Facts You Probably don’t Need
- There are 30% less birds in North America now than there were in 1970.
- Robert Lucas, upon receiving a Nobel Prize in economic sciences, was only awarded half the prize money. His ex-wife had placed a clause in their divorce settlement in 1988, stating she would receive half the prize money if he won the prize in the following seven years. He won the prize in 1995.
- Slices of Albert Einstein’s brain are on display at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.
- One of the largest bats in the world, the golden-capped fruit bat, with a wingspan of 5.6 feet, does not possess echolocation. It instead relies on its keen senses of sight and smell to locate food, usually traveling more than 25 miles for it. The species is now facing extinction.
- Saloop, a drink of ground orchid tubers, was a popular 18th century alternative to tea until it became rumored to cure venereal disease. After that, drinking it in public became shameful.
- There’s an anime and manga in Japan called Saint Young Men, which is about Jesus and Buddha living as roommates in Tokyo while taking a vacation on Earth and attempting to understand Japanese society.
- In 2001, several teenagers in Sweden were arrested for suspicion of treason after throwing a strawberry tart at the King.
Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.
