There is a psychological state called “helper’s high” whereby giving produces endorphins in the brain that provide a mild version of a morphine high. Research has shown that helping others lights up the same part of the brain as receiving rewards or experiencing pleasure. – WTF Fun Facts
Science
WTF Fun Fact – Bioengineered Mosquitoes
In April 2021, researchers from biotech company Oxitec released bioengineered male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which don’t bite, to mate with the wild female population in the Florida keys. The genetically engineered males will pass a modified gene on that will kill their female offspring as larva. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: First genetically modified mosquitoes released in the United States (nature.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Goat Milk Spider Silk
Scientists managed to successfully mix goats with spider genes and now they can produce an extra protein in their milk, which is extracted and spun into spider silk thread. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The goats with spider genes and silk in their milk – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – Enclothed cognition
A study found people scored higher in a mental agility test while wearing a lab coat that they believed was a doctor’s coat. The effect was not there when they believed the same white coat was a painter’s coat. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Holding Hands Helps
A study found that when an empathetic partner holds the hand of a woman in pain, their heart and respiratory rates sync and her pain eases. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: When lovers touch, their breathing, heartbeat syncs, pain wanes, study shows — ScienceDaily
WTF Fun Fact – The Hogben Pregnancy Test
In the 1940s, one of the first female pregnancy tests (the “Hogben test”) involved injecting a woman’s urine into a female frog’s skin. If the woman was pregnant, then within 5-12 hours, the female frog would lay eggs. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: How a Frog Became the First Mainstream Pregnancy Test – The Atlantic
WTF Fun Fact -Theoretical Maximum Tree Height
Trees have a theoretical maximum height of between 400 and 426 ft. and cannot grow taller due to the opposing force of gravity. They are unable to get water higher up the tree and the leaves at the top are effectively under drought conditions. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Accidental Invention Of Saccharin
The first artificial sweetener Saccharin was discovered on accident when chemist Dr. Constantine Fahlberg forgot to wash his hands after work and tasted something “unspeakably sweet” during dinner. He stopped eating and returned to taste every beaker in his lab, which luckily for him contained nothing poisonous. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Constantin Fahlberg – Discovery of Saccharin (todayinsci.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Elements For Life Vs. Iphone
Human life is comprised of about 30 of the 118 elements on the periodic table with nearly 99% of the mass of your human body consisting of just 6 chemical elements. However, your iPhone is made up of about 75 elements. – WTF Fun Facts