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03/01/2022

In 2013, Animal Planet aired Mermaids: The New Evidence, a documentary—or rather, a mockumentary—that "proved" the half-human-half-fish beings exist. And while the program was fake, plenty of the 3.6 million viewers that watched believed that the fictional claims were real. In fact, so many people were fooled that the U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a statement on its website addressing the confusion, saying: "Mermaids: The New Evidence is just entertainment. No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found."

15/12/2021

Canadian actor James Doohan, best known for playing Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the original Star Trek series, served in World War II with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. As a commissioned lieutenant, he led his troop up a mine-strewn Juno Beach as part of the Allied Forces' D-Day invasion. Later in the day, he was wounded by friendly fire that caused the amputation of the middle finger on his right hand. You might not have noticed it because, during his time on Star Trek, directors did the best they could to avoid showing the injury on screen.

06/12/2021

The most popular instrument in North Korea is the accordion, so much so that all teachers used to be required to play to get their teaching certifications. Because the accordion is portable in a way that, say, a grand piano isn't, it was thought of as the "people's instrument" that could be taken outside and played for laborers in the fields.

02/12/2021

02/12/2021

The 1933 Double Eagle was a $20 U.S. coin made of gold that never went into circulation. A few of the coins were made, but most were destroyed—save for nine that were presumed stolen by U.S. mint workers. After years circulating the globe and falling into the hands of a few notable owners—including the king of Egypt—one of the coins was auctioned off at Sotheby's in 2002 for a stunning $7,590,020. That made it the most expensive coin ever sold at auction.

23/11/2021

There actually aren’t “57 varieties” of Heinz ketchup, and never were. Company founder H.J. Heinz thought his product should have a number, and he liked 57. Hint: Hit the glass bottle on the “57,” not the bottom, to get the ketchup to flow.

20/10/2021

Flamingoes are only pink because of chemicals called carotenoids in the algae and fish (which also eat the algae) they eat; their feathers are grayish white when they’re born.

19/10/2021

The longest fingernails ever were over 28 feet in total. American Lee Redmond started growing them in 1979 and set the record in 2008. Sadly, she lost her nails in a car crash in 2009.

18/10/2021

The tallest building in the US is One World Trade Center in New York, which comes in at number six on the worldwide list. It stands at exactly 1,776 feet as a nod to the date of the Declaration of Independence.

18/10/2021

A mash-up of two words to make a new word (such as breakfast and lunch into brunch, or motel from motor and hotel) is called a portmanteau. In case you’re wondering, the word “portmanteau” itself is not a portmanteau; it’s a compound word that refers to a duel-sided suitcase.

15/10/2021

"Wait," you're probably thinking, "I had pear cider last week." Actually, "cider" is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented apples, and only apples. Alcoholic beverages can be made from pears, but that drink is known as "perry." The drink was popular in England for centuries but fell out of favor during the second half of the twentieth century. That turned around in the 1990s when the drink was rebranded as pear cider.

15/10/2021

Feet are enormously complex parts of the body. Each foot contains 26 bones, as well as 33 joints and 19 muscles, which work together to allow for a huge range of motion and movements. But many of these bones remain cartilage throughout a person's childhood, slowly ossifying into bone as the years go on. According to the Ontario Society of Chiropodists, all of the bones in the foot don't completely harden until a person is about 21 years old! And for more trivia to keep you sharp, sign up for our daily newsletter.

14/10/2021

Tornadoes can develop over water just as well as they can over land. When they do, they're called "waterspouts," and they suck up large amounts of lake or sea water—as well as whatever's swimming in that water. If the waterspout travels on to the land and the winds decrease, there's nowhere for those fish to go but down. As far as we know, there's no tornado powerful enough to pick up sharks, but a fish-nado is entirely possible.

14/10/2021

Few odors are as pleasing as "new car smell"—and not just because it's nice to be in a brand new car. But while the scent may be strangely satisfying, the fact is that it's pretty much just a combination of 50+ chemicals (known as "volatile organic compounds") that are released into the car, decaying quickly over time. The concentrations found in a typical new car aren't dangerous, but among the VOCs that make up much of that new car smell are those found in nail polish, auto fuel, and petroleum.

13/10/2021

Those who think everything on the planet has already been discovered might just not be looking close enough. A tiny chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and measuring just 28.9 millimeters is believed to be the smallest reptile on Earth. The itty bitty chameleon was recently discovered and reported in the January 2021 issue of Scientific Reports. But there's one thing about these critters that's big for its size: The genitalia of the males measures almost 20% of its body length.

13/10/2021

Food waste is a huge problem. How big? About 931 million metric tons. That's how much food that researchers with the United Nations estimate was wasted in 2019, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, which surveyed 54 countries, finding that the majority of wasted food (61%) comes from homes while restaurants and other food services produce 26% of wasted food. Grocery stores make up just 13% of food waste. If you need a pick-me-up, read through these 50 Feel-Good Facts Guaranteed to Make You Smile.

12/10/2021

First written in 1838, the Constitution of the state of Florida guarantees the right to privacy, the freedom of speech, and the right of pregnant pigs to be free from cages. Unlike many crazy or outdated laws, this amendment is recent (passed in 2002) and comes from a well-meaning place: the prevention of cruelty to animals. During pregnancy, a pig must not be caged or even tethered such that it can't turn around freely.

11/10/2021

Japan's record breaker for most records broken is Cherry Yosh*take, a children's entertainer who goes by "Mr. Cherry." In 2018 alone, Mr. Cherry set one-minute records for the most pairs of underwear pulled on (36), the most baked beans eaten (71), and the most apples bobbed (37).

11/10/2021

08/10/2021

Finding previously undiscovered organisms in the depths of the ocean may sound like something straight out of a sci-fi horror film, but a 2020 study of a deep-sea volcano near New Zealand, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, uncovered "over 90 putative bacterial and archaeal genomic families and nearly 300 previously unknown genera." Some research has linked hydrothermal vents, like deep-sea volcanoes, to the "origin of life."

06/10/2021

When taking both genders into account, the average adult is around 5 feet, 1.8 inches. People in Bolivia don't tend to be much taller, with an average adult height of 5 feet, 2.4 inches. The tallest people among us live in the Netherlands, where the average adult height is 6 feet.