Curious Mind Blowing Facts - 56
from an equatorial shift - to a singer named Swift, from dragonflies - to 20 year old guys
Not an ad: The American Express Centurion Card (Black Card) is invite-only and has strict eligibility requirements. (It has no credit limit and you have to pay it off in full every month).
While Amex doesnβt publish exact criteria, hereβs whatβs required:
1. High Spending
You must spend $300,000 to $500,000+ per year on an Amex card.
Spending in luxury travel, dining, and high-end retail increases your chances.
2. Strong Credit & Wealth
Youβll need an excellent credit score (likely 750+).
A high net worth (millions in assets) is expected.
3. Existing Amex Relationship
You usually need a Platinum or Gold Card with high spending before getting invited.
Long-time, loyal Amex customers have better chances.
4. Fees & Costs
Initiation fee: $10,000
Annual fee: $5,000
Want One?
Thereβs no official way to apply - Amex must invite you.
(Maybe I can use my Visa card to pay for the initiation fee. And get a loan for the $5K annual fees?)
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Blue is the worldβs most popular color. It is universally well-liked across genders and age groups.
Do you speak Denglisch? (adding a German twist to English words). Examples are cashcow, flashmob and shitstorm.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander successfully touched down on the Moon's surface early Sunday (March 2, 2025) morning. The smooth touchdown makes Firefly Aerospace the first commercial company in history to achieve a fully successful soft landing on the Moon. They are going to perform a bunch of experiments for NASA. And took some pictures on March 14 of the total eclipse, when the Earth passed between the Moon and the Sun.
The Lakers' 40-year-old superstar, LeBron James, became the NBA's first 50,000-point man in early March this year.
Over 50% of 18-24 year old males have never asked a woman out in person.
Thereβs a mushroom called the honey mushroom, and is commonly called the humongous fungus. It lives in Oregonβa Malheur National Forest. Its biological name is the Armillaria ostoyae. It is a single organism that covers more than 3 square miles and itβs the worldβs largest living organism by mass, area, and volume.
McDonaldβs is no longer the worldβs largest fast food chain. Chinese bubble tea and ice cream chain Mixue Bingcheng has overtaken them as the fast-food chain with the most locations.
Of the 4000 movies on Netflix, the oldest non-holiday movie is from 1973. It is The Sting, the Robert Redford-Paul Newman flick.
Bone China
Bone china, a premium type of porcelain, is named for its key ingredient: 30β50% bone ash, produced by burning cattle bones. This ash, blended with kaolin clay and feldspar, creates a durable, luminous ceramic renowned for its translucency and ivory-white finish. The term "bone china" explicitly highlights this unique formulation, which has defined the material since its 18th-century origins in England.
Some military dogs can jump alone, equipped with their own parachutes, or in tandem with their trainers to provide support and aid to stranded soldiers.
Lenticular clouds over Mt.Fuji
27,000 trees are cut down each day for toilet paper.
This month, an AI-controlled Maserati MC20 reached 197.7 miles per hour at Kennedy Space Center. The Maserati obliterated the previous record set in 2022 by nearly five full seconds, an impressive feat for a robot-driven car.
Have you heard of βCali Sober?β No Booze, but some Drugs Are Fine (cannabis, mushrooms, LSD and ketamine). Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
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How βThe Great Gatsbyβ ruined F. Scott Fitzgeraldβs life:
βWhen it came out in 1925, it was considered a masterpiece. T.S. Eliot called Gatsby βthe first step American fiction has taken since Henry James.β It made Fitzgeraldβs reputation.
But it also arguably ruined his life. He spent the next nine years working to write a book that could be its equal, descending ever more inexorably into alcoholism as he did. He would publish two more novels β 1934βs Tender Is the Night and the posthumous The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1940 β but neither of them would be as celebrated as The Great Gatsby. As the Depression continued, Fitzgerald came to be dismissed as a relic of the boom time, a chronicler of the rich whose moment was long gone and whose continued alcoholism was all too apt a fate.
As Fitzgeraldβs star faded, so too did Gatsbyβs reputation. In the last month of his life, before he died in 1940 at the age of 44, Fitzgerald sold only seven copies of the book and made $13.13 in royalties.β
The moral of this is be careful what you wish forβ¦
https://www.vox.com/culture/402406/great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald-centennial-100
***
Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones donβt cross the equator and rarely form close to it (within about 300 miles). This is because of the *Coriolis force*βa effect caused by Earthβs spinning that twists winds and ocean currents. In the Northern Hemisphere, storms spin counterclockwise; in the Southern Hemisphere, clockwise. Near the equator, this force is too weak to create the spinning needed for storms to form.
If a storm tried to cross the equator, it would have to suddenly switch its spin direction, which is impossible. Instead, it would likely fall apart into just a bunch of hot air. So far, no storm has ever crossed the equator. The closest was a 2001 cyclone near Indonesia that got within 100 miles of it but didnβt cross.
Basically, the equator acts like a "no-go zone" for these massive storms!
The Real Reason Zelenskyy Doesnβt Wear a Suit
Zelenskyy doesnβt wear suits because his casual or military-style clothing sends a message of unity and resilience during Ukraineβs war.
By ditching formal suits, he shows heβs focused on action, not appearances, and stands with everyday citizens and soldiers facing hardship. His simple outfitsβlike khakis or sweatersβmake him seem more relatable and down-to-earth, contrasting with other politicians.
This choice also helps highlight Ukraineβs defiant spirit, turning his style into a symbol of the countryβs determination to resist Russiaβs invasion.
~ https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/08/zelenskyy-suit-ukraine-fashion-style-00219275
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People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Business leaders are paying as much as $5 million to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, while others are paying $1 million apiece to dine with him in a group setting.
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Joe Rogan is, if nothing else, prolific. Heβs published 2,286 episodes in the 15-ish years heβs been making his podcast, at an average of a little over two and a half hours each. New episodes drop three or four times a week, which means getting the full Joe Rogan Experience would take about 240 days of nonstop listening.
The term βlawn mulletβ means having a neatly manicured front yard and an unmowed mess in the back.
Tesla owners disguising their vehicles to distance themselves from controversy.
Male dragonflies have two pairs of wings and two� (rhymes with venuses)
Researchers have confirmed Saturn as the solar systemβs undisputed βmoon king,β after discovering 128 more moons circling the ringed planet.
The discovery by a team, including current and former University of British Columbia astronomers, brings Saturnβs total to 274, almost twice as many as all other planets in our solar system combined, and leaving Jupiter in a distant second place with 95 moons.
Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist worldwide on Spotify in 2023, with over 26.1 billion streams. In the U.S., her music made up 1 out of every 78 streams last year.
According to data from Luminate (a U.S. music data company), if Swift were treated like a record label (since she owns her music rights), her U.S. streaming share would be 1.28% in 2023. Thatβs bigger than entire genres like Jazz (0.8%), Classical (0.9%), and Childrenβs music (1.1%).
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Chuck Norris and I wanted to thank you all for reading CMBF and will see you again! β