WTF • Fun • Fact    ( /dʌb(ə)lˌju/  /ti/   /ef/ • /fʌn/ • /fækt/ )

     1. noun  A random, interesting, and overall fun fact that makes you scratch your head and think what the...

WTF Fun Fact 12969 – Manatees Fart to Swim

Do you know a kid who loves to share fun facts about animals and just won’t stop telling you everything you never wanted to know about lizards or sharks or bugs? Well, it’s time to blow their minds with your superior animal knowledge and show them adults reign supreme in the world of truly fun facts. Manatees fart to swim.

Do manatees really fart to swim?

We’re totally serious. We even looked it up on Snopes because it seemed too good to be true.

While manatees are aquatic animals, they aren’t like fish, which can live underwater but also have something called a “swim bladder” to control their buoyancy. Instead, manatees need to float – and if you live in the water but need to stay atop it, you have three choices – be built to sit upon it (like a duck), tread water like your life depends on it (like a human), or have a mechanism that makes your body buoyant.

And since the animals we lovingly call “sea cows” eat about 100 pounds of vegetation a day, let’s just say staying perched upon a wave isn’t really an option for them. That’s why manatees developed a different mechanism to stay afloat. Farts.

Fart like your life depends on it

At Captain Mike’s Swimming with the Manatees in Crystal, Florida (whose website we’ve cited below), you’ll get a great explanation of how the fart propulsion actually works.

According to the experts who swim with the flatulent sea cows all day, all the vegetation they eat creates the same reaction in their bodies as it does in ours. Farts. Gas. Flatulence. Whatever you want to call it.

“For manatees, there is always enough gas in the body…The gas produced during digestion is stored in intestinal pouches ready for use in swimming,” note the experts.

And how does that lead to the ability to swim?

“The gas produced during digestion is lighter than water. So when the animals hold in a substantial amount of gas in intestinal pouches, they lower their overall density and float in water. On the contrary, releasing the gas from the body makes a manatee relatively denser than water and to be able to readily sink. That is why manatees fart to swim. For they have to continuously hold in enough gas in their bodies to be able to come to the surface to breathe. Then soon after, they have to fart in order to release some gas, become less buoyant, and sink underwater.”

Hold your breath

Manatees can actually hold their breath for up to 20 minutes (don’t try that one at home!). But rather than use the breath trick, they can use farts with a lot less effort.

So next time you’re in the pool, you can see how this works (without the farts – don’t use the farts). Take a big, deep breath, hold it, and then float on your back. Then release the air (from your nose or mouth, please) and notice that you sink a bit.

Then you can tell everyone around you to be grateful that you’re not a manatee. Otherwise, they would have seen a lot of bubbles from your backside. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Do manatees fart to swim?” — Swimming with the Manatees

WTF Fun Fact 12968 – Edible Burrito Tape

Do you love burritos but hate the mess they make when they’re not expertly rolled into a magical self-sealing pocket? Well, edible burrito tape could be the weirdest invention you never knew you needed.

What’s the deal with edible burrito tape?

Leave it to college students to solve this age-old conundrum.

It turns out that a group of Engineering majors at Johns Hopkins taking a product design course have found a way to make your burritos delicious and more convenient.

According to TODAY (cited below), “The all-female team of Tyler Guarino, Rachel Nie, Marie Eric and Erin Walsh came together and decided to solve one of life’s most frustrating problems: preventing a burrito from unraveling and making a mess. Their solution: an edible tape that keeps all the delicious ingredients inside the tortilla instead of on your plate or lap.”

The first step was to investigate what made tape, in general, work well (turns out the answer is twofold – a backbone and an adhesive compound). The next step was to make those components edible.

“Tastee” Tape

Student Tyler Guarino told TODAY: “We tried tons of different combinations, and formulations and really did a lot of trial and error until we were able to get a product that was clear in color, tasteless, didn’t have a noticeable texture, but was still strong enough to hold a big fat burrito together.”

It took the women a few months of trial and error to figure out how to make a cookable, edible burrito tape. After that, they set about making it pleasant to eat (not just edible). That meant playing around with the taste and texture.

They decided on a final product that carried little to none of it’s own taste or texture so people could just enjoy their burritos. The product is known as Tastee Tape.

“You simply just peel the piece off of the sheet,” Guarino said. “You wet it to activate it, and then you apply it to your tortilla.” 

The students aren’t keen to share their recipe, however. They’re looking to patent it. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Johns Hopkins students develop edible tape to make burritos easier to eat” — TODAY

WTF Fun Fact 12967 – Bats and Tequila

There’s a little-known but critical relationship between bats and tequila. In fact, without bats, we may not be able to create tequila at all!

How are bats and tequila connected?

If you’re a tequila fan, you probably know the crucial ingredient in the spirit is agave. This spiky plant is native to the desert regions of North and South America (but mostly Mexico). Agave nectar is also harvested to be used as a sweetener.

One of the many interesting things about the agave plant is that it has very few natural pollinators. (And you likely know that in order for plants to produce, they need to be pollinated by things like birds, bees, etc.)

The agave plant’s primary pollinator is bats. No bats, no agave. No agave, no tequila.

Is the tequila supply in danger?

To make matters even more complicated for agave plants, only a few species of bats are pollinators. These bats are being threatened by industrial farming and other threats to their natural habitats.

But while the bats and agave plants are increasingly threatened, our thirst for tequila has only gone up. According to NPR (cited below), the tequila industry has grown by 60% over the last decade. That means we need more agave plants than ever.

You might think that industrial farming would simply increase the amount of agave being grown, but it hasn’t worked out that way.

How do you solve a problem like agave?

NPR interviewed Micaela Jemison of Bat Conservation International, who said that the problem with commercial agave production is that agave stalks are harvested before they can reproduce. “That means no tasty pollen for hungry bats. And instead of plants that reproduce through bats spreading pollen from stem to stem, major tequila companies use cloned agave.”

If you only care about tequila, you might not think this is a big deal, but there are some major unintended consequences of handing a natural process over to a business.

“Growing genetically identical plants is easy and cheap for big companies, but cloned agave is vulnerable to fungus or disease that could wipe out entire crops. Bats can solve this problem by creating genetic diversity. Instead, their ecosystem has been disrupted. Fewer agave plants are allowed to flower and growers use powerful agrochemicals that can hurt the three kind of bats that feed on agave.”

The Mexican long-nosed bat and the lesser long-nosed bat are two of the major agave pollinators listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a third, the Mexican long-tongued bat, is a species of concern.

To help spread appreciation for the relationship between bats and tequila, the Tequila Interchange Project (which is made up of bartenders, scientists, industry consultants, and plain old tequila fans) is trying to promote Bat Friendly Tequila and Mezcal™. These approved brands give some of their proceeds to agave farmers who welcome the bats and help maintain their populations.

Bat-friendly tequila

The coalition notes that “Given that Tequila is a two billion USD a year industry, and that the economy of 40,000 families is linked to blue agaves (and to bats and other pollinators), it is in the best interest of all stakeholders, from producers to the government to the individual consumer and everyone in-between, to protect the future of tequila and mezcal agaves by adopting sustainable practices and protecting pollinators and genetic resources.”

According to the website, some of the bat-friendly brands include:
– Tequila 8
– Tequila Tapatio
– Tesoro de Don Felipe
– Siembra Valles Ancestral
– 7 Leguas
– Siembra Metl Cupreata
– TOCUZ Alto
– Don Mateo de la Sierra Cupreata
– Mezcal Vago Pechuga

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Bats And Tequila: A Once Boo-tiful Relationship Cursed By Growing Demands” — NPR

WTF Fun Fact 12966 – Yacouba Sawadogo

Yacouba Sawadogo is a farmer – and an environmental hero. Hailing from Burkina Faso, he and his family helped stop the desertification of his village by planting their own forest.

But there’s so much more to his efforts and what we can learn from them about the importance of trees (and caring about the land around us).

Yacouba Sawadogo, the man who stopped the desert

Sawadogo’s village, in the northern part of Burkina Faso (in the Sahel Belt), suffered from a long drought from 1972 to 1984. The land was further impacted by overfarming and overgrazing by animals, and the resulting famine killed hundreds of thousands of people.

He used an ancient African technique called zai. Zai involves planting specific trees and enriching the soil, resulting in faster forest growth and improved soil quality. But his fellow farmers who saw him planting trees in the desert thought he was losing his mind.

He and fellow farmer Mathieu Ouédraogo proved them wrong.

“Yacoub Zai”

Sawadogo has no formal science education but used traditional knowledge to plant what is now a nearly 100-acre forest with 96 tree and 66 plant species. There are edible and medicinal plants in his forest, and it’s now home to previously endangered animals.

According to LifeGate (cited below), Yacouba Sawadogo recalled getting his nickname: “Thomas Sankara [President of Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987] launched an appeal to develop initiatives to stop the advancement of the desert, and when he came to see my work, he asked me what technique I was using, and I told him it was zai. That’s why I’m also known as Yacoub Zai”.

Trouble in the forest

There is a 2010 documentary (The Man Who Stopped the Desert) about his life, and he won the Right Livelihood Award in 2018 and the Champions of the Earth award in 2020. However, Sawadogo was still fighting for the land until very recently.

In the early 2000s, the nearby city of Ouahigouya annexed the forest as part of a larger municipal land grab. Officials offered Sawadogo and each of his family members just 1/10th of an acre of the land and no other compensation. Then, people began erecting settlements on the plot.

Sawadogo began raising money in 2008 to buy the land and keep it safe. But the value of the land (thanks to his own efforts) made it extremely valuable – more than he could afford, even with fundraising. Finally, in 2021, the environmental arm of the local government erected a protective fence around the forest to preserve it, thanks to Sawadogo’s ongoing efforts. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Yacouba Sawadogo, the African farmer who stopped the desert” — LifeGate

WTF Fun Fact 12965 – The New Moon

Have you ever heard that there was a new Moon only to look up at the sky and see no moon at all? Well, that’s because the Moon cycle is starting all over again.

Types of Moons

We obviously only have one Moon, but it goes through lots of phases. A “new” Moon is the opposite of a full Moon. During a full Moon, the sun is fully illuminating one side of the big ball. That’s what makes it glow so brightly in the night sky.

During the time when the Moon is “new,” we are seeing the side that is not illuminated by the sun. The Moon is still up there, but without the sun shining on it, we can’t see it in the night sky.

According to Farmer’s Almanac (cited below) “When the Moon is “new,” it’s located between the Earth and the Sun. In other words, the Moon is in line with the Sun, and the Sun and Earth are on opposite sides of the Moon. (Note that when the Moon is perfectly aligned in front of the Sun, it blocks out the Sun, giving us a solar eclipse.)”

Lunar cycles and the new Moon

The new Moon is the beginning of the lunar cycle. This lasts 29.5 days, and it’s the amount of time it takes for the moon to orbit the Earth.

The Moon cycle used to be used to measure months (each new moon signaled a new month).

Another fun fact: the new Moon always rises close to the time of sunrise.

And according to The Farmer’s Almanac:

“As the new Moon crosses the sky during the day, rising and setting around the same time as the Sun, it’s lost in the solar glare…The new Moon is also lit up from behind, showing us its dark side. It’s doubly invisible. New Moons generally can’t be seen with the naked eye.”

About a day (maybe two) after a new lunar cycle begins, you’ll be able to look up at the night sky and see a slim crescent off to the West after the sun sets. These crescent moons are often very bright. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Learn All About the New Moon” — Almanac

WTF Fun Fact 12964 – Our Obsession With Pumpkins

Pumpking beer, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin-spiced…you name it. Our obsession with pumpkins knows no bounds.

Even if you hate the taste of pumpkins, you might still be soothed by the sight of them. And there’s a reason for that.

What’s with our obsession with pumpkins?

Most pumpkin-flavored things don’t really taste like pumpkin or even contain pumpkin – in fact, most are made with a different type of squash altogether. We’re mostly in it for the spices.

Still, there’s a reason we market everything as “pumpkin flavored” – and it’s all about nostalgia.

According to NPR (cited below), a professor of American Studies at St. Louis University named Cindy Ott wrote a book titled Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon in which she describes why we’re so drawn to the round, orange gourds.

“It’s a vegetable that represents this idyllic farm life, and the best sort of moral virtue. And Americans have become attached to that,” she said.

“‘The rehab of pumpkin’s popularity began when 19th century Americans began to move away from rural life and into the city,’ Ott says. ‘People became stressed about… moving into the office and off the farms, and [the pumpkin] starts to appear in poems and in paintings,’ she says. ‘We’re celebrating the nostalgia for this old-fashioned, rural way of life that no one ever really wanted to stay on, but everyone’s always been romantic about.'”

Recycling pumpkin-flavored ideas

Did you know pumpkin beer isn’t a new phenomenon? Pumpkins were once the food of pure desperation.

NPR explains that “…pumpkin beers and pumpkin breads have been produced since colonial times, Ott says that they weren’t always the specialty foods that they are today. ‘Pumpkin beer was used when there was no barley. [If] there was no wheat for bread, they used pumpkin [for] bread,'”

If anyone mocks you for your pumpkin-flavored obsession, just tell them you’re helping the economy.

“Big corporations advertise many pumpkin-themed products, but due to their limited seasonal availability, many fresh pumpkins sold every fall still come from local family farms,” Ott told NPR. “And that’s actually helping to rejuvenate those farms.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “Why Americans Go Crazy For Pumpkin And Pumpkin-Flavored Stuff” — NPR

WTF Fun Fact 12963 – The Autumn Equinox

Solstice, equinox – what’s the difference? We know these things meant more to people in agricultural societies, but they still dictate the way we do things today to some extent. The 2022 autumn equinox will begin on September 22 at 9:03 pm.

Why is the autumn equinox so specific?

This is a natural phenomenon that influences culture, not the other way around. So while you might start shopping for your autumn decor in August, fall doesn’t really begin until the solar system says so.

The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun is nearest to the equatorial plane (the imaginary extension of the equator), giving us a day with equal amounts of sunlight and darkness. It lasts a few days, and as soon as it’s over, the days start to get shorter.

Spring also has an equinox. When it’s over, the days start to get longer.

Winter and summer, on the other hand, have solstices.

What’s the difference between an equinox and a solstice?

The summer and winter solstices occur when the sun is farthest from the equatorial plane. They are the day when the daylight is longest (spring) or shortest (winter).

So while the solstices and equinoxes each usher in a new season, each only applies to two seasons and represents a different phenomenon. (And all of the seasons are the opposite in each hemisphere – we’re only talking about the northern hemisphere here!)

What’s so fun about the autumnal solstice?

If you like fall weather (and live in the northern hemisphere), you’re probably pretty excited about its official start.

Historically, the equinox signaled the end of the outdoor working season or harvest season. It was a time to celebrate all of the hard work nature had done for humans and that humans did to reap the benefits and survive through winter. It’s traditionally a time to give thanks and take stock of all of nature’s bounty a community had received.

In many places, it was a time of harvest festivals, feasting (at least on the things that might not be preserved over the winter), and thanking the gods of the harvest. — WTF fun facts

Source: “The Spiritual Meaning of the Autumn Equinox” — Spirituality & Health

WTF Fun Fact 12962 – The Earth’s Rotation Around The Sun

The Earth’s rotation around the sun isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact – and one we learn in elementary school. Of course, we don’t retain all of that information throughout our lives, which is why some people answered a question about it incorrectly.

In need of a revolution

Now, this is disturbing in many ways. However, some people don’t do well when quizzed on the spot. We’d like to think that it’s more of a misunderstanding than a quarter of Americans truly believing that the Earth is the center of the solar system.

Spoiler alert: the Earth revolves around the sun.

Maybe we should all talk to elementary school students taking science classes more often.

Parsing data on the earth’s revolution

Here’s how the survey was done: People were asked a (theoretically simple) question: “Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth.”

Only 26% answered incorrectly.

According to NPR (cited below): “In the same survey, just 39 percent answered correctly (true) that ‘The universe began with a huge explosion’ and only 48 percent said ‘Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.’ Just over half understood that antibiotics are not effective against viruses.”

It’s a bit of an embarrassing science deficit. In fact, that last misunderstanding (about antibiotics) has been downright dangerous.

However, NPR goes on…“As alarming as some of those deficits in science knowledge might appear, Americans fared better on several of the questions than similar, but older surveys of their Chinese and European counterparts. Only 66 percent of people in a 2005 European Union poll answered the basic astronomy question correctly.”

But let’s not celebrate too soon because “both China and the EU fared significantly better (66 percent and 70 percent, respectively) on the question about human evolution.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says” — NPR

WTF Fun Fact 12961 – Ride-Sharing Risks

We would have assumed that with fewer cars on the road, ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft would have helped decrease the number of traffic deaths. But a 2018 study from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, there are some unforeseen ride sharing risks. In fact, these services have contributed to a 2%-3% increase in traffic deaths.

Reporting on the risk of ride-sharing

In “The Cost of Convenience: Ridesharing and Traffic Fatalities,” authors John M. Barrios (University of Chicago), Yael V. Hochberg (Rice University), and Livia Hanyi Yi (Rice University), claim that since 2011, roughly 1,100 deaths could be attributed to ride sharing companies in the U.S.

The report (cite below) states: “The arrival of ridesharing is associated with an increase of 2-3% in the number of motor vehicle fatalities and fatal accidents. This increase is not only for vehicle occupants, but also for pedestrians.”

Why the increase in traffic deaths?

After looking at the data, the authors note a number of ride sharing risks that contribute to traffic accidents.

The biggest increases occurred in large cities, where ride sharing also put more cars on the road despite the presence of public transportation. An increase in new vehicles leads to more congestion on the streets, which is correlated with more accidents.

According to the Booth School of Business: “Evaluating the effect of ride sharing on driver quality is complicated, according to the researchers. An increase in high-quality ride-share drivers could offset increased VMT and potentially reduce accident rates; however, while some poor drivers may substitute ride sharing for driving, other passengers may be skilled drivers who simply enjoy the convenience. At the same time, lesser-quality drivers may be tempted to drive for ride-sharing services.”

The cost of the increase in accidents is estimated to be $5.33 billion to $13.24 billion per year.

Of course, there are benefits to ride sharing: “These include improved mobility for the disabled and for minorities, flexible job opportunities that are especially valuable to those otherwise at high risk of unemployment, and customer convenience and resulting consumer surplus.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “The Cost of Convenience” — University of Chicago