12 Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Thursday, September 5, 2024
Beer used to be so much better back when you were allowed to brew up some deadly nightshade.
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Hallucinogenic Medieval Beer
Back before hops were a common beer ingredient, brewers used to include a straight-up poison called black henbane. It caused dry mouth, inspiring heavier drinking, which could easily turn hallucinogenic and/or deadly. It was ultimately associated with witchcraft, and banned from many parts of Europe.
More People Than Ever Are Eating Alone
OpenTable data has shown that solo reservations are up 29 percent over two years, and a separate study found that 60 percent of Americans have dined alone in the past year. Likely factors include remote work, the average age of marriage trending upward and the general trend of self-care.
The Phillips Head Screw Was a Big Controversy in Its Day
Inventor John Thompson created a screwhead with a cross slot that proved useful, but compromised the integrity of the screw, causing it to break. In 1933, Henry Phillips bought the rights and perfected the design. The new Phillips screwhead became so popular that it was the center of some international tumult. Other countries refused to pay him royalties, and even the U.S. government said he had created a screw monopoly.
Dead Celebrities Must Consent to A.I.
In a big win for SAG-AFTRA, California passed a law that requires consent from the estate of any deceased performer before their likeness can by A.I.-generated. Living performers won the same right four days earlier.
Noburp Syndrome
Only officially recognized in 2019, retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (or “Noburp Syndrome”) makes a person’s cricopharyngeus refuse to work properly, trapping air inside their gut indefinitely. One promising treatment is Botox.
New Zealand Is Making Tourists Cover the Cost of Their Environmental Impact
New Zealand already charges a tax of $22 per visitor, but they’re nearly tripling it to $62 to cover the costs associated with maintaining its highly trafficked natural wonders.
Frankfurter or Hot Dog?
People use the words synonymously, to the utter horror of German foodies. There are important distinctions: Something is only a proper frankfurter if it’s made with pork and an array of specific German spices. They’re also typically formed using pig intestines, rather than machine-molded.
Spell Your Name in Satellite Map Imagery
A NASA website allows you to type in your name (or any word, really), and it’ll find letters in natural and human-made features that appear on satellite maps.
People Swim-Commute Between Europe and Asia
There’s a small group of Turkish retirees, adrenaline junkies and everyday joes (with their work clothes in dry bags) who dodge heavy boat traffic to cross the Bosphorus Strait every morning.
Google’s Ocean of Books
A new interactive tool from Google categorizes a ton of different books by genre and author, places them in an old-timey map vignette and lets you navigate different “islands” to find new literature you may be interested in.
The Hot New TikTok Trend: Check Fraud
Someone noticed that you can write yourself a huge check for more money than you actually own, deposit it into your Chase account, then withdraw it all, due to a standard processing delay. This practice went viral on TikTok, despite the fact that it’s easily traceable, correctable and is textbook check fraud.
Spanish Singles Are Decimating the Pineapple Market
Another TikTok trend is driving grocery workers insane: Singles in Spain are going to Mercadona supermarkets and placing a pineapple in their cart, upside-down, between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. to mark themselves as single and looking. People are usually not actually purchasing the pineapples, so Mercadona employees have had to lock them up for an hour every night.
