WTF Fun Fact 13117 – The Flavors of Kit Kat in Japan

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Since the first Kit Kat was launched, the brand has produced over 300 limited edition flavors in Japan. The first specialty flavor was green tea.

Kit Kat in Japan

Much of the variety of Japanese Kit Kats comes from chefYasumasa Takagi. He opened a Kit Kat Chocolatory in Japan and started experimenting with flavors. The company has jumped on board with producing and selling them. They’ve opened up 7 other Cholatories in the country.

What kind of flavors are we talking about here? Well, there are high-end orange-chocolate rum, sweet potato, and cheesecake flavors. But there are also regional flavors made from locally sourced ingredients. You have almost no chance of being able to buy those if you live in another country.

According to the website Japan Based (cited below):

“For instance, in southwestern Japan, you’ll often find Ocean Salt Kit Kats made with sea salt taken directly from the Seto Inland sea. Alternately, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, you’re more likely to find Purple Sweet Potato Kit Kats locally produced on the island itself.”

Manufacturing funky flavors

Nestlé produces some limited-edition flavors for sale to slightly larger audiences. “Any excess product is usually saved and sold in gift bags called ‘fukubukuro,’ a Japanese New Year tradition where merchants sell grab bags of confections at discounted prices.”

While some of these are pretty strange, it’s all quite a creative endeavor.

Would you try an Azuki (red bean) Kit Kat? How about Brown sugar syrup? Hot Japanese chili? Saké?

We’d be happy to try a Cherry blossom or Caramel macchiato Kit Kat. But we’d be more hesitant about a Soy sauce-flavored Kit Kat.

But it looks like we’re alone on that. In 2010, soy sauce was the best-selling Kit Kat flavor. —WTF fun facts

Source: “The Craziest Kit Kat Flavors in Japan” — Japan Based

WTF Fun Fact 13116 – Pigeons Can Tell the Difference Between Monet and Picasso

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If you try hard enough, anything is possible. But it turns out training pigeons to discriminate between a Picasso and a Monet isn’t actually all that hard. Pigeons can tell the difference between the two artists with relatively little effort (at least relative to what we would have imagined).

Pigeons and Picasso and Monet

In 1995, researchers Shigeru Watanabe, Junko Sakamoto, and Masumi Wakita published a paper called “Pigeons’ discrimination of paintings by Monet and Picasso” in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. In it, they showed:

“Pigeons successfully learned to discriminate color slides of paintings by Monet and Picasso. Following this training, they discriminated novel paintings by Monet and Picasso that had never been presented during the discrimination training. Furthermore, they showed generalization from Monet’s to Cezanne’s and Renoir’s paintings or from Picasso’s to Braque’s and Matisse’s paintings. These results suggest that pigeons’ behavior can be controlled by complex visual stimuli in ways that suggest categorization. Upside-down images of Monet’s paintings disrupted the discrimination, whereas inverted images of Picasso’s did not. This result may indicate that the pigeons’ behavior was controlled by objects depicted in impressionists’ paintings but was not controlled by objects in cubists’ paintings.”

Birds and bees

Later on, in 2013, behavioral scientists showed that honeybees could also discriminate between paintings by the two artists.

Perhaps more hilariously, a 2010 article in the journal Animal Cognition showed that “Pigeons can discriminate “good” and “bad” paintings by children.” Imagine a pigeon letting your child know their art is “bad.”

Wonder how it was done? In the words of the researcher:

“In this study, I investigated whether pigeons could be trained to discriminate between paintings that had been judged by humans as either ‘bad’ or ‘good’. To do this, adult human observers first classified several children’s paintings as either ‘good’ (beautiful) or ‘bad’ (ugly). Using operant conditioning procedures, pigeons were then reinforced for pecking at ‘good’ paintings. After the pigeons learned the discrimination task, they were presented with novel pictures of both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ children’s paintings to test whether they had successfully learned to discriminate between these two stimulus categories. The results showed that pigeons could discriminate novel ‘good’ and ‘bad’ paintings.”

Who knew nature had such art critics?! — WTF fun facts

Source: “Pigeons’ discrimination of paintings by Monet and Picasso” — Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

WTF Fun Fact 13115 – Antarctica Tinder Match

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Online dating is old hat by now. And it’s a good thing too, because where else are you supposed to meet people in Antarctica? It turns out that in 2014, the first Antarctica Tinder match took place.

The Antarctic Tinder match-up

Picture it – a December evening at the McMurdo Station. You’re an American scientist wondering what to do that night in 2014. Do you watch the rebooted Hawaii Five 0 just to think about what might have been if you had just picked your research topic a little more strategically? Or do you hop on Tinder, and wonder what on Earth might show up?

If you’re an unnamed scientist who agreed to be interviewed on the match but refused to reveal his name because of the trouble you might get in for using the rare broadband access to access a booty call, then the answer is the latter.

And you’d have gotten a match!

Who’s on Tinder in Antarctica?

The scientists told The Cut that he matched with a female traveling somewhere in the area.

“She was actually in her tent in the Dry Valleys when we matched,” said the scientist…“She was quite literally camping in Antarctica, went on Tinder, and found me. It’s mind-blowing.”

What’s the chance of two people trying to find love on Tinder in the tundra of Antarctica on the same December night?

Slim. But not none.

No profiles showed up for the scientist at first, but he wasn’t deterred. After all, he worked in a field camp that was a 45-minute helicopter ride away from any base station. When he expanded his radius, he got the hit. It seems they both swiped right.

Was this the first-ever Tinder hit in Antarctica? Well, it may sound ridiculous, but no one knows. The company doesn’t keep statistics on that particular area. However, according to The Cut, “the company agreed that this was probably the first match on the continent.”

How does it all end?

While we’ll likely never know anything else about the couple, the scientist told The Cut that the paid did meet briefly on the day the woman was leaving Antarctica.

“I have yet to become the first Tinder hookup in Antarctic history,” he said at the time. “But she is actually coming back, and we may overlap. There’s still hope.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “Tinder Makes Its First Match in Antarctica” — The Cut

WTF Fun Fact 13114 – The Eiffel Tower is Taller in Summer

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The Eiffel Tower is taller in summer (it also shrinks in the winter). The reason? Thermal expansion (and contraction).

How is the Eiffel Tower taller in summer?

At 330 meters high, you won’t be able to tell just by looking at it that the Eiffel Tower grows by 15 centimeters in the summer. At 132 years old, the Tower spent 42 glorious years as the world’s tallest building. And the structure wasn’t even meant to be permanent.

The Eiffel tower is made of iron, puddled iron (or wrought iron) to be exact. And to be even more precise, it’s puddled iron from the Forges de Pompey near Nancy, France.

At the time, architect Gustave Eiffel had relied heavily on iron and had not worked with steel in any significant way in his architecture. Of course, steel does not change during temperature fluctuations, whereas iron does.

The growing and shrinking Tower

According to the structure’s tourism website (cited below):

“When temperatures rise, the Tower increases in size! This is a natural physical phenomenon called thermal expansion. Heat causes an increase in volume that makes the Eiffel Tower a few centimeters taller. This expansion also causes the Tower to tilt slightly away from the sun. The sun only hits one of the 4 sides of the Tower creating an imbalance with the other 3 sides, that remain stable, thus causing the Eiffel Tower to lean. In this way, the sun’s movement over the course of a clear day can cause the top of the Tower to move in a more or less circular curve measuring approximately 15 centimeters in diameter.”

You probably can’t see it in your photos, but you read that right – the Tower does lean slightly in the summer since the sun only hits one side directly, causing it to expand.

This expansion goes away when the sun isn’t strong.

Thermal contraction is a winter problem. During the cold months, the metal structure shrinks from its normal height.

You might think all this contracting and shrinking causes the iron to become weaker, but the Tower is so large that there’s no risk of cracking. It was also built to withstand wind. In fact, it was designed to sway with the wind (or at least vibrate) to avoid structural damage. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Why does the Eiffel Tower change size?” — Toureiffel.paris

WTF Fun Fact 13113 – The Island in a Lake in an Island in a Lake

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Vulcan Point has an interesting factoid that few pieces of land that share this distinction. It’s an island in a lake in an island in a lake in an island. These are called “recursive islands.”

How do you get an island in a Lake in an Island in a Lake?

How does this make sense?

Well, Vulcan Point is a tiny piece of land inside a crater lake on Volcano island in Lake Taal, which sits in the island of Luzon in The Philippines. Luzon is in the Batangas province. You can see it all here on Google.

Vulcan Point isn’t a tourist destination so much as it’s just a curiosity. Lake Taal is believed to have been formed by rainwater, and it was covered in vegetation until recently when the Taal Volcano erupted in 2020, and it evaporated. However, typhoon water brought back the lake, and its island is now a bit bigger (and Vulcan Point is on its peninsula).

Trust us, looking at a map will help.

Recursive islands

A recursive island is merely an island in a lake. But there are 12 other islands in lakes in islands in lakes in islands in the world. Canada has the most. Indonesia has a pair as well. The rest are in the UK and Cuba.

There’s only one island in a lake on island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world (which takes it all one step further). It’s called Manar. But its island, lake, next biggest island, etc. remain unnamed. But the main island is in Lake Yathkyed, way up in Nunavut.

We’re not sure they make the best vacation spots – though there’s little stopping you from visiting many of them – but they do make for good trivia! — WTF fun facts

Source: “Taal Volcano Main Crater Lake” — Wikipedia

WTF Fun Fact 13112 – Psycho’s Toilet Scene

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The Hitchcock thriller Psycho has some memorable scenes, a few of which take place in bathrooms. But Pshcyo’s toilet scene, while not the most iconic bathroom scene, was still a pathbreaker. It was the first American movie to feature an audible toilet flush.

Why is Psycho’s toilet scene unique?

Other films had featured toilets in passing. Silent movies had featured toilets flushing (although it was extremely rare). But the film pushed the envelope on the Hays Code (a self-imposed agreement to stay away from anything morally questionable) by featuring the up-close toilet flush.

It seems silly now, of course. We all flush the toilet. But American audiences were scandalized at the time to see and hear such a seemingly private thing on screen.

Interestingly, it wasn’t Hitchcock who wanted the toilet in the movie, it was reportedly screenwriterJoseph Stefano. According to Screenrant, “Stefano was adamant in showing this to add realism to the movie but Hitchcock stated it must be needed in the script. Stefano then wrote the scene in which Marion Crane flushes evidence down the toilet.”

What gets flushed?

The self-assured Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, steals money from the real estate office where she works and goes on the run. Of course, there’s an ill-fated stop at the Bates Motel, but before the iconic shower scene, we get the toilet flush heard ’round the world.

After her conversation with Norman Bates, the motel owner, Marian returns to her room and makes notes about her finances. Knowing better than to leave such evidence in writing, she tears up the paper and throws it in the toilet. Getting rid of the evidence for good requires a strong flush.

Apparently, it was necessary to hear that to make it clear that the evidence she created tying her to the theft is gone.

Of course, none of that matters to her anyone once she steps into that shower. —WTF fun facts

Source: “Psycho’s Toilet Flush & 9 Other Movies With Obscure Cinematic Milestones” — Screenrant

WTF Fun Fact 13111 – The Most Common Wild Bird

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You may see sparrows, cardinals, and pigeons non-stop. But the most common wild bird in the world actually lives in Africa. Now, it won’t be common for all of us to see, but it’s the most abundant wild bird, meaning there are more of these birds than any other birds.

What is the most common wild bird?

The most common wild bird in the world, in terms of its sheer abundance, is the Red-billed Quelea.

These birds live in sub-Saharan Africa (south of the Sarahan Desert). And they don’t just fly in flocks, they fly in massive hordes. In fact, if you see a group of these birds, you’re probably looking at 2 million or more in one flock.

According to the Audobon Society (cited below): “They fly in such tightly synchronized masses they can be mistaken at a distance for clouds of smoke.”

How many Red-billed Quelea are there?

It’s estimated that there are around 1.5 billion Red-billed Quelea out there. That makes them the most abundant wild bird in the world. Of course, they’re not common in North America, but if you took all the birds in the world and put them together, the number of Red-billed Quelea would dwarf the populations of most other wild birds.

The Red-billed Quelea is the size of a sparrow and is brown for the most part. Like most birds, the males are more colorful. They often have red and black feathers on their heads.

These birds eat seeds, which they crack open with their beaks. But unfortunately for farmers, they are drawn to crops like millet. And as you can imagine, having 2 million birds descend on your field for a meal can easily strip you of your income.

At times, “Single colonies can cover hundreds of acres, totaling tens of millions of birds,” according to Audobon.

Unfortunately, their tastes include cultivated crops, like millet. But the enormous growth of cereal crops in sub-Saharan Africa has likely led to the birds’ proliferation. —WTF fun facts

Source: “What Is the Most Abundant Wild Bird in the World?” — Audobon Society

WTF Fun Fact 13110 – Jonathan the Tortoise’s Birthday

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Jonathan the Tortoise has seen some things. More than any of us. And that’s because the big guy just celebrated his 190th birthday!

Jonathan the Tortoise’s birthday

A while back we told you about Jonathan, and at that time, no one really seemed to know precisely how old he was since he was brought to – a sanctuary in Saint Helena, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Angola and Namibia – at an unverifiable age.

Take a look:

WTF Fun Fact 12819 – Jonathan the Tortoise

Since then, it looks like it’s been decided that Jonathan is 190 as of this year. We can’t begrudge the guy a party, so we’ll go with it.

Jonathan’s party

CBS News reports that Jonathan the tortoise’s birthday party was quite a bash when it was held in early December 2022.

“The island held an official birthday bash over the weekend, celebrating the longest-living chelonian at the island’s governor’s residence. Along with hosting broadcasts about Jonathan’s significance, the island also held a ‘main event’ in his honor on Sunday [the 4th], where people could get Jonathan stamps and other Jonathan-themed souvenirs.”

Throughout the weekend, the world’s oldest land creature was hailed as a “national treasure” and indulged in a cake made of his favorite vegetables.

According to CBS News (cited below) “Jonathan’s long life has earned him two Guinness World Records – one in 2019 for becoming the world’s oldest land animal and another this January for becoming theoldest living chelonian, a term encompassing turtles, terrapins and tortoises.”

While the sanctuary where he lives lists his birth year as 1832, Guinness believes he could be older. That’s because he wasn’t discovered until 1882, when he was already fully mature. Clearly, some significant years had already passed. We just don’t know how many.

Regardless, Jonathan has survived two World Wars and was even alive when the first telephone call was made in 1876. We feel wiser just looking at him. —WTF fun facts

Source: “World’s oldest land animal, Jonathan the tortoise, celebrates 190th birthday” — CBS News

WTF Fun Fact 13109 – The First PB&J

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In the last WTF Fun Fact, we told you about the invention of sliced bread. Now, we’re here to tell you about something so delicious it actually pre-dated automatic slicers – the first PB&J, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Inventing sandwiches

Whether it was the Earl of Sandwich or someone else who decided to first put things between bread, some would have you believe that the PB&J is an integral part of history.

History.com (cited below) says “After English speakers adopted the word “sandwich,” they began coming up with new words and phrases to describe different types, from meaty Sloppy Joes to the layered club sandwich.”

We understand that desire to put meat and vegetables into a sandwich, but we’re still stumped on what made someone decide to create a sandwich out of what are largely considered to be two condiments.

“Thefirst known recipefor a peanut butter and jelly sandwich appeared in 1901 in ​​The Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics. During the 1920s, companies began to mass-manufacture peanut butter in the United States, andtargeted childrenas potential new consumers. This helped make the PB&J a common school lunch.”

Standardized in Home Ec and rose to fame via school lunches? Ok, we could have guessed that.

How the PB&J came to be

So we can date the formal sandwich itself back to 1901, but did it exist in some form before that? Well, the answer is we’re not sure, but it’s unlikely.

Smithsonian Magazine has the answer to how the PB&J came to be, and if you guess “because of vegetarians,” you are correct!

Around the late-19th century, ladies’ luncheons were popular, and tiny tea sandwiches were often served. Alongside the cucumber and cheese option was one that contained no animal products at all. In addition, “health food advocates like John Harvey Kelloggstarted promotingpeanut products as a replacement for animal-based foods (butter included). So for a vegetarian option at these luncheons, peanut butter simply replaced regular butter.”

Peanut butter wasn’t created for mass manufacture until the 1920s. And at that point, it was marketed specifically to target children.

Smithsonian also reports that it was cookbook author Julia Davis Chandler whowrote, “some day try making little sandwiches, or bread fingers, of three very thin layers of bread and two of filling, one of peanut paste, whatever brand you prefer, and currant or crabapple jelly for the other. The combination is delicious, and so far as I know original.”

Ladies took the sandwich idea from the garden party to their children’s lunch boxes in the 1920s when they could finally get mass produced peanut butter (with hydrogenated vegetable oil and sugar to make it tasty).

And no one was happier than Skippy, the first brand to target children “as a potential new audience, and thus the association with school lunches was forged.” —WTF fun facts

Source: “Who Invented the Sandwich?” — History.com