‘Desire paths’ is the term for the paths that are naturally created by people’s footfalls when they walk around paved paths. Some universities and hospitals have avoided these by waiting to see where they formed naturally, then paving over established desire paths.
Ancient Roman Joke Pen
While excavating for Bloomberg’s headquarters, archaeologists have discovered a ancient Roman stylus inscribed with (roughly) “I went to Rome, and all I brought you was this pen.”
Navajo was once in danger of losing…
Navajo was once in danger of losing a lot of speakers, but the Navajo nation set up programs to teach the language as well as many bilingual schools. Now there are even institutes, community colleges, and technical universities with classes in the Navajo language.
Dwayne Stafford is the man…
Dwayne Stafford was the man who became a legend by sneaking out of his jail cell and beating Dylan Roof, the shooter of a church in Charleston, SC. He then began a GoFundMe account, and earned enough money for bond, and the legend grew. According to Stafford’s lawyer, Stafford was accused of roughing up and […]
If the asteroid that killed…
If the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs arrived just 30 seconds later, it would have landed in deep ocean water which would have absorbed much of the force of the impact. The resulting extinction would have been less severe, many dinosaur species would have survived, and humans would not exist.
There was a traffic jam in China…
There was a traffic jam in China that started on August 13th 2010; it lasted two weeks, jammed traffic for over 100km and allowed drivers to move roughly 1km a day. It inspired people to sell noodles in the jam for 3x the normal price and bottled water for ¥15, it normally sold for ¥1.
A roman scholar predicted microbiology…
A roman scholar predicted microbiology over 2000 years ago, writing “there are bred certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, but which float in the air and enter the body through the mouth and nose and cause serious diseases.”
Bees don’t buzz during solar eclipse
Bees don’t buzz during an eclipse – Using tiny microphones suspended among flowers, researchers recorded the buzzing of bees during the 2017 North American eclipse. The bees were active and noisy right up to the last moments before totality. As totality hit, the bees all went silent in unison.
Dr Barry Marshall was convinced…
Dr Barry Marshall was convinced that H.pylori bacteria causes stomach ulcers, but no one believed him. Since it was illegal to test his theory on humans, he drank the bacteria himself, developed ulcers within days, treated them with antibiotics and went to win a Nobel prize.
In 1930, a lawyer tried to leave…
In 1930, a lawyer tried to leave $50,000 in trust to build a Womanless library. “No Woman Admitted” signs were to be posted at each entrance and no works by women were to be allowed on the premises. His family successfully challenged his will after his death, and the plans were scrapped.