Fact of the day thread

[Pete]

Today's fact. Mars’s dust storms, the planet’s defining weather feature, are the largest in the solar system and can last for months.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact.

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[Pete]

Today's fact. When swallowed by toads, bombardier beetles project hot, noxious chemicals from their anuses, which sometimes forces the predators to puke them back up.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact.

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[Pete]

Today's fact. Ray Bradbury wrote the first draft of Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter in the basement of the UCLA library in just nine days.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact.

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[Pete]

Today's fact. On Mars, no resource can be wasted—not even bodily fluids. Urine will be recycled into drinking water and feces into fertilizer.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. “Bloodcurdling” isn’t just an expression: Research shows that watching horror movies can increase a certain clotting protein in our bloodstreams.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. One of Walt Disney’s first art jobs was drawing cartoons for a local barber in exchange for haircuts.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The Hardy Tree in London’s St. Pancras churchyard is named for Thomas Hardy. The Victorian writer worked at the burial ground in the 1860s and rearranged tombstones around the base of an ash tree to make room for a railway expansion.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The Palais Idéal in France is built entirely of stones a postman named Ferdinand Cheval picked up on his mail route.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. In 1872, sitting president Ulysses S. Grant was pulled over and fined $20 for exceeding the Washington speed limit … on a horse.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. To ensure the Queen of England receives her food on time, the clocks in the royal kitchen at Windsor Castle are set five minutes ahead.

She must be one hangry woman.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Roald Dahl passed away on November 23, 1990 at the age of 74. Per his request, he was buried with all of his favorite things: snooker cues, a bottle of Burgundy, chocolate, HB pencils, and a power saw.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Volvo gave away the 1962 patent for their revolutionary three-point seat belt for free, in order to save lives.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. There are beaches in the Maldives that glow in the dark.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Bangladesh has six seasons: Grishmo (summer), Borsha (rainy), Shorot (fall), Hemanta (cool), Sheet (winter), and Boshanto (spring).

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Before LeVar Burton signed on, Scott Baio was considered for the hosting role on Reading Rainbow.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton was taller than Michael Jordan.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Mars’s surface shifts in a different way than Earth’s, resulting in huge Martian volcanoes up to 100 times bigger than those on our planet.