The discoverer of a gene for Green Fluorescent Protein lost his grant, didn’t get tenure, left academe and was working at a car dealership in Huntsville, Alabama, when he learned that former colleagues had won the Nobel Prize using the gene he sequenced.
An elephant in India, while helping villagers lift logs, refused to lower…
An elephant in India, while helping villagers lift logs, refused to lower a log into a certain hole because a dog was sleeping in it. Only after the dog was chased away would the elephant lower the log into the hole.
Maned wolf pee smells like cannabis, so much…
Maned wolf pee smells like cannabis, so much so that the police once searched the Rotterdam Zoo for pot smokers because someone mistook the pee smell for marijuana.
Shoe swapping was a high school…
Shoe swapping was a high school fad in 1947.
In belligerent countries, male-to-female sex ratios at birth…
In belligerent countries, male-to-female sex ratios at birth increased during and shortly after the two world wars. This phenomenon is known as the “Returning Soldier Effect”. Nobody has been able to explain it.
Dogs have a bacteria on their paws that make them smell…
Dogs have a bacteria on their paws that make them smell like corn chips, which is commonly referred to as “Frito Feet.”
Hitachi once produced an ATM that heated bills to 200 degrees…
Hitachi once produced an ATM that heated bills to 200 degrees C to kill any bacteria, then ironed them before dispensing.
When asked what future technology they would most like to have, young adults…
When asked what future technology they would most like to have, young adults answered “time travel” more than any age group, while 30-to-49-year-olds wanted robot servants more than any other age group. Senior citizens were the least interested in time travel.
AT&T almost caused nuclear war. In 1961, the US lost contact…
AT&T almost caused nuclear war. In 1961, the US lost contact with its early warning systems. Assuming the USSR had attacked, bombers were scrambled but recalled when contact was made with an EWS base. The phone blackout was caused by a faulty AT&T switch they had promised to replace.
A snowstorm can’t keep this determined Canadian motorcyclist…
A snowstorm can’t keep this determined Canadian motorcyclist off the highway.