12 Scrumptious, Nearly Identical Bits of Trivia We Whipped Up From Scratch in Under 40 Minutes

We certainly never thought we’d win the Technical Challenge, but here we are. In lieu of any type of baked good, Paul and Prue demanded that we all cook up a batch of high-quality, uniform, delectable little factoids. The other contestants were baffled by this, naturally, but not us. This is our specialty. We put together a dazzling array of facts about the monkey-ball-to-throat-bone ratio, the psychological condition that makes you think you’re a cow, cockroach milk and a whole bunch more.

Go ahead, try some! We think you’ll like ‘em!

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12 Speed Limits Are Too Fascist for Germany

One of the main reasons the Autobahn doesn’t have a speed limit is because they see that type of regulation as a relic of Nazi rule. A popular anti-regulation slogan is “free driving for free citizens.”

11 Vermont Couldn’t Become a State, So It Became a Country

Because they were sick of being part of New York, from 1777 to 1791, Vermont declared and protected its sovereignty with violence. The Continental Congress wouldn’t grant it statehood, so it made itself its own country instead (originally calling itself, yuck, “New Connecticut”).

12 Scrumptious, Nearly Identical Bits of Trivia We Whipped Up From Scratch in Under 40 Minutes — Source

10 Loud Monkeys Have Tiny Balls

A study found an inverse correlation between the size of a howler monkey’s throat bones and the size of its nards.

9 The Fish Poison That Reverses Your Sense of Hot and Cold

Eating certain reef fish can give you ciguatera fish poisoning, a condition that causes the sensations of hot and cold to reverse, which is kind of neat, but may also manifest itself through nausea, diarrhea, itchiness, numbness and other neurological extremes.

8 Drowning Happens Much Faster, and Much More Frequently in Freshwater Than Saltwater

Drowning isn’t all about suffocation — there’s a lot going on with your cardiovascular system as well. A diaphragm full of freshwater is likely to be rapidly infused into your bloodstream, throwing just about everything out of whack. Saltwater, on the other hand, is osmotically similar to blood, so it tends not to mingle quite as quickly. Ninety percent of drownings occur in freshwater.

7 There’s a Psychological Condition That Makes People Believe They’re a Cow

A type of clinical lycanthropy, known as boanthropy, causes people to believe that they’re a cow. King Nebuchadnezzar II is said to have been “driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen.”

6 The Weather in South Dakota Once Changed So Rapidly That Glass Shattered

The most intense temperature change ever recorded occurred on January 22, 1943, in Spearfish, South Dakota. A phenomenon called the Chinook winds caused the temperature to rocket from -4 degrees to 45 degrees in two minutes. It later dropped from 58 degrees to -4 degrees over the course of 27 minutes. The rapid fluctuation wreaked havoc on the town’s exterior glass windows.

5 Russian Teachers Were Paid in Vodka in the 1990s

One region of Siberia had so little cash on hand for a few months in 1998, they tried to pay their teachers in toilet paper and “funeral accessories.” That didn’t go over too well, so they tried doling out 15 bottles of vodka per person. The teachers found this slightly more palatable, as they could flip the vodka and make a small profit in local markets.

4 Cockroach Milk Could Be the New Soylent

Scientists trying to get out ahead of a potential food shortage in the future have identified cockroaches’ milk-like secretions as a sustainable source of sustenance. They say it’s four times more nutritious than cow’s milk and contains “all the essential amino acids.”

3 Tennis Umpires Have to Be Multilingual in Profanity

The International Tennis Federation prohibits pro tennis players from cursing loudly, and umpires are given lists of curse words in multiple languages to help enforce the ban.

2 Men Used to Get PTO When Their Wives Were Menstruating

Archaeologist Ann Austin believes she uncovered “the world's first documented health-care plan,” which appears to include a clause that gave men time off to care for their menstruating wives and daughters.

1 A Woman Once Farted So Much, American Airlines Called the FBI

A flatulent woman on a five-hour flight tried lighting matches to cover up her shame. When other passengers reported her for lighting fires inside of an aircraft, the pilot made an emergency landing. She was banned from American Airlines.