In 2009, a 14 year old boy in Essen, Germany was heading to school when he saw a “ball of light” in the sky heading towards him. A small rock then hit his hand, glanced off and caused a foot wide crater in the ground. He is one of the few recorded humans to be struck by a meteorite.
Vin Diesel founded a game studio…
Vin Diesel founded a game studio which has a focus on creating games featuring Vin Diesel.
Cruise control on cars was invented…
Cruise control on cars was invented in 1948 by the blind inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph Teetor. He came up with the idea due to being frustrated by his driver’s habit of speeding up and slowing down as he talked.
Every year on Good Friday, Filipino Catholic….
Every year on Good Friday, Filipino Catholic devotees are voluntarily, non-lethally crucified. Sterilized nails are driven through their hands and feet. One especially devoted man has been crucified 33 times.
The 9/11 Memorial’s brass panels – on which…
The 9/11 Memorial’s brass panels – on which victims’ names are inscribed – have their own heating and cooling systems so that they are never too hot or cold to touch.
Toilet paper orientation was the most…
Toilet paper orientation was the most controversial issue in the 31 year history of the advice column of “Ask Ann Landers”, with 15,000 letters submitted on the topic.
David Bowie considered becoming a Buddhist monk…
David Bowie considered becoming a Buddhist monk, and studied for a few months in 1967 before a Lama told him he should follow music instead. His ashes were scattered in Bali in accordance with Buddhist rituals.
The oPhone makes it possible…
The oPhone makes it possible to send smells electronically. In 2014, the technology was introduced when a person in New York sent a sniff of their breakfast (bread, orange juice, and strawberries) to Paris where colleagues sent a sniff of their meal in return (champagne and macaroons).
The village of Larderello has been…
The village of Larderello has been experimenting with Geothermal Energy for nearly 200 years. Initially the first commercial generators could only power four light bulbs. But having slowly expanded the past century, today it generates 4,800 GWh/year, or 10% of global geothermal production.
A species of mushroom that grows in the…
A species of mushroom that grows in the northern hemisphere can get people high, but some other chemicals in the mushroom also make you very ill. However if a reindeer eats the mushrooms, the illness producing toxins are filtered out but the hallucinogen survives in the reindeer urine. It’s called Amanita Muscaria, aka Fly Agaric and can be seen in most Alice in Wonderland pictures. Pretty red (and sometimes yellow) mushrooms with whiteish patches on the surface.
Legend also has it that the royalty in Siberia would eat them and the peasants would fight to get the noble’s night pot because he could get high on the piss but not have any of the toxins.