Weird Factsф

12/09/2023

The master of suspense, who terrified audiences with movies like Psycho and The Birds, considered himself an ovophobe—someone frightened of eggs.

Alfred Hitchcock explained to an

Jazz & Blues Club

12/09/2023

The first McDonald's drive-thru was installed in a restaurant based in Sierra Vista, Arizona, located near the Fort Huachuca military installation. Military rules forbade the soldiers from wearing their military uniforms in public, and they weren't about to change into civilian clothes just to grab a burger and run back to base, so restaurant manager David Rich came up with a solution—cut a hole into the wall and allow members of the military to pick up their orders without stepping out of their car

12/09/2023

Pandas basically only eat bamboo, which also happens to be incredibly hard to digest. That means that these adorable animals must eat about 30 pounds of the stuff each day to get enough nutrients—defecating about four-fifths of what they eat.

Not only that, but what they do digest is not especially easy on their gastrointestinal system. These guys should really consider a change in diet.

12/09/2023

12/09/2023

One of the earliest known vacuum cleaners was so large that it had to be hauled from house to house via a horse-drawn carriage. Its giant hoses were popped through the windows of customers, and a gas-powered motor generated the suction that pulled the dirt and debris into a glass container where onlookers could ga

12/09/2023

Dolphins are known to be one of the smartest animals on the planet—possibly because they can conserve their brain power. Since they must always be on the lookout for predators, the marine mammals have developed a neat trick of maintaining partial consciousness even as part of their brain sleeps.

Researchers have tested whether this "half-sleep" negatively impacts the animals' alertness during the day, but have found that even after five days of having their nocturnal alertness constantly tested, they've remained as alert and perceptive as ever.

12/09/2023

It sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but British inventors John Foden and Yannick Read have come up with a bicycle that actually flies. The XploreAir Paravelo is composed of a folding bicycle and a lightweight trailer that contains a biofuel-powered fan motor. The motor turns the fan, and with enough of a runway, it can reach up to 25 mph in the air and 4,000 feet in altitude.

12/09/2023

For millions of people, the coffee break is a key but often underappreciated part of each day. To stop and give the break its proper due, the town of Stoughton, Wisconsin, hosts an annual Coffee Break Festival. The gathering includes coffee tastings, "brew-offs," and bean-spitting contests.

Why Stoughton? According to city officials, the coffee break was "born" in the city in the late 1800s, as women working at the local Gunderson To***co Warehouse began the ritual of pausing during the workday to brew up some coffee and have a chat.

12/09/2023

"Bonobo" may sound like some sort of translation of a meaningful term, but in fact, it was the result of a typo. Researchers reportedly first found these primates in the town of Bolobo, Zaire, in the '20s, but the name of the place was misspelled "Bonobo" on the shipping crate in which the animal was placed, leading others to refer to the animal by the name, which stuck.

12/09/2023

For those who romanticize a burial at sea, the company Eternal Reefs offers an innovative solution. It mixes the cremated remains of a person with concrete to create a "pearl" onto which loved ones can etch personal messages, handprints, or (environmentally friendly) mementos.

The pearl is then encased in a "reef ball" that is dropped into the sea, where it provides a new habitat for fish and other sea life, helping encourage a vibrant ecosystem. The circle of life at work!