Did you know that you’re statistically more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than by a shark? Here are 10 unusual facts, not exactly useful for impressing at parties.
We all need those little gems of unusual facts to spice up our conversations. Because ultimately, it’s these seemingly insignificant details that prove essential for sparking our curiosity. That’s why we’ve selected 10 things you probably didn’t know that are perfect for starting a conversation with colleagues on Monday morning.
Animals never cease to amaze us.
- Cows have “best friends”: Studies from the University of Northampton have shown that cows are social beings, who become highly stressed when separated from their favorite partner.
- Sea otters hold hands: They sleep holding paws to avoid drifting and getting lost due to ocean currents.
- The heart of a blue whale is the size of a car: It’s so large that a human could theoretically swim through its main arteries. Whales can slow their heart rate to as low as two beats per minute, a rate comparable to that of a hibernating groundhog. In California, it’s illegal to shoot anything from a car, except for a whale.
When history and cultures challenge our certainties
- In Tibet, the dead are neither buried nor cremated: They are cut up by a professional and fed to vultures, according to a traditional funeral rite called “sky burial”.
- Cleopatra lived closer to the iPhone than to the Great Pyramid of Giza: The Great Pyramid was completed around 2560 BC, while Cleopatra was born in 69 BC. The time interval between her and us is therefore shorter than between her and the builders of the pyramids.
- Honey is imperishable: Archaeologists have discovered jars of honey in Egyptian tombs more than 3,000 years old… and it was still perfectly edible.
Science, the human body, and improbable laws
- Your nose can remember 50,000 smells: Human olfactory memory is remarkably accurate, capable of distinguishing and storing tens of thousands of different scents.
- The longest boxing match in history lasted 7 hours and 19 minutes: The boxers finally gave up in the 110th round.
- The U.S. Penal Code prohibits any contact with extraterrestrials: Chapter 14, Section 1211, makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact whatsoever with extraterrestrial beings.
- The Earth’s rotation period is changing: It is slowing down by 1.8 seconds per century. 600 million years ago, a day lasted only 21 hours.
