Washoe, a chimpanzee, was taught sign language. When one of her trainers returned after a while away Washoe was initially dismissive of her, but when the trainer signed “My baby died”, Washoe signed “cry” and mimicked a tear running down her face.
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns…
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns: ze, zir, zir, hir, hirs, and xe, xem, and xyr. The University of Tennessee is encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronouns to help students feel more welcome.
In 1998 a British man faked his own death to make his wife…
In 1998 a British man faked his own death to make his wife realize how much she missed him. He left his clothes on the beach and hid. It backfired as his wife divorced him after learning about it.
Early Zenith TV remotes changed channels by sound. When you push…
Early Zenith TV remotes changed channels by sound. When you push the button, a small hammer strikes an aluminum rod, triggering a sound above our hearing range that’s picked up by the TV.
Verizon developed a special knife that uses pressurized…
Verizon developed a special knife that uses pressurized air to slice through lawns so fiber optic lines can be buried. The tool cuts through grass but does not break sprinkler pipes and gas lines.
Five officers once volunteered to stand directly under…
Five officers once volunteered to stand directly under an exploding nuclear bomb. The only non-volunteer was the camera man.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, German soldiers suffered more…
During the Battle of Stalingrad, German soldiers suffered more casualties attempting to take 1 apartment building (Pavlov’s House) then they did taking the city of Paris.
10,000 Iowan farmers built 380 miles of road (entire width of…
10,000 Iowan farmers built 380 miles of road (entire width of the state) in one hour on a Saturday morning in 1910.
We say “pardon my French” after swearing because in the 19th century…
We say “pardon my French” after swearing because in the 19th century, English-speaking people would drop French phrases into conversation to display class, apologizing because many of their listeners wouldn’t know the language. Then people hid swear words under the pretense of them being French.
There is a guy who smells everything before it goes..
There is a guy who smells everything before it goes into space with the astronauts to protect them from toxic and obnoxious odors