Curious Mind Blowing Facts - 58
from summer clothes to upside down rhinos, from fluctuating weight to a wormy fate Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
Is it cooler for the body to wear white clothing in summer sunshine? This is one of those questions that donβt have a clear answer. Logic tells us that white would be cooler. But this article says maybe not: https://archive.ph/U3sEh
Space blankets may be the right answer - those shiny mylar blankets that you can use in an emergency. But they would look sillyβ¦
The number one most played song on U.S. radio of the 2000s decade was "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback. It was played on the radio over 1.2 million times.
Unexpected Discovery on Mars: The Curiosity rover landed in 2012 and is still active on Mars. It was exploring the planet that had a lot of sulfates when it made the discovery. Before this, it had only found sulfur mixed with other materials. But when it broke open a rock, it found something newβpure sulfur. And then the rover found even more.
To relocate Rhinos, they transport them via helicopters upside down. https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250327-the-vietnam-war-helicopters-riddled-with-bullet-holes-airlifting-rhinos-to-safety
Polygraph machines, or lie detectors, are somewhere between 70% and 90% accurate. Because of the low accuracy, many jurisdictions do not accept the results as court evidence.
85 percent of hospitals still use pagers because hospitals can be dead zones for cell service. In some hospital areas, the walls are built to keep X-rays from penetrating, but those heavy-duty designs also make it hard for a cell phone signal to make it through but not pagers. Costco too. Costco warehouses are essentially large metal boxes, which can act as a Faraday cage, preventing radio waves (including some cell signals) from entering or exiting.
A Starbucks hot βventiβ latte and βgrandeβ latte each have exactly two shots of espresso. The extra dollar youβre paying for the larger size is essentially buying you 4 ounces of frothed milk.
A man died after his parasitic tapeworm got cancer which infected the man with the disease.
In 1951 Thelma Howard was hired as a maid for Walt & Lillian Disney. Walt would gift her shares of Disney stock every Christmas for the next 30 yrs. She died in 1994 - that's when it was discovered she still had all 192,000 shares valued at $9,000,000. It went to disadvantaged kids & her disabled son.
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Color Terminology:
Tint = Color + White β Lighter version
Shade = Color + Black β Darker version
Tone = Color + Gray (or both white & black) β Muted version
Hue = The pure base color (without black, white, or gray). Itβs the general color family (red, blue, yellow, etc.).
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Over 100 marijuana plants sprouted on the Anaheim Stadium playing field in 1976 after The Who played a concert there.
In 2009, Tasmanian opium farmers discovered circles and patterns in their crops. It turns out it was wallabies getting high and bouncing around in circles.
Actor Christian Bale does what it takes to get a movie role: "The Machinist" (2004):
Bale famously lost over 60 pounds to portray an emaciated machinist, a feat he achieved by drastically reducing his calorie intake and engaging in intense exercise.
"Batman Begins" (2005): Following "The Machinist," Bale gained nearly 100 pounds in about five months to play the Caped Crusader, demonstrating his commitment to physical transformation for roles.
And Ryan Gosling gained 60 pounds for a role in Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" by drinking melted Haagen Dazs ice cream when he was thirsty. He was fired days before production began and replaced with Mark Wahlberg. Wouldnβt that frost your goat?
In the cartoon series The Jetsons, George Jetsonβs work week consisted of an hour a day, two days a week.
In 1949 BB King re-entered a burning music hall to save his favorite $30 Gibson guitar. King later learned the fire was started when two men knocked over a burning barrel of kerosene while fighting over a woman named Lucille. King has named every guitar he's owned Lucille as a reminder.
Even though a Rubik's Cube has 43 billion billion (43 quintillionβ43,252,003,274,489,856,000) configurations, (more than 5 times of grains of sand on all of Earth's beaches), it can be solved in 20 moves, at most.
Being a farmer is tough enough. Imagine this farmers realization that he did not own the software that made his tractor work properly. And these tractors can cost into the millions of dollars:
Talk about a terrible practice. Teslas, Apple Cell Phones, Harley Davidson, Appliances and others have a policy that nullifies the warranty if the company does not fix the problems themselves.
This guy has been championing a right to repair program for years:
Canada has implemented a "right to repair" law, specifically Bills C-244 and C-294, which allow individuals and independent repair technicians to bypass digital locks (technological protection measures) on products to diagnose, maintain, and repair them, without violating copyright.
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Way back in the 1900βs Gardeners often weeded out the grass to make room for the dandelions.
Before he became one of our most popular authors James Patterson worked for advertising firm J. Walter Thompson, where he is credited with coming up with the jingle βIβm a Toys R Us Kid.β
In 1958, Larry King got into a car accident with John F. Kennedy.
King said it happened on a Sunday morning when he rear-ended Kennedy at a red light.
Kennedy got out of his car and said, βHow could you? Itβs 10:30 on a Sunday! There are only two cars on the roadβhow did you hit me?β
King offered to exchange insurance info, but Kennedy had a different idea. He made King and his friends raise their hands and swear theyβd vote for him when he ran for president.
King later said he kept his promise.
Dmitry Argarkov who scanned a credit card agreement, edited it, and returned it to the bank with a 0% interest rate and no limit in the new terms. The bank signed and approved without reading and a judge held them to it. If you try this, let us know!
In these days of frugality, ketchup has a long shelf life. Unopened, it can last up to two years past its expiration date if stored properly. Once opened, it stays good for about a year in the fridge or a few months at room temperature.
60% of the fat and 31% of the calories in Burger King's Chicken Sandwich come from the mayonnaise alone.
Thanks for reading! Where was the Chuck Norris joke last week? He took the week off and flew to all the planets in our solar system. And made Pluto a planet again!
What was your fave today?
BB King was my favorite but the Costco cell phone explainer was a close second!
This was a wild ride β equal parts hilarious, mind-blowing, and quietly dystopian in the best way. The upside-down rhinos and opium-wallabies had me laughing, but the βright to repairβ section hit differently β a subtle reminder of how much control corporations exert over everyday life. Also, shoutout to B.B. King naming every guitar Lucille β that kind of storytelling sticks with you. This newsletter doesnβt just drop facts β it sparks thought. Keep it coming. π₯π§