Category: Interesting

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IKEA Told Kids to Bully a Plant for 30 Days. The Results Are Jaw-Dropping

In order to raise awareness about Anti-Bullying Day on May 4th, IKEA UAE conducted a truly unique experiment. They took two identical plants and placed them in a local school.

Both plants were cared for in the same way. They both had the same water, sunlight, and fertilizers. Their conditions were entirely the same except for one single notable exception – students were encouraged to pay regular compliments to one plant and to relentlessly bully the other.

After 30 days, the results were pretty clear. While the complimented plant thrived, the bullied plant showed significant signs of struggle with discolored, drooping leaves.

Ever wonder just how damaging bullying can be? What if you bullied a plant nonstop for a whole month?

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

IKEA decided to test this out as part of its campaign to raise awareness about Anti-Bullying Day on May 4th in the Middle East.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

The experiment placed two identical plants in a local school.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

One plant was given words of encouragement and compliments on a regular basis.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

The other plant was verbally bullied with mean, hateful words.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Other than the type of words they were exposed to, the plants were treated exactly alike.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

They both received equal amounts of water, sunlight, and fertilizers.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

The final results are stunning.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Check out the video below to see the full experiment.

Viewers on YouTube had a lot to say about it.

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

Photo Credit: IKEA UAE/YouTube

It just goes to show how much power our words can have. I mean, if hurtful words can do this much damage to a plant, just imagine what they do to a person.

The post IKEA Told Kids to Bully a Plant for 30 Days. The Results Are Jaw-Dropping appeared first on UberFacts.

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15 Animation Mistakes in ‘The Little Mermaid’ That Most People Miss

Back in the days of handpainted animation, filmmakers just had to do their best to keep every frame consistent with the last. If there was the occasional mistake, they probably just figured it would be small enough to go unnoticed.

These 15 tiny mistakes are all in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Fair warning, though – after you read this post you won’t be able to unsee them!

#1. Ariel is crying on a rock next to a piece of broken wood and a broken vase. But in the wide shot, everything is different – even the rock formation.

Photo Credit: Disney

#2. Max’s paws are white…except that one time they’re gray.

Photo Credit: Disney

#3. When Ariel meets Max, he licks the right side of her face, but she wipes the slobber off of the left side.

Photo Credit: Disney

#4. This porthole changes from the time Scuttle lands on it to when he flies away.

Photo Credit: Disney

#5. The perfume bottle Vanessa steps on and breaks wasn’t on her vanity in the wide shot.

Photo Credit: Disney

#6. The handles on the plate covers change between the closeup and wide shots.

Photo Credit: Disney

#7. When Ariel first sees the “dinglehopper” it has four tines, but only three after she picks it up.

Photo Credit: Disney

#8. When Ariel swims out to stop the wedding and climbs onto the ship, she’s shoeless – but when she gets her voice back a moment later, she’s wearing shoes.

Photo Credit: Disney

#9. During Eric and Ariel’s date, her hair is half-up, half-down, but her shadow in the water reflects a ponytail.

Photo Credit: Disney

#10. Sebastian is thrown into a brown sauce…that somehow turns white by the next shot.

Photo Credit: Disney

#11. When Flounder gets stuck in the pothole, his fins are stuck on the outside and the inside, somehow.

Photo Credit: Disney

#12. King Triton blows up the Eric statue in the grotto, and we see the cracks and lines going through the entire thing…but somehow his face is intact?

Photo Credit: Disney

#13. King Triton’s crown has 5 peaks while he’s wearing it, but 7 after she turns him into that shriveled little sad thing.

Photo Credit: Disney

#14. The bookmarks in the priest’s bible change colors.

Photo Credit: Disney

#15. Gold buckles appear on Chef Louie’s shoes halfway through his song and dance number.

Photo Credit: Disney

One thing is still true – The Little Mermaid has the best songs (and the hottest prince).

The post 15 Animation Mistakes in ‘The Little Mermaid’ That Most People Miss appeared first on UberFacts.

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10+ Photos That People With Clubbed Thumbs Will Definitely Understand

If you’ve got normal thumbs, you may not realize how good you have it. Clubbed thumbs can definitely cause a lot of headaches throughout the day, but luckily those who have them have formed a tight support group online (a “club,” if you will!). Check out these 12 encouraging posts to see what we mean!

1. Your thumb is constantly going through an identity crisis.

Photo Credit: Instagram: skopuningurin

2. There are Facebook groups for people just like you.

Photo Credit: Instagram: gonzaaerro

3. People want to see your thumbs.

Photo Credit: Instagram: smcfarfar

4. And then, you know, compare theirs.

Photo Credit: Instagram: origami67

5. You might feel self-conscious if you Instagram a picture of you holding something.

6. Polishing your nails is a bit more challenging.

Photo Credit: Instagram: baymaxbaeby

7. You stick together with other members of the “club!”

Photo Credit: Instagram: asteffy

8. Autocorrect is your best friend.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @itssmeg

9. They need custom gloves.

10. People always think you jammed your thumb when you were little.

11. Deep down in your heart, you are proud of your unique features.

12. So you give the universe a thumbs up!

Here’s to all the thumbs out there!

The post 10+ Photos That People With Clubbed Thumbs Will Definitely Understand appeared first on UberFacts.

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13 People Who Met Their Bullies Years Later

Bullies suck.

They all eventually grow up, but that doesn’t mean that they all stop being bullies – though some of certainly them do.

Meeting your childhood bully rarely goes like in the movies or that short story that was actually too long to be a short story, you know that one you wrote/read in your sophomore year of college that was totally just a rip-off of Pearl Jam’s Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town.

Anyhow, here are 13 folks who stumbled onto their old bullies years later and reported the mixed results on askreddit:

#13. Never rely on the kindness of your old nemesis.

Even though I am a college graduate, I decided to go to truck driving school for a CDL. It seemed like the perfect job for an introvert; just driving around, listening to podcasts all day.

One of my bullies in high school dropped out so he could work for his father’s truck driving business. I figured since he knew me, I’d have an advantage over all the other applicants.

Bad idea.

My bully used the interview to lord it all over the valedictorian who was now relying upon the kindness of the dropout for a job.

“You sure you’re man enough to handle a 40 ton eighteen wheeler?”

Then he lectured me on the importance of customer service. “The business owners we deliver to like to bullshit with the drivers but you wouldn’t even say ‘shit’ in high school.”

I was also notorious for napping in class back in the day. “If you couldn’t keep your head up for fifteen minutes in class, how can I trust you behind the wheel for ten hours?”

#12. “It felt really good.”

I was bullied by this mean girl all through elementary and middle school. Senior year of high school we had a mutual friend and were sitting at the same lunch table. I had just broken up with my boyfriend of 2.5 years and she asked me about it. She then told me that I was too good for him and he didnt deserve me.

It felt really good. No animosity towards her ever again.

#11. The really sad one.

Mine’s kinda sad. I was bullied by this kid in high school pretty often. I was small, he was big, and in his mind that was all it took to mean I was worth tormenting.

Flash forward to two years ago: It’s ten years later.

I’m successful, independent, healthy and happy. I’m working in my hometown’s ER now. We get a patient found down out in the bushes, and I’m asked to see him. It’s this dude. He’s looking kinda rough, puked on himself, covered in leaves, but still huge.

I don’t miss a beat. Vitals, line, labs, fluids, everything you would do given the situation. Hours later he’s sobering up, were talking about his situation and he stops and just stares at me mid sentence.

“Oh, I remember you now.”

Cue me thinking, “Great, thought we weren’t gonna bring this up.”

But then he went on, “Man I am so sorry for how I treated you in high school. I was a horrible person, there is no excuse. But I really want you to know I regret who I was and I’m not that person anymore.”

Well my jaw basically hit the floor. It gave me a lot of hope for people to change. I’m glad he had a chance to, but his alcohol addiction was probably now covering the same pains that caused him to be such a broken person a decade before.

Three months later he came in again as my patient, this time because he choked on his own vomit. He never woke up.

The post 13 People Who Met Their Bullies Years Later appeared first on UberFacts.

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You Can Make Diamonds Out Of Tequila!

Tequila , lime and saltTequila may be just another drink to those out in the town, but to a team of scientists in Mexico their country’s native alcohol turned out to be a gem; a diamond, to be precise. Javier Morales, Luis Apátiga and Victor Castaño at the National Autonomous University of Mexico made the alchemist-worthy discovery while experimenting turning various organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol, into diamonds. The scientists noted that 80-proof tequila (40 percent alcohol) had the ideal proportion of ethanol to water to create diamond films. In order to make the diamonds, they evaporated the tequila into a vapor, and then heated the vapor above 1400 degrees Fahrenheit before depositing it on silicon or stainless steel trays. The resulting diamond films were between 100 to 400 nm in diameter and free of impurities.

Hard and heat resistant, the diamond films could have several commercial applications, such as for cutting tools and optical electronic devices. At the moment, the team is looking into creating diamonds with impurities for potential use as a new kind of semiconductor. The scientists have bigger plans in sight, too: They intend to turn their work into an industrial-scale venture by 2011 and hope to find a tequila distiller to provide them with the supplies.

[via PopSci]

 

 

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Animal Facts So Cute, They Cheered Selena Gomez Up

Here’s a list of facts that were just so cute, they made Selena Gomez stop crying.

1. A newborn panda weighs as much as a cup of tea.

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Selena cries.

2. Squirrels will adopt an abandoned baby if its parents are gone.

Selena cries some more.

3. Honey bees communicate by dancing.

Selena stops crying for a moment. 

4. Gentoo penguins propose to their mates with a pebble.

Selena starts to see a bright side.

5. Seahorses mate for life, and when they travel they hold each other’s tails.

Selena cracks a smile.

6. Sea otters hold hands when they sleep, so they don’t float away from each other.

This one makes Selena very happy.

7. Cows have best friends and they spend most of their time together.

Selena laughs hard at this because she can’t believe it. 

8. Turtles can breathe through their butts.

Selena’s shocked. 

9. Spiders can’t fly.

Selena is happy because, let’s be honest… No one likes a flying spider. 

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Ten Facts That Sound Like Lies, But Are Completely True

Facts that sound like lies, but are completely true… Accompanied by Britney Spears GIFs.

1. When you get a kidney transplant, your kidneys are usually left in your body and a 3rd one is put in your pelvis.

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And yes, if you know someone who has had two kidney transplants, they can totally have 4 kidneys. 

2. Cosmic rays from outer space frequently cause glitches in your electronics.

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Your cars and phones are not safe. 

3. Your eyes have a pretty large blind spot that your brain is just filling with what it “thinks” you should be seeing.

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Yes, your brain loves to mess with you. 

4. Falling coconuts kill more people every year than sharks.

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Coconuts… you just don’t see them coming. 

5. Humans share 50% of their DNA with bananas.

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Bananas… they’re closer to us than we thought. 

6. Strawberries aren’t really berries… But avocados are.

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Your life is a lie

7. Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than she did to the building of the Great Pyramid.

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Your life is still a lie.

8. It rains diamonds on Saturn and Jupiter.

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You’re living on the wrong planet. 

9. There once existed a flying reptile that was the size of a giraffe.

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They’re extinct now so if you had no reason to be happy today, now you have one.

10. If you have 23 people in a room, there’s a 50% chance two of them have the same birthday

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But there’s a 100% chance that your birthday will be more important than theirs.

 

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Phobias Might Be Memories Passed Down From Ancestors In Your DNA

Memories may be passed down through generations in DNA in a process that may be the underlying cause of phobias.

Memories can be passed down to later generations through genetic switches that allow offspring to inherit the experience of their ancestors, according to new research that may explain how phobias can develop.

Scientists have long assumed that memories and learned experiences built up during a lifetime must be passed on by teaching later generations or through personal experience.

However, new research has shown that it is possible for some information to be inherited biologically through chemical changes that occur in DNA.

Researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, found that mice can pass on learned information about traumatic or stressful experiences – in this case a fear of the smell of cherry blossom – to subsequent generations.

The results may help to explain why people suffer from seemingly irrational phobias – it may be based on the inherited experiences of their ancestors.

So a fear of spiders may in fact be an inherited defence mechanism laid down in a families genes by an ancestors’ frightening encounter with an arachnid.

Dr Brian Dias, from the department of psychiatry at Emory University, said: “We have begun to explore an underappreciated influence on adult behaviour – ancestral experience before conception.

“From a translational perspective, our results allow us to appreciate how the experiences of a parent, before even conceiving offspring, markedly influence both structure and function in the nervous system of subsequent generations.

“Such a phenomenon may contribute to the etiology and potential intergenerational transmission of risk for neuropsychiatric disorders such as phobias, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

See full articles from Telegraph 

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Making Electricity From Urine

Scientists have developed a way to convert urine in to a renewable energy source. But as Sally Magnusson, author of Life of Pee and presenter of Radio 4’s Secret Science of Pee, writes in this viewpoint feature, there is some way to go before the idea is embraced more widely.

A growing number of scientists have cottoned on to the fact that urine is a source of vital enzymes for medicine, precious minerals like fast-depleting phosphorus, and chemical compounds like urea, which are crucial to the manufacture of fertilisers, plastics and cosmetics and can also be used to make electricity.

The question is, can urine help us? And if so, can we see it not as a useless, embarrassing waste product, but as a substance that could drive the next stage of the green revolution?

I started out mildly intrigued by the range of uses urine had in centuries gone by – it was used in the manufacture of gunpowder, alum, dyes, paint and stained glass, to clean Roman togas, and heal wounds.

I wrestled with the revulsion that arises when we move from historical curiosity to envisaging personal application, but I ended up convinced there is an urgent role for urine again in the 21st Century, based on its unique scientific properties.

Urea, an important constituent of urine, is the key to many modern applications.

At Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the Youtricity research team has developed a urine-powered system to generate electricity.

The carbamide power system runs on urea fuel cells sourced from human urine.

Dr Shanwen Tao, who invented the technology, said urea fuel cells were similar to hydrogen fuel cells, but used urea instead.

His colleague, Dr Robert Goodfellow said it had been a “huge” breakthrough in the search for renewable energy, but the system was being further developed.

See the full article from BBC News

 

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Eating Chocolate Can Improve Math Skills

chocolate-heartEating chocolate could improve the brain’s ability to do math, a new study suggests.

Mental arithmetic became easier after volunteers had been given large amounts of compounds found in chocolate, called flavanols, in a hot cocoa drink.

They were also less likely to feel tired or mentally drained, the findings, presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Brighton show.

Prof David Kennedy, director of the brain, performance and nutrition research centre at Northumbria University, and a co-author of the study, said that chocolate could be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks.

The findings suggest students who binge on chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so.

“For things that are difficult to do, mentally demanding things that maybe crop up in your work it could help,” Prof Kennedy said.

The flavanols, part of a group of chemicals called polyphenols, work by increasing the flow of blood into the brain.

For the study 30 volunteers were asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800 and 999 generated by a computer.

The findings show that they could do the calculations more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the drink.

However, the same was not true when the group was asked to count backwards in groups of seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly different part of the brain.

The findings also show that the volunteers did not get as tired doing the calculations if they had been given the cocoa drink, despite being asked to do them over and over for an hour.

The researchers gave the volunteers a total of 500mg of flavanol.

Although the amount was too great to be found naturally in the diet, researchers said that people should ensure that they have lots of flavanols, also found in fruit and vegetables, on a regular basis.

Emma Wightman, one of the study’s lead researchers, said: “You can get bars of chocolate that have 100mg of flavanol, and we are also going to look at the effect of lower doses of flavanol on the brain.”

Dark chocolate contains higher quantaties of the chemical than plain or milk chocolate.

Prof Kennedy added: “The amount that you are giving is more than in the diet but there is quite a lot of evidence that general amounts are protective against declining function and that kind of thing.

“The more fruit and vegetables and things that are high in polyphenols the better that is for your brain in the long run.”

(via Telegraph)