Fact of the day thread

[Pete]

Today‘s fact. Your hair contains traces of gold.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact is pretty interesting. The human body emits visible light, but it's not visible to the naked eye.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Jim Henson made his first Kermit puppet using his mother's old coat and two halves of a ping pong ball.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact is hilarious. In 1997, a woman from Louisville left actor Charles Bronson all of her money in a handwritten will—a total of about $300,000. She'd never met him; she was just a fan.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Sleeping through summer is called estivation. I personally prefer hibernation as opposed to estivation. I’m all for the summer.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Floccinaucinihilipilification—one of the longest words in the English language—is the act of estimating that something is worthless.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Nostrils take turns receiving the majority of the air you breathe, which explains why one is usually stuffier than the other.

 

[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. Because the speed of Earth’s rotation changes over time, a day in the age of dinosaurs was just 23 hours long.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Nicknamed "sea bunnies," Jorunna parva is actually a highly toxic species of sea slug.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. In Scotland, the first person to cross your home’s threshold on New Year’s Day is expected to bring an assortment of symbolic gifts with them, which might include a coin, salt, bread, coal, fruitcake, or whisky. The guest, known as the “first-foot,” is then lavished with food and drink. One common tradition dictates that a tall, dark-haired man is the preferred first-foot.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Sloths may be the only mammals that don’t fart. That’s no fun.

 

[Pete]

Today‘s fact. Double Stuf Oreos are only 1.86 times as "stuf’ed" as classic Oreos.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero got his start making short films for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

 

[Pete]

Today‘s fact. A cat’s ability to see well at night is due to its tapetum lucidum, a structure that reflects visible light back through the cat’s retina. It’s also what causes the eyes' weird ‘glowing’ effect in the dark.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Citizens of the Soviet Union began celebrating the defeat of Germany in World War II as soon as it was announced. Less than 24 hours later, the entire country was out of vodka.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. While death by guillotine might seem like an ancient ritual, the practice was still in use in France up until 1977—when the original Star Wars was in theaters.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Spike, the four-legged star of Old Yeller, was adopted from a California animal shelter—reportedly for just $3.

 

[Pete]

Today’s fact. Andrew Jackson's parrot was kicked out of his funeral for swearing.

 

[Pete]

Today‘s fact. Bela Lugosi was buried in full Dracula costume—cape and all.