Author: Matt Gilligan

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Helpful Wombats Led SomeThirsty Animal Friends to Water

I really love wombats. In 2007 I even visited Australia Zoo, where I got to cuddle the larger-than-expected marsupials.

Like the rest of the world, I was devastated to hear about the wildfires ravaging the Outback, and ecstatic to learn that in some parts of the country, wombats were saving the day.

Image credit: Meg Jerrard via Unsplash

The Outback is vast and sparsely populated, so it’s easy for unusual animal behaviors to go unnoticed.

But on one particular cattle ranch in New South Wales, it became evident that Wombats were helping the ecosystem to thrive despite the drought.

You see, wombats like to burrow deep into the ground.

And on Ted Finnie’s ranch, the wombats burrowed into an underground pool.

Image Credit: Upper Hunter Landcare

As Newsweek reported:

According to Finnie’s estimates, the hole—which looks more like a “crater”–is now around 20 meters (65.6 feet) in diameter and four meters deep.

While some animals had been able to access the water before the wombats got to work, their burrowing widened it up into a nice little billabong that could serve the wider animal population.

Image Credit: Upper Hunter Landcare

Associate Professor Julie Old, a biologist at Western Sydney University, told ABC News:

“It’s almost like the wombats are water diviners, they’re finding the water and digging the holes to get to the water and the other animals are taking advantage of it.”

Image credit: David Clode via Unsplash

They certainly have the claws for it, and lots of other native species are reaping the rewards.

Finnie told the news outlet a recently erected camera trap captured birds, goannas, possums, echidnas and emus drinking at the water hole.

This story was particularly gratifying on the heels of another story earlier in the year that claimed wombats weren’t just digging tunnels but were actually herding other animals into their burrows to protect them from the fire.

I 100% believed this was true, but some experts were not so quick to buy in.

They reminded us laypeople that there’s a fine line between rounding up other hapless species and simply allowing them to coexist.

As one researcher put it:

“I wouldn’t say that wombats are “happy” about sharing with other animals, but they will “tolerate” them as long as they don’t disturb the wombat too much,” Dr. Michael Swinbourne, an ecologist at the University of Adelaide, told AFP.

Honestly, I like the idea that wombats are the marsupial saviors of the Australian animal kingdom.

But I can also accept that they are simply a critical part of a balanced ecosystem, doing their part and letting the others follow.

Either way, they are very good sports, and basically heroes in my book.

What do you think? Should we nominate wombats for a Nobel Peace Prize? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Helpful Wombats Led SomeThirsty Animal Friends to Water appeared first on UberFacts.

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UFO Chicken Coop Raises Arts and Crafts to a New Level

I think I’m medium-crafty. I knit and crochet. Last year I sewed a LOT of face masks.

But I don’t take on large, ambitious projects that can’t be easily unraveled.

So I am super impressed by people who build actual things, and I loved the story of one couple who took nerdom and crafting to a whole new level.

Back in 2017, Ellen (née DeAngelis) and Brett Wilson of Boise, Idaho expanded their chicken flock.

And as any poultryman knows, chickens need a coop for roosting and to keep them safe from predators.

Being self-described “UFO nerds,” Brett and Ellen came up with a pretty cool plan.

They documented the whole process over on Backyard Chickens so that like-minded and ambitious chicken keepers could do the same.

We quickly determined that the satellite dish would be a stellar foundation. We located two 10 foot dishes on our local Craigslist page and jumped straight into this project.

I didn’t even know you could buy giant satellite dishes on Craigslist, but I guess that’s why I don’t have an awesome chicken coop.

My favorite part of their plan were the mods that they did to make the saucer extra homey and spaceship-like:

We cut window holes for windows and screwed in 6″ acrylic surveillance camera covers we found on ebay. They work perfectly!

They added a laminated wood floor, which can be easily removed for extra cleaning.

After that, the couple cut-to-size 1″ styrofoam insulation, because it’s Idaho and chickens don’t exactly live in igloos.

Next step was covering the insulation with a waterproof barrier. We chose a roofing material similar to tar paper called roofing felt at the local box store.

We cut pie shaped pieces and covered the craft…. hitting the seams with a hardy roofing tape. We then covered the craft with an Aluminum paint to provide waterproofing and a classic UFO color.

This paint is designed for roofing and would also help keep the coop cool in the Summer by reflecting light away.

We had to air the coop out for several days to eliminate any harmful fumes that may be lingering.

I’m just saying, these are some pretty pampered chickens.

After the satellite dishes, the next most ingenious step was placing the whole thing on top of an 8′ trampoline to protect the flock from coyotes and other predators.

Lights were the final touch to truly make it look like a spaceship! (and definitely the best part)

We used 2″ clear tubing to house the LED lights and put the power source on the back hatch door.

The lights are individually addressable LEDs with a 5v 4a power supply controlled by an Arduino mega.

When winter arrived, they added some additional heat that could be monitored remotely using RaspberryPi.

What an amazing home for their chickens.

For Halloween one year, they put out inflatable aliens and more lights, and they were the hit of Boise.

Their next big project was an indoor/outdoor playground for their house cats, which looks like it was also a great success.

Clearly, I need to up my craft game because this is next level creativity!

What do you think? Do they win Pet Owners of the Year?

Be sure to hit us up in the comments!

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People Discuss Facts That Might Just Save Someone’s Life

It’s a big, scary world out there.

And we can use all the help we can get in the safety department these days. I’m not trying to be dramatic, I’m just stating the facts, folks.

Do you know any facts that could potentially save someone’s life?

These AskReddit users sure do. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Know the symptoms.

“The symptoms of a heart attack are slightly different for men and women. This is one of the reasons women sometimes get diagnosed too late.

Men: Cold sweat/ nausea; Chest pressure/pain; Shortness of breath; Pain in arm(s), back, neck, jaws, stomach

Women: Fainting/ extreme fatigue; Chest pressure; Shortness of breath; Upper back pressure; Light-headedness/ dizziness; Pain in arm(s), back, neck, jaws, stomach.”

2. Animal attack!

“If you EVER get bit by a wild animal, no matter how it acts…

Get. A. Rabies. Shot.

Rabies becomes a death sentence upon the onset of symptoms.”

3. FYI.

“Do not pick up a person that has fainted, instead lift their feet above heart level and keep at it till they wake up to make the blood flow back in their head to deliver oxygen.”

4. Be specific.

“In an emergency around any other people, be intentional and specific with people. Do not shout into the void “someone call for help!!!”

Make eye contact with someone, make sure they know you are talking to them, tell them what you need: “Sir in the blue shirt. Call an ambulance.” “Ma’am with the green jacket, go ask the barista for a clean towel.” “You with the hockey mask and machete, watch this baby!”

Studies have shown that the assumption that someone else will do something is ingrained within people and often they will not help without specifically being talked to.”

5. Don’t embarrassed.

“A lot of choking deaths are actually due to embarrassment. If you’re choking, fight the urge to save face.

Don’t go to the bathroom to fix it yourself, don’t sit silently and try to spit up the food yourself. Ask for help ASAP.”

6. Never thought of that.

“Mentioned this in another question before, but it’s important: If you hear about an active shooter situation near someone you know, DO NOT CALL THAT PERSON to see if they’re safe or okay.

If that person is in danger, they’re likely trying to hide from the shooter. Their phone going off – even just vibrating – can attract the attention of the shooter and give off their location. So do NOT try to make any attempt to contact them until the situation is completely resolved.

I know it’s absolutely wrenching but it’s much safer to wait.”

7. Just in case…

“If you have no other option than to fight someone with a knife, you will be cut.

Accept this fact, and just make sure those cuts are only on your hands/arms while you do everything you can to gain control of the knife/disarm the attacker or defeat him/her.

Your jacket or shirt is also a very valuable tool if anyone is trying to stab or slash you providing you have time to get it off.

You can hold it in between both hands and use it to effectively parry or trap and wrap up anything from a pocket knife to a machete.”

8. Lost in the desert.

“If you are stranded in the desert do not drink the “water” in a cactus.

It will induce vomiting which will dehydrate and kill you faster.”

9. Out in the cold.

“Cold related tips!:

If you’re ever stuck in the cold, please DON’T DRINK ALCOHOL. It is a very common misconception that doing so will keep you warm because it does make you feel warm, however it will only make you get colder faster.

When alcohol is consumed, it dilates the blood vessels near your skin, bringing more heat to the outside of your body, and this is why people get red and feel warm when they drink alcohol. This, however, will make you lose heat very quickly. Don’t do it.

Use layers, not a single thick layer. Hot air only stays permanently when trapped by multiple layers.

If start to feel hot, don’t take your clothes off! This sometimes happens with deep-onset hypothermia. Don’t go to sleep, and don’t take your clothes off.”

10. Dry drowning.

“If you almost drowned and you have trouble breathing afterwards you should go to the hospital.

You can experience “dry drowning”, where you die hours later due to inhaled fluid in your lungs.”

11. Car safety.

“The headrest on car seats can typically be removed and the little metal bars that connect the seat to the head rest can be used to break the car’s glass windows in the case of being trapped in the car due to an accident or any other situation that results in being trapped.”

12. Out in the woods.

“If you are truly lost in the woods, get ready to spend the night. Find yourself a little sheltered place and improve it the best you can. If you have the means, get a friendly little fire going.

Protect yourself from the elements, and everything is going to look better in the morning. People who stay put get found. People who keep wandering into the night end up freezing to death at the bottom of a ravine with a broken ankle.

If you’re only a little bit lost, turn around and go back the way you came! This sounds super obvious, but getting lost in the woods is a process–you realize you’re off the trail, but you know the car is “right over that hill”.

But when you get to the hilltop, the other side doesn’t look familiar, so you start following the creek down to the river–you know parked upstream by the river. But you’re actually headed up a different fork of the river, and there’s nothing up that canyon but a lot of slippery rocks to die on.

Whereas if you’d have just turned back around, chances are you’d find the trail in no time and be on your way back to the trailhead.

Also, I’d just go ahead and drink out of a creek in any survival situation. (this is very controversial.) But I figure, waterborne illnesses aren’t life threatening in North America (you’re not going to get cholera from a mountain stream), whereas dehydration can cloud your mind and kill you.

And even if you drank giardia (which is pretty unlikely if you’re lost in the woods, since it’s mostly transmitted through human feces), it takes a full week to incubate. Most people are found by then. YMMV.

Source: I was a USFS Wilderness Ranger, and I’ve spent a couple unplanned nights out in the woods, not quite certain where I was. It’s not that bad, really.”

Do you know any facts that could be real lifesavers?

If so, please share them in the comments with us.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post People Discuss Facts That Might Just Save Someone’s Life appeared first on UberFacts.

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What Facts Can Save Lives? Here’s How People Responded.

Now, that’s a real lifesaver!

People like to throw that phrase around from time to time, but they’re usually referring to a new hot sauce or something pretty insignificant.

But today we’re about to some tips that can actually be considered lifesavers.

AskReddit users shared facts that might save lives.

Let’s take a look.

1. Get that checked out.

“If you see someone hit their head and lose consciousness for any period, or shows any confusion (repeating words and phrases is common), they need a hospital visit.

We don’t sleep off concussions now.”

2. Protect your feet.

“When on a plane, have your shoes on for take-off and landing.

Statistically they’re the most dangerous times and you don’t want to be trying to escape in bare feet (think fire, or sliced aluminum).”

3. Trust your gut.

“Trust your instincts in an unusual situation.

If something feels risky, unusual, or dangerous – well, it probably is.

Four billion years of evolution gave us our survival instincts and since they’re usually “run away!” they’re unlikely to make the situation worse.”

4. Don’t do that!

“If you have a grease fire on your stove, do NOT try to put it out with water or move the pan. It can spread the flames even more.

If you can, turn off the heat source. You can put it out by smothering it with a lid, dumping salt or baking soda on it, or use a fire extinguisher if necessary.”

5. Be aware of this.

“If one of your depressed friends suddenly starts acting really happy or peaceful, don’t leave them alone.

When suicidal people have a plan and are about to kill themselves, it can make them feel relieved which can make it look like their depression is getting better.”

6. Tell them everything.

“If you are taken to the hospital and the doctors ask you if you have taken any drugs don’t just think about the illegal stuff also tell them if you’ve had small things like Advil or Tylenol it could save your life.”

7. Yikes.

“If you’ve been stabbed, don’t pull out the knife.

That very knife could mean the difference between life and death.

The knife is blocking the blood from leaking out, preventing you from bleeding out.”

8. Scary stuff.

“If you ever find yourself in a car that has driven into a body of water where your vehicle will sink, roll the windows down immediately and get out asap.

If you leave them up, the pressure of the water outside your car will make opening the doors very difficult and the battery may short out afterwards so the option will go away. Then you’d need to break the windows or push out the windshield, neither of which are easy, especially on limited oxygen.

If the windows are open water can get in, but that equalizes the pressure so you can still open the door easily and get out in time.

You can try to break the window with the headrest, your seatbelt buckle or anything else you might have on hand, but it’s probably a better first choice to just put the window down while the motor is still working.”

9. FYI.

“If your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you may have internal bleeding.

Head straight to the hospital.”

10. Look it over.

“If you’re staying in a hotel room, take a look at the escape route diagram on the back of the door before you go to bed.

Even if it’s just to think “I need to turn left” or “Either way leads to an escape”.”

11. Stay on the line.

“When needing 911 but you can’t speak due to danger or what have you, call and remain silent on the line.

The operator after first answering and repeating their answer a second time will go silent.

They are listening for verbal and background cues. If they hang up thinking it’s a pocket dial don’t despair call back, the system will log it as a call back.

The operator after listening will then go into a non-verbal call. They will ask you to press a button if you have an emergency and cannot speak. Press the key they ask for, go through the call answering using the non-verbal options.

They are all trained to do this and often police will arrive in “silent” dispatch to not endanger you further.

They are coming, stay on the call and keep pressing the keys as applicable.”

12. Get down.

“Crawl out of a burning building, breathing as close as possible to the floor as you move.

Toxic smoke rises while air remains more breathable nearest the floor.”

13. Ugh!

“If you have to eat crickets or similar insects, chew them. DO NOT EAT THEM ALIVE.

They have spines on their legs which can cling to your throat and are very difficult to remove without a decent amount of force (i.e. you cant “shake” your throat like you would your hand to remove them). If they block your wind pipe, youll asphyxiate.

I used to work at a pet store, I’ve had to explain this to quite a few people who wanted to do “Fear Factor” parties or dares or pranks.”

Now we’d like to hear from you.

In the comments, please share your lifesaving facts.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The post What Facts Can Save Lives? Here’s How People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression

I’ve been around many people who have struggled with depression during their lives.

Hell, I’ve had my own bouts with it, too.

And unless you’ve been through it yourself, it’s hard to explain to people what it’s really like. And snapping out it is totally different for everyone.

We hope that these responses will help some people out who are struggling.

Did you ever get out of a deep, dark depression?

These AskReddit users did and they shared their stories.

1. A combination.

“For me it was a combination of things..

Music – learned to play guitar on youtube

Books – found out about stoicism

Myself – I was listening to a Pink Floyd song (echoes) and theres a part where they say “I am you and what I see is me” and I realized that we are all going through something, and if I helped someone else then in return I was helping myself.

Lo and behold, I started to feel better about myself after helping others.”

2. You’re in charge.

“My dog. It forces me to get up and do something.

Feed him, take him outside multiple times a day. If I didn’t have him I would spend all my time off work in bed.”

3. Set your goals.

“Setting a schedule for myself.

Setting VERY small and attainable goals (read 1 page of a book, draw for 10 minutes, do a 5 minute exercise warm up, etc).

Making myself reach out to friends when I’m struggling, and getting proper meds.”

4. Get yourself going.

“Cold showers.

Honestly, I lost my job due to COVID and was going through a bunch of other stuff and would lay in the floor and sleep the day away.

Once I figured why not try it?

Oh man, that woke me up and got me just enough energy to start cleaning the house that id been putting off and that would feed into more motivation. Didn’t cure it completely but it helped get me jump started.”

5. Focus!

“Puzzles.

Jigsaw puzzles have brought me out of some dark pits. Gives me something to hyper focus on.

I don’t need to think about it too much or put effort into it, but I can sit there for hours doing one. It’s helped me feel productive again.”

6. Get things done.

“Cleaning up often helps me.

There’s something about staring at a messy room that always brings me down.

Just getting the dirty dishes clean feels like I accomplished something.”

7. Books and music.

“Books can be a great way to get out of your own head, music was able to somewhat help me.

As I got worse myself I had more and more time with nothing to do and being alone with my thoughts was pulling me deeper into the spiral of depression.”

8. Good tip.

“Try to only use your bed for sleeping.

Even if you spend the whole day on the couch instead, it will help your sleep and its a first step to potentially getting other things done.”

9. Start small.

“Exercise.

“‘Ill do 5 push ups and if I dont feel like more, thats okay.”

Or set a 5 min walk as the target. Keep going if you can.”

10. Take care of yourself.

“Eat and take vitamins.

You likely dont feel like eating anything. But you need to. Getting your daily vitamins can go a long way to healing and get easy to make food so you dont have to cook.

Canned soups were my best friend.”

11. No more alcohol.

“Mine was when my alcoholism was at its worst.

As you can guess, the solution was getting sober. At this point I was just drinking all day every day waiting for death to come on its own.

In the state I was in the only thing that meant anything to me was my mom’s dog, Ginger. I don’t really follow any religion, but I truly believe that Ginger is my guardian angel.

I was watching that sweet girl while mom was on vacation. I think it was day two, 8/11/2017, when I decided I had had enough. I needed to get better by any means, or else I wouldn’t be around to watch Ginger the next time mom took a vacation.

So I texted a friend who I knew was in AA, and gave him full decision making power over my life for the time being. After a 3 day hospital stay, I started going to AA meetings and learning how to exist without alcohol. I don’t go much anymore, but have never felt any threat to my sobriety. I know I am one of the lucky ones to have staying sober be so easy.

If you had asked me on 8/10/2017 (the day before I sought help) what I’d be doing today, I would have told you, “I’m not gonna live to see 2018.” But here I am in 2021, telling my story to anyone who cares to hear it and happier than I’ve ever been.”

12. Hobbies are good.

“Really diving deep into my creative hobbies. I had always dabbled in writing and music. Just jumping in with no real plans or expectations and seeing what happens.

I’ve suffered from panic attacks my entire adult life and depression alongside with it. When they reached their worst point most people gave up on me.

I spent a lot of time after that learning more about music. I’d always played bass but I decided I wanted to be able to make music all on my own. I learned how to make mashups, then I learned how to make remixes, then I started composing originals.

I’d previously written two articles on the SCP wiki and then just sort of stopped. I decided to really expand my submissions and wrote a bunch of new articles. I even rewrote one of my old articles because it was kind of weak.

The funny thing is, that became a good measuring stick for me. I always told myself I was awful at everything, but I was basically compiling evidence I was good at something.

Having songs that get praised by people and added to someone’s personal playlists makes you feel validated.

Looking next to a story and see hundreds of upvotes mattered to me.

I realized that when I was depressed it wasn’t that I didn’t want to do anything, it’s that I kept convincing myself that I couldn’t. That I would fail. That I would just waste my time. That I didn’t even deserve success anyways.

And I was wrong.

I have ideas worth sharing, and I’m going to share them.”

Now we want to hear from you.

How did you get out of a deep depression?

Talk to us in the comments and share your stories. Thanks!

The post People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression appeared first on UberFacts.

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What Changed in Your Life That Made It A Lot Better? People Shared Their Stories.

Let’s get real…

Life is all about change.

Things are constantly in flux and, as the saying goes, the only certainty in life is death and taxes.

But you know and I know that some changes are good and some are bad. And we should all be striving to make more positive ones than negative ones.

People on AskReddit talked about changes in their lives that made everything so much better.

1. Fleeing.

“I got out of Syria.

I’m not safe yet but its a lot better right now.”

2. Congrats!

“The kidney transplant I received on Monday, Feb 15, 2021.”

3. Do your own thing.

“Giving up on trying to cure being a introvert and just being happy.”

4. Don’t care so much.

“I stopped caring so much.

For as long as I remember I’ve felt a burden of responsibility to my parents, my brother, to myself. Throughout my whole life my parents have relied on me to be the voice of reason, to be the one who has sound mind, to be the one good with finances, to give them advice.

It’s not healthy for a kid to be put under that kind of pressure, and it just built and built until they filed for bankruptcy in 2017, and when I burned out at work last year.

I went to therapy for a bit (for the 3rd time lol) after I burned out and realized that I’m putting up such a high bar of responsibility for myself and it makes, and made, my life ridiculously miserable.

I’m still working and going to school, but having a more relaxed attitude and almost forcing myself to procrastinate on my schoolwork has made my life so much more enjoyable.”

5. Cut off.

“Cutting ties with hateful, angry people in my family.

Two years clean of their bullsh*t, but I’m still processing just how much damage they did.

Life is way better without them.”

6. The best!

“Going from working a 9-5 office job to 100% remote. I wish I’d done this years ago.

For years I was convinced I chose the wrong career, and I was getting extreme anxiety, had to pull the car over a couple times going to work because of panic attacks. Lockdown happens a year ago and all my stress disappeared and I realized I love my career, I just HATE office living and commuting.

My biggest fear is the pandemic ending and being forced back into that terrible office culture.”

7. Drop those pounds.

“Losing a significant amount of weight.

My overall health is so much better. I sleep like the dead every night, when before I suffered badly from insomnia. My blood pressure has come down to normal levels. I’m no longer pre-diabetic. I have cut back on the amount of medication I have to take, which obviously means I have money to spend that I didn’t before.

I love exercising, even when I was morbidly obese, I enjoyed walking. Now I enjoy walking and I can walk so much further and faster than I could before. Another thing is the major change in my mental health.

I was in a very dark space, and I realized the other day how much more positive my outlook in life has become.”

8. Game changer.

“Quitting alcohol.

My life has completely changed in only the best ways. I went back to school and earned my degree, found the love of my life and got married, lost a bunch of weight and somehow look like I’ve aged backwards.”

9. Drop the zero.

“Breaking up with my ex and finding someone who was so much better for me. It makes a world of difference.

My mental and physical health improved. It’s pretty incredible how a miserable relationship can drag you down, and how a happy one can change you for the better.”

10. No more weed.

“I quit smoking weed. I’m more productive and organized than ever. My depression is gone, too.

Dreaming is nice. I also enjoy remembering things and never being too high to do anything.”

11. You’re good to go.

“Pretty specific but… I had my bladder removed!

I had been dealing with interstitial cystitis for over 20 years that was progressively getting worse. It got to the point that my bladder only held 100ml and then I’d be in agony. I was bedridden from the pain most of the time and had to use a walking stick in order to move around.

I had my bladder removed, they made a new one out of my bowel, so it sits inside. They made a channel from the (neo) bladder to my belly button called a mitrofanoff, which I now catheterize through to pee. So essentially, I can now pee standing up too!

I’m now mobile, no pain, no walking stick and don’t have to pee every 10-20 minutes. Being able to sleep through the night for the first time in my life (mid 30s now) has been amazing. I can’t wait for the pandemic to end so I can start doing all of the things I couldn’t do before!”

12. Make it count.

“Knowing and reminding myself what I actually want in life.

And continuing to ask myself why and “is that it” to make sure I am living life for something that really matters.”

Now we want to hear from you.

In the comments, tell us what changes made your life better.

Please and thank you!

The post What Changed in Your Life That Made It A Lot Better? People Shared Their Stories. appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share Inventions So Perfect They Actually Can’t Be Improved Upon

Has the air conditioner ever been improved upon?

Because I gotta say, that has to be one of the best inventions that humans ever came up with.

What would we do without it?

I guess some people aren’t as impressed with it as I am, but I need it during the warm months or I am a very unpleasant person to be around. Hey, I’m just tellin’ the truth here…

AskReddit users talked about inventions so good they can’t be improved upon. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Now you know.

“The Schrader Valve used to inflate your bicycle tires, car tires, tractor tires, etc.

It was patented in 1893.

It is still used in virtually every tire on the planet. And now you know its name.”

2. You can’t beat it.

“Fire cooking.

We’ve been trying to improve it for almost 2 million years.”

3. It’s perfect.

“The wheel.

What are you going to do?

Make it rounder?”

4. Boom!

“Crocodiles, or “any apex predator that lived through the K-T extinction.

Physically unchanged for a hundred million years, because it’s the perfect killing machine.

A half ton of cold-blooded fury, the bite force of 20,000 Newtons, and stomach acid so strong it can dissolve bones and hoofs.”

5. Nice try, Swiffer.

“Brooms haven’t changed, no matter how hard Swiffer tries.”

6. Won’t be improved upon.

“Scissors are the perfect tool for cutting and shaping material that will likely never be improved upon.”

7. Works every time!

“Hoodies.

Cold? Hoodie.

Underdressed? Hoodie.

No bra? Hoodie.

Hot? Hoodie.

Rainy? Hoodie.

Dead inside? You know it, hoodie.”

8. The good stuff.

“Gaffing tape.

Leaves no reside when ripped up, extremely heat resistant and strong, but expensive as all hell (used for film projects).”

9. Still the same.

“A hair comb.

Even ones found in ancient Egypt and elsewhere are basically the same design.”

10. What an invention!

“Condoms.

Any thinner, they’d break.

Any thicker, and it’s fake.”

11. A real crowdpleaser.

“Madden NFL.

They perfected it 15 years ago so they haven’t made a single change since.”

12. Just like the old days.

“A scythe

I was at my cottage over the weekend and I had to cut some grass. I forgot my lawnmower but I had an old scythe in the garage that I inherited a long time ago. I was just keeping it as a decoration and momento and never thought of actually using it.

I was bored and I had some time so I sharpened the blade and went to work.

I don’t know the first thing about scythes or even how to properly use them … I just started swinging it.

I couldn’t believe it actually cut grass and weeds. The longer I worked, the more detailed I could get with where I swung it.

Two hours later, I had cut the lawn, cut down some tall grass on the edge of the property and had started cutting down some light brush that I thought I needed a brush cutter for.

This scythe must be decades old but it still works better than my lawnmower, edge clipper and brush cutter … all without a motorized engine.”

13. Gotta love it!

“The hammer.

The absolute tool of perfection for rapid transfer of force within a very short amount of time.

There is nothing to improve upon.”

What do you think?

What inventions are so good that they can’t be improved upon?

Tell us what you think in the comments!

The post People Share Inventions So Perfect They Actually Can’t Be Improved Upon appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Talk About When Their Lives Changed for the Better

I think one of the best songs about life is “Changes” by the legendary Black Sabbath.

Some changes are good and some are bad, but it’s up to us to make positive changes in our lives when possible…because we only get one shot at this thing, folks.

When did your life change for the better?

Let’s see how people on AskReddit answered that question.

1. Done with it.

“Quitting drinking was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. If anyone out there is reading this and is thinking about quitting, do it.

It may take a few tries, but it’s absolutely worth the effort and it’s everything you hoped it can be.”

2. I’ll do it alone.

“Dropping my family was the best thing ever.

When your own family criticizes everything you do and belittles you and abuses you, it’s better to stand alone against the world!”

3. No more of that.

“My ex was so toxic I may be single forever.

He stole my mental and physical health, put me in debt, cost me my career and ruptured my family.

Being away from him is peaceful and comfortable.”

4. Big improvement.

“Finally getting proper medication for my ADHD at 22 years old.

Literally has improved every aspect of my life, no more sleepless nights, no more decision paralysis and no more procrastination!”

5. Leaving the church.

“I left the Morman church and dumped my horrific 19-year marriage at the same time. Life IMMEDIATELY got better!!

As a member you are constantly told that those who leave the church are resigned to live a life of loneliness, sadness, and misery. Nothing can be further from the truth!!

Just another lie the church belches out to make members fearful of leaving. I have never met ANYONE who has left the church and regretted it. Not one!! I am relieved to be a part of that group.”

6. Goals!

“Finally telling my best friend that I was in love with them.

We’ve been dating for two years now and every moment is like living in a dream. They’re sitting next to me right now cluelessly singing out loud with headphones in and I’m OBSESSED.

Also, Covid has allowed me to drive around the country while working remotely and actually do a lot of the hikes that have always been on my bucket list. It really changed my life by reaffirming my long term goals (stay healthy, get outdoors when I can).”

7. Best friend.

“I got a cat. Every morning I wake up, see her, and instantly become happier.

And every night she comes onto the bed and snuggles between my legs, so I end each day feeling loved. Pets are amazing blessings.”

8. Gone for good.

“My GF of seven years left me.

She was a lying, cheating, self-absorbed psychopath who literally told me she doesn’t understand other people’s emotions and just expected the passage of time with no genuine remorse or anything to heal all wounds.

I would always say that if she couldn’t tell the truth and be faithful then she needed to f*ck off. And she would stay so I kept trying to make it work like a good little idiot until she f*cked up again.

Well eventually she moved out without warning while I was out of town for work. At the time I was so p*ssed at her but now not only am I glad she finally f*cked off, but if she came back begging and pleading and promising to make everything perfect I’d still slam the door in her face.

Since she’s been gone I’ve had so much less stress and have been able to accomplish so much more not having to accommodating her and I’ve even lost weight even though I dont work out or eat any differently than I did when we were together. I do feel lonely since we were together for seven years and my relationship before her was for five.”

9. A new addition.

“Had a kid.

My father died when I was a baby and my mother never remarried. I’m happy to give my kid a two parent home and full attention.

So weird that I can think of it as a redo on my life but my son is a completely different person than me. All I know is that I have to be there for him every day and be consistent.”

10. LOVE.

“Meeting my now wife. I didn’t truly know it at the time. But within a few weeks I knew we were going to be together forever.

In the subtlest most constructive ways she pushes me to accomplish my dreams. 10 years and 2 kids later I love her even more than the day I met her.”

11. Career change.

“I went from working construction and everybody complaining about me to working as a social worker and people being grateful for what I do.

The relationship I have with my coworkers has drastically changed and my mental health skyrocketed ever since.”

12. Cut out the bad people.

“It would sound crazy, but when a person with whom I had a deep emotional connection got away of my life; I realized how messed up it was.

I was sad at first, but with time I understood why she didn’t want to know anything about me (my lack of effort to make my life better, toxic people around me, etc.).

Since there, I worked in my emotional intelligence, cut off the contact with people that made more harm than good, finished University and a lot of other things which makes me happy about my person.”

13. So long, Mom.

“My abusive mom left to live with her boyfriend.

My world opened up. I can exist in the house without being on edge. I can study without being interrupted by drunken rages and ramblings. No more gaslighting or arguments or finding wine hidden in chairs.

All that tension is gone.”

When do you think your life changed for the better?

And what made it change?

Share your stories with us in the comments. Thanks!

The post People Talk About When Their Lives Changed for the Better appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Talk About the Worst Job Interviews They’ve Ever Had

Let me set the scene for all of you out there: I was 16-years-old and my mom was really hassling me to get a job.

A friend of mine told me he got hired at the new Walmart in town, so I thought to myself, “hey, if he can do it, I can do it!”

Guess what? I couldn’t do it…

The interview was for a position in the stationary section of the store and the guy in charge of hiring people acted like I was applying for a job at NASA. It was the most ridiculous and most uncomfortable job interview I ever had…and I didn’t get hired.

All for the best, I think!

What’s the worst job interview you ever had?

Here’s what AskReddit users had to say.

1. First one ever.

“My first interview in my life was for a fast food place and I was way too honest.

Why do you want to work here?

“Mostly for the money. I like the food here too.”

What do you do on your free time?

“Video games”

Did not get a call back.”

2. No way!

“When he said I’ll give you extra hours if you bring me smokes every day, then put his hand on my leg and said his wife gives him passes to have fun.

I also got a speeding ticket on the way to the interview.

Was not my month.”

3. Time to leave.

“I interviewed for a project management position.

The interviewer describes the job: basically it was pure research and data entry of potential clients, then cold-calling them and documenting the results. The job ad mentioned exactly none of this but was an average project management job ad, else I wouldn’t have applied in the first place.

I asked what exactly was the project management part, and got told that could (could, not would) be down the road, maybe 2-5 years in, but really only maybe. I thanked them for the interview opportunity, we wrapped things up and I politely left.”

4. See ya later.

“It was my first “professional” law firm interview. I was SO nervous.

I had applied for a legal secretary position. The attorney whose name was on the door would be interviewing me so I was a nervous wreck. When he walked in the room, I stood up, introduced myself and shook his hand. He looked me up and down and said “yeah, you’ll do”.

I turned around and walked out without saying another word.”

5. Wrong company.

“Showed up looking good in my suit with a ton of knowledge on Capital Partners.

It turned out I had researched the wrong company named Capital Partners.”

6. Stress interview.

“Had a phone interview and the woman kept asking more and more intrusive questions, kept hinting I’m a total piece of sh*t who’s totally unfit for the job (it was the easiest job description ever) and jumping to conclusions about my life that were completely untrue.

For example I found out that being a freelancer who gets a lot of decently paid work each month is apparently living off my parents. She kept going on and on like that for quite a while before I told her to p*ss off and hung up. Didn’t really need that job too badly but it was in a different country so the trravel aspect was the main reason.

Years later I found out it was a “stress interview” which apparently is a thing. F*ck those people.”

7. Hell no.

“I went in to apply for an administrative assistant position and the guy kept asking me questions about liking kids and are my passports up to date…etc.

I was SO confused. Turns out what he really wanted was a nanny for his two young kids to travel with him and his wife back to India.

I was so p*ssed he wasted my time. I noped right the f*ck out of there.”

8. That’s weird.

“At an interview to be a county street sweeper, guy asks me if I have a girlfriend, proceeds to rant for 5 minutes how young people dont get married anymore.

Then he asks me what I want to avoid at the job. At the time I had no idea how to answer as I’d never been asked that in an interview before. So I ask him to clarify, to which he just repeats the question, over and over until he gets super angry that I dont know how to answer that, then asks me to leave.

To this day, biggest wtf interview I’ve had.”

9. Still salty.

“I was interviewing for a job in Houston, and lived in Austin, about 2.5 hours away.

I drove to Houston for the first round of interviews, and they said it went well and wanted to being me in for a final interview, so i drove there again. It seemed like it went well and they told me they had one more interview to conduct and would have a decision tomorrow.

So the next day came and went, I emailed the manager to ask if any decision had been made, nothing, waited a couple more days, left a voicemail, nothing. Then a couple days later, I just called the main number for the company and told the receptionist why I was calling. She was like “well, someone just started in that job yesterday”.

They ghosted me after I drove a total of 10 hours to interview twice. Still salty about that 11 years later.”

10. That’s bad.

“Had an interview, went well. I was offered the job on the spot and accepted.

The HR manager went to get the needed paperwork, came back 10 mins later and said “I must have forgot that we already filled this position. I’m sorry, but we don’t have an opening. I could call you if something opens back up”.

I said no thank you.”

11. Great job!

“I told them I couldn’t answer their questions, farted audibly out of stress and thanked them for their time.”

12. Sorry I wasted your time.

“Applied for a desktop support position. $15/hour advertised. A bit on the low side but I was out of work and needed to pay bills.

Sat down for the interview with two guys. Interviewer A introduced himself as the manager / network / project manager and introduced interviewer B as the server guy. Indicated he was looking for someone to bridge that gap between the two of them when things got buys.

He wanted someone who could take the overflow of work and handle project management tasks, network configs, server admin work, and handle the day-to-day desktop requests of the office. Cue my eyes getting as big as saucers.

I apologized and indicated I thought I was in the wrong interview. I had applied for a desktop support position for $15 an hour. His response, “Oh no, you’re in the right spot! It’s desktop support, and a few other tasks as we need to assign them to you. There was a typo in the job advert though. It’s only $13 an hour.”

I just stood up, grabbed my coat from the back of the chair, apologized for wasting their time, and left.”

13. Sir, yes sir!

“I had a skype interview with a private practice and the lady interviewing me literally made it sound like a stern military parent.

“You can NEVER be late” (mind you the job was an hour away)

“Even if you have a cold you can NEVER call in sick” (idk if this was meant for pre or post-covid)

“We’re a small company so you won’t have much of a work/life balance”

“PS our pay for all this dedication is only 3 dollars more than the measely pay your getting now”

Just a whole interview of Red Flags. And the last one was when the lady messaged me immediately after saying I got the job and had to leave my job at maximum, five days’ notice, regardless of me kind of bombing the interview and claiming there were other interviewees in line.

I could see why they were having trouble hiring people.”

Now it’s your turn.

In the comments, tell us about the worst job interview that you’ve ever had.

We can’t wait to hear from you!

The post People Talk About the Worst Job Interviews They’ve Ever Had appeared first on UberFacts.

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Facts You Might Be Surprised to Learn Not Everyone Knows

This goes without saying, but the fact is there is a lot to know about this world, how it works, and all of the people who have ever inhabited it.

Some people know tons of information about a few things, some know a little bit about a lot of things, and others, well… acquiring random bits of knowledge isn’t everyone’s thing.

If you’re curious about some common knowledge-type things that are not common knowledge at all, here are 20 facts that might surprise you.

20. And it doesn’t follow English grammar.

ASL (American Sign Language) is a natural language.

It wasn’t made up any more than English or Taiwanese is made up.

It arose naturally.

19. It’s all on purpose.

The McDonalds’ hot coffee case. People totally misunderstand that!

Not misunderstood, but misinformed on purpose. McDonald’s strategically made a campaign to make people believe that the woman made a big fuss to get filthy rich.

Thing is, it really worked.

On the news, movies and TV shows they used that story as jokes on how to get rich easily. McFck McDonald’s.

18. Just not all at the same time.

We use 100% of our brain.

Saying we use 10% of our brain is like saying we only use 33% of a traffic light.

17. A Bug’s Life taught me that.

Locust are grasshoppers.

16. You’re pulling my leg.

That a singular spaghetti is called spaghetto.

15. There are mnemonic devices.

The order of the planets.

14. Suddenly relevant.

The difference between Quarantine and Medical Isolation.

13. Why would I need to know how to do this?

Apparently, I was the only one in my office who knew that CTRL SHIFT + rotates your document 90 degrees.

12. Important knowledge.

Idk about other people but the people around me didn’t know that the sword in the stone king arthur pulled out isn’t excalibur it’s caliburn and he gets excalibur later on.

11. I did not know that.

Light years isn’t a measurement of time, it’s a measurement of length, so many people don’t know this but so many people do.

Likewise a parsec is a length, not a time. Just admit that Han Solo got it wrong because the script got it wrong and stop trying to retcon it.

10. That’s a bi*ch.

Cows can climb up ladders and stairs, but can’t climb back down.

9. I was so happy when I figured this out!

Category: Useful

Useless knowledge: Most cars have a little gas pump symbol next to the fuel gauge with a little arrow that shows you on which side of your car the gas cap is.

At least in my home country, lmk if you’ve seen it!

8. English doesn’t have to make sense.

Its spelled paid not payed.

I really don’t understand how it was so rarely misspelled a few years ago but now I see it spelled incorrectly every day.

7. I mean…he’s not wrong.

The sign that say “Slower Traffic Keep Right” is usually in some kind of hieroglyphics to the people I share the road with.

6. Put that in your back pocket.

If you’re pluralizing a word such as, for example, “sister-in-law,” you pluralize the root word; so it would be “sisters-in-law.”

Similarly, if you have two guys named Mister Johnson, you’d say “the Misters Johnson” not “the Mister Johnsons”

5. Driving and reading are hard.

Our highway has signs that read

“keep right except to pass”

“move to the right lane and let others past you”

“Slower traffic keep right”

I wish reading comprehension was tested regularly

4. It’s not all in your tummy.

Influenza is an upper-respiratory virus.

Plenty of people know this, but absolutely no one did in my entire radiography class, Including the instructor. We all had to take Anatomy and Physiology 1&2 before being accepted into the program.

Everyone in the classroom thought it was a GI virus or what people refer to as the ‘Stomach flu’.

3. A joke that falls flat.

I once joked to co-workers (U.S., avg age 50) that “I speak Esperanto like a native” and was met with silence; nobody had ever heard of Esperanto.

Note 1: This was a number years before the appearance of the excellent Saga graphic novels, in which the inhabitants of Wreath are all shown speaking it.

Note 2: I learned years later that there are a few native speakers, mostly in multilingual households where Esperanto is the only common language.

2. It’s all very confusing.

That you don’t freeze in space.

The amount of people that think you’ll freeze or even explode in space is crazy.

1. Bless.

Holding the the space bar and moving your finger on an iPhone moves the cursor anywhere you want it, while typing.

Some of these were definitely (very cool) news to me.

What else would fit on this list? Share with us in the comments!

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