters
The winner of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, which awards the most “atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written” has been named. New Jersey writer Joel Phillips won with this line: “Mrs. Higgins’ body was found in the pantry, bludgeoned with a potato ricer and lying atop a fifty-pound sack of Yukon golds, her favorite for making gnocchi, though some people consider them too moist for this purpose.”
