Out at sea, a tsunami is only about 3 feet high, and could pass a boat without being noticed. As it approaches the shore, its sudden deceleration from about 500 mph to 30 mph creates the enormous wave. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: How a tsunami wave works | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk)
In 2020, 25.6% of 8th graders have consumed alcohol, 11.5% have smoked cigarettes, 14.8% have used marijuana, and 21.3% have used illicit drugs. – WTF Fun Facts
In 1948, Lyndon B Johnson used a helicopter to campaign for a seat in the Texas senate. The “Johnson City Windmill” was equipped with a loudspeaker and flew all over Texas making impromptu stops as people gathered to see it as most had never seen a helicopter before. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_United_States_Senate_election_in_Texas
A crown melon can cost over $200 in Japan. These melons are only grown in Shizuoka prefecture, in central Japan, and take constant care and attention to grow. Each melon is massaged and polished by hand with farmers wearing white gloves to handle them. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Why Melons Can Sell for As Much As $22,500 Each in Japan (businessinsider.com)
A local folk remedy in Boho, Ireland was to place soil from the local church under your pillow while you slept to cure infections. In 2018, a microbiologist found the soil contains a previously unknown strain of streptomyces which can be used to create antibiotics. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Ancient Fermanagh cure gets modern makeover – BBC News
A 2016 study found that high school students perform better on tests if they are in a classroom with a window that overlooks a green landscape. Their capacity to pay attention increased 13 percent compared to a windowless room or similar. – WTF Fun Facts
Sand is the most extracted material in the world, exceeding fossil fuels and biomass. Each year over 50 billion metric tons of sand is mined for construction, land reclamation projects, shale gas extraction, and beach renourishment programs. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Are We Running Out of Sand? | Earth.Org – Past | Present | Future
In 2017, Einstein Bros created the “Espresso Buzz Bagel” which combined cherry-coffee flour with espresso to make a bagel with 32 mg of caffeine (equivalent to a third of a cup of coffee) and 13 g of protein. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Caffeinated Bagels Espresso Buzz Bagel Einstein Bros. (today.com)
The movie term “blockbuster” was originally a military term to describe bombs in WW2 that could destroy an entire city block. Thus, it first entered the American lexicon as a metaphor for something explosive and shocking before becoming associated with movie success. – WTF Fun Facts