Today is not a good day. Whether there’s a hockey mask-wearing machete-wielding maniac after you or you’re just having regular bad luck, Friday the 13th is generally considered one of the worst days on the calendar. But why? Where did this tradition come from? And what else does it entail? Here are 13 fun, weird, …
Continue reading “13 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Friday the 13th”
The second Saturday of October is National Chess Day, the day of the most popular board game in the world. Did you know that about chess? Here are more chess fun facts to celebrate the game. Chess was invented in India There are over 700 million chess players in the world. A chess board is …
Continue reading “35 Chess Fun Facts For National Chess Day”
We know them as puppies, kitties, and bunnies. Biologists and some other kinds of nerds know them as Canis lupus familiaris, Felis catus, and Oryctolagus cuniculus. The scientific naming system, or binomial nomenclature, helps researchers classify and organize different species. Developed by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, the system assigns each species a two-part …
Continue reading “10 Animals with Bizarre and Funny Scientific Names”
Anything can be art. Even a collection of bizarre Dutch proverbs from the end of a medieval period. Perhaps we should explain. In 1559, Dutch artist Pieter Brugel the Elder made a painting titled “Netherlandish Proverbs.” Also known as “Flemish Proverbs,” “The Blue Cloak,” and “The Topsy Turvy World,” the painting illustrates 126 Dutch proverbs, …
Continue reading “9 Weird Medieval Dutch Proverbs (Illustrated in a Single Painting)”
It seems more people than ever struggle with mental health issues, but that’s probably because we’re only now starting to figure them out. In any case, many of us need a bit of help dealing with our own heads. When things get difficult, there are small — and strange — things you can do as …
Continue reading “8 Unexpected Activities That Can Improve Your Mood and Mental Health”
The Thirty Years’ War, the Hundred Years’ War, the 335 Years’ War… Some conflicts are famous because they dragged on and on for decades. Not all wars are like that, though. Sometimes, the wars we fight are over in days — or hours. You may not have heard of all these wars, precisely because they’re …
They say you are what you eat. So, what are you? Chances are, you aren’t what you think. Food fraud is so rampant around the world that the producers of some sought-after delicacies have resorted to bizarre measures to combat it. For example, did you know parmesan cheese makers are installing microchips into the wheels …
Continue reading “8 of the Most Commonly Faked Foods in the World”
A couple of decades ago, 3D printers seemed pure science fiction. Sure, they have existed since the ‘80s and even earlier, but they weren’t really good for a whole heck of a lot. The technology has advanced in strides, though. Today, you can go buy a perfectly good 3D printer for a couple hundred bucks …
The sea is a weird and scary place. We’re lucky in one sense, though — even the biggest fish today aren’t that big. Sure, something like the whale shark and basking shark are pretty enormous, but they’re harmless plankton eaters. The great white shark might be big but even that pales in comparison to the …
Continue reading “7 Horrible Ancient Fish That Make You Glad They Are Extinct”
Have you read The Strange Survival Story Of Phineas Gage: Part One? Follow the link if you’d like to, because this is part two. The thing is, there are huge blood vessels on both sides of the head, and his injury was within 1/100 of an inch that these blood vessels were not disturbed. The …
Continue reading “The Strange Survival Story Of Phineas Gage: Part Two”