Curiosity Crack-Up: Chuckle at the Unusual
Ever been hit with a fact so mind-bending it made you question reality? Picture this: a re-read of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy led me to a quip about sharks being older than the North Star – a statement that not only tickled my funny bone but also sparked a journey down an unexpected rabbit hole. It got me thinking: What if I compiled a list that not only entertains but also raises an eyebrow or two? Enter a collection of curiosities that might just serve as your next quirky conversation starter. A word of caution, though: choose your audience wisely; these topics are as eccentric as a tea-drinking cat in a top hat. Now, without further ado…
The Scottish Highlands and Appalachian Mountains:
Fact: The Scottish Highlands are part of the Appalachian Mountains because they pre-date continental drift. Talk about having an old soul. The Highlands are basically the grandpas of landscapes, reminiscing about the good old days when they were all one big happy Pangea family.
Commentary: Most mountain ranges can have fossil deposits to some extent, but the Appalachians pre-date bones, so any fossils are mostly from a time when all life existed in oceans. They’re so old they actually weathered. Meanwhile, the Himalayas are so tall because they’re still relatively young and still growing! All those millennia they spent feeling insecure and it turned out they’re just late bloomers. PS: And in parts of Appalachia, the accent sounds like a Scottish or English accent, but not for the afore-mentioned reason. (The Appalachian dialect shares a lot of idioms with Scots Gaelic (like appending a- to a verb), and the English Shakespeare used. It's fascinating when you start to dig into it.)
James Webb Telescope's Deep Field Image:
Fact: The amount of sky the James Webb Telescope captured for its deep field image is equivalent to a grain of sand held at arm's length.
Commentary: That's one grain of sand with a universe of galaxies inside. I sort of think we might be like… atoms in a celestial body. Hence why there is sometimes almost a feeling of guidance or a plan and there is certainly a feeling of something bigger than us. Suddenly, our existential crises seem a bit less significant.
Honey Never Spoils:
Fact: Honey never spoils, thanks to its low moisture content and acidic qualities. (apparently archaeologists found pots of still-edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs.)
Commentary: Bees are like the gourmet chefs of the insect world, creating an everlasting delicacy. No wonder they're considered the true connoisseurs – they're the bees' knees! And it's not just about eternal sweetness; honey boasts a resume as impressive as a bee's daily flower-hop. Not only is it a natural antibiotic, fending off unwanted intruders, but it's also a buzzing source of antioxidants.
Velociraptors Were the Size of Chickens:
Fact: Velociraptors were the size of chickens.
Commentary: They still exist though, albeit a bit evolved. Reminds me of when I was 4 years old and I had the formative childhood experience of being chased by a goose in the countryside. I ended up bitten by the belly, whereas the velociraptor – grabbed by the neck by a scared and panicked kid – made a somewhat reluctant acquaintance with the nearest fence. Peace was never an option. So let’s forget Jurassic Park; we should be making farmyard documentaries about the great dino-chicken chase. Spoiler: the fence always wins.
Sharks Are Older Than Trees, Saturn's Rings, and the North Star:
Fact: Sharks are older than trees, the rings of Saturn, and the North Star.
Commentary: The mind boggling thing that started this blog post. There’s a more detailed article on Snopes, but I’ll do my best to summarise it. According to the article, the most relevant shark ancestors emerged approximately 400 million years ago (give or take 20 million years, depending on how close to modern sharks you feel the need to be). And the “North Star” is actually made up of three stars, the largest of which outshines the other two making it all look like one star to the naked eye. Dating the age of stars is incredibly difficult, but estimates suggest that two of them are at least 500 million years old, while the largest is likely under 100 million. So, it’s sort of true. Which is still wacky! But still... learning that sharks are older than Saturn’s rings... I’ve not known peace since.
Here’s a Grizzly One: Chainsaws Were Invented for Childbirth:
Fact: Chainsaws were invented for childbirth.
Commentary: So, they traded forceps for a chainsaw? Motherhood: the original horror movie. This is definitely one that sounds fake but is 100% true. Yet I feel like knowing more doesn’t help at all in this case.
Lighter Invented Before Matches:
Fact: The lighter was invented before matches.
Commentary: Someone clearly thought, "Why wait for a spark? Let's just bring our own fire starter to the party." Thinking about it now, lighting alcohol with a flint was an easier concept to acknowledge than sticking phosphorus on a small wooden stick, which you then had to strike on a rough piece of surface to ignite.
Canned Food Debuted 50 Years Before the Can Opener:
Fact: Canned food debuted 50 years before the can opener.
Commentary: I would be more impressed if the reverse was true. Cans were the original puzzle boxes, right? – "Congratulations, you've won dinner. Now figure out how to open it!"
Thoughts and Memories:
Fact: Forming thoughts boils down to the flow of sodium and potassium ions.
Commentary: We're basically walking, talking bags of chemicals with an electrochemical flow that elegantly keeps us in a state of equilibrium. Open another browser tab to learn more, and it's just more ions flowing – like a neurochemical party! Equilibrium my ass… OK, now, fair question, what does that mean if we have a potassium deficiency? I guess horrible cramps, MAGA, chemtrails, dizzy spells, anti-vaxxers, headaches, flat earthers. On a more serious note, there are implications in one’s overall health, especially when under a certain diet. But that’s a topic for another time.
Space Expansion Faster Than the Speed of Light:
Fact: Space itself is expanding at a rate faster than the speed of light.
Commentary: Terry Pratchett had a point – light might think it's fast, but darkness always gets there first. Space: the original speedster.
Photographs of Molecules:
Fact: Scientists can now take photographs of molecules.
Commentary: Turns out, atoms aren't camera-shy after all. Growing up, I distinctly remember being told by my 4th grade teacher that we would never be able to see atoms because they were too small. That was absolutely never going to happen. Molecules can’t be seen and that was that. Now, what’s even crazier is hat they look exactly like the models we learned in Chemistry! Holy smokes, the mathematicians and scientists got it right! One might go so far as to say that science has predictive power. Science: proving elementary school teachers wrong, one molecule at a time.
GPS Satellites and Time in Space:
Fact: GPS satellites have to compensate for time being faster in space due to lower gravity and account for both special and general relativity.
Commentary: Time in space is like a cosmic game of hide and seek. Just when you think you've got a grasp on it, it slips away into the fabric of space. And then again, what the hell is time in space? We measure it by rotations and revolutions of the Earth... What exactly is moving faster out there? Space itself? WTF is space?!? ...and down the rabbit hole he goes.
And there you have it – a romp through the realms of curious facts and side-splitting musings. We've danced with ancient landscapes, zoomed through galaxies in a speck of sand, and pondered the eternal shelf life of honey. From dino-chickens to chainsaw childbirth solutions, each fact is a breadcrumb in the trail of life's absurdity. So, as we navigate this cosmic carnival of the bizarre, let's embrace the laughter, revel in the wonder, and remember, in the immortal words of Douglas Adams, "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so."
Now, armed with these tales, go forth and sprinkle a bit of eccentricity into your next conversation. After all, in a world this wonderfully weird, why not?