Category: Facts

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Fascinating Facts About Your Favorite ‘TGIF’ TV Shows

Do you remember those nights watching episode after episode of your favorite shows?

There was nothing quite like ordering pizza, making popcorn, and watching the new episode of Full House.

On September 22, 1989, ABC officially launched “TGIF,” a two-hour block of family-friendly sitcoms. 

And the rest is TV history.

What does TGIF mean?

Although many argue it is a riff on the phrase “Thank God It’s Friday,” this particular acronym actually stood for “Thank God It’s Funny”.

The block featured some of ABC’s most iconic programming, Including Full House, Family Matters, Step By Step, Boy Meets World, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

As well as some shows that are less well remembered such as Free Spirit, Camp Wilder, You Wish, and Teen Angel.

Family Matters

Urkel stole the hearts of many with his iconic catchphrase “did I do that?” But, he was only supposed to be in one episode.

The inspiration for Steve Urkel’s name actually came from co-creator Michael Warren’s real life friend Steve Erkel.

Urkel was so popular that he had cross-over episodes in various shows such as Full House and Boy Meets World.

Family Matters was the second longest-running sitcom focused on an African American family with 9 seasons. The longest-running one was actually The Jeffersons, which ran for 11 seasons.

Richie was played by twins because of California state regulations. But, they were only credited as one person: Joseph Julius Wright, rather than Joseph and Julius Wright.

Boy Meets World

Corey was originally supposed to have a group of friends instead of just Shawn, but no characters stuck.

In fact, the cast used to call the chair where those actors sat the “death chair” since they never made it longer than one episode.

Danielle Fishell was not the original Topanga. But, after the first actress was fired she was determined to take all notes to heart. After her first appearance, co-creator Michael Jacobs rehearsed lines with her and gave her a laundry list of notes.

“My heart stopped beating regularly, and my palms got sweaty: ‘Danielle, yesterday I gave you an enormous amount of notes. I did that because I believed you were capable of handling them,’ he said in front of all the writers and producers and my fellow actors,” Fisher said. “Then he stood up. I panicked. Was he going to fire me, slam his script on the ground, and storm out of there? ‘However, with your performance today, you exceeded my expectations,’ he concluded. He started clapping, and all the writers stood up and clapped next to him. Michael wasn’t going to fire me. He believed in me. He gave me a freaking standing ovation.”

No one else could play Topanga. And you can still see some of the original cast reprise their roles in the Disney Channel spin-off Girl Meets World.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina’s character was based on the Archie Comics comic book. Sabrina first appeared in Archie’s Madhouse #22 in October 1962.

Melissa Joan Hart’s mother, Paula Hart, was the one who first brought the concept to ABC.

“My mom doesn’t get nearly enough credit for her job as the woman spearheading the show. She is the one who was handed the Archie comic book on a playground at my sister’s school in Manhattan and sold it to Viacom as a Showtime movie,” Joan Hart said to Marie Claire. “She always knew it would make an incredible series but no one would listen.”

Sabrina was actually ABC’s highest-rated TGIF show.

Free Spirit 

The first official night of TGIF featured the series premiere of Free Spirit.

The Bewitched-like Free Spirit centered around a mischievous witch named Winnie, who worked as a live-in housekeeper for a divorced father of three.

Playing the 16-year-old-daughter was a young Alyson Hannigan, who also played Willow, a powerful witch and best friend of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

The series eventually moved to Sunday nights and was replaced on TGIF by the short-lived Growing Pains spin-off Just the Ten of Us.

Going Places 

This sitcom centered around four writers working at a hidden camera show, and featured a pre-Melrose Place Heather Locklear.

Though it was canceled after one season, co-creators Robert Gifford and Howard Adler and some cast members Stacey Keanan and Christopher Castile, would all find themselves working on a far more successful TGIF sitcom, Step By Step, the following season.

Camp Wilder 

The series focused on single mother Ricky Wilder who moves into her childhood home after the death of her parents and becomes the guardian of her teenage siblings.

Ricky opens up the house to their friends as both an escape from their overbearing parents and to offer her words of wisdom for their problems.

Though the 19-episode run is largely forgotten, Jerry O’Connell played Ricky’s teenage brother Brody.

And making appearances as some of his friends were future Oscar winners Hillary Swank and Jared Leto.

It also featured a potentially groundbreaking plotline, Ricky’s six-year-old daughter, Sophie exhibits increasingly tomboyish traits. On the Christmas episode, she announced that all “she ever wanted was to be a boy!”

This show is actually a hit in Germany.

You Wish

You Wish was something of a modern twist of I Dream of Genie.  The show centered on the Apple Family, who unwittingly frees a genie when visiting a carpet shop.

You wish ran for only seven episodes.

Teen Angel

Teen Angel focused on Steve Beauchamp who, after dying from eating a hamburger found under a bed (yes, you read that correctly…) returns to Earth to serve as his best friend’s Guardian Angel.

Despite an epic crossover event…

Which saw Sabrina’s Salem the cat appear on Boy Meets World, You Wish, and Teen Angel and send all shows into their own time-traveling vortex…

Both You Wish and Teen Angel were quickly canceled

Teen Angel only after 17 episodes.

But they were not the only ones. By then, ratings for TGIF were already on the decline, and two seasons later, TGIF was re-named ABC Working Comedy.

We still love these shows.

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Facts You Didn’t Know About Movies Based On Video Games

Some of the most iconic action movies have been based on fan-favorite video games.

It makes sense since video game developers spend a lot of time thinking about the story and different plot lines that move the game along.

These movies also serve as an introduction to the gaming world for those who might not know how to click the “X” button and provide more content for fans of the original games.

So, here are some killer facts about movies based on video games that even the most dedicated gamers will find fascinating.

Tomb Raider 

Tomb Raider is one of the biggest gaming franchises of all time. 

The game was created by only six people, who made history since it sold over 58 million copies.

The title character, Lara Croft, was originally named Laura Cruz. 

But, Angelina Jolie was not always set to play the iconic character

Jennifer Love-Hewitt really wanted to play the role of Lara Croft in the film, but the director Simon West could only picture Angelina Jolie.

And, Daisy Ridley, Emilia Clarke, Saoirse Ronan, and Kristen Stewart were close to playing the part in the 2018 reboot before Alicia Vikander landed the iconic role.

However, Angelina couldn’t see herself in the iconic Lara Croft shorts. It took her a moment to get used to them.

And it was the scenery that sold the idea to her

Angelina agreed to do the film because of all the locations she would visit while filming.

“But they said you can travel the world and train with the British Military and so I had three months of seeing what I could do. And I would encourage anybody to do that,” Jolie said.

She performed a lot of her own stunts

The A-List star mastered the 2001 film’s bungee-ballet without a stunt double. And actually injured her ankle in the process. It had to be reshot when she recovered.

The scenes where Angelina is driving a jeep also had to be reshot because snakes and other critters kept dropping into the car. 

They obviously incorporated a lot of aspects from the original game

Near the end of the film when Lara finds a wolf pack, she says “a-ha”. This is a nod to the original games where Lara used the phrase whenever she picked up an item.

We love props

The picture inside of Lara’s father’s pocket watch is actually Lynda Carter.

After filming, Angelina kept Lara’s holsters as a keepsake. Lara Croft Way in Derby, England was named to honor where the designers created the iconic character.

Mortal Kombat

It only took 10 months and 4 people to create the original Mortal Kombat game. 

The 1995 Mortal Kombat film is the fourth highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, after Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and Pokemon: The First Movie. 

Fun fact for movie buffs

The film was heavily influenced by the 1973 film Enter the Dragon.

Who is who?

Jean-Claude Van Damme actually turned down the role of Johnny Cage to do Street Fighter. Which is funny because the character in the games was allegedly originally based on him.

Chris Casamassa was initially only hired to work as a stunt ninja. The producers were so thrilled with his audition that he was cast in the role of Scorpion.

Meanwhile, Sean Connery was the first choice to play Rayden. He turned down the role because it was too physical and he wanted to play golf.

Cameron Diaz was seriously considered for the role of Sonya Blade, but she broke her wrist before filming.

And, Ed Boon was not only the voice of Scorpion in the original video game but also a co-creator and a creative consultant for the movie.

And she wasn’t the only one who got hurt

However, onset injuries were actually quite minimal. There were only a few bruises and broken ribs. 

Other stars wanted to crash

The medic on set also worked as the security guard and turned away a curious Tom Cruise.

Mortal Kombat super fan Steven Spielberg was meant to make a cameo in the film, but scheduling conflicts forced him to back out of the project.

No one expected it to be so successful

Director Paul W.S. Anderson was incredibly nervous about how the film would be received. He hunkered down in Hawaii during the premiere only to regret his choice.

The movie grossed $23.3 million opening weekend. That was 8 times more than the next highest release, The Baby-Sitters Club.

Resident Evil

Just like Tomb Raider, the Resident Evil game was conceived in 1993 and released in 1996.

Zombies weren’t big at the time

While zombie movies and shows are everywhere today, the studio was worried audiences wouldn’t want to watch the living dead at the time. 

It had been almost 15 years since a zombie movie had hit big.

Clearly, they were wrong

The Resident Evil franchise has grossed over $1 billion. 

They took some creative freedoms

Milla Jovovich agreed to do the movie because her brother was a huge fan of the video games.

But her character, Alice, never appears in the video games. Alice’s name is never spoken in the film either. It’s only revealed in the credits.

The movie was originally meant to be titled Resident Evil: Ground Zero. They dropped “Ground Zero” after September 11th, 2001. 

Are they zombies though?

The word zombie is also never actually used in the film.

The makeup team had an incredibly difficult time with the zombie dogs because they kept licking the fake blood and meat off themselves. 

More stunts

Jovovich did all of her own stunts in the film except for the pipe jump in the sewer scene.

And, the movie inspired the game as well

The iconic laser grid from the first film made its way into the Resident Evil 4 game.

There’s a hidden easter egg in the passcode for the door in dining hall B. The code 04031965 is actually the writer and director Paul W.S Anderson’s birthday.

These iconic video games have changed movie history. And, hopefully, the two mediums will continue to inspire each other.

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People Break Out The Best Hygiene Hacks They Know

We all like to think we’re clean people, and we probably are.

But there are probably still some ways we can improve, or ways to get things just as clean without all the time and effort.

Redditor ProudSilver1576 asked:

“What is a hygiene tip/trick that everyone should know?”

You Might Be Surprised What Is Dirty

“Occasionally wipe down your doorknobs and light switches. When I was a maid I’d clean people’s light switches and they’d be covered is brown gunk because they’d never been cleaned before. We touch them multiple times every day. They get nasty.” –yarnfrog

“At the start of the plague I deep cleaned the office. The worst part was the door. Not the handle but the door itself, because everyone touches the same spot to hold it open when they pull their key out. Also the armrests on chairs. I swear I went home and took two showers from how nasty it all was.” –shiguywhy

“Whenever I lysol wipe my phone, the wipe still has lots of life left so I’ll go wipe any switches, door handles, sink handles, fridge handles, microwave buttons, all that good stuff in the vicinity. Doesn’t take too long.” –drsandwich_MD

They’re Really Not A Luxury

“Don’t ignore a toothache. Abscesses can lead to sepsis that’ll destroy your whole body. Take care of those luxury bones!” –februarytide

“During the lull between the first and second covid waves, we had two admissions to our intensive care unit with pericardial infections secondary to dental abscesses. One died. Don’t ignore dental infections.” –Mouse_Nightshirt

“Brush your tongue and the top of your mouth along with your teeth.” –pdxblaxer

Bad Acne?

Could Be Your Pillowcase

“Clean your pillowcase regularly, it helps keep your face from breaking out.” –Amish_Juggalo469

“I change my pillowcase every 4 nights (1 night per side) originally because of breakouts. Helped a lot. Just went to a second hand store, got a ton of cheap pillowcases, washed them with hot water and bleach and voila.” –Balderdash966

“And your comforter/blanket if you’re like me and bring it all the way up to your face.” –Reamund

Your Hairbrush Could Use Some Love Too

“Washing my hairbrush. I used to just get rid of the excess hair but that was it: I never rinsed it out. I wash it in a mild soap solution and rinse in very hot water and it makes my hair smell so much better.” –Redditor

“I did this the other day, I was pretty grossed out by how dirty the water was afterwards.” –spitfire07

“Omg. Bc of product buildup, natural oils, dry scalp, wtf I’m doing this tomorrow thank you! Seems like common sense that a brush would need cleaning too ?” –rayne-drops

The Sun Is Not Your Friend

“Maybe not hygiene, but use a face lotion with a SPF of 15 or higher. You’ll thank yourself later on in life.” –__Sentient_Fedora__

“I’ve been doing this daily since I was 18. I’m now 52, no wrinkles at all. I still get asked for ID. Do it.” –Acornpoo

“Mid-40s here: Same. My sisters and I have been putting on SPF daily since childhood. My mom was super stringent about it. Face and neck.”

“My mom is 70-ish and she looks like she could be early 50s. My sisters and I have smooth skin, no sun spots and no wrinkles. It could be genetics, but it could also be rigorous use of sunscreen.” –ResidingAt42

The Order Is Important

“Poop first, shower second.” –belachewm

“I poop 5 times a day and shower once or twice so this isn’t really sustainable for me.” __Guy_Incognito

“One word. Bidet.” –Canisnate

This One’s For Everyone

“Pee after sex! Male or female, everybody needs to pee after sex.”

“Also, if you’re reading this, you probably need to drink at least one glass of water.” –hananobira

“I don’t need to drink any more water. I work in construction and it is summer here. I drink plenty because I sweat it out like a faucet. What I need are electrodes especially sodium.”

“That ‘drinking lots of water is good’ mentality can be really dangerous. We periodically get reminded that drinking water is not a substitute for a rest to cool down because of how many people drink themselves to the point of water poisoning.”

“The peeing to prevent UTI is spot on though.” –idunnoijustlurk

Quick Fixes For BO

“You’re in public and your armpits smell disgusting. Use hand sanitizer because the smell is caused by bacteria, and the hand sanitizer killed it. Just don’t do this regularly because your skin is sensitive under your armpits.” –Toxicity5675

“Also don’t do this on freshly shaved armpits.” –standinginmyownway

“Pro tip for hairy guys: Shave your pits. Saves your shirts from stains and GREATLY reduces the smell. Also, your deodorant will actually work.” –Intyleryoutrust

“Years ago I had BO that would go through the best deodorant. My dermatologist told me to buy this product called Hibiclens – it has 4% chlorhexidine gluconate- and use on my pits when i shower.”

“Game changer. I still use it to this day, maybe 1 or 2 times a week instead of every time I shower.” –PAXICHEN

Nobody Likes A Wet Floor

“When you take a shower or get out of a pool, slide your hands down your legs, arms, stomach, butt etc a few times like windshield wipers when you turn the water of and there’ll be less on the floor when you get out and your towel wont be as soaking wet either.” –pURPleDorito4108

“Hand squeegies!” –II_Confused

“Note for my fellow hairy dudes: It still works somewhat but mileage may vary.” –Ennbeard

“points finger to temple”

“Dry off while standing in the tub/shower. No water on the floor.” –InanimateSensation

Your Feet Might Need Some Attention

“Wash you feet! Most people I know seem to believe their feet magically become clean from having soapy water run down them while they are showering.”

“That is NOT the case! You really need to wash your feet.”

“Also a good idea to take a pumice or foot file to calluses and use a hard nail brush for toenails.”

“Keeping your feet clean will prevent a lot of problems, particularly with fungus. Funguses live and thrive on dead skin cells so if you have toenail fungus you will have a really hard time getting rid of it till you get rid of dead skin around the nails!” –internet_commie

“To piggyback off foot health – if you work at a job where you work for long hours and maybe your feet kinda smell at the end of the day.”

“Try having two pairs of shoes and wear them alternate days.”

“Changing socks mid shift can help a lot.” –OrcOfDoom

Hopefully some of these hygiene hacks will help make your life a little easier, and maybe a little cleaner.

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People Break Down The Most Random Science Facts

I love science.

Although I hated it in high school, now that I’m old… I mean an adult, I love it.

Why you ask?

Because the more science you learn, the more you can understand what’s happening around you and live better.

But science has sadly been under attack for the last several years.

So let’s be our own Bill Nye and absorb a bit of science for our own good.

Redditor Look_Under_The_Bed went to Reddit for all the best science on offer and asked:

“What’s a random science fact that you know?”

So let’s talk science…

You never know when you’ll need to spit out some random facts to impress people at parties.

And if nothing else, we’ll be better prepared for Jeopardy!.

Cry me a River…

“When you cry really hard, your nose runs because it’s connected to the same pipes as your tear ducts, so your nose is also helping you get your tears out.” ~ Threspian

“On a similar note, your nose runs when it’s cold out because you have created a heat gradient.”

“Warm air can hold more water than cool air so as you exhale, the water condenses at the end of your nose and so your nose runs.”  ~ wolfmoral

LOOK OUT BELOW!!!

“Squirrels can survive falling from terminal velocity.”  ~ terrariapro117

“I learned this after witnessing a squirrel hit the ground after a presumably long fall.”

“It made a loud SMACK as it hit the ground, scared the crap out of me and the dog, then scampered away, up another tree like nothing happened.”  ~ _cocophoto_

Time after Time…

“Time is slightly slower between higher altitudes and lower altitudes, to infinitesimal fractions of a second.”  ~ Redditor

“The designers of the GPS satellites had to compensate for this, since the entire system is built around ridiculously precise timekeeping.”

“It was calculated theoretically first as a consequence of general relativity, and then confirmed experimentally.” ~ Murgatroyd314

 Strength in opposing directions…

“Muscles can only contract. Muscle tissue can’t push.”

“Doesn’t sound like a big deal until you realize that actions like sticking your tongue out of your mouth are completely the result of pulling, not pushing.” ~ fd1Jeff

“I teach anatomy. Always fun to watch students work through this information for the first time.”

“That is a series of pulling and relaxing and the opposite movements are also pulling and relaxing.”

“i.e…triceps vs biceps.”  ~ Warlock2017

2 every solar system turn…

“Venus the only planet to spin clockwise.” ~ siglawoo

“Sun’s axis rotates a full turn about every 27 Earth days but since the Sun is not solid but a ball of plasma the rotation speeds are different at different latitudes.”

“At the equator it’s surface rotates faster, every 24 days.”

“Another fun fact: the orbital plane of the planets is tilted about 7 degrees in relation to the Sun’s axis mentioned above.”

“This should not be the case because of the way planets form around a star.”

“Astronomer’s suspect that the orbital plane of the planets tilted as a result of the gravity of a large planet size object that is no longer around.”

“Existence of this planet is hypothetical so it was given a name Planet X (or sometimes Planet 9). Other anomalies had been observed that could also suggest existence of such an object.”

“Example: grouping of planetoids on the outskirts of the Solar System.”

“The reason that the planet hasn’t been observed directly is that it’s so far away beyond Neptune that it doesn’t reflect enough sunlight to be seen with available technology.”

“Another proposed explanation for the orbital plane tilt is existence of a nearby planet-sized black hole which orbits the Sun but hasn’t been detected yet.”

“The new James Webb space telescope that will be launched soon should help to answer those questions.”  ~ aykontakt

“Makes you wonder. What if something hit Venus?”

“In Dynamics if two objects hit each other and their center of gravities aren’t along the path each was traveling, one will spin clockwise and the other counterclockwise.”

“Maybe Earth and Venus are the same size because we’re the result of two roughly similar sized objects hitting each other in space. Idk.”  ~ detectiveDollar

Within Reach…

“You’re closer to space than you are to anything more than about an hour’s drive away.”

“Most folks take “space” to be “outside of Earth’s atmosphere.”

“There’s no precise boundary to where Earth’s atmosphere ends and space starts, but a lot of people take the Kármán line to be as good a point as any to split atmosphere vs. space.”

This line is 100km/62 miles up, which is roughly the distance your grandma can drive in an hour on the highway.”  ~ meatfrappe

I see the resemblance…

“Tyrannosaurus was closer in time to Humans than to Stegosaurus.”  ~ jsreyn

“That explains why my arms are so short.”  ~ TransientFeelings

“Haha same! When I sit on a chair, I never know what to do with my arms.”

“If I put them on my legs near my hips, I end up slouching because I can’t sit straight and put my hands on my thighs.”

“So I cross my arms and then people say I look defensive.”  ~ Zealousideal9151

Human Waste in Orbit…

“If you bleed more than 100ml/min on the international space station, they write you off and say any medical supplies spent on you is a waste.”  

“It’s been years since I saw the article but I believe the only plan at that point was ‘get the astronaut to earth ASAP’ which, you know… isn’t done in a few minutes, soooo.”  ~ Wit-wat-4

Square cut or pear shaped…

“Diamonds aren’t forever. In fact, they are dust at 500 degrees in your oven for a few hours.”

“Diamonds aren’t pressure/temperature stable at the surface. If you heat them without also applying incredible pressure, they become CO2 and a little pile of carbon.”  ~ Driftmoth

Veggies keep you level…

“If you ever get a cut and it won’t seem to stop bleeding chances are you’re low on vitamin K as it’s the one that helps your blood clot. Vitamin K can be found in most vegetables.”  ~ orion284

“Especially leafy greens! Which is why people on warfarin (and certain other anticoagulants IIRC) need to be mindful of their greens intake… ideally.”

“They should eat them only in moderation and aim for the same amount every day to keep their warfarin levels stable.”  ~ sheepthechicken

Always Sunny, Everyday

“The sun rises on the ISS every ~90 minutes which is the time it takes to orbit the earth and so astronauts experience about 16 mornings everyday.”  ~ pseud0human

I feel like my IQ points just jumped exponentially.

There is definitely enough information there to make me look a tad more sophisticated at parties.

There is no such thing as useless knowledge! The more you know, the more you grow.

Maybe I should write for Hallmark…

Anyway, knowledge of science can be fun and keep us from making foolish mistakes or bad decisions.

Remember that kids.

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People Share Their Favorite ‘How The Hell Did They Discover That?’ Facts

Humanity, for all its faults, is pretty amazing. We’ve learned a lot of really cool things in our time on this planet.

But how did we learn some of it?

Like… who thought it’d be a good idea to prepare a venomous or otherwise dangerous creature for consumption? Didn’t the thought of some rather deadly trial and error frighten them away?

The answer to that is “nope,” in case you’re wondering, and we are referring to fugu, a dish prepared from a pufferfish that can be lethal for human consumption and can also sting when its spines enter the skin.

Fugu’s tetrodotoxin can be so lethal, in fact, it must be carefully prepared to remove the toxic parts and to avoid contaminating the meat.

The Japanese and other countries have strictly regulated fugu’s preparation, just in case you’re feeling adventurous.

But how did that first person grab the stinging, spiky fish blown up like a balloon and discover how to eat it without dropping dead?

Well, we don’t have an answer for that.

And what about other curious things human beings discovered?

Redditor Justoneaccount1234 asked the online community:

“What fact makes you think ‘What the f**k were they doing to discover that?’”

“She wasn’t too disgusted.”

“My mum was diagnosed with glaucoma a while back. She had to use eye drops which she said were derived from bull semen. She wasn’t too disgusted.”

“She was a nurse, she was just endlessly baffled with HOW anyone ever came up with that idea.”

“Like, you’d have to know a fair bit about semen to even think of its uses beyond the obvious one.”

“How do these people describe themselves on LinkedIn?” ~ SuzyJTH

“You know…”

“Hákarl.”

“You know, that shark that is usually poisonous unless you leave it to rot for months.” ~ ObscuraNox

“Chewing the nuts…”

“Coffee can be explained. Chewing the nuts gets you hyper, so someone distilled it.”

“Now black ivory coffee… that had to have been a prank, dare, or the most confusing chain of events for a bean farmer.”

“For those that don’t know, black ivory coffee is coffee made from beans passed through the digestive tract of elephants.”

“The enzymes in the elephant break down the protein in the bean, giving it a less bitter taste.” ~ chocki305

“I have an acquaintance…”

“I have an acquaintance who worked as a dog handler, showing purebred dogs in dog shows.”

“She swears that putting the tip of a wooden match into a dog’s anus is the preferred method for making the dog defecate before going into the show ring.”

“All I can think of is: Who was the drunk idiot that discovered that? How much alcohol was involved?”

“Why did they tell anybody what they’d done? (“Hey, you guys wanna see a trick? Here, Fido!”)” ~ NightmareGerbil

“Just to clarify…”

“I never understood why people started eating onions. I mean, I’m glad they did, but if I’m a caveman and try to eat a ‘food-like substance’ that if I break open makes me cry, I’m probably not ingesting it.”

“I mean, it doesn’t even want me to look at it and punished me for breaking it open. I don’t eat aggressive vegetables.”

“Just to clarify, I really love onions. I just wouldn’t have been the first one to try them.” ~ CanEyeBshy

“In the past two weeks…”

“Anything involving baking soda. In the past two weeks, I’ve used it to make banana bread and pretzels, as well as to disinfect a litter box and clean silver.” ~ _solarmax

“I mean, they figured out…”

“Toast. It had to be an accident, surely.”

“I mean, they figured out to grind the right grains, the right ratio of yeast and water and sugar, etc., and how to cook it to make beautiful beautiful bread.”

“I swear, it must have been an accident that someone was too close to a fire and because of, I dunno, poverty or ignorance, it got eaten and the nirvana that is toast was achieved.

“Who would ever think, ‘This bread is great, I’ll cook it again’?” ~ kiki73

“One presumes…”

“The ancient/medieval alchemists left a lot of records of the substances they studied.”

“They cataloged all the properties they observed for each one – including the taste. One presumes that for the data to be passed on, one had to record the taste test promptly.” ~ schleppenwolf

“The process to make it properly…”

“Chocolate. The process to make it properly is incredibly finicky and takes a long time from start to finish.”

“What’s more, it’s not like a lot of things mentioned here that were probably just the result of being desperately hungry.” ~ mechanate

“Maybe I don’t understand…”

“The complex chemical processes to make certain drugs.”

“Maybe I don’t understand chemistry well enough, but how would they have known the effect that certain drugs, like cocaine, would have on a person?”

“Or was it made for some other purpose and someone said, ‘Hey, this looks like a good thing to crush up so that I can snort it up through my nose.’”

“It just seems weird.” ~ goodietwoshoe

“For those who aren’t familiar…”

“Casu marzu.”

“For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s a cheese made from sheep’s milk with live maggots in it.”

“It’s actually illegal under EU regulations but there is still black market production because apparently, people want to eat live maggots.” ~ adeon

“They were lucky…”

“When saccharine was first synthesized, the creators didn’t know it was going to be safe to consume.”

“And yet, against the most basic law of the chemistry lab (do not under any circumstances eat that thing you just created, everything can and WILL kill you), they decided that meh, a little bit couldn’t hurt.”

“They were lucky and it was sweet and safe, but seriously don’t eat the stuff you just made from tar – it literally didn’t exist an hour before.” ~ coelicolored

The funny thing about a lot of these responses, at least to me, is the number of people who rest on the assumption that starvation wasn’t a common way to die for many millennia.

You’d be surprised what human beings will eat—and certainly figure out is okay to eat—when they are hungry and there is no other option.

I suppose we should thank them for their discoveries.

Oh, and while we’re at it, be even more thankful we didn’t have to be the ones to do all of these experiments.