12 Random Bits of Trivia That Sprang From a Fake Can of Peanuts, Leaving Us Bewildered and Peckish
How young is too young to tell your child that Mensa is a pointless organization for back-patting and navel-gazing that’s deeply rooted in eugenics?
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A Mysterious Celestial Body Is DP-ing the Earth From Afar
It may be a strongly magnetized neutron star or a white dwarf, no one knows for sure, but something is blasting both X-rays and radio waves at the Earth every 44 minutes.
Humans Have Been Using Whale Bones Four Times Longer Than Anyone Thought
The oldest known whale bone tools were thought to be 5,000 years old, but new research suggests they were actually in use 20,000 years ago.
We Found a Way to Study Ancient Brains by Peeing on Them
Scientists have developed a method to extract proteins from the brain tissue of a person who died 200 years ago, and the process happens to rely on urea.
Non-Smoking Sections, But for Smartphones
A Dutch movement to decrease screen time has led to designated no-phone areas in public spaces, called “De Offline Zone.”
A Glacier Collapsed and Crushed an Entire Town
The town of Blatten, Switzerland has been wiped almost entirely off the map after a glacier broke off and pummelled the valley it was in. The 300 residents had evacuated earlier in the month after geologists warned them of the inevitable debacle.
Who Were the First Musicians to Be Arrested for Their Music?
Three of 2 Live Crew were arrested in 1990 for performing their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be after district courts had determined it broke obscenity laws.
2 Live Crew Weren’t the First Ones to Be Arrested Over Their Own Album
After the album was deemed obscene, but before the crew themselves were arrested, a local record store owner was arrested for selling the album to an undercover cop.
Turkiye Is Going to Start Fining Rude Airline engers
The country just implemented a rule that anyone who unbuckles their seatbelt and stands up before the “fasten seatbelts” sign is turned off will be fined about $67.
Mensa’s Youngest Member
After rolling over at five weeks old and saying his first word at seven months, a British mom knew her kid was destined for greatness. At two years old, her child has become the youngest person to Mensa, which doesn’t exactly reinforce the organization’s legitimacy.
Harvard Stripped a Professor of Tenure for the First Time
A professor of — what else? — business ethics was found to have fudged some numbers after an investigation into a paper on — what else? — honesty.
The Oxford Dictionary Was Completed 60 Years Behind Schedule
The London Philological Society began compiling what would become the Oxford English Dictionary in 1857, thinking it would take 10 years to complete. They reached the word “ant” 27 years later, and the book wasn’t completed until 1928.
The Editors Forgot a Word — But Only One
The word “bondmaid” fell off a table and behind some books, and the editors plowed through the rest of the B’s without noticing. That and “cheugy” are the only words we’re aware of that are conspicuously missing from the first edition.
