It's time for the FACTS

19/04/2022

Redheads aren't actually going extinct.
Periodically, a rumor starts on the internet that says natural redheads will become extinct by the year 2060. Lucky for gingers everywhere, this is a myth. It's true that the gene that causes red hair is recessive, meaning that both parents must have it for their child to have red hair. However, even non-redheads can carry the red hair gene, and it can pop up unexpectedly in generations down the line.

18/04/2022

18/04/2022

A dozen bodies were once found in Benjamin Franklin's basement.
But were you aware of the fact that multiple skeletons were found in the basement of Benjamin Franklin's London home? The bones were discovered during a 1998 renovation of the house and were identified as being from nearly a dozen people, including six children. "The most plausible explanation is not mass murder, but an anatomy school run by Franklin's young friend and protege, William Hewson," wrote The Guardian.

That's not to say there wasn't any funny business going on. "The resurrection men could deliver bodies stolen from graveyards to the Thames wharf at the bottom of the street, while there was a weekly public ex*****on at the gallows on the other side of the garden wall," the publication reported.

18/04/2022

The healthiest place in the world is in Panama.
A small valley near Volcán in Panama has garnered the distinction of being the world's healthiest place to live, according to a 2018 report by International Living. Called Shangri-La Valley, the area is home to beautiful scenery, a low cost of living, and a significantly longer life expectancy than the surrounding areas. All in all, the world's healthiest areas have some common factors, according to the ranking: a warm climate, an active social scene, healthy food, and a slower pace of life that makes for less daily stress.

15/04/2022

Your nostrils work one at a time.
When we breathe in and out of our nose during the day, one nostril does most of the work at a time, with the duties switching every several hours. This "nasal cycle" is dictated by the same autonomic nervous system that regulates heart rate, digestion, and other unconscious bodily functions and is the reason why—when our nose gets stuffed up—it does so one nostril at a time.

15/04/2022

Only two mammals like spicy food: humans and the tree shrew.
While humans have long had the rare distinction of being the only mammal that actually enjoys spicy food, that list has seen a new addition, as a study by Chinese researchers found that tree shrews have a mutation in their ion channel receptor, TRPV1, which makes it less sensitive to the "hot" chemical in chili peppers. As a result, the adorable critters happily gobbled up corn pellets laced with capsaicin (the compounds that give peppers their spice) while other mammals in the study avoided them.

13/04/2022

Nearly two people die each second.
While four babies are born on Earth every second, it's estimated that around two people pass away at the same time. That means that 105 people die each minute, 6,316 people die each hour, 151,600 people die each day, and 55.3 million people die each year. Sorry, folks—not all interesting facts are fun!

11/04/2022

of the day

11/04/2022

The coldest temperature ever recorded was -144 degrees Fahrenheit.
You might think you're accustomed to frigid air and blustery winds, but the average winter day has nothing on the coldest day ever recorded, which was -144 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature was recorded in Antarctica during a span of research between 2004 and 2016. Just a few breaths of air at that temperature would induce hemorrhaging in your lungs and kill you.

11/04/2022

There's only one country in the world that doesn't use the metric system.
For simplicity's sake, most of the more than 200 countries in the world use the metric system when describing things like length or mass. However, there were recently three countries that stood out: Liberia, Myanmar, and the United States.

In 2018, Liberia commerce and industry minister Wilson Tarpeh said the government planned to adopt the metric system in order to promote accountability and transparency in trade, according to the Liberian Observer. Myanmar made a similar commitment, which leaves the U.S. as the lone holdout.

09/04/2022

Play-Doh started out as a wallpaper cleaner before the head of the struggling company realized the non-toxic material made a good modeling clay for children and rebranded it