tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318701292012-01-27T07:08:24.220-05:00the truth may surprise youDan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.comBlogger2441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-19728497096953671762011-11-11T21:05:00.003-05:002011-11-11T21:13:04.300-05:00

Today is 11/11/11! What are the odds?So where did the word "eleven" come from anyway? Turns out it comes from our friends, the Jews. Originally, the word was "unleavened". According to Jewish tradition, any bread you consume on the ides of the month must be unleavened (no flour), or the angel of death will come and take your babies. Eventually, this "unleavened day" lent its name to its place on

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-3227713121748069292011-10-08T10:41:00.004-05:002011-10-08T11:00:39.710-05:00

Sand dollar with claws removedPhoto by Editor B (CC BY 2.0)The humble sand dollar is the only crustacean to have had a currency named after it. In fact, the Byzantine empire actually used the sand dollar as its currency from 200 - 310 BC, favoring it for its durability and the difficulty of counterfeiting a living animal.This ultimately led to economic disaster, however, when a particularly warm

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-47326347672174147982011-06-17T17:05:00.012-05:002011-06-17T18:11:17.882-05:00

Spectators watch as a Buddhist calculates the 3080th digit of piPhoto by Mark Eslick (CC BY 2.0)We all know that pi is irrational, meaning that there's no pattern to its digits. So how is it that we can calculate it to the thousandth decimal place and beyond?As with all transcendental numbers, the answer lies in the secretive religion of Zen Buddhism. To compute each digit of pi, a Yogi will

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-57300674119824916332011-06-15T14:20:00.010-05:002011-06-15T15:25:32.364-05:00

Closeup of L. psittacusPhoto by Joi Ito (CC BY 2.0)The critically endangered Tunisian parrot beetle (Leptinotarsa psittacus) is the only species of insect capable of imitating human speech. It uses this talent to scare off predators, which universally fear humans.The beetle's extra-precise antennae can pick up sound waves from up to ten yards away or more. After picking up a suitable sound, it

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-32682425425918980212011-06-14T15:00:00.002-05:002011-06-14T15:07:42.674-05:00

Ever notice how the wings on a jet can often look like they're in pretty bad shape? Fact is, jets don't need wings at all. They are held aloft by their eponymous turbojets, much like the space shuttle, which is why the wings don't flap except in emergencies. They are only there so that people on the ground do not mistake them for Incoming Bomb Missiles (ICBMs).Prop planes, on the other hand, need

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-74578682189100040602011-06-09T20:29:00.005-05:002011-06-09T21:12:36.136-05:00

We've all heard scientists talk about "fundamental forces", but what are they really yammering on about? There are five fundamental forces:The "weak force". This force is commonly known as "force of will".The "strong force", popularized by the movie Star Wars.The "electronica force", or "force of habit".The "gravitational force", or "force of nature".The "centrifugal force", also known as the "

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-89562602173653216242011-06-06T11:20:00.002-05:002011-06-06T18:09:49.355-05:00

Photo by TheCulinaryGeek (CC)In a pinch, you can make red wine out of red wine vinegar simply by adding one part sugar for every two parts vinegar, and zapping the mixture in the microwave. The reaction takes about ten minutes per liter, and if high quality vinegar is used, most people won't notice that anything is up. Add a little grape juice, and you'll have even the most discerning

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-36965512078110050312011-06-02T17:53:00.010-05:002011-06-05T21:04:00.400-05:00

Adolph Hitler, King of the NazisWhy do we call things of incredible value "priceless"? To find the answer, we must turn the clock back to the first world war. In 1915, the Nazis invaded and occupied London, and as usual, the first order of business was to send the Gestapo around to every house to collect any valuables to add to Germany's coffers.Of course, with so many houses to search, it was

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-50420315318639843902011-06-01T15:17:00.018-05:002011-06-01T19:58:44.468-05:00

Photo by Roger Price via Flickr(per Creative Commons) Decaffeinated coffee is just fantastic for those of us who like to start off the morning with a hot beverage but dislike the idea of using drugs (recent studies prove that caffeine is nearly as addictive as crack cocaine). But how do they separate the delicious parts of coffee beans from the dangerous narcotics they contain? Amazingly, the

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-33277564262180647092011-05-31T19:55:00.003-05:002011-05-31T20:06:53.112-05:00

Sick and tired of sitting in traffic every day? That lane on the far right side of the highway that nobody drives in is called the "shoulder" and is reserved for clinically impatient drivers. Chronic sufferers can apply to get a special sticker to put on their car which makes it legal to use the shoulder when traffic gets too heavy.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-25781642264263047462011-05-30T10:49:00.003-05:002011-05-30T10:57:00.927-05:00

Ever wonder why a day is 24 hours long? It turns out that 24 hours works out to one million seconds. It's metric, folks!

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-53877182235711261222011-05-29T19:29:00.008-05:002011-06-01T19:25:33.788-05:00

Photo by Goldstein.Group via Flickr (per Creative Commons)As you might have guessed, the salt shaker was invented by the Shakers, a loosely organized group of semi-religious Jews, famous for their elaborate machinery. The Quakers, however, disavow any knowledge of the origin of the pepper quaker.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-63291624961454255692011-05-28T17:23:00.015-05:002011-06-01T19:29:36.491-05:00

Photo by Squeezyboy via Flickr (per Creative Commons)If you're like most people, you've probably been given the impression that horseshoes are used to protect horses' hooves from wearing out. What a bunch of malarkey!If you stop to think about it, it makes no sense that horses would need shoes to protect their hooves. After all, wild horses don't wear shoes, and they never have hoof problems.In

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-42195478435553501922011-05-26T15:38:00.005-05:002011-05-26T15:49:00.068-05:00

Ironically, the popular beverage known as the Strawberry Toenail contains no strawberry juice! Its red color and tangy flavor actually come from cranberries.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-39498580139611620722011-05-20T16:01:00.003-05:002011-05-20T16:16:01.204-05:00

Hangnails: we've all had 'em. But you may not be aware that what appears to be a harmless nuisance may in fact be a parasite in disguise. Not to fear though – a simple litmus test will tell you what's what.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-21407978827427125212011-05-19T11:55:00.006-05:002011-05-19T12:40:48.745-05:00

Here in the US, we use attenuated current (AC) to power our homes, but that's not the case everywhere. For example, in Spain they use discrete current (DC), and in Russia they use reverse current (RC). But the UK has a completely different solution: static electricity.Even today, most of the UK's energy is provided by sheep farms. Farmers drive huge electrodes into the ground, and as the sheep

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-9374521650481261902011-05-18T11:46:00.014-05:002011-05-18T14:07:15.933-05:00

Ever wonder where the "sledgehammer" got its name?Back in the old days, it was known that sewage could carry illness, but nobody had yet cracked the germ theory of disease. Instead, people figured that sickness was caused by evil spirits who liked to take up residence in anything wet and slimy (this is also why snakes and other slimy critters have historically been considered evil).Various

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-14226714431904697212011-05-17T12:48:00.006-05:002011-05-17T13:22:26.275-05:00

Can you guess what Montana, California, and Maine all have in common?They're the only three states in which public juggling is a federal crime. Texas was also counted among them before 1953, but the law there was repealed by a rider attached to the Twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution. In California and Maine, the crime is punishable only by a small fine, but in Montana, a conviction

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-71296123648779301822011-05-16T12:41:00.004-05:002011-05-16T12:47:22.006-05:00

Well folks, after 30 years of being a US territory, and almost 5 years of petitioning, it looks like Guatemala is finally going to achieve statehood.Move over, Hawaii! Soon you won't be the only state which is also an island!

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-6715134175302420742011-05-15T13:47:00.009-05:002011-05-15T14:25:28.862-05:00

Are you psychic? Here's an easy and fun way to find out!Place your hand flat on a table with your thumb stretched out as far as you can and your fingers pressed together. First, measure the distance from the tip of your thumb to the tip of your index finger. Now measure from the tip of your index finger to the tip of your middle finger. Now divide the first number by the second number and

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-44366094678492974782010-03-10T14:58:00.008-05:002010-03-10T15:24:00.081-05:00

A GPS can be very handy if you get lost, or if you're looking for robotic birds, but many people don't realize that it can also keep you from getting speeding tickets. Folks, it's just basic physics.The Hindenburg uncertainty principle tells us that both momentum and position can't be known with arbitrary precision. Translating that from scientific mumbo jumbo, if your location is known, it's

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-23104328209405774372010-03-08T20:04:00.004-05:002010-03-08T20:21:55.932-05:00

Quick! How many feathered mammals can you name? If you answered more than one, it's time to review some zoology because the peacock is the only critter that makes the grade.A lot of folks mistakenly include marmosets, whose tufts do look a lot like feathers. I always remember the difference by this simple rhyme: "Marmoset, marmoset, are we at the pharmacy yet?"

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-91902495708076145252010-02-23T22:49:00.003-05:002010-02-23T22:59:14.548-05:00

The most ironically named French invention is the Belgian waffle, and the most most ironically named Belgian invention is French toast. These names were originally chosen to confuse the Nazis.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-44768502946261214392009-07-02T11:18:00.007-05:002009-07-02T12:45:27.706-05:00

As you've probably heard, NASA launched the Jackson V yesterday - we're finally going back to the Moon! To celebrate, I'm dedicating a week to facts about our closest and third-largest satellite.We all know that the light we see from the Moon actually comes from the Sun, and that the Moon is merely a reflector. That's all fine and dandy during the day, but if that's all there is to it, how can we

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-76025523274466674132009-05-29T21:28:00.000-05:002009-05-29T21:29:07.543-05:00

Ever wonder why cats are afraid of thunder? After all, you wouldn't expect lightning to strike such a diminutive animal.As it turns out, it's in their genes! The earliest ancestor of all cats is also the earliest ancestor of the modern giraffe: the sabertooth giraffe. For thousands of years, this ferocious giant was not only the meanest, but also the tallest predator on the savanna. Needless to

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-81910954358709895052009-05-24T09:50:00.006-05:002009-05-24T09:57:17.247-05:00

How many sides does a triangle have? Not so fast - the answer you learned in school isn't exact.Turns out the answer is very slightly less than 3. The actual number is uncomputable, but it's close to 2.982.It may make geometry a little more complicated, but be thankful; if it weren't for this fact, hourglasses wouldn't work, and we'd still have no rigorous method for measuring the passage time.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-31619196655315412402009-05-03T19:00:00.000-05:002009-05-03T19:01:48.608-05:00

Iridium, gallium, and californium are all chemical elements named after flowers, but there is only one flower named after a chemical element: the geranium.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-75179506869565451472009-04-24T13:27:00.004-05:002009-04-24T14:23:45.208-05:00

Want to know the temperature, but don't have a thermometer? An outdoor cat will work in a pinch. Just by looking at the expression on the cat's face, you can estimate the temperature to within 3 degrees Fahrenheit. To get a more accurate reading, you'll need to know a little phrenology.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-57335681881129652052009-02-01T20:19:00.005-05:002009-02-01T20:29:43.753-05:00

According to Pagan orthodoxy, Mother Nature and Mother Earth are actually adversaries. This dichotomy, like so many others, was broken during Christianity's adoption of the Pagan gospels. The two enemies were merged and given a new foil: Father Time.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-31805987717905002802009-01-06T11:51:00.002-05:002009-01-06T12:02:14.317-05:00

Hey folks! One day I'll update my own site, but in the meantime, enjoy this guest comic over at Bag of Toast.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-30600228220201608702008-06-24T19:28:00.002-05:002008-06-24T19:32:34.454-05:00

In the original Latin version of the Bible, Jesus and Satan are the same character. Jesus turns into Satan (and vice versa) by drinking a potion. Near the end of the story, He loses the recipe and is stuck as Satan for all eternity.It's no small wonder that they changed it for the English version. Although it's a great story, it isn't much to base a religion around.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-69349024840148001472008-06-02T09:39:00.000-05:002008-06-02T09:39:01.864-05:00

The termite possesses nature's only (working) rotary drill. Like so many of the tools found in kingdoms Animalia and Protista, it runs on pure willpower.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-64703945315568770892007-10-31T10:59:00.000-05:002007-10-31T12:05:48.506-05:00

Kids! Here's something you should know when you go trick-or-treating (or whatever you kids call it these days) tonight. If you knock on any doors and are greeted with full- (or even king-) sized candy bars, instead of the "fun-size" standard fare for Halloween, chances are, you're dealing with an atheist. Atheists are required by their faith to give generously on Halloween because it is their

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-40345125735395397192007-10-25T14:50:00.000-05:002007-10-25T13:49:29.306-05:00

In the old days, accidental fires were a much bigger problem than they are today, but there was an upside that we lack today: they provided excellent entertainment before the advent of TV. In those days, the U.S. had no publicly funded fire departments, and the public relied on loosely organized troupes of firefighters who were forced to depend on other means to keep their business afloat. Given

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-90009540071807965052007-10-19T10:55:00.000-05:002007-10-19T11:16:50.595-05:00

You may have heard that fleas can jump, relative to their length, further than any other animal. In fact this is not the case: the gentle seagull bests the flea with a mighty 200 meter leap. You'll probably never witness this, however, as they vastly prefer flying.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-27246585188835095622007-08-08T13:23:00.000-05:002007-08-08T15:27:57.550-05:00

If you've ever had to get something dry-cleaned, you know that it can cost a king's ransom. Why the high price tag? It all has to do with viscosity. Water has a viscosity of 14.7 bars, while air's viscosity is a mere 1.3 bars. This means that a washing machine which cleans with air must generate currents that are about 11 times as fast as a washing machine using water. A standard household

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-53490678043310515852007-07-17T21:53:00.000-05:002007-07-17T21:58:01.285-05:00

Most people don't realize that peanut brittle was invented for the Nazis. Nothing sinister of course; just a cheap food to pack as rations for the military. Invented by peanut farmer Eli Fraunhofer in 1944, peanut brittle was one of the first economical methods for removing the poison from raw peanuts - one of Germany's most plentiful crops due to the soil's high fluoride content. The Nazis saw

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-83962728096332899472007-07-15T21:50:00.000-05:002007-11-12T23:38:05.037-05:00

Update: In order to avoid an international incident, I have to iron out a few diplomatic issues before I can post the Adventure of Vampire Island. The vampires are especially sensitive about international relations, and they're real sticklers for protocol. In the meantime I'll crank the fact engine back up.Everyone knows that the easiest way to distinguish a man from a woman without looking at

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-15232817734155148772007-06-19T19:17:00.000-05:002007-06-19T19:20:39.914-05:00

Sorry for the hiatus in facts, folks, but I promise it's going to be well worth it. I have a grandiose project in the works. Two words: Vampire Island

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-28101985176266065032007-06-03T20:48:00.000-05:002007-06-03T21:56:55.365-05:00

The idea of being "struck by lightning" is little more than an old wives' tale invented to discourage children from playing in the rain. According to legend, a "bolt" of lightning contains tremendous power and can obliterate anything in its path. In reality, this is impossible because lightning does not actually "strike" at a specific point.Lightning occurs when several thousand rain drops line

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-48369061359670313582007-05-27T19:41:00.000-05:002007-05-27T20:12:21.808-05:00

Believe it or not, chewing gum is an important part of childhood development. Without the occasional chewing gum workout, a child's jaw would not be strong enough to chew any but the softest of foods. This explains why the Amish must boil everything they eat.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-32897418903989309042007-05-25T21:48:00.000-05:002007-05-25T23:12:44.236-05:00

Most of us are familiar with the gentle chirping of crickets, or the droning of cicadas, but unfortunately most insects are too quiet for humans to hear. We can sharpen our senses with ultrasonic technology and digital manipulation, but these solutions are a little too pricey for the average joe. Instead, let's look to science for the answer.An insect's mandibles (the part that makes noise) are

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-92088153248948571212007-05-24T21:21:00.000-05:002007-05-24T22:48:05.646-05:00

A few days ago, in my discussion of the origin of scissors, I criticized the pair of pliers, invented by Benjamin Franklin, because they were invented not out of innovation, but so that Franklin could liquidate his massive stockpile of individual pliers.An astute reader points out that the pair of pliers, or Franklin Levers, did in fact offer a considerable improvement in the field of dentistry.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-90538057044483182462007-05-23T22:01:00.000-05:002007-05-23T22:38:55.927-05:00

If you've ever seen a pelican hibernating during the cold winter months, you may wonder how those suckers can stay warm with so little body fat. The key lies in the birds' characteristic pouched bills.After catching its last fish before bedding down for the winter, a pelican will fill its bill with water and retract its tongue into its throat, forming a plug. The fish remains alive in the

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-31927324438859831002007-05-22T20:33:00.000-05:002007-05-22T20:55:24.334-05:00

The statue we know today as "The Thinker" was originally a gargoyle built by the Moors to stand guard at their most holy temple in what is now Madrid, Spain. In 1453, Pope Adrian VI, who considered the statue a demonic effigy, had the gargoyle's wings knocked off and changed its name.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-56702292644707710382007-05-21T23:05:00.000-05:002007-05-21T23:52:11.225-05:00

In the early 18th century the scissor-and-plier was the tool of choice for both cutting and gripping - although it excelled at neither. It was not until 1721 that inventor Eli Muckleroy had the brilliant idea of combining a right-handed scissor with a left-handed one to create a new tool - the pair of scissors.The considerably less useful pair of pliers was not invented until nearly 50 years

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-86482520372291267772007-05-20T21:38:00.000-05:002007-05-20T23:09:43.756-05:00

Well folks, the Clairvoyants and Fortune Tellers Act (CAFTA) goes into effect at the end of May, and not a moment too soon! Don't get me wrong, most psychics are great people who do an honest job, but every picnic is going to attract some ants. Just like a surgeon's scalpel, psychic abilities are dangerous if used irresponsibly, and an unscrupulous practitioner can do some serious damage.Under

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-23793401319491578602007-05-16T22:06:00.000-05:002007-05-16T22:42:31.425-05:00

If you want to get a little more power out of your computer without spending an arm and a leg on new hardware, try this:Whenever you finish using the computer for the day, rather than turning it off, insert a blank CD into the CD drive and leave the computer running. While you're gone, the blank CD will collect stray bits of data which are floating around on the machine, locking them within the

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-74459119735685486322007-05-15T21:23:00.000-05:002007-05-15T21:36:38.256-05:00

Next time you eat an orange, don't throw away the peel! That peel is rich in cyclamates, which will really beef up your endocrine system.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-69618329678251518492007-05-14T21:08:00.000-05:002007-05-14T22:36:44.166-05:00

One of the little things that always got in Benjamin Franklin's way was copyright law. Britain's Ministry of Contrivance and, later, America's own Office of Patent and Copyright, issued constant citations to Franklin, who had little patience for academic integrity. One thing which neither bureau could deny, however, was that as far as anyone could tell, Franklin's The Unsteady Colony (a largely

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-19539047299475092842007-05-13T19:56:00.000-05:002007-05-13T19:57:59.649-05:00

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-32581968790210818812007-05-10T22:52:00.000-05:002007-05-10T23:27:32.881-05:00

Believe it or not, there was a time when people actually liked lemons. In fact, until the end of the 19th century, the lemon business was a thriving industry. But in 1893 a small group of lime farmers, bitter from lackluster sales, decided to take down Big Lemon. Unable to afford expensive advertising campaigns, the group, known as the North American Lime Council, instead opted for a social

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-60598116689842577842007-05-09T22:30:00.000-05:002007-05-09T21:26:23.199-05:00

Fleas, like bedbugs, don't actually exist. They are simply a convenient scapegoat for unexplained itching. So how do flea collars work? The placebo effect.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-6337771873110615182007-05-08T23:00:00.000-05:002007-05-09T00:27:41.027-05:00

Ever wonder why there are state flowers, state dogs, and state fish but no state birds? Early on, birds stood among the state mascots just like the rest, but that all changed on July 4th 1914, at the World's Fair in Albuquerque.Hoping to inspire national unity and pride at a time when individual states acted much like separate countries, the federal government organized a patriotic independence

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-86093288719683675832007-05-07T23:07:00.000-05:002007-05-07T23:21:46.665-05:00

Ever wonder what the name "Jesus" means? Turns out it's simply the diminutive form of the name "Joseph" in Hebrew - much as we might call someone "Joey" today.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-17825112577744770862007-05-06T21:54:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:31.649-05:00

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-88387050034671841842007-05-05T23:13:00.000-05:002007-05-05T22:15:55.588-05:00

So what the heck is a buffalo anyway? Turns out it's a cross between a bison and a cow.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-56242553873405801432007-05-04T18:51:00.000-05:002007-05-04T20:02:12.971-05:00

I just got back from RAUDFound's R&D lab (named Sector F), and boy do I ever have exciting news! The AI team has completed work on a sentient neural net running on a SPESQUATCH (Single Phase Electron Scatter Quantum Uncompensated Active Titration Computing Hardware) cluster - a quantum computer whose mechanism of operation is related to the Electron Scatter Telescope I mentioned yesterday. In

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-31787708542504118472007-05-03T20:23:00.000-05:002007-05-03T21:18:48.199-05:00

Yesterday, I talked about the enormous mushrooms which grow on the moon. Of course that got me all worked up about astronomy, so I dusted off my homemade Electron Scatter Telescope (don't worry I'll show you how to make one eventually) to get a closer look at the heavens. Since I had the EST warmed up anyway, I spent a few minutes searching for lunar mushrooms. I captured some video (below).The

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-20642004949266217702007-05-02T20:54:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:31.844-05:00

The only plant which is found on the moon is the mushroom. These hardy organisms split off evolutionarily from mosses about 83 million years ago when an impact from an asteroid separated their habitat (a peninsula on the southeast coast of Pangaea) from the Earth, forming the moon. It was not until about 290,000 BC when a meteor originating from the moon crashed into the Earth that several

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-84915105417261354722007-05-01T21:33:00.000-05:002007-05-01T20:33:09.692-05:00

Outlawed in Italy from 1736 to 1983, tin is the only metal to have been legally restricted. The penalty for possession: death.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-47051685633292091322007-04-30T15:03:00.000-05:002007-04-30T15:50:09.260-05:00

Planning a safari in Africa? You may want to avoid convenience stores on the fringes of the jungle. In recent years, these outfits have been visited by lions with increasing frequency. What are the big cats shopping for? Tobacco products, and lots of them! And these aren't paying customers: turns out those three-inch teeth are good for more than piercing gorilla hide - they can rip open a carton

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-45692107626544835492007-04-29T21:29:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:31.878-05:00

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-41447665274353069372007-04-26T22:03:00.000-05:002007-04-27T16:00:31.475-05:00

During much of the American Civil War, food supplies were so strained that luxuries like meat and cheese were simply impossible to come by. At the same time, other, less war-torn parts of the world were experiencing a cattle boom. Of course, it wasn't long before commodity speculators noticed and seized on this opportunity, buying up cheap land and filling it with imported cattle. In fact, when

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-82823994151657360342007-04-22T20:43:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:32.087-05:00

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-55523946741897098722007-04-19T19:29:00.000-05:002007-04-19T20:24:12.888-05:00

The smallest animal which regularly gives birth to more than three offspring at once is the cat. At full term, an unborn kitten can weigh up to 20% as much as the mother. Obviously, sustaining as many as six such organisms for a cat's entire six month gestation period would be impractical. So cat's have found an easier way to do it.For the majority of its fetal development, a kitten is simply

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-30919612371719065992007-04-18T20:37:00.000-05:002007-04-18T21:25:27.934-05:00

If you've been in a pharmacy lately, you might have noticed that generic adhesive bandages are a lot cheaper than the name brand. There's a caveat though: while name brand bandages use a high quality blend of human and chimpanzee skin material as a binder, generic bandages use less expensive goat or pig skin.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-21912440959562599722007-04-17T22:41:00.000-05:002007-04-17T22:46:15.352-05:00

There is technically no such thing as the color red. What we perceive as red is in fact simply the absence of green and yellow light. Yet another reason to separate your colors on laundry day!

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-46499377434727827012007-04-15T22:31:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:32.318-05:00

Even without aborigitone, rudimentary pouch features sometimes form in American groundhogs.(Image from Wikipedia)Wildlife enthusiasts and Billabong Pete fans know that while Australian groundhogs have pouches, their American counterparts do not. This has led to the common misconception that Australian groundhogs are marsupials and American groundhogs are rodents which merely act and appear

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-26487964186057840762007-04-14T15:17:00.000-05:002008-12-12T23:06:32.537-05:00

Last week, I went over the basics of DIY robot bird-watching. In the video, I demonstrated the use of a Robot Bird Rescue Electronic Indicator Device (RBREID), a wireless receiver which can decode robot bird distress signals and estimate the bird's proximity. As you might imagine, the professional version of this tool is expensive and has scads of crazy features we don't need. So rather than

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-40921360718138690442007-04-12T21:23:00.000-05:002007-04-12T21:56:20.392-05:00

Quick! Grab a piece of paper and a ball of dryer lint, and set them down on a flat, nonmetal surface, so that the lint is more or less centered on top of the paper. Sprinkle a small amount of water on top and look closely. As the water dries, the lint fibers will stick to the paper. Now, take a small piece of plastic wrap and rub it in your hair or on some carpet to build up a static charge.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-27541125359165141012007-04-11T20:46:00.000-05:002007-04-11T20:49:19.065-05:00

It's Australian Groundhog Day, and Billabong Pete saw his shadow. We all know what that means: 6 more weeks of Fall.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-77958500788610146582007-04-10T21:26:00.000-05:002007-04-10T20:38:49.685-05:00

Measured by volume, there is more ice on Earth than liquid water.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-30506662046475247492007-04-09T21:04:00.000-05:002007-04-09T21:34:53.825-05:00

Any amateur radio enthusiasts can tell you that a consistent hurdle in radio communication is the "cosmic microwave background", a weak but omnipresent form of electromagnetic radiation which translates into noise during radio transmission.For years, nobody knew where this radiation came from. Scientists blamed everything from the Sun to aliens, but recent research shows that the most likely

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-72305234381008387062007-04-08T20:10:00.000-05:002007-04-08T21:06:12.537-05:00

Last week, I discussed the artificial birds which the government uses to control migration patterns. I also posted a video showing the differences between real birds and their man-made counterparts. But I'm hearing a lot of complaints from folks who are still having trouble making the distinction. Of course, correctly identifying robot birds from a distance takes a lot of familiarity and even

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-16570718009591583902007-04-04T20:20:00.000-05:002007-04-04T20:32:35.143-05:00

If you swallow a penny, your stomach acid will dissolve it in less than 30 seconds. But don't do it! Pennies made before 1983 will quickly convert to deadly cyanide, while more recent pennies will heat up to a scorching 2500° F, slicing through your abdomen like a hot knife through butter.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-30227826746830332822007-04-03T09:08:00.000-05:002007-04-03T09:24:44.481-05:00

Following up on yesterday's post, I thought I'd share some video footage comparing a robot bird and an actual bird. It's good to be able to distinguish them so that you don't make the mistake of approaching a robot and activating its self defense system.The above footage was taken moments before the mechanical impostor supplanted the alpha bird. This is kind of a family site, so for the sake of

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-7239276460741096752007-04-02T20:37:00.000-05:002007-04-02T20:38:34.335-05:00

About one out of every hundred song birds you see is actually a robot built by the government. Originally created to keep flocks out of the way of airplanes at the end of World War II, these artificial critters now also aid with migration control and law enforcement. The robot birds insinuate themselves into flocks by killing the flock's alpha bird and imitating its song. Unfortunately, because

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-63535700356689095072007-04-01T21:10:00.000-05:002007-04-01T21:23:43.712-05:00

In the wild, red squirrels will actually produce maple syrup by scratching the bark of the maple tree and allowing the sap to dry in the sun. In fact, Iroquois lore suggests that humans first learned to make maple syrup by observing this behavior.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-88134068111214268632007-03-31T21:47:00.000-05:002007-03-31T21:50:35.720-05:00

Although we often refer to it as a "neck", the long stalk which protrudes from a giraffe's torso is technically a "sensory umbilicus" - a connection between the giraffe's eyes, ears, and nose and its brain, which is safely nestled within its chest. The giraffe is, in fact, the only warm blooded animal whose sensory organs are separate from the brain. If the giraffe's "head" is chopped off, it

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-41510595266951259602007-03-29T19:38:00.000-05:002007-03-29T20:17:01.715-05:00

The gallbladder is the only organ which can continue to thrive once removed from the human body. In fact, you can grow them in your refrigerator!

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-81646133253699973612007-03-22T20:35:00.000-05:002007-03-22T21:37:09.209-05:00

Since today was Saint Patrick's Day, here's a fact about Ireland.Before the advent of modern medicine, many afflictions which we now attribute to disease were instead blamed on witchcraft and magic. For example, leprosy was believed to be a curse sent by the vengeful stillborn. According to legend, the afflicted - called "leprechauns", meaning "cursed children" - could only break the curse by

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-46567099822206225002007-03-16T20:48:00.000-05:002007-03-16T19:48:04.384-05:00

The only fish that does not have a head is the starfish. It makes up for it with those extra legs though!Above: By studying the starfish's genome, researchers at RAUDFound have reconstructed its evolutionary history. In keeping with the organization's "Just the Facts" policy, regions of uncertainty are rendered in black. This video is certified accurate to within 5 one-thousandths of a percent.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-239459724418714102007-03-15T21:50:00.000-05:002007-03-15T21:58:16.150-05:00

Of the 30,000 applications processed by Switzerland's patent office each day, over 90% are for new attachments for Swiss army knives.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-66723087464999971262007-03-08T10:35:00.000-05:002007-03-08T10:40:11.293-05:00

An obscure Vermont law dictates that men must always wear pith helmets when outside. Although the law is rarely enforced, it has been used by prosecutors on more than a few occasions to nab otherwise untouchable higher-ups in the Vermont mafia.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-81649498020428025342007-03-05T21:15:00.000-05:002007-03-05T21:36:41.889-05:00

Perhaps the largest obstacle to colonizing Mars is that for reasons unexplained by modern science, the planet has no gravitational pull. Some have suggested using magnets to overcome this problem. But until shielding technology improves, it's simply too dangerous to expose humans to that much magnetism.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-16365757900288000062007-02-28T19:06:00.000-05:002007-02-28T19:12:48.111-05:00

According to a recent study by the American Inventors Association of America, over 70% of notable inventors have been named Eli. Academics have suspected such a trend for many years. In fact, in a pathetic attempt to bring success to his inventions, Benjamin Franklin once tried to change his name to Eli. He failed; the patent office simply wouldn't have it.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-70757153980308054402007-02-23T14:32:00.000-05:002007-02-23T15:04:13.089-05:00

Everyone knows that gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded to the top competitors in each Olympic event. But you may not be aware of the equally common platinum medal also awarded. How common, you ask? One is awarded at every event (besides the javelin, of course). Ever since the 1938 Winter Olympics held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the existence of the platinum medal and the identity of its

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-40183040077290947222007-02-21T21:03:00.000-05:002007-02-21T21:03:23.513-05:00

Ever wonder what caramel color is made of? You aren't alone! Despite scientists' best efforts to uncover the secrets of this ubiquitous dye, its composition and origins remain unknown.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-12697835524552470592007-02-19T20:28:00.000-05:002007-02-19T21:48:51.206-05:00

It took us a while to get around to it, but the American people have finally have selected a national dog. Congratulations to the German Shepherd.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-33205509611788637962007-02-18T19:56:00.000-05:002007-02-18T20:07:49.769-05:00

At the 1914 World's Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Joseph "Thumbless Joe" Caldecott was having trouble gripping the trapeze due to his cold, dry, and cracking hands. He paid a visit to the mitten booth to have his measurements taken and a pair produced. The mittensmith offered to make Joe a special pair with no thumbs. Once the mittens were completed, the mittensmith realized that what he had

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-66835292705861922492007-02-15T22:16:00.000-05:002007-02-15T22:47:37.589-05:00

If all the whales were suddenly removed from the ocean, the water level would drop by almost 30 feet.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-78065067118397033532007-02-13T21:07:00.000-05:002007-02-13T21:07:29.023-05:00

Ever wonder why an empty glass always feels cold to the touch, regardless of the temperature of the room? The ice lobby doesn't want to know that glass always tends towards a temperature slightly cooler than its surroundings.This is caused by the Mpemba effect, which also causes hot water to freeze more quickly than cold water.The melting temperature of glass is far higher than humans can achieve

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-68172661501766191392007-02-12T16:04:00.000-05:002007-02-12T13:55:08.999-05:00

The results are in: the world's worst pet name is Osama bin Kitten, replacing last year's winner, Peaches.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-84468424608585841502007-01-25T23:00:00.000-05:002007-01-26T00:57:10.502-05:00

Although linguists are at a loss to explain why, "dog" is "God" spelled backwards, not only in English, but in every language currently spoken on Earth.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-17896952583878817192007-01-24T22:49:00.000-05:002007-01-24T23:09:06.391-05:00

Ever wonder who discovered antiperspirants? You may direct your gratitude to the Amish.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-32962010985451956732006-12-18T12:29:00.000-05:002006-12-18T12:39:09.857-05:00

Cartilage is the only known organic plastic.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-66709360627864993292006-12-15T22:05:00.000-05:002006-12-15T22:47:20.250-05:00

It's Undeniable Friday! Every Friday, in addition to an odd little factoid, UndeniableFacts.com gives you a fun puzzle, illusion, or activity to enjoy and share.Today: The Flying Soda TrickThis one is really simple to do, and the effect is pretty impressive. All you need is a powerful magnet and a can of soda (you may want to use sugar-free, because it's going to spray!) The trick is executed

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-9326025445739433912006-12-14T22:42:00.000-05:002006-12-14T22:51:49.621-05:00

The barnacle holds the honor of being the only plant with a hard shell. Interestingly, the genetic code responsible for this is almost identical to that which produces the shell in weevils.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31870129.post-91034212119604388512006-12-13T14:30:00.000-05:002006-12-13T14:32:39.309-05:00

Although their religion prohibits them from eating it, bacon was invented by the Jews.

Dan Serenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07474840355840339870noreply@blogger.com4