Collection of Insane and Fun Facts
In 2013, a researcher at UW managed the first human to human brain interface through the Internet by wearing a cap and playing a video game. When he wanted to shoot a missile, he thought “fire” and another researcher across campus’s finger moved involuntarily and pressed the fire button.
American psychologist George Stratton conducted experiments in which he either wore glasses inverting images both upside-down and left-right or a contraption that forced him to see his body from above. He found that it took only a few days for his brain to adapt to the new orientations.
The chills experienced when listening to music is a result of the brain releasing dopamine in anticipation of the peak moment during a song.
After an 8-week course in mindfulness meditation, the amygdala, associated with fear and emotion, shrinks, while the pre-frontal cortex, associated with awareness, concentration and decision-making, becomes thicker.
A study showed the brain’s pain receptors activate when we see high prices, but using credit cards instead of cash effectively anesthetizes the pain of paying.
In a brain scan, feelings of being in love and being on cocaine look almost identical.
Ben McMahon, the Australian man, woke from a coma speaking fluent Mandarin but had completely forgotten English.
The Austin, TX clock tower shooter left a suicide note saying he felt that there was something wrong with his brain as he knew what he was doing was wrong and couldn’t stop it. An autopsy revealed a brain tumor pressing on the amygdala.
A man developed a passionate love for the music of Johnny Cash after being implanted with a brain stimulation device.
When Einstein died in 1955, the physician who conducted his autopsy at Princeton stole his brain and took it home to perform “research”, for which he was ultimately fired after refusing to return the brain. Decades later, he drove to California to return the brain to Einstein’s granddaughter.