WTF Fun Fact 12946 – The Stone of Destiny

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Even if you’re a “royal watcher” and love the idea of real-life kings, queens, and princesses, you can still feel a little “icky” about the idea that royals often feel like they were chosen by the universe in some way to wield power and influence over others. Perhaps that’s why the so-called “Stone of Destiny” is making headlines before the coronation of King Charles III.

What is the Stone of Destiny?

Also called the Stone of Scone, this slab of red sandstone has been used in the UK since the 9th century when it was used to coronate Scottish kings. King Edward I stole it in 1296 after invading Scotland, and it was built into a throne in Westminster.

The Stony of Destiny long sat at Westminster Abbey and is still today what kings and queens of England sit upon during their coronations (with a cushion, of course, because royalty doesn’t want to be uncomfortable).

Stealing the stone

The stone was briefly stolen on Christmas Day in 1950 by students and a teacher making a statement about Scotland’s independence, but (while it was broken in the process) it was returned 4 weeks later. And the people who stole it were not charged – instead, a movie was made about the effort, aptly titled Stone of Destiny.

Soon, it will play a role in King Charles III’s rapidly-approaching coronation.

In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland, but it will make the journey to England for the King’s coronation.

What’s so special about the stone?

The stone has some conflicting stories associated with it. The most common legend is that it was used by Jacob as a pillow in the Book of Genesis. It’s the pillow he laid his head upon when he had the dream of Jacob’s ladder.

That means it would have been mined in Palestine and the story goes that it made its way through Egypt, Spain, and to Ireland, courtesy of the prophet Jeremiah before the next part of the legend begins.

Later, the stone was brought from Ireland to Argyll, Scotland by Fergus the Great, the legendary first king of Scotland. (More accurately, he was the King of Dál Riada, a territory that spanned modern-day Scotland and Ireland.)

During the Viking raids on Scotland in the 9th century, the stone was moved to the Abbey at Scone (which is why it’s often called the Stone of Scone). It was moved there by Kenneth MacAlpin, which sounds like a modern name but is actually the name of a 9th-century king who began to consolidate the lands (and peoples, such as the Picts) into a separate country called Scotland.

Its biblical origins are unlikely, however, since geologists have proven that it’s “lower Old Red Sandstone” from a quarry very close to Scone. However, some insist the real Stone of Destiny still resides in Scotland because what was stolen by King Edward I and then repatriated had always been a replica of the original. — WTF fun facts

Source: “The “Stone Of Destiny” Is Returning To Westminster For The Coronation Of King Charles” — IFL Science

WTF Fun Fact 12945 – Snapchat Dysmorphia

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If you’re over 30, you probably remember the days when getting rid of red-eye in a photo was your biggest photographic concern. Now, people have so many options that the results hardly look human. And that’s a big problem when it aids people’s body dysmorphic disorder or creates the newly-minted “Snapchat dysmorphia.”

Striving for perfection

Plenty of us are guilty of looking at an old photo and wishing we looked that good in real life. Some of us even try to use that photo as a guide for how to style ourselves in the future. But social media filters do something different to our psyches. That’s because they allow us to airbrush away the tiniest flaws, see what we look like in perfect lighting, and even allow us to snip in our waists or hips.

Once we see ourselves as we truly want to be, the effects can be a little too alluring. In fact, more and more people are getting plastic surgery to look more like their filtered selves.

According to Jessica Baron in Forbes, “[In 2018] we were introduced to the phrase “Snapchat dysmorphia” in a piece by researchers from the Department of Dermatology at Boston University’s School of Medicine. In JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, they described the ability of Snapchat and FaceTune filters to smooth out skin and make teeth look whiter and lips look fuller as a gateway to seeing oneself in a whole new way – a way users wanted to replicate in real life.”

Things have only gotten worse since then.

Your profile pic, yourself

According to Healthline (cited below), filtering isn’t necessarily the problem: “Filtering your selfies isn’t necessarily harmful. Often, it’s nothing more than a fun exercise, like dressing up or experimenting with a new makeup style.” The problem is when we filter ourselves so heavily and so constantly that we start to get disconnected from reality (especially the reality that someone could be so flawless).

“Snapchat dysmorphia, to put it simply, happens when you compare filtered selfies to your actual appearance. When you fixate on your perceived flaws, the feelings of discontent and unhappiness that surface might lead you to wish you could alter your features to match those filtered images.”

Snapchat dysmorphia is a problem, but not yet a diagnosis

Social media use in general has long been linked to increased bodily dissatisfaction. In fact, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) is named in 8 lawsuits accusing the company of exploiting young people for profit.

Healthline states, “Snapchat dysmorphia isn’t an official mental health diagnosis, so experts have yet to determine a standard definition, criteria, or symptoms.”

Simply filtering your selfies doesn’t qualify you for this potential future diagnosis, however. Cosmetic surgery or injections to alter your face or body are things people have been doing for decades.

The problems come in when we fixate on our appearance in selfies, feel like we can no longer be as good as our social media selves, and get preoccupied with “flaws” that only we see (such as our eye placement, forehead, lip shape, etc.).

Some people become obsessed with taking selfies and editing them. They may go back and edit old photos to alter their appearance to measure up to some perceived standard. They feel anxiety over going out without heavy makeup. Or they get defensive when others take photos. They may even feel worse about themselves the more they take and alter selfies. The problem is, they’re unable to stop.

We may find that, in a few years, there’s a mental health diagnosis that addresses this. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Snapchat Dysmorphia: Does Perfection Lie Just a Filter Away?” — Healthline

WTF Fun Fact 12944 – The Hallucinogenic Effects of Nutmeg

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When fall and winter come around each year, many of us are reminded of happy times by the smell of nutmeg (and the baked goods that act as a nutmeg vehicle). Well, it turns out we should all stick to the loaves of bread and cakes and stay away from nutmeg on its own. We weren’t aware until now of the hallucinogenic effects of nutmeg.

Don’t let your kids do nutmeg.

Nutmeg gets you high?

We all know the old saying by Galen that anything consumed in enough quantity is poisonous. But for nutmeg, that quantity is two tablespoons.

Of course, nutmeg toxicity probably isn’t going to get you if you eat a whole loaf of pumpkin bread or a whole pie (the stomach ache will be enough punishment). If that were true, we’d hear a lot more about it. But also, two teaspoons is over twice as much as anyone puts in a recipe (1/4 to 1/2 TEAspoon is usually the limit).

Sit down and eat two tablespoons of the stuff in one sitting and you’re in for a baaaad time thanks to a toxic compound called myristicin. Sure, it will give you hallucinations, but it will also make you yearn for better times as you lay on the bathroom floor and spend the rest of the day vomiting.

In other words, don’t try this at home. The risk far outweighs any interesting side effects.

Nutmeg has hallucinogenic effects if consumed in a high enough quantity. But toxicity begins at just two teaspoons (which you’d have to eat in one sitting). The compound myristicin is responsible for the effect, which can also lead to nausea and vomiting.

The hallucinogenic effects of nutmeg are not like visions of sugarplums

Let’s put it this way – if there were any sort of traditional high you could get from something as common as nutmeg, we’d be seeing a lot of bad TikToks of ill-conceived “nutmeg challenges.”

According to Healthline (cited below – and fact-checked by experts), the toxic compound in nutmeg can be found elsewhere. “Myristicin is a compound found naturally in the essential oils of certain plants, such as parsley, dill, and nutmeg,” but it’s found in the highest concentration in nutmeg.

The myristicin in nutmeg acts a bit like the compound in peyote (called mescaline) in that it acts on the central nervous system (CNS) and enhances the neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. But unlike peyote, there are no special nutmeg rituals…for a reason. That’s because myristicin also affects the sympathetic nervous system and that’s a system you really don’t want to mess with since overstimulation produces anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, jitteriness, poor digestion, and even high blood pressure.

That’s not a fun time. And in that sense, it’s not at all going to be like a peyote trip. Besides, stimulating the CNS can also cause nausea, dizziness, and other side effects.

In other words, you’re just poisoning yourself if you try to take nutmeg to get “high.”

The history of nutmeg intoxication

There aren’t many studies on this phenomenon (thankfully, not many people have been misguided enough to do this to themselves). But some people didn’t know any better – like a woman who put FAR too much nutmeg in a milkshake and experienced “nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, and dry mouth, among other symptoms. Although she didn’t report any hallucinations, she did mention feeling as if she was in a trance-like state,” according to Healthline.

More recently, a 37-year-old woman did try two tablespoons of nutmeg – she missed out on any hallucinations or trance-like states and just felt “dizziness, confusion, grogginess, and an extremely dry mouth” for about 10 hours. Not a great way to spend a day, if you ask us.

A 10-year review of cases from the Illinois Poison Center “revealed over 30 documented cases of nutmeg poisoning,” “both intentional and unintentional exposures, as well as drug interactions leading to toxicity.” 50% of those cases were from people trying to get high from nutmeg, mostly kids under 13. They experienced hallucinations, drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, confusion, and – in two cases – seizures. Oh, and then there was some respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastric distress.

If nutmeg seems like an easy way to get high, you might also want to know it can potentially cause organ failure, in some cases, and it can kill you when combined with other drugs.

Mind-bogglingly, some people have tried to smoke or inject nutmeg to get high. But “Like any other drugs, the dangers of nutmeg overdose can occur no matter the method of delivery.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “Can You Get High on Nutmeg? Why This Isn’t a Good Idea” — Healthline

WTF Fun Fact 12943 – A Conspiracy of Lemurs

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Lemurs are fascinating creatures. They’re also diverse – there are 113 types of lemur, all native to Madagascar. Lemurs are social creatures that are active during the day and live in groups of up to 30. These groups are called a conspiracy of lemurs (or alternately a troop).

Why is it called a conspiracy of lemurs?

According to LiveScience (cited below), “Lemurs’ main predators are fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox) — carnivores that looks a bit like a cat or weasel. Lemurs can also become prey for large snakes, birds, humans and animals humans have introduced to Madagascar, such as domestic cats.”

By living in groups, it’s easier for lemurs to alert each other to dangers. The reason a group of lemurs is also called a “conspiracy” is that they work together (or conspire) to outsmart predators and stay safe.

Unfortunately, they can’t conspire to stop habitat destruction. “In 2020, the IUCN(opens in new tab) announced that 98% of all lemurs are threatened with extinction. The main reasons lemur populations have declined so significantly is because of habitat loss due to deforestation(opens in new tab) and hunting in Madagascar. Their habitat is often destroyed so that it can be used for agriculture, and they are hunted for food,” reports LiveScience.

Lemur mobbing

After conspiring to outsmart the predators they have some control over, lemurs also use a technique called “mobbing” to attack predators all at once.

Lemurs can jump up to six times their body length, so they presumably seem like they come out of nowhere and predators hardly get a chance to know what hit them (literally – conspiracies of lemurs have been known to beat large snakes to death).

Cooperative attacking and harassing (aka mobbing) is not limited to lemurs. Many species use this technique to eliminate the threat of predators.

These furry creatures seem to have quite a few sophisticated anti-predator behaviors. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Lemurs: A diverse group of endangered primates” — LiveScience

WTF Fun Fact 12942 – You Can Hear Rhubarb Growing

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When we plant something, it feels like it takes forever to start growing. But that’s not the case with rhubarb. Once this vegetable gets going, it can develop so fast you can hear rhubarb growing.

How to hear rhubarb growing

According to Atlas Obscura (cited below), this is mostly the case with forced rhubarb – the kind you give a little extra effort to in order to get it to develop faster.

“Forced rhubarb, which is made to mature in near total darkness, grows at such an alarming rate—as much as an inch a day—that it actually makes squeaks, creaks, and pops as it gets bigger. It makes for sweeter rhubarb, growers say, and sick beats.”

Of course, if you’re forcing rhubarb to grow in a facility, it can be hard to hear over the sound of any machines you have running to keep the conditions ideal.

Rhubarb’s unique growing characteristics

Atlas Obscura states that “The method of growing forced rhubarb dates back to the early 1800s, and continues in much the same way today. Farmers let the rhubarb grow out in the open for two years, as the roots collect and store calories. Then the plants are transplanted to lightless growing sheds around November, where they continue to grow—warm, but out of season and in the dark. The rhubarb grows without photosynthesis, which normally makes the plant tough and fibrous…The process also results in deep, red stalks, without the normal green shading.”

The loudest noise you’ll hear is the forced rhubarb bursting out of its bud with a pop. Then, it makes a fainter noise as the stalks rub up against each other and squeak. That’s because forced rhubarb isn’t planted far apart.

There aren’t many forced rhubarb growers anymore, though you can still find some in Michigan and Washington state if you want to hear a vegetable grow. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Listen to the Sick Beats of Rhubarb Growing in the Dark” — Atlas Obscura

WTF Fun Fact 12941 – Jousting is Maryland’s State Sport

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On June 1, 1962, Maryland became the first U.S. state to adopt an official sport. And you may be totally confused by its choice. That’s because jousting is Maryland’s state sport.

Why on earth is jousting Maryland’s state sport?

For most of us, it seems like an odd choice. But if you explore the Maryland State Archives, you’ll see that “jousting tournaments have been held in Maryland since early colonial times but became increasingly popular after the Civil War.”

And they never really stopped jousting in Maryland. According to The Culture Trip: “The pageantry is not lost in modern-day tournaments. Men (referred to as knights) and women (referred to as maids) are dressed in colorful costumes full of regalia and many of the medieval customs and practices are still utilized. The Maryland State Jousting Championship is held annually and has been sponsored by the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association since its founding in 1950.”

Ok, so we just have to chalk our surprise up to ignorance. But in all fairness, they should really televise that stuff widely.

Making jousting “official”

States that want an official anything – whether it’s a bird, song, flower, or sport – need only propose a bill and have it passed by their state government. Not all states have an official sport, but we’re sure some followed in Maryland’s footsteps (though they didn’t pick jousting).

For Maryland, the whole thing was apparently a no-brainer. In 1962 “Henry J. Fowler, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from St. Mary’s County, introduced a bill during a session of the Maryland General Assembly to establish jousting as the official state sport. The bill passed both houses and was signed into law by Governor J. Millard Tawes.“

Modern Maryland jousting

Today’s jousting competitions in Maryland are held throughout the state and abide by rules created in 1950. It’s a non-contact sport “where competitors on horseback with lance in hand try to spear hanging rings of various sizes while quickly riding by three arches. Rings, ranging in diameter from one-quarter of an inch to approximately two inches, are hung nearly 7 feet off the ground.”

Tournaments take place between May and October

—WTF fun facts

Source: “Why Jousting Is Maryland’s Official State Sport” — The Culture Trip

WTF Fun Fact 12940 – Kentucky Has the Largest Cave System

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Caves are pretty cool. And if you’ve ever been in one (especially on a tour during which a guide can explain to you all the amazing things you’re seeing), you know that they’re complex as well as a bit creepy and beautiful. That said, we would imagine the world’s largest cave systems to be somewhere in Europe or Asia. But nope – the Kentucky cave system is the largest in the world.

Kentucky’s massive cave system

Kentucky seems unlikely mostly because it’s not all that large. It’s only the 37th largest U.S. state. Nevertheless, it’s all about what lies beneath.

There’s a reason the cave system is known as Mammoth Cave. It is comprised of over 400 miles of subterranean passageways. To give you some perspective, the second largest cave system – Sistema Sac Actun – is in Mexico, and it’s only half the size of Kentucky’s cave system.

According to The Culture Trip (cited below): “Mammoth Cave…could fit the Grand Canyon inside it and have room to spare.”

Cool.

Subterranean history

The site also notes that “Surveyors discovered new rooms and passages throughout the 20th century, linking caves together to become the largest of its kind. Still today, new sections are being mapped, and Mammoth Cave rangers estimate the cave could contain upwards of 1,000 total miles (1,609.3km). While only a sliver of that – roughly 14mi (22.5km) – is open for tours, the park provides an awe-inspiring glimpse into a realm of mystery and intrigue.”

Between the caves and the bourbon, Kentucky is looking like a pretty great vacation destination right now!

Of course, researchers and treasure hunters weren’t the first to discover the cave system. Native Americans knew about it 4,000 years ago and left tools and petroglyphs (aka rock carvings) throughout the cave system. These have been preserved because of the steady temperature and humidity.

“These are also prime conditions for preserving human remains, some of which have been found buried in the caves or trapped under rock formations,” notes Culture Trip. That’s one of the many reasons you’re not going to be allowed down there all on your own.

Mammoth Cave today

There’s a lot that happened underground in Kentucky, for example during the Revolutionary War. But today Mammoth Cave is a national park. That’s a good thing since it helps us keep it safe and preserved from whatever humans might decide to do down there. In 1981, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 1990 an International Biosphere Reserve.

Still, tours of parts of the Kentucky cave system have been going on since 1816, and you can sign up for one today to see stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and other amazing shapes formed by all sorts of geological processes. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Kentucky Is Home to the World’s Largest Cave System” — The Culture Trip

WTF Fun Fact 12939 – Moonquakes

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We’ve all heard of earthquakes, but it hadn’t really occurred to us that seismic activity would occur on other celestial bodies. Now that we think about it, it makes sense. And, of course, they wouldn’t necessarily be called “earth”quakes. On the moon, they’ve named them “moonquakes.”

Data on moonquakes?

In 2006, NASA (which is cited below) reported that a Notre Dame professor named Clive R. Neal (who was an associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences – the department has since changed its name a bit) came to a surprising conclusion.

Neal and a team of 15 other researchers looked at data from the Apollo mission, and told scientists that the data pointed to something interesting. At NASA’s Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) meeting in League City, Texas in October 2005, he announced that “The moon is seismically active.”

That might not seem important because: 1) the team was never on the moon themselves to feel a moonquake, and 2) it’s not like buildings are going to come crashing down if there’s a huge moonquake. However, people like Elon Musk are talking more and more about building structures on the moon and increasing human activity there. If that happens, structures will have the be built to stand up to moonquakes (which we don’t know all that much about).

Types of seismic activity on the moon

According to the research team, there are at least 4 different types of moonquakes (revealed by the data they assessed):

(1) deep moonquakes about 700 km below the surface, probably caused by tides
(2) vibrations from the impact of meteorites
(3) thermal quakes caused by the expansion of the frigid crust when first illuminated by the morning sun after two weeks of deep-freeze lunar night
(4) shallow moonquakes only 20 or 30 kilometers below the surface.

The team said: “The first three were generally mild and harmless. Shallow moonquakes on the other hand were doozies. Between 1972 and 1977, the Apollo seismic network saw twenty-eight of them; a few ‘registered up to 5.5 on the Richter scale,’ says Neal. A magnitude 5 quake on Earth is energetic enough to move heavy furniture and crack plaster.”

The last thing we want to hear if we decide to visit the moon is that any event out of our control could be a “doozy.” And these shallow moonquakes sound potentially deadly:

“Furthermore, shallow moonquakes lasted a remarkably long time. Once they got going, all continued more than 10 minutes. ‘The moon was ringing like a bell,'” Neal said.

Imagine the insurance premium on that moon house!

What else is interesting about moonquakes?

While we have plenty of aftershocks on Earth, earthquake vibrations from individual events usually last around 30 seconds – or 2 minutes, tops. That’s because of something called chemical weathering (as Neal says) – energy moves across minerals in the earth, and those deaden the vibrations relatively quickly. Not so much on the moon:

“The moon, however, is dry, cool, and mostly rigid, like a chunk of stone or iron. So moonquakes set it vibrating like a tuning fork. Even if a moonquake isn’t intense, ‘it just keeps going and going,’…And for a lunar habitat, that persistence could be more significant than a moonquake’s magnitude.”

Moon structures will have to be built of flexible materials so that they can move with the vibrations (that way they don’t crack). But first we need to know a lot more about engineering details like the maximum fatigue threshold needed so we can build those materials. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Moonquakes” — NASA

WTF Fun Fact 12938 – King Charles III First To Attend School

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In the British Royal family, there’s always been intense media scrutiny. However, despite safety and other concerns, the man we now know as King Charles III was the first British to go to school.

Of course, we mean traditional school. All of the royals in the recent past were educated – they were simply tutored at home.

King Charles III’s history

Born in Buckingham Palace on on November 14, 1948, Prince Charles Philip Arthur George would wait quite some time to ascend the throne – in fact, he was the longest king-in-waiting in British history.

Charles was just 3 years old when his mother Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II. At the time she gave him the title Duke of Cornwall, and at age 20 he also became the Prince of Wales.

After being tutored at home by his governess until age 8, Charles was then sent to Hill House School in west London, then to Cheam (a preparatory school in Hampshire), followed by Gordonstoun, a Scottish boarding school that had been attended by his father Philip and where he similarly became Head Boy.

Gordonstoun was known for its character-building outdoor activities, but rumors are that Charles had a rather unhappy education there after being bullied. Later, he said the experience taught him a lot about his “abilities and disabilities.”

Prince Charles also attended the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia in 1966, which he called some of the best years of his young life.

Charles’ later education

After graduating, King Charles III also became the first British Royal to ever graduate from college (an institution that had already been around for centuries, so it’s not necessarily an unlikely feat).

He graduated from Trinity College at Cambridge University in 1970 with a degree in History before joining the Royal Air Force to become a pilot and the Royal Navy to fly helicopters. He spent seven years in the military, eventually earning the rank of commander on the HMC Bronington (a minesweeper) in 1976.

—WTF fun facts

Source: “Britain has a new monarch: What to know about King Charles III” — The Washington Post