Awesome

WTF Fun Fact 12917 – The Science of Batman

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A course called The Science of Batman was proposed at the University of Victoria in Canada back in 2012, and was offered for the first time a few years later in 2016.

The science of Batman

According to HuffPost (cited below) “the course will examine how the human body can be adapted and improved based on the metaphor of the caped crusader himself” and “Offered in “alternate years” the course would make up only part of a degree and is run by the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education.”

EPHE 156 is described in the course catalog as such:

“The extreme range of adaptability of the human body
explored through the life of the Caped Crusader; examines
human potential using Batman as a metaphor for the
ultimate in human conditioning; evaluates the concepts of
adaptation to exercise and injury from the perspective of
science and exercise training; examines the multiple
sciences behind exercise adaptation, musculoskeletal injury
and concussion, and limitations of the human body and
mind.”

Frankly, it sounds pretty awesome. Just like Batman.

Why teach about superheroes?

It’s hard to get students interested in courses, so sometimes professors (or their administrators) resort to gimmicks. And while they might sound silly, there’s really nothing wrong with it if it helps students learn valuable concepts or skills. The Science of Batman wasn’t about taking away tuition dollars for something mindless, in fact, it was a course about how the human body could be improved.

In some ways, The Science of Batman was ahead of its time. People are only more and more interested in things like “biohacking” and adapting the human body to extreme conditions (like space). Physiology experts travel to high-altitude locations to study these sorts of things all the time. It may even help us improve our health and live longer. So if you have to lure in students with the promise of Batman, so what?

Parents, teachers, and, yes, even executives use references to things people are interested in all the time to explain tough concepts or motivate people.

—WTF fun facts

Source: “Science Of Batman: Canadian University Offers Physical Education Class In The Dark Knight” — HuffPost

WTF Fun Fact 12898 – A Restaurant Run By Deaf Staff

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Sid Nouar is deaf. The unemployment rate for deaf people in Europe is over 50%. So when Nouar opened his restaurant,1000&1 Signes in Paris, he was committed to hiring deaf staff. And he’s not the only “deaf cafe” in the world.

1000&1 Signes

When Nouar first opened his Moroccan restaurant, he couldn’t find deaf staff trained in the restaurant business (something very necessary for Parisian restaurants, where restaurant positions are careers). As a result, he ended up performing the roles of the whole front-of-house staff while his mother cooked in the kitchen.

As you might imagine, he burned out as a result.

Luckily, he was able to reopen at an even larger location a few years later and hire a full staff of deaf people.

Deaf cafes around the world

According to Atlas Obscura (cited below): “Although every country has its own unique sign language, Deaf people across the globe share many common experiences, especially the frustration of primarily communicating in a language not shared by the majority. Instead of focusing on what they cannot access, however, many Deaf people take pride in their rich sign languages, plus the arts, athletics, folklore, values, and history that make up what is known as Deaf Culture.”

Now, there is a “Deaf Ecosystem” that employs the deaf community whenever possible. And deaf travelers seek out these deaf entrepreneurs. Still, 80% of the clientele at deaf cafes are hearing people. But they’re required to adapt to their surroundings rather than the other way around.

Atlas Obscura offered an example: “When visiting Austin, Texas, Deaf travelers are sure to visitCrêpe Crazy. The birth of this popular crêpe restaurant evokes the quintessential American fairytale: two Deaf immigrants turn a secret family recipe into a pair of successful central Texas restaurants, serving an American take on a European classic.” –WTF fun facts

Source: “Deaf-Owned Restaurants Offer Cuisine and Community” — Atlas Obscura

WTF Fun Fact 12897 – The World’s Oldest Cat

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The world’s oldest cat was named Creme Puff – and the furry girl held on until age 38! It’s all been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The story of Creme Puff

Creme Puff was owned by Jake Perry, who can safely be called a legendary cat owner (as well as a husband, father to humans, and plumber). He also adopted and found homes for hundreds of cats over his lifetime. But even more stunning is that Perry had been the owner of the previous record-holder for longest-lived cat before Creme Puff came along!

That cat, Granpa Rexs Allen was part sphynx and part Devon Rex mix, and he lived to age 34.

Creme Puff was a mixed tabby cat.

What’s Perry’s secret to cat longevity?

As you might imagine, Perry treated all of his cats as they so richly deserved. He built a theater in his garage that played nature documentaries for his cats to watch. He remembered and celebrated their birthdays every year (which, if you think about it, is A LOT of birthdays). Perry even had steps built all over the walls of his house so his cats would have things to climb on to stay engaged and stimulated.

Most importantly, he insisted that a loving relationship is the secret to cat longevity.

The diet Perry fed his cats is more questionable (or is it, since 1/3rd of the cats he’s owned have lived to be 30?). According to Atlas Obscura (cited below, with an excellent story on Perry) the cats’ daily diet had a few extra fixins’ on top of dry commercial cat food, including “a home-cooked breakfast of eggs, turkey bacon, broccoli, coffee with cream, and—every two days—about an eyedropper full of red wine to ‘circulate the arteries.'” (Note, caffeine and alcohol are not recommended for cats, nor is that much human food, so there much be some other secret – or it all goes together in some perfect feline-friendly way.)

Perry’s vet of choice is Bruce Hardesty, the owner of South Congress Veterinary Clinic in Austin, Texas. He’s seen 40 or 50 cats Perry has owned over the years. He believes at least 6 of Perry’s cats have reached age 30. – WTF fun facts

Source: “How to Raise a 165-Year-Old Cat” — Atlas Obscura

WTF Fun Fact 12889 – Dasia Taylor’s Life-Saving Sutures

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Anywhere from 2% to 5% of surgical incisions and other stitched-up lacerations get infected, and it can be life-threatening. That’s partly because patients may not know their wounds are infected until they see signs like redness or experience pain. Teenager Dasia Taylor has an answer – she invented sutures that turn a different color when a wound is infected.

Dasia Taylor’s suture solution

When she began the project in October 2019, Dasia Taylor was just 17 years old. The Iowa City West High School student was participating in science fairs and was eventually named one of 40 finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, a highly prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

Her invention was a suture threat used for medical stitches that changes color from bright red to dark purple when an infection is present. She uses beet juice to make the dye. But it’s far more chemically complicated than that.

Color-changing sutures save lives

Dasia Taylor’s invention is designed in part to help people who don’t have access to convenient medical care and is based on a process already known to scientists.

According to Smithsonian Magazine (cited below): “Taylor had read about sutures coated with a conductive material that can sense the status of a wound by changes in electrical resistance, and relay that information to the smartphones or computers of patients and doctors. While these ‘smart’ sutures could help in the United States, the expensive tool might be less applicable to people in developing countries, where internet access and mobile technology is sometimes lacking.“

While less than 5% of people in the US whose wounds are treated with sutures develop an infection, that number jumps to 11% in developing countries.

Taylor is also concerned about the high rate of C-section infections in parts of Africa and the US (the US has just as high of a rate of infection – sometimes higher – than some African nations with fewer medical resources).

How do color-changing sutures work?

So, how do the sutures help notify patients of an infection? Well, according to Smithsonian: “Healthy human skin is naturally acidic, with a pH around five. But when a wound becomes infected, its pH goes up to about nine. Changes in pH can be detected without electronics; many fruits and vegetables are natural indicators that change color at different pH levels.”

“I found that beets changed color at the perfect pH point,” said Taylor. Bright red beet juice turns dark purple at a pH of nine. “That’s perfect for an infected wound. And so, I was like, ‘Oh, okay. So beets is where it’s at.’”

But that wasn’t the full solution. Taylor also had to find a material that would hold onto the dye while not being too thick to be used as a suture. She tackled the problem during the COVID lockdown and ran experiments until she found the best of the 10 materials she was trying – a cotton-polyester blend that could change color in just minutes of picking up a change in pH.

There are still some kinks to work out before it goes from the laboratory to the bedside, but it’s safe to say this teen is on her way to an illustrious research career. – WTF fun facts

Source: “This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 12824 – Teen Invents Tool To Catch Elephant Poachers

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A teen named Anika Puri has invented a new way to catch elephant poachers.

“I was quite taken aback,” the 17-year-old Chappaqua, New York student told Smithsonian Magazine. “Because I always thought, ‘well, poaching is illegal, how come it really is still such a big issue?’”

Learning more about elephant poachers

Puri and her family visited India a few years ago and saw ivory lined up at a Bombay market. The ivory trade has been illegal for decades in India.

After some research, Puri realized African elephants are still being hunted and that the “forest elephant population had declined by about 62 percent between 2002 and 2011.” Those numbers continue to drop today.

As a wildlife lover who is gifted in science and technology, Puri invented a system to help catch poachers.

According to Smithsonian: “Drones are currently used to detect and capture images of poachers, and they aren’t that accurate, the teenager explains. But after watching videos of elephants and humans, she saw how the two differed vastly in the way they move—their speed, their turning patterns and other motions.”

Tracking and stopping elephant poachers

Once she saw the difference in movements between humans and elephants, she realized she could build a piece of technology to track their movements.

As a result, she spent 2 years creating ElSa (short for “elephant savior”). Still in the prototype stage, the machine-learning driven device “analyzes movement patterns in thermal infrared videos of humans and elephants.”

Better yet, Puri says the accuracy is 4 times that of other tools. Her tool also costs a mere $250 to make whereas others run into the thousands of dollars due to their use of high-resolution cameras.

However: “ElSa uses a $250 FLIR ONE Pro thermal camera with 206×156 pixel resolution that plugs into an off-the-shelf iPhone 6. The camera and iPhone are then attached to a drone, and the system produces real-time inferences as it flies over parks as to whether objects below are human or elephant.” – WTF fun facts

Source: “This Teenager Invented a Low-Cost Tool to Spot Elephant Poachers in Real Time” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 12814 – The Tarantula-Pet Frog Theory

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We don’t exactly get the warm fuzzies from tarantulas, but we know there are some spider fans out there who think the leggy creatures get a bad rap. And we’re open to reconsidering some of our terror. Especially when we find out cool things about them – like the tarantula-pet frog connection.

Communalism and “pet” frogs

According to a University of Michigan press release, a “team of biologists has documented 15 rare and disturbing predator-prey interactions in the Amazon rainforest including keep-you-up-at-night images of a dinner plate-size tarantula dragging a young opossum across the forest floor.”

Ok. That’s not the endearing part. But they continue…

…”the researchers also report on lethal parasite infections in lowland Amazonian frogs and commensal relationships between spiders and frogs. A commensal relationship is one in which one organism benefits and the other is not harmed.”

So, it turns out the circle of life takes a little side trip when it comes to these tiny frogs.

Now, other research shows that tarantulas tend to form communal relationships with frogs that just downright taste bad to them, so they could be why they don’t eat them. But one also has to wonder why they even let them hang around.

Does the tarantula keep frogs as pets or housekeepers?

The nature website Roaring Earth (cited below) gives us some more insight into the frogs:

“Measuring hardly more than half an inch in length, microhylids might seem like a pretty insignificant family of frogs. But they’ve crossed onto scientific radars in a big way. Many of these tiny, narrow-mouthed frogs have been observed in Sri Lanka, Peru, and India living in close proximity totarantulas.”

Now, when species have commensal symbiosis, that means one creature doesn’t get anything out of the interaction. But it’s possible that this relationship could be described as mutualism instead. In that case, both species would benefit.

And how do the spiders get anything out of this (besides a cute, slimy pet?). Well, some researchers have postulated that “the frogs may eat the small invertebrates attracted to the spider’s prey remains.” So frogs get a bodyguard while spiders get a housekeeper.

Tarantula – pet frogs, or tarantula – frog friendship?

Better yet, the small invertebrates that the tarantulas eat are the ones that may target a spider’s eggs. So, frankly, it seems like the spiders get more out of this than the frogs, but tarantulas probably have a hard time finding friends, so maybe it does all even out in the end!

What do you think about the tarantula-pet frog theory? –WTF fun facts

Source: “Giant Taranzulas and Tiny Frogs Are Friends with Benefits” — Roaring Eart

WTF Fun Fact 12803 – Real-Life Lassie

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Has your dog ever done something so smart or seemingly compassionate that you’ve compared them to a real-life Lassie?

The Nevada County Search and Rescue certainly feels that way about a border collie named Saul.

Collie becomes real-life Lassie

In a July 14, 2022 Facebook post, the rescue team described what Saul did for his 53-year-old owner, who was on a hike earlier in the week in Nevada County, California.

On July 12, the duo set out for an adventure, but the man fell 70 feet down the side of a hill. Even worse, he was out of cellular service range at the time and could not call for help.

It wasn’t until the next day that the injured man – who broke his hip and ribs – managed to get himself to an area where his phone worked and call for help. CalFire immediately sent out the Search & Rescue unit, but it was Saul who found them first.

The big rescue

According to the FB post:

“Earlier today SAR was requested by CalFire to assist in searching for a 53 year old male that had fallen approximately 70 feet and complained of a broken hip and broken ribs. 25 SAR Members responded and located the subject but the true credit goes to the subjects k9 Border Collie that ran through the forest approximately 200 yards and in true ”LASSIE” fashion to flag down two searchers and led them back to the subject which was covered in a camo tarp.

Sar members packaged the subject and transported him to a landing zone a half mile away where CHP H 24 was standing by to transport the subject to a air ambulance a few miles away.

Great work and skill by all involved today and for the Border Collie he was transported back to Grass Valley and given a well-deserved dinner.”

“Like a movie”

Sergeant Dennis Haack of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue told CNN affiliate KCRA: “At first we didn’t believe it because it sounded like a movie. When they came back and actually described it to us, the reality was that they had followed the dog directly to the victim.”

Hiking accidents can be deadly since victims can be hard to pinpoint and locate in wooded areas or in places where satellite service is spotty. The rescuers received the call at noon, but it wasn’t until 7 pm that they managed to read the victim.

But once Saul heard them nearby, he knew what to do.

“(Saul) was jumping up and down and spinning around in circles,” Haack said, according to KCRA.

What a good boy!

–WTF fun facts

Source: “This dog led rescuers to his owner after he fell 70 feet on a hike” — CNN

WTF Fun Fact 12789 – Volvo’s Seat Belt Patent

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Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin saved countless lives by inventing the V-type three-point safety belt in 1959. And while the Swedish car company could have made millions by licensing the design to their competitors, they decided to gift the design to the world instead of patenting it for themselves.

The story of the seat belt

The two-point (over the waist) seat belt already existed at the time, but for those of us who remember them, they could manage to do harm even at a hard stop. And those weren’t even a standard feature in most cars!

Volvo’s president at the time, Gunnar Engellau, lost a relative to a traffic accident in which the seat belt was part of the problem. It was his loss that inspired him to find the best engineer possible to build a better seat belt.

Interestingly, that engineer happened to work for rival car company Saab. But Engellau managed to hire away Nils Bohlin and tapped him to work exclusively on the new design.

The story of the patent

Car companies patent all of their designs. If they’re good, other car companies have to pay to license them for their own vehicles. If other companies try to copy patented designs, they get sued. A U.S. patent, for example, gives you a 20-year monopoly right over a design.

But the engineers knew that this wasn’t the right thing to do. They had invented something to protect human welfare and retaining exclusivity meant everyone would have to buy a Volvo to be safe.

Engellau knew that wouldn’t happen.

Yes, they took out a patent on the design to give credit where credit was due, but Volvo then gifted the design to all other rival car companies.

As Forbes (cited below) put it: “Having sponsored the R&D, they gifted their designs to competitors, to encourage mass adoption and to save lives.”

Imagine that.

–WTF fun facts

Source: “Volvo’s Gift To The World, Modern Seat Belts Have Saved Millions Of Lives” — Forbes

WTF Fun Fact 12786 – Endless Albatross Flying

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It seems impossible, but albatrosses can go years without ever landing on the ground.

Albatrosses get a bad rap. They’ve long been a metaphor for a psychological burden that’s difficult to escape. This originated not in any real story but in a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called The Rime of the Ancient Mariner published in 1798.

In the poem, an albatross flies out with a ship heading to sea. But the mariner shoots it with a crossbow. Since the albatross is normally a sign of good luck, the action curses him and his crew, who tie a dead albatross around his neck.

But what’s so great about an albatross

Albatrosses are large seabirds whose wingspans can reach over 10 feet. The “great albatrosses,” the wandering and royal albatrosses, have the widest wingspans—ten feet or more—of any living bird.

The albatross’ flying forte

According to Smithsonian Magazine (cited below): “Albatrosses are masters of soaring flight, able to glide over vast tracts of ocean without flapping their wings. So fully have they adapted to their oceanic existence that they spend the first six or more years of their long lives (which last upwards of 50 years) without ever touching land.”

Who knew an animal could fly, move, or even glide that long?!

The albatross’ future

Sadly, albatrosses are endangered – in fact, Smithsonian Magazine reports that they’re “one of the most threatened families of birds on earth. All but 2 of the 21 albatross species recognized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature are described as vulnerable, endangered or, in the case of the Amsterdam and Chatham albatrosses, critically endangered. The scientists hope that the data they gather may save some species from extinction.”

The birds mate for life, but reproduction is a two-step process that requires the right conditions and a long time to produce an egg. Once it hatches, predators abound.

– WTF fun facts

Source: “The Amazing Albatrosses” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 12767 – Lyrebird Mimicry

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There are actually two types of lyrebirds, both live in Australia, and both are fabulous mimics. We just think the superb lyrebird has a better name. The other one is called Albert’s lyrebird and it’s a little less showy (but equally capable of mimicry).

Lyrebird taxonomy

The superb lyrebird belongs to the genus Menura (family Menuridae, order Passeriformes, if you like to get truly taxonomic). The birds live in the forests of southeastern Australia and do not fly – they are groundbirds.

For the most part, they’re not so impressive to look at. They look a lot like brown chickens. Well, except for the male superb lyrebird – he has to show off to attract females.

What does a lyrebird look like?

According to Britannica (cited below), “the male’s tail consists of eight pairs of ornate feathers, which resemble a lyre when erect. There are six pairs of filmy whitish feathers. One pair of 60–75-cm (24–30-inch) feathers that form the arms of the ‘lyre’ are broad and curled at the tip and are silvery on one side and marked with golden-brown crescents on the other. There are also two equally long ‘wires,’ narrow, stiff, slightly curved feathers that correspond to a lyre’s strings; they are situated in the centre of the curved ‘arms’…When the male displays in small clearings, which he makes at several places in the forest, he brings his tail forward so that the white plumes form a canopy over his head and the lyrelike feathers stand out to the side.”

Lyrebird mimicry

Here’s our favorite part of Britannica’s description: “In this position he sings, while prancing in rhythm, far-carrying melodious notes interspersed with perfect mimicry of other creatures and even of mechanical sounds.”

You might not think much of that at first, but the fact that a bird can mimic just about any sound is not only impressive but potentially creepy. Imagine walking through the deep forest in Australia (known for all manner of amazing-yet-terrifying creatures) only to hear the sound of a predator, a crying child, or a chainsaw!

We’d be freaked out, to say the least.

Seriously, listen to this bird mimic a baby crying!

Ok, now listen to construction noise (we had to double-check to make sure it was real):

Next time you head construction in the outback, look closer to the ground if you don’t see any men with tools. It may just be a lyrebird trying to troll you.

–WTF fun facts

Source: “Lyrebird” – Britannica

WTF Fun Fact 12764 – Mindfulness Meditation Changes the Brain

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We need more large-scale studies to make definitive claims, but mindfulness meditation seems to have some cool cognitive benefits. In fact, we can see on brain scans that people who practice mindfulness meditation experience changes in their brains.

Minding your thoughts

Mindfulness practice encourages people to stop and spend time noticing their thoughts and then letting go of the ones that are negative, disorganized, or aren’t serving a positive purpose. It’s designed to help us notice and control our thinking. (As opposed to most meditation practices, which center around emptying the mind of thoughts.)

The part of the brain affected by mindfulness practice is called the amygdala. This is also called the “fight or flight” center because it is linked to fear and emotional responses. Brain scans have shown that mindfulness practice helps shrink the amygdala. While that may sound like a bad thing, an overactive amygdala can be bad for concentration, mood, and emotional regulation.

Regulating the amygdala

However, mindfulness has been shown to help increase the connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. That’s a good thing because those connections help us regulate our emotional responses.

We need our amygdala, we just don’t want it to be hyperactive. And when we practice mindfulness, our bodies get better at regulating those emotional responses.

While some of the effects of mindfulness have been overstated in the press, there is evidence that it can modestly increase physical health and compassion and even reduce bias in addition to negative thought patterns.

The popularity of mindfulness meditation

A U.S. survey found that the percentage of adults practicing some type of mantra-based meditation,mindfulness meditation, or spiritual meditation in the previous year tripled between 2012 and 2017 (from 4.1% to 14.2%). Even among children (4 to 17 years of age), the percentage increased from less than 1% to over 5%. These emotional regulation techniques continue to grow in popularity.

Of course, there’s a lot we still don’t know about mindfulness and meditation in general, and they’re not always the best practices for everyone.

There are also different types of mindfulness meditation to practice, each with slightly different outcomes. For example, body scanning can help reduce negative thoughts. But practices in which participants are asked to observe their thoughts can sometimes lead to more negative thinking, especially among those who have just started practicing the skill and can’t let go of those thoughts easily.

In the end, it may be best for those who are new to mindfulness and observing their thoughts to do so with guidance from a teacher or tool so that they can stay on the right track and get the most out of their mindfulness practices. –WTF fun facts

Source: “10 Things We Know About the Science of Meditation” — Mindful

WTF Fun Fact 12758 – Jason deCaires Taylor’s Underwater Sculptures

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Jason deCaires Taylor is an environmentalist and artist who is drawing attention both to and away from the world’s vulnerable ocean reefs.

While there are many factors affecting the world reefs and the rest of the aquatic ecosystems, tourism has been a major factor in damaging some of these structures. So Taylor has decided to give people something else to visit – underwater sculptures.

The underwater sculpture parks of Jason deCaires Taylor

Throughout the world’s oceans, you will find amazing, sustainably made sculptures – and in some cases entire sculpture parks. Divers can not only visit these, but in some cases they are becoming their own ecosystems.

According to CBS News (cited below0: “Each year, over half a million people worldwide visit Taylor’s museums and sculpture parks. These unique underwater attractions act as portals to the marine world and provide visitors with intimate encounters with marine life and an alternative perspective on our blue planet.”

The underwater sculpture park

Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert diver to visit many of these creations. In fact, you can just get out your snorkle for most of them.

Taylor’s Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park off the coast of Grenada is a mere 15 feet deep. It was created after a hurricane damaged many coral reefs off the coast of the island.

According to CBS news: “The sculptures made of non-polluting concrete kept growing and changing as ocean creatures moved into them along with plants and fish. Coral is slowly turning the sculptures into artificial reefs.”

Encouraging life under the sea

Taylor builds his eco-friendly pH-neutral concrete sculptures in barren parts of the underwater world. That way, he’s not displacing anything that already lives there.

In the end, the fact that his art encourages life to flourish nearby is giving aquatic creates more options to sustain life. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Artist turns seafloor into art by creating underwater museums” — CBS News

WTF Fun Fact 12757 – The Bahamas’ Underwater Statue

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Have you ever wanted to see a famous statue but didn’t want to wait in line?

Well, how do you feel about going to the Bahamas to see it?

Ok, NOW, how do you feel about diving into the crystal clear ocean about 16 feet down to see it?

If you’re still thinking “this sounds great!” it might be time to book a trip to Nassau, Bahamas.

What, exactly, is the underwater statue “Ocean Atlas”?

According to Culture Trip (cited below): “You’ll find Ocean Atlas, a spectacular underwater sculpture byJason deCaires Taylor,off the western coastline of New Providence, which has the largest population of any island in the Bahamas. It’s also where you’ll find the Bahamian capital, Nassau. Ocean Atlas is the world’s largest single underwater sculpture, and it doubles as a navigational aid, with a flag attached to the top poking above the water.”

The sculpture isn’t of the Greek god himself, but of a little girl carrying the weight of the ocean on her shoulders.

No mercy from Zeus

If you remember being taught about ancient Greek gods and goddesses, Atlas was a Titan – one of the deities who came before the ancient Greek gods. When the Titans tried to fight the gods, Atlas’ punishment from Zeus (who was, let’s face it, a real jerk) was being forced to hold up the heavens for eternity.

The statue is just a nod to the myth, and the subject is a local Bahamian girl. She can be viewed from just 16 feet beneath the clear water, so snorkeling or scuba diving will give you a great view of the piece which weighs 66 tons.

A sustainable underwater sculpture

The coolest thing about the “Ocean Atlas” is that it’s made from pH-neutral materials and does not damage the surrounding ocean environment (other than draw tourists). it was actually designed to draw divers away from more popular spots so the reefs and aquatic life could start to recover.

According to the artist’s website, the materials are stainless steel, pH-neutral cement, basalt and aggregates.

It’s just not an option to close some of those other sites since many tourists go to the Bahamas just to dive and see the reefs.

A whole new world

The VERY coolest thing about “Ocean Atlas” is that it is now breeding its own ecosystem as wildlife is attracted to it and it serves as an artificial reef that houses some coral (which is what gives reefs their color).

It’s also not super easy to get to, so you have to rent a charter boat and follow directions pretty closely in order to see her. In other words, humans have to behave responsibly around the statue so it’ll be there for the oceans and the people who live above them to enjoy. –WTF fun facts

Source: “How to See Ocean Atlas – the World’s Largest Underwater Statue” — Culture Trip

WTF Fun Fact 12754 – Sudan Pyramids Outnumber Egypt’s

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Interested in ancient civilizations? Want to see pyramids without all the tourists? Then you may want to consider visiting the Meroe region in Sudan. In Sudan, pyramids outnumber the Egyptian kind by nearly 2:1.

Nubian pyramids in Sudan

The pyramids belong to the ancient Nubian kings, who lived in the northern part of present-day Sudan. Meroe was the capital city of the Kingdom of Kush. The structures themselves are nearly 5000 years old and are largely untouched these days.

The main source of destruction to the pyramids was an Italian “explorer” named Giuseppe Ferlini. He blew up quite a few and destroyed the tops of many structures in his hunt for the kings’ treasures in the 1880s.

What’s inside Sudan’s pyramids

These little-known Nubian tombs have paintings on the inside celebrating the kings buried inside. And since the Nubians did business with other ancient civilizations, you can see Greek and Roman, influences in the artwork.

Since the Kushite kingdom is part of the Nile River Valley, the most prominent influence is that of the Egyptians. (Of course, Egypt’s pyramids are much older, dating back to the era of the New Kingdom from the 16th century BC to the 11th century BC).

Of course, many of the tombs were raided by Ferlini during his destructive episode, and the “loot” now resides in many European museums. But they had been plundered in ancient times as well.

Preserving the past

Luckily, the Nubian pyramids are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are generally protected from more harm. Until 2019, National Geographic funded further excavations of the site to learn more about the ancient kings and their civilization.

Much of the excavations require researchers to dive underwater to enter the structures.

According to NatGeo, “The largest and oldest pyramid at Nuri belongs to its most famous resident: the pharaoh Taharqa, a Kushite king who in the seventh century B.C. rallied his troops to the northern edges of his empire to defend Jerusalem from the Assyrians, earning him a mention in the Old Testament.” – WTF fun facts

Source: “Dive beneath the pyramids of Sudan’s black pharaohs” — National Geographic

WTF Fun Fact 12751 – Snails Can Sleep For 3 Years

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You know have knowns snails live their lives at a leisurely pace, but snails can actually sleep for three years at a time!

They’re also hermaphrodites, which means they have male and female reproductive organs, so they don’t even need other snails to mate. They are the ultimate hermits.

But those three-year naps aren’t necessarily a good thing (no matter how comforting they might sound to your right now).

Snails sleep longest in summer

Some snail hibernation is called “estivation.” Hibernation is something that happens when animals sleep to conserve energy in the winter. Snails also sleep in the summer – that’s estivation. Snails can actually do both, but it mostly depends on species or geography (nevertheless, it’s still a skill we’re jealous of).

But why do snails sleep for three years?

Well, not all do. In fact, a three-year estivation typically occurs when the snail’s resources are so depleted that it’s either sleep-or-die. (Yes, we know how relatable this sounds – especially if you have little ones.)

A gooey slumber

Even if snails are estivating for much shorter periods of time, they secrete mucus that covers their whole bodies if the weather is too hot or dry. The mucus helps to protect them from hot or dry weather.

Snails need moisture to survive, so they just provide their own!

Of course, a gooey nap doesn’t protect them from predators thinking they’re dead.

Snail power naps

Snails usually sleep for about 15 hours at a time and then are awake for 30 hours. But that’s under optimal environmental conditions (which are kind of hard to come by these days, no matter what your species.)

This kind of sounds like a productive schedule, if we’re being honest. (Or maybe we could just use a very alert 30 hours to get our work done.)

Beware the sleeping snail

If you think a snail is dead, consider that it may just be taking a power nap. This is especially the case if you keep a snail as a pet. If it is stuck to the side of an aquarium but not moving, it’s likely still alive because it’s secreting mucus to make it stick.

Pet snails are unlikely to hibernate for years (mostly because if humans are providing suboptimal conditions, it’s likely bad enough to just kill the snail).

If the snail’s body is shriveled and dry (if you can see into the shell), then the snail is almost certainly dead (sorry for your loss).

And if you see a snail in the garden, well, that’s up to you and how much you want them around, but crushing it because you think it’s dead could be a deadly mistake for the snail.

– WTF fun facts

Source: “Let’s Learn Exactly How Some Snails Sleep” — AZ Pet Vet

WTF Fun Fact 12733 – The PAWSCARS

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Each year, American Humane puts on its own award show to celebrate the “furry, winged, and scaled” members of television and film casts. It’s called the PAWSCARS™, and it celebrates animal actors past and present.

American Humane has long played a role in ensuring the health and safety of animals on entertainment sets. According to their website:

“Since 1877, American Humane has been at the forefront of every major advance in protecting animals from abuse and neglect. Today we’re also leading the way in understanding human-animal interaction and its role in society. American Humane advocates for the American values of caring, compassion and hope. Our programs enrich our communities, prevent abuse of animals, and embrace the power of the human-animal bond. American Humane works in association with the American film and TV industry to help ensure the well-being of animal actors and promote the human-animal bond. They are on the set to protect animal actors. American Humane also celebrates the achievements of extraordinary dogs across the country with its annual American Humane Hero Dog Awards™. In addition, the organization enlists and works with many celebrities who speak on behalf of the voiceless that American Humane aims to protect.”

Their Hollywood initiative also includes the annual award show, which we really think should be televised since we would totally watch that (and we’re sure other animal lovers would too!).

Interestingly, the ASPCA also has Pawscers Awards, but these go to adoptable animals throughout the country, not to animal actors.

American Humane’s PAWSCER awards got the most press in 2016, when fans voted on their all-time favorite animal movies. The winners included

Favorite Animal Buddy Movie of All Time: “Turner and Hooch”

Favorite Animal Drama of All Time: “Seabiscuit”

Favorite Animal Family Movie of All Time: “Old Yeller”

Frankly, we want to know what people were thinking when they chose Old Yeller, which has a pretty devastating ending and scarred generations of children. But to each their own – the people have spoken.

American Humane’s explanation was that “Disney’s timeless classic from 1957 is credited as one of the first films to demonstrate the importance of the human-animal bond, the inextricable link between people, pets and the world we share.”

Overall, the PAWSCERS are designed to honor “some of America’s most treasured institutions.” And while we haven’t heard much about the awards in the last few years, we think it’s time to add more animal award shows to the television line up!

– WTF fun facts

Source: “Pawscers Awards” – The American Humane Society

WTF Fun Fact 12724 – Creating Summer Indoor Entertainment

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Without Willis Carrier’s 1902 invention of the air conditioner, we’d have a very different world. And it would have started with missing out on opportunities for indoor cultural experiences in the summer when people are most commonly off from work and school.

Carrier’s original design was meant for a publishing company in Brooklyn that needed to keep its paper from expanding and contracting so it could achieve proper print quality while it was hot and humid. But not long after that, businessmen saw the opportunities to add it to factories (which technically cut off some summer break for workers who could now work more safely in the summer) and then to department stores. The real cultural moment came when it was added to movie theaters in the mid to late 1920s and regular theaters in the 1960s.

For example, Carrier’s company put an air conditioner in Lincoln Center in 1961. This extended the performing arts season in New York City from “a single season to 52 weeks a year,” according to the Carrier website.

For more cool facts and stories about the history of air conditioning, check out:
Slate, “A History of Air Conditioning”
JSTOR Daily’s “Can We Live Without Air Conditioning?”
BBC, “How Air Conditioning Changed the World”

— WTF fun facts

Source: “The History of Movie Theaters and Air Conditioning That Keeps Film Lovers Cool” — WPLF

WTF Fun Fact 12721 – The Wara Art Festival

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Niigata isn’t a typical travel destination, but it does draw people in for a unique festival held each year between August and October.

The Wara Art Festival is held in Uwasekigata Park and shows off amazing sculptures made of rice straw left over after the annual rice harvest.

People weren’t quite sure what to do with all the straw, but now tons of it is donated to art students at Musashino Art University in Tokyo as well as local volunteers who are tasked with making giant animal sculptures with it. Some of them are up to 16 feet tall!

The sculptures include gorillas, dinosaurs, bears, rhinos, and more. Underneath is a wood frame skeleton to ensure the sculptures stay up throughout the festival, but over two weeks, more and more layers of wara are added. Some are braided, others thatched – in fact, there are many techniques the artists use to build their sculptures.

If you do go to Niigata for the festival, be sure to try the rice, which is considered to be the best in all of Japan. And according to Japan’s tourism association, the town is also known for its sake as well “thanks to the high snowfall in the prefecture which creates pristine conditions for rice growing. Centuries-old sake making traditions are kept alive by the toji, or Sake Masters, of Niigata. Local sake from breweries in Niigata are revered nationwide for their dry, sharp finish and refreshingly crisp flavour.”

If you visit the park, there are sake breweries within walking distance as well as beer breweries to visit. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Wara Art Festival, Niigata” — Japan National Tourism Association