Number 4 is considered an unlucky number in China because it is nearly homophonous to the word “death” (pinyin sǐ). In a study of five years’ worth of real estate sales in the greater Vancouver area, researchers found that houses in Chinese neighborhoods with an address containing a 4 sold for an average of $8,000 less than their luckier counterparts.
Most cave paintings were probably made by women. How do we know this…
Most cave paintings were probably made by women. How do we know this? Well, on average, female hands have a ring finger that is shorter than the index finger (whereas in men, it’s the other way around), and this difference is believed to have been more pronounced among ancient people. Applying this rule to the hand prints left on cave paintings, scientists have come to the conclusion that nearly three-quarters of them were made by females.
Early telephones had no ringers and no hang-up hooks. Callers would get the attention…
Early telephones had no ringers and no hang-up hooks. Callers would get the attention of those they were calling by yelling loudly (often, “ahoy!”) into the receiver until someone on the other end noticed.
There is a condition in which you think you hear a loud bang as you fall…
There is a condition in which you think you hear a loud bang as you fall asleep when none exists. More unsettling is the name: Exploding Head Syndrome.
A cave in France has the footprints of an 8- to 10-year-old boy left in the…
A cave in France has the footprints of an 8- to 10-year-old boy left in the mud 26,000 years ago alongside the paw prints of either a wolf or a large dog, the oldest evidence of human/canine relationships ever found.
Laura Dekker circumnavigated the world single-handedly…
Laura Dekker circumnavigated the world single-handedly… when she was 14 years old.
An Australian man in London, desperate not to miss his daughter’s birthday back home…
An Australian man in London, desperate not to miss his daughter’s birthday back home, posted himself to Australia in a crate which he helped design and build. He amazingly survived the three days journey and became a news sensation in 1964.
A Korean man fell in love and eventually married a pillow with…
A Korean man fell in love and eventually married a pillow with an anime character printed on it.
Trains in Japan are so punctual, that if they are even 5 minutes late, the passengers…
Trains in Japan are so punctual, that if they are even 5 minutes late, the passengers get a formal apology, and most times they’ll even get a “delay certificate.” Delays that are over an hour will also appear on the news.
Superb fairy-wrens teach their eggs a ‘secret password’ that the young can…
Superb fairy-wrens teach their eggs a ‘secret password’ that the young can sing when they hatch. Those that sing the password get food, and the brood parasite eggs (which don’t learn the password) go hungry.