The microwave was invented after Dr. Percy Spencer realized a chocolate bar melted in his pocket while working with microwave energy for a radar system during WWII. –WTF Fun Facts
Science
WTF Fun Fact – Titan’s Cryovolcano
Scientists believe that Saturn’s moon Titan has at least one 5,000 ft tall volcano that erupts ice, known as a cryovolcano. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Alternative Pain Relief
A study by Stanford University researchers found that looking at a photo of a romantic partner reduces pain by 44% or the equivalent of Tylenol or narcotics like cocaine. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Nike Waffle Trainer
The first Nike shoe was inspired by a waffle. After watching his wife make waffles, co-founder of Nike, Bill Bowerman, poured urethane into a waffle iron to see if would work. The Waffle Trainer debuted soon after in 1974. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/nikes-first-running-shoes-were-made-in-a-waffle-iron-2015-7
WTF Fun Fact – NASAdent
Back in the 1960s, NASA worried that their astronauts would struggle to maintain their dental hygiene in space. As a result, they developed a foamless, ingestible toothpaste called “NASAdent.”–WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Lightning Hotter Than The Sun
Lightning can heat the air (a very poor conductor of electricity) it passes through to 50,000° F, which is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-temperature
WTF Fun Fact – Gold Ductility
Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all metals. Gold can be pounded into sheets less than four millionths of an inch thick. An ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire more than 40 miles long. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Gold Properties | AMNH
WTF Fun Fact – Corn Belt Vs Amazon
NASA satellite imagery shows that the US corn belt, at peak production in July, produces oxygen levels 40% greater than those observed in the Amazon rain forest. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Satellite Shows High Productivity from U.S. Corn Belt | NASA
WTF Fun Fact – How Switzerland Rid Themselves of Rabies
In Switzerland, rabies was virtually eliminated after scientists placed chicken heads laced with the live attenuated vaccine in the Alps, which the foxes (the main carriers of the virus) ate thus immunizing themselves. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Rabies – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Traffic Costs
A 2011 study found traffic congestion caused American commuters to travel 5.5 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel. This adds up to 56 billion pounds of CO2 released into the atmosphere. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The American Commuter Spends 38 Hours a Year Stuck in Traffic – The Atlantic
WTF Fun Fact – Roundest Natural Object
The Kepler 11145123 star, discovered in 2016, is the roundest natural object ever measured. Using asteroseismology, scientists were able to measure the oblateness of the star and found it’s even more perfectly spherical than the sun. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Kepler 11145123 is Most Spherical Natural Object Ever Seen, Astronomers Say | Astronomy | Sci-News.com (sci-news.com)
Image credit: Mark A. Garlick
WTF Fun Fact – Trojan Horse Nanoparticle
Michigan State University and Stanford University scientists have created a “Trojan Horse” nanoparticle that eats away portions of plaques that cause heart attacks. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Nanoparticle eats away plaque that causes heart attacks (futuretimeline.net)
WTF Fun Fact – Popeye’s Spinach A Lie
The concept of Popeye’s strength coming from spinach was based on incorrect nutritional info. In 1870, German chemist Erich von Wolf was researching the nutritional benefits of spinach and put the decimal point in the vegetable’s iron content in his notes: 35mg instead of 3.5mg. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Vacuum Cleaner Of The Solar System
In our solar system, the gas giant Jupiter and its gravitational pull often “eats” up any asteroid or comet that ventures near, earning it the nickname “vacuum cleaner of the solar system.” – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – DST Spikes Fatal Car Accidents
Researchers found fatal car accidents in the US spike by 6% during the workweek following the “spring forward” to daylight saving time. The study also found that the farther west a person lives in their time zone, the higher their risk of a deadly crash that week. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Women Have Better Sense Of Smell
Research has found that females have nearly 50% more neurons in their olfactory bulbs in their brains which could provide women with a better sense of smell. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Women’s finer sense of smell may be due to more brain cells (medicalnewstoday.com)
WTF Fun Fact – 19 Different Smiles
Researchers have found there are 19 different types of smiles, but only six occur when we’re having a good time. The rest happen when we’re in pain, embarrassed, uncomfortable, horrified, or even miserable. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: There are 19 types of smile but only six are for happiness – BBC Future
WTF Fun Fact – Gut Bacteria Converts Blood Type
In 2018, Canadian researchers discovered a method to convert blood types A, B and AB to universal donor O-negative. They identified a human gut bacteria which makes an enzyme that reacts with the non-O type red blood cells, essentially transforming them into O-negative. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: UBC researchers have found a way to convert any blood type to the universal O | CBC Radio