Curious Mind Blowing Facts - 40

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Dec 02, 2024

What are Atmospheric Rivers, Bomb Cyclones, Arctic Outflows, Polar Vortexes? A bomb cyclone occurs when a storm system undergoes bombogenesis, with its central pressure dropping rapidly within 24 hours. This particular storm system has been fueled by an atmospheric river, a band of moisture in the sky with water vapor levels comparable to average flow levels at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
While polar vortex refers to the large system of cold air sitting high over the region, Arctic outflow refers to the surface-level winds now passing over the coast. The outflow is described by as "very cold air from the Arctic that has moved its way down here, and is kind of parked on top of B.C. and Alberta.”

Freeze Your Hair Contest
In the town of Whitehorse, a 10-hour drive from Juneau, Alaska, bathers dip into the naturally warmed waters at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs. If the outdoor temps are cold enough, people can make their hair freeze into wacky shapes. A couple of previous winners:

How to do it? Their contest’s website includes instructions on how to freeze hair:

Dip your head in the hot springs and wet your hair completely. Don’t worry- freezing your hair won’t damage it.
Allow the cold air to slowly freeze your hair. Keep your ears warm by periodically dipping them into the hot water. Be patient–all wet hair will eventually freeze, this includes eyebrows and even eyelashes.
Once your hair has become pure white with lots of frost and ice buildup, ring the bell near the pool entrance and have our staff come out to take your photo!

Paul McCartney on the Simpsons:
McCartney’s appearance coincided with the release of The Beatles Anthology, an exhaustive ABC miniseries chronicling the band’s entire history, as well as a set of three companion albums of rare tracks. McCartney is such an advocate for animal rights and vegetarianism that he agreed to both The Simpsons and ABC’s Anthology under two conditions: That if Lisa Simpson became a vegetarian in his episode, she had to stay a vegetarian for the course of the series. As for ABC, they had to agree not to air ads by Kentucky Fried Chicken during Anthology. Both demands were met.

Lisa meets Paul and Linda McCartney on the Kwik-E-Mart’s rooftop garden, or “Apu’s garden in the shade,” a reference to the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden.” Paul also suggests to Lisa to play his solo hit “Maybe I’m Amazed” backward, where she’ll find a recipe for lentil soup. At the end of the episode, “Maybe I’m Amazed” plays over the credits. McCartney recorded a specially recorded backward message placed over the song. It’s that recipe for lentil soup, and then the words, “Oh, and by the way, I’m alive.” (That references the “Paul is dead” rumors of the late 1960s.)

Here’s the recipe for Paul McCartney’s backward lentil soup:

one medium onion, chopped
two tablespoons of vegetable oil
one clove of garlic, crushed
one cup of carrots, chopped
two sticks of celery, chopped
half a cup of lentils
one bay leaf
one tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
two and a quarter cups of vegetable stock or water

One of the most quoted lines from Star Trek: The Original Series is “Beam me up, Scotty." It’s been used in merchandise, commercials and other media influenced by the show. Ironically, this exact quote has never actually been said in any Star Trek episode or movie.

The 62 books in the mainline Goosebumps series were published in only 53 months. RL Stine published more than a book a month for almost five years. More than 400 million Goosebumps books have been sold, making it the best-selling series of all time for several years. At one point, Goosebumps sold 4 million books a month. How did he write so prolifically? R.L. Stine has maintained the same routine for decades. Every day he writes at least 2,000 words.

This. Is. Jeopardy!

All the questions - All the answers:
https://j-archive.com/

The fan-created archive of Jeopardy! games and players—537,868 clues and counting!

The Airplane movie got it wrong. “Over and Out”. The words "over" and "out" have very specific meanings in voice procedure, and it's impossible to use both of them together like this. Here's why. "Over" specifically means "Over to you"—that is, I'm done talking and await your reply. "Out" means the opposite: I'm done talking and am not hanging around for a reply. In other words, "over" is used in the middle of a exchange, while "out" is used only to end one. So saying "Over and out" would be nonsensical in the real world of air traffic control, police dispatchers, and so on.

Interestingly, another movie radio staple, "Roger Wilco," is also wrong, but for a different reason. "Roger" means "received" or "understood"—in fact, it derives from the fact that "Roger" was once used to represent the letter 'R' (the first letter in "received") in radio phonetic alphabets. "Wilco," on the other hand, is short for "will comply," and is only used, for obvious reasons, when the sender has received and understood the previous transmission. In other words "Wilco" means both "Roger" and "Wilco," so saying both words is redundant. But it's totally okay to say "Roger, Roger. What's the vector, Victor?"

Earth's thin, 40-kilometre (25-mile) deep crust—just one percent of Earth's mass—contains all known life in the Universe. It has been compared to the skin of an apple.

John von Neumann has been called the smartest man ever. A summary of John von Neumann's life and work.

John von Neumann (1903-1957) was a Hungarian polymath who made groundbreaking contributions to a variety of fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, and computer science.
Known for his exceptional intelligence even among renowned scientists, von Neumann was lauded by his contemporaries, with some even suggesting he belonged to a superior species.
A child prodigy, von Neumann exhibited remarkable abilities from a young age, excelling in mathematics, languages, and possessing an eidetic memory.
He was a close friend and collaborator with some of the most influential scientists of the 20th century.
Von Neumann made foundational contributions to set theory, game theory, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, continuous geometry, and computer science.
He played a crucial role in the Manhattan Project, developing the explosive lenses for the atomic bomb.
Von Neumann proposed the von Neumann architecture, which is the basis of modern computer architecture.
He invented the merge sort algorithm and introduced the concept of stochastic computing.
He was also a consultant to various government and private organisations, including the US military and the RAND Corporation.
Beyond his academic achievements, von Neumann was known for his unique personality, enjoying parties, loud music, and fast cars.
His remarkable ability to solve complex problems quickly and effortlessly was legendary.
As a supervisor, he was demanding but also inspiring, setting high standards for his assistants.
Von Neumann's legacy continues to inspire generations of scientists and mathematicians.

Proofs of John von Neumann's Early Genius

The sources provide several examples of von Neumann's extraordinary abilities from a young age, confirming his status as a child prodigy:

Exceptional Mathematical Ability: At the age of six, von Neumann was already dividing eight-digit numbers in his head. By eight, he was proficient in calculus. At twelve, he was reading Emile Borel's advanced mathematical work, Théorie des Fonctions.
Linguistic Prowess: Alongside his mathematical talents, von Neumann also displayed advanced language skills. At six years old, he could converse in Ancient Greek.
Eidetic Memory: Von Neumann reportedly possessed an eidetic memory, enabling him to recall entire books and phone directory pages verbatim. This ability contributed to his vast knowledge across various subjects, such as history and literature.
Early Recognition as a Mathematician: By eighteen, von Neumann was already considered a fully-fledged mathematician. He co-authored a paper with his tutor, Mikhail Fekete, on a complex mathematical theorem before even enrolling in university.
Impressive Academic Achievements: von Neumann's doctoral dissertation on set theory, completed largely in absentia while he was officially studying chemistry in Berlin, was so advanced that renowned mathematician Abraham Fraenkel, upon reviewing the work, declared it "outstanding" and recognized von Neumann's exceptional talent.
Published Papers at a Young Age: By the end of 1927, at just 24 years old, von Neumann had already published twelve major papers in mathematics, an impressive feat for any mathematician, let alone one so young. This prolific output continued, reaching 32 papers by the end of 1929.
Youngest Privatdozent: At 25, von Neumann became the youngest Privatdozent (a position allowing independent university teaching) in the history of the University of Berlin, further demonstrating his precocious talent and academic accomplishment.

These examples, recounted in the sources, clearly illustrate von Neumann's exceptional intellect and remarkable abilities from his early years, cementing his reputation as a true genius.
From:

Privatdozent

The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann

This essay is also available in audio format and on Kindle…

4 years ago · 37 likes · Jørgen Veisdal

Mosquitoes do a superb job of spreading diseases like malaria – now researchers have shown it's possible to hijack these pests and distribute vaccines via mosquito bite. In human trials, these mozzie-borne vaccines proved around 90% effective. https://newatlas.com/infectious-diseases/mosquito-bite-vaccine-malaria/

Cockroaches are farmed by the millions in China, where they are used in traditional medicine and in cosmetics.

Email suggestion from Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte refused to open his mail for three weeks. By that time, most of the issues raised in the letters had resolved themselves and no longer required his attention.

Impressed with his energy and ability to do the splits, the owner of the Oakland A's hired an 11-year old named Stanley Burrell as a batboy and personal play-by-play announcer. A's player Reggie Jackson gave the kid a nickname, Hammer, who later became MC Hammer.

You go Girls. The Girl Scouts sell 200 million boxes each year, surpassing sales of Oreos, not to mention sales of all Chips Ahoy and Milano cookies combined.

Before his comedy career, Chevy Chase was a drummer in a college band named “The Leather Canary” with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. They would later go on - without Chase - to form Steely Dan. Chevy later said in an interview that the band was named “The Very Bad Jazz Band”.

Mother Opossums have 13 nipples, arranged in a circle of 12 with one in the middle.

Mike Tyson used a fake penis, called a “Whizzinator,” to deliver his infant son’s urine to pass drug tests, even under the eyes of a drug tester.

The ‘Hofbräuhaus am Platzl’ is a beer hall in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Mozart, Tito, Lenin and Hitler were all regulars there. Likewise, ‘The Café Central’ in Vienna was frequented by Freud, Goethe, Beethoven, Mahler, Lenin and Trotsky.

There are 38 cities/towns/villages in Europe that claim to be “The Venice of the North”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice_of_the_North

Grandma Moses was an American folk artist who started painting seriously at 78. She gained worldwide fame, with her art displayed in museums and used on items like greeting cards. Her painting Sugaring Off sold for $1.2 million in 2006. You too can draw like Grandma Moses: