12 Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Monday, September 2, 2024

A new type of nanoparticle gel can be injected into the heart by a syringe that’s thinner than a human hair. It’ll hang around and regulate your heartbeat for about five days before dissolving.

Authorities are investigating the death of a Wells Fargo employee who was found dead in their cubicle, four days after last clocking into work.

LEGO is replacing the oil used to produce its bricks with a more renewable (but also more expensive) substance.

Fleer Chewing Gum Company accountant Walter Diemer was, for some reason, allowed to tinker in the company’s gum factory like a JV Willy Wonka. He found a unique blend of chemicals that allowed people to blow bubbles, but his signature goop was a horrifying grey color. He dumped all the red dye left in the factory into his vat, which managed to turn it a bright pink.

A new wearable device uses targeted soundwaves to treat everything from physical pain to depression — in as little as 40 minutes.

The Washington Generals are the foil to the invincible Harlem Globetrotters; they exist to lose. There’s a popular story that says they won exactly once, in a dramatic 1971 game against the New Jersey Red. But their official website says they’ve beaten the Globetrotters three times, and other histories report about six total victories.

A couple who were hooking up in a car on the bank of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River accidentally kicked the gear shift into drive, sending the car careening into the water. Both participants escaped unharmed, but emergency services were needed to fish the vehicle out of the river.

Lots of Hispanic cultures have a mouse that collects teeth from children, instead of a fairy. In Argentina, it’s customary to leave your tooth in a glass of water for the mouse to drink. He’ll leave your gift in the empty glass when he’s done drinking his room temperature tooth tea.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is a self-proclaimed clairvoyant, who once ran a school to help people talk to angels, and an everyone-else-proclaimed huckster, who quit the royal life to help her husband’s conspiracy theorist influencer career. Her husband, Durek Verrett, claims to be a sixth-generation shaman who has rubbed elbows with dipshits like Gwyneth Paltrow.

Instead of allowing media outlets to take photos, as is customary, they granted exclusive photo rights to a British tabloid and exclusive video rights to Netflix.

The Cure are dropping new music for the first time in 16 years — two songs pressed on a more sustainable material. Proceeds will go to the climate charity Earth Percent.

Onlyvisitonce.com is a fun little interactive project where you meet a weary knight resting under a tree, who may ask you a question. But if you try to visit the site more than once, it'll give you this stoic message: “You’ve already passed this way before. Your journey lies ahead — don’t look back.”