If you rub fresh garlic on the soles of your feet, about an hour later you can actually taste the garlic. This is because the molecule that causes garlic’s smell, allicin, is small enough to penetrate the skin and blood vessels, where it goes all the way up to your mouth and nose. – WTF Fun Facts
Science
WTF Fun Fact – Clean Air = More Corn
Research has found cleaner air has boosted U.S. corn and soybean yields by an estimated 20% over the last 20 years. The reduction in pollution has resulted in an increase of ~$5 billion per year. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – The Bloop
In 1997, hydrophones captured the “Bloop,” which was one of the loudest underwater sounds ever recorded and could be heard more than 3,000 miles away. It’s origin was a mystery for years until scientists studied additional iceberg activity and now believe it was likely made by an ice quake. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Bloop mystery has been solved: it was never a giant sea monster | WIRED UK
WTF Fun Fact – Fermilab’s Ferret Felicia
Fermilab used to clean its particle accelerator with a diaper-wearing ferret named Felicia, who would run through the tubes and be rewarded with a snack. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Felicia The Diaper-Wearing Ferret Was Sent Into A Particle Accelerator For Science | IFLScience
WTF Fun Fact – Ronna And Quecca
Due to concerns of the rapid growth of total data storage exceeding 1 yottabyte in the 2030s, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) proposed to add two more prefixes to the metric system beyond Yotta- (10^24); Ronna- and Quecca- would be prefixes for 10^27 and 10^30, respectively. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: You know kilo, mega, and giga. Is the metric system ready for ronna and quecca? | Science | AAAS
WTF Fun Fact – Febreze Fail
Febreze was initially marketed as a way to get rid of unpleasant smells and sold poorly until Proctor & Gamble realized that people become accustomed to smells in their own homes, and stop noticing them even when they are overpowering to outsiders. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Febreze – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Swearing Increases Pain Tolerance And More
A recent research study at Keele University found that the use of swearing could increase pain tolerance, strength, and overall physical performance. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Swearing Can Boost Strength and Reduce the Sensation of Pain | Psychology Today
WTF Fun Fact – Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol makes open wounds sting because it lowers the temperature threshold of heat-detecting VR1 receptors – so much so that your own body heat triggers a burning sensation. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Mouldy Mary Hunt
Alexander Fleming’s original mold could not produce penicillin fast enough for mass production; it wasn’t until 15 years later that “Mouldy” Mary Hunt tested a moldy cantaloupe and discovered the strain that is used to produce all penicillin today. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://mcdreeamiemusings.com/blog/2019/8/11/1013vvme5498w77bglwoh5ck4exowx
WTF Fun Fact – Honeybee Venom Kills Cancer Cells
A 2020 lab study found honeybee venom, which contains the compound melittin, destroyed 2 types of hard to treat breast cancer cells. Melittin, which can be produced synthetically, also reduced cancer cell growth. One venom concentration even killed cancer cells within an hour. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Honeybee venom ‘kills some breast cancer cells’ – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – South Korean Cloned Drug Sniffing Dogs
In 2007, South Korea began employing cloned Labrador retrievers to sniff out drugs for the customs service. Training and using cloned dogs was more cost effective since only 30% of naturally born dogs they trained ever qualified for service. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: South Korea deploys cloned drug-sniffing dogs – ABC News (go.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Loneliness As Bad As Smoking
A Harvard research study found that having no friends is as deadly as smoking. Researchers discovered a link between loneliness and an increase in the levels of a blood-clotting protein known as fibrinogen which can cause heart attacks and strokes. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Study Shows Having No Friends ‘As Deadly As Smoking’ (newsweek.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Cows And Super Seaweed
A company called Future Feed has created an Australian ‘super seaweed’ food supplement which can reduce 99.9% of the methane gas emissions from cattle by replacing just .2% of their diet. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Stephen Hawking On The Immortality Drive
The DNA sequence of Stephen Hawking is stored on a hard disk, called the “Immortality Drive,” onboard the ISS. He is among a select group of humans to have their DNA immortalized. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Immortality Drive – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Decibel Or 1/10th Of A Bel
A Decibel is not its own unit, but actually 1/10th of the seldom used “Bel”, a unit named in honor of Alexander Graham Bell for his contribution to acoustics. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Z Machine Melts Diamonds
The Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, can melt diamonds using pressure, electromagnetic pulses and enough current to light 100 million light bulbs. Its intended use is to research nuclear fusion. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Z Machine Generates Pressures so Intense That It Can Melt Diamonds (scitechdaily.com)
WTF Fun Fact – The Diderot Effect
The Diderot Effect is obtaining a new possession which often creates a spiral of consumption leading you to buy more new things. As a result, you end up purchasing things that your previous self never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.–WTF Fun Facts
Source:Diderot effect – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Slow Blink To Communicate With Cats
By narrowing your eyes and slowly blinking, you can communicate with cats that you are friendly and improve your chances that they approach and are receptive to you. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Study Confirms ‘Slow Blinks’ Really Do Work to Communicate With Your Cat (sciencealert.com)