20 Out-Of-This-World Facts That Disengaged Our Rocket Boosters

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20 Out-Of-This-World Facts That Disengaged Our Rocket Boosters

It's the age-old problem of how to enjoy this list of interesting facts and yet keep the fact that it's an interesting fact from becoming an interesting fact itself. We need to talk about a few things before we get to the good stuff. First, I am not a scientist, nor a scientist-adjacent. I have an interest in the subject of the odd and unusual, but my knowledge is not based in any kind of scientific expertise. My understanding of these topics comes from books and Wikipedia and, well, reading a lot. If there's something you find dubious here, please take it up with the experts. Second, I am not trying to start some kind of global religion. These facts are presented as amusing oddities. It's a little bit like when your friend is talking about their favorite book, and then you enjoy a list of interesting facts about that book. I am not suggesting that the existence of these facts somehow validate or endorse any religious belief. This is a list of facts for your amusement.

Spain was a real one when it came to the 1918 flu pandemic.

The Spanish Flu is called so because Spain didn't obfuscate the data. CRACKED COM The 1918 flu pandemic is often called the Spanish flu because Spain didn't fake and minimize the data about the dead like Germany, Britain, France and the USA.

Science Friday

A chemist blinked as many times as he could after his head was chopped off.

An 18th-century French chemist used his own beheading to perform one last experiment. CRACKED.COM Antoine Lavoisier told his colleagues that he would try to blink as long as possible after being be- headed. Some sources say he continued to blink for 30 seconds.

Strange History

A Swedish scientist foresaw climate change over a hundred years ago.

A scientist predicted global warming before the year 1900. CRACKED.COM Swedish scientist Svante Ar- rhenius projected in 1897 that burning fossil fuels would lead to global warm- ing and increase of surface temperature between 5 and 6 degrees centigrade.

BBVA

Hawaii tried to give the homeless one-way rides out of the state.

Hawaii tried to solve homelessness by providing one-way plane tickets out of the state. CRACKED.COM To qualify for the trial, participants must com- plete a background check, be mentally sound, and have what the bill calls sufficient personal hygiene.

Time

Greek mythology says the sirens were human-faced bird creatures.

The sirens from Greek mythology were never said to be beautiful, or even mermaids. CRACKED.COM Instead, they were strange, human-faced bird creatures who lured men to their deaths by promising them wisdom and knowledge of the fu- ture.

Vice

Thank bacteria for keeping Earth alive.

Underground bacteria recolonized planet Earth several times after life-ending asteroid hits. CRACKED.COM More than 4 billion years ago, Earth was hit by sev- eral objects larger than 600 miles that could va- porize the oceans and ster- ilize the surface, yet bacte- rial life survived.

NASA

Don’t feed bread to ducks.

Ducks should be fed frozen peas instead of bread. CRACKED COM Bread offers very little nu- tritional content and, if lit- tered on the ground, can aid in the spread of disease. Meanwhile, peas offer plen- ty of vitamins and minerals which ducks crave.

Mashable

Jupiter’s moon Io is covered in constantly erupting volcanoes.

Jupiter's nearest orbiting Galilean moon, lo, is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. GRACKED.COM This extreme geologic activity is the result of tidal heating from fric- tion generated within lo's interior as it is pulled be- tween Jupiter and the other Galilean moons.

NY Times

The average person who watches cable news is retirement age.

The median age of people who watch cable news is more than 60 years old. CNN CENTER CRACKED.COM In 2017 CNN's me- dian age was 60, while the median age of the Fox News and MSNBC viewer was 65.

Adweek

The inventor of Fidget Spinners didn’t make any money off of their explosion in popularity.

The inventor of the fidget spinner couldn't afford to renew the patent in 2005. the ABEC can СВАД Class CRACKED.COM Catherine Hettinger hasn't banked any money from their rise in popularity, de- cades after she invented them, after the expiration of the patent and her in- ability to pay the $400 re- newal.

US News

The first metal-framed glass facade building was panned in 1864.

The precursor to modernist architecture in 1864 was called a vast abortion. CRAGKED.COM Oriel Chambers was the first building with a met- al-framed glass curtain/fa- cade. It was panned at the time, with one architecture reviewer writing that it was inferior to a brick ware- house.

The Builder

A US senator wanted the UK to hand over Canada as payment for their support of the Confederacy.

After the Civil War, the US filed financial claims against Great Britain for their support of the Confederacy. GRAGKED.COM A Senator named Charles Sumner de- manded a payment of $2 billion but offered that the U.K. could just turn over Canada as payment instead.

Hamilton Fish

“Kevin” is a dirty word in Germany.

In Germany, a particularly dumb young person is referred to as an Ultra-Kevin. CRACKED.COM The name Kevin in Ger- many is related to lower socioeconomic status, so much so that 'Kevinism' has even been described as an 'avoidable child- hood illness.'

Penn State

Google thought everyone searching for Michael Jackson after his death was a malware attack.

When Michael Jackson died, Google mistook millions of searches for a DDoS attack. CRACKED.COM Users received this mes- sage: We're sorry, but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.

Cnet

People really like Christmas movies.

Streaming service algorithms have figured out people really like Christmas movies. CRACKED.COM More than 200 new fea- ture films and TV movies with the word Christmas in the title are listed on IMDB for release in 2021, which is four times more than in 2011.

BBC

Daredevil got an award from the American Foundation for the Blind.

Charlie Cox received an award for his portrayal of Daredevil in 2015. CRACKED.COM Cox was honored by the American Founda- tion for the Blind for his portrayal of Matt Murdock after the first season of the Netflix series.

Variety

Movie theater seats are red because of the Purkinje Effect.

Movie theater seats are usually red because they are hárder to see in low light. CRACKED.COM Purkinje Effect is the ten- dency of humans' eyes to get more sensitive towards the blue end of the spec- trum as the lights dim. In low light, red is the first color the human eye loses sight of.

Gizmodo

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