12 Farm-Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Wednesday, February 5, 2025
An NHL newcomer broke a record the second he stepped out on the ice.
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The Hardest Tongue-Twister in the English Language
An MIT study in 2013 tested a bunch of tongue twisters, and found that their test subjects had the hardest time with this sentence: “Pad kid poured curd pulled cod.”
The Most Anyone Has Paid for an Olympic Gold Medal
The three highest-priced gold medals to ever sell at auction are: Fred Schule’s 1904 110-meter hurdles gold medal ($545,000), Wladimir Klitschko’s 1996 boxing gold medal ($1 million) and one of Jesse Owens’ 1936 gold medals ($1.47 million).
You’re Addicted to Coffee Because of Some Ancient Goat Herder
It may be apocryphal, but there’s a written account from 1671 (of a much older verbal tradition) that says an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats were getting extra hyped up after eating from a particular bush. Kaldi harvested some of the beans, and brought them to a nearby monastery where they got to work paving the way for the pumpkin spice latte.
Or Maybe It Was a Religious Doctor
Another story says that a priest-doctor named Sheikh Omar was exiled to the desert, where he discovered a plant that made his sads go away.
Pharmacies Suck Now Because of Fast Food
At one time, pharmacies specialized in mixing up concoctions of carbonated water and various syrups for medicinal use, and would use their equipment and ingredients to make fun sodas and ice cream floats. A pharmacy was a legitimately good hang until the mid-20th century — that's when fast-food companies moved in on their turf and started offering shakes and sundaes.
The Biggest Party Schools in the Country
The Wall Street Journal’s much-anticipated list of the top 10 party schools in America is led by Florida State, University of Dayton and Tulane. University of Dayton shot up seven spots from last year. Maybe they finally got Facebook?
Can You Put a Price on a Dying Planet? Apparently, You Have To
That seems to be the only way to get capitalism to stop murdering the Earth. A study has estimated that the U.S. housing market will take a $1.47 trillion hit over the next 30 years because of climate change.
A Map That Will Show Where a Drop of Water Will Go From Any Point in the United States
Data journalist Sam Learner compiled open source geographic data to create an interactive map that will show the path that a drop of water will travel from its origin to the ocean.
A Live, 24-Hour Online Typing Race
TypingBowl.com will pit you against random netizens to see who can type the fastest. The player currently at the top of the leaderboard averages 239.3 words per minute.
Archaeologists Figured Out That These Wealthy Pompeians Were Freakier Than Previously Thought
They’d already uncovered a huge banquet hall with black walls and Trojan War frescoes known as the Black Hall. But they just found a huge private bath connected to the party room, where the owners could entertain up to 30 rich, naked friends.
A New NHL Record You Never Thought About
In 2024, Ivan Ivan of the Colorado Avalanche became the first NHL player ever to have the same first and last name.
Notable Celebrities Whose First and Last Names Are the Same
Firsty-firsties include DJ Khaled (real name Khaled Khaled), Super Mario (real name Mario Mario) and Lauren Bush Lauren (George H.W. Bush’s granddaughter married Ralph Lauren’s son).
