funny

WTF Fun Fact 13159 – You Can Be Right-Eared or Left-Eared

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Just as you can be right-handed or left-handed, you can be right- or left-eared and eyed. We not only favor one side, but it also works better. (Even those of us who are ambidextrous usually still favor one side.)

Gauging your earliness

When you talk on the phone, do you tend to hold it mostly to one ear? How about if you’re eavesdropping – do you press that same ear to the door?

According to KIND (cited below), a research study in 1998 at the University of Dresden used data from 300 students after asking subjects to “listen for a stopwatch on the table or a soft voice, listen at a door and make a phone call.”

62% of people were right-eared (and 84% of the total were left-handed). That means your dominant ear could be the opposite of what you might expect.

21% of the study subjects were left-eared while 17% showed no preference. So there’s a decent change you don’t have a dominant ear. However, if you hold a telephone up to your ear, you may be likely to have a preferential ear and it’s likely to be on the same side as your dominant hand (which you would typically use to hold a phone).

Laterality

A preference for a certain side of the body is known as laterality. And it can refer to eyes and even legs.

Next time you step off a curb (or even begin your stride) or move one eye closer to something you’re trying to read, pay attention to what side of your body it’s on. It may tell you something interesting (although not terrible insightful about your personality).

It may even be able to tell you something about your health. For example, studies have shown that some eye diseases are more likely to occur in the dominant eye. —WTF fun facts

Source: “Earliness: Understanding your better ear” — KIND

WTF Fun Fact 13158 – Baby Puffins

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Baby puffins are called pufflings. How adorable is that?

A stranger fact about baby puffins

Ok, now that you know pufflings exist, did you know that on Iceland’s Westman Islands (aka Vestmannaeyjar), puffling season means throwing the animals off cliffs? We promise it’s not what it sounds like.

People do it to save their lives.

According to NPR:

“The chicks of Atlantic puffins, or pufflings, hatch in burrows on high sea cliffs. When they’re ready to fledge, they fly from their colony and spend several years at sea until they return to land to breed, according to Audubon Project Puffin. Pufflings have historically found the ocean by following the light of the moon… Now, city lights lead the birds astray.”

Now, some of the residents of Vestmannaeyjar “spend a few weeks in August and September collecting wayward pufflings that have crashed into town after mistaking human lights for the moon. Releasing the fledglings at the cliffs the following day sets them on the correct path.”

So they don’t chuck them off cliffs (although some may toss them less gently than need be) – they just lead them back to where they belong (or have a better chance of surviving). It’s amazing how light pollution can disrupt an ecosystem!

Puffling lives

Since a pair of puffins mates for life but only raise one egg per season, the loss of a whole generation could be devastating to their populations.

You could even get a chance to help save the pufflings if there’s a colony around you. Their seasons will depend on food supplies and light conditions.

If you decide to go on Puffin Patrol, it’s best to search for them at night with a flashlight in places where they might find food. It sounds like a great reason to go on vacation from August through September! — WTF fun facts

Source: “Puffin Chicks” — Audobon Project

WTF Fun Fact 13157 – First Use of the Word Unfriend

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In the Appeal of Injured Innocence, the word “unfriend” was coined in 1659 by Church of England clergyman Thomas Fuller.

What’s the context around the first use of the word unfriend?

Did you think “unfriend” was a word before Facebook? We did, and we were wrong.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first citation of the word “unfriend” (AND “muggle”!) was in a 13th-century epic Middle English poem Brut by Layamon. There are two uses of the word in the poem.

Of course, it’s a little hard to read English from this time, but it may be easier to say it out loud: “We sollen … slean houre onfrendes and King Learwenden after Brenne.” And “Wend to oure onfreondes and drif heom of blonde.”

Ok, that might seem like cheating. But unfriend was a word used throughout the Middle ages to denote one who is not a friend (but not quite an enemy).

Unfriend becomes a verb

Unfriending someone seems very Facebook-specific, but the word was also used for a very long before the 21st century (though still not as a verb). We have Shakespeare to thank for using ‘unfriended’ to refer to someone who has lost their friends. For example, in Twelfth Night, he wrote “Being skilless in these parts; which to a stranger, / Unguided and unfriended, often prove / Rough and unhospitable.”

In King Lear: “Sir, will you, with those infirmities she owes—. / Unfriended, new adopted to our hate.”

It was used as a verb in the 17th century when, in 1658, Church of England clergyman Thomas Fuller wrote to Peter Heylin, who had criticized Fuller’s The Church History of Britain from the birth of Jesus Christ until the year 1648,

“I hope, Sir, that we are not mutually un-friended by this difference which hath happened betwixt us. And now, as duellers, when they are both out of breath, may stand still and parley, before they have a second pass, let us in cold blood exchange a word, and, mean time, let us depose, at least, suspend, our animosities.
[…] I conceive our time, pains, and parts may be better expended to God’s glory, and the Church’s good, than in these needless contentions. Why should Peter fall out with Thomas, both being disciples to the same Lord and Master? […]
Who knoweth but that God, in his providence, permitted, yea, ordered, this difference to happen betwixt us, not only to occasion a reconciliation, but to consolidate a mutual friendship betwixt us during our lives, and that the survivor (in God’s pleasure only to appoint) may make favourable and respectful mention of him who goeth first to his grave?”

But as Interesting Literature (cited below) points out, Facebook still doesn’t take the cake for the first to use the word for social media purposes. “But even in social media circles, ‘unfriend’ predates Facebook, with which it is not most closely associated.

“Its origin, or at least its first recorded use, was on Usenet in 2003: ‘I have been “unfriended” by somebody in the LJ world today.”

—WTF fun facts

Source: “The Curious Origin of the Word’ Unfriend'” — Interesting Literature

WTF Fun Fact 13156 – Fish Cough

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Fish can cough. But they don’t sneeze. Pretty riveting stuff, right?

Well, it turns out it is pretty interesting.

How do fish cough?

While a fish can cough, it doesn’t make a sound when it does. As the experts at Fluffy Planet explain:

“Every now and then, a fish uses its gills to extract a little amount of oxygen you find in the water. Then, it releases gases like carbon dioxide. During this process, it is possible for particles or bacteria to get sucked in through the gills. Similar to how bacteria and particles are sucked into our mouth while we are breathing.

To clear the bacteria and particles, our body will either instinctively cough, or you could be prompted to cough on your own to clear out these particles. So, when these particles go into a fish’s gills, their ventilation cycle is interrupted with a cough.”

The coughs happen when the fish’s ventilation cycle is interrupted as they need to clear out their gills.

But while fish can cough, they can’t sneeze. And they don’t cry. It’s simply not biologically possible.

Why can’t fish sneeze?

We use our throats to cough, and it’s an action that clears us out. But sneezing requires air to be expelled involuntarily in response to an irritant. Sneezes expel air from the lungs at great speed. And since fish live underwater, they don’t breathe air (and don’t have a version of lungs like ours). If they did, they would float when their lungs will with air.

Now, you probably know fish don’t cry (they can’t really produce tears underwater), but you might find an article from theNew York Times interesting. It explains that researchers think fish can get depressed. When they do, they exhibit similar behavior to humans, such as isolating themselves. —WTF fun facts

Source: “Do fish cough, sneeze, or cry?” — Fluffy Planet

WTF Fun Fact 13155 – The First Item Sold on eBay

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The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. It sold for $14.83 in 1995 (when the site was still called Auction Web).

More about the first item sold on eBay

According to eBay, “Mark Fraser purchased the first item that eBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed on the site in 1995: a broken laser pointer.”

All of this was revealed at the eBay Seller Summit fireside chat. Back when the site was still called Auction Web, Omidyar listed the laser pointer over the Labor Day weekend and was shocked when someone purchased it for $14.38.

The buyer’s identity and motivation had long remained a secret.

Fraser finally came forward at the eBay event in 2005. He explained that he had been on the road traveling for work and giving a lot of presentations. He has seen laser pointers in the ’90s and wanted one, but at the time they cost over $100.

Being an electronics “geek,” Fraser assumed he could fix a broken one, making his eBay purchase a potentially wise financial decision. He had already tried to build one from scratch and it needed too many components, so this was a great find for him.

Continued purchases

Fraser said he was still making eBay purchases and his broken laser pointer was the first in a long line of them. In fact, he’s made over 2000 purchases!

When he heard stories from eBay’s 20th anniversary celebration and the strange first purchase, he thought he was being “dissed,” so he contacted the company to explain how it all went down.

Funny enough – he still had the broken laser pointer. And yes, it’s still broken!

We assume that’ll end up in a museum someday – or at least at eBay headquarters somewhere! — WTF fun facts

Source: “Meet the Buyer of the Broken Laser Pointer” — eBay

WTF Fun Fact 13153 – Albert Einstein and Yoda

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The appearance of the Star Wars character Yoda was partially influenced by a poster of Albert Einstein hanging in the creator’s studio.

What’s the relationship between Albert Einstein and Yoda?

We suppose that a close look and some squinting at the Star Wars character Yoda could conjure an image of Albert Einstein in one’s head. But they’re hardly twins – and that’s not just because of the green skin and alien visage.

Still, they have more in common than just their supposed wisdom.

Stuart Freeborn is the special effects artist that worked as a Star Wars makeup supervisor and was primarily responsible for Yoda’s final look. And he had a poster of Einstein hanging on the wall of his office.

Freeborn said Einstein played a role in influencing his vision of Yoda. But he also admitted that the character is based on his own face.

CineSecrets had a quote from the artist:

“…A picture of Einstein ended up on the wall behind the Yoda sculptures and the wrinkles around Einstein’s eyes somehow got worked into the Yoda design. Over the course of this evolutionary process Yoda slowly changed from a comparatively spritely [sic], tall, skinny, grasshopper kind of character into the old wise spirited gnome that we all know today. The final step in that transformation was Franks [Oz, sic] insistence that the puppet should have no jaw fitted. That allowed him more freedom for expression as a puppeteer but it also meant that the skin hung loosely below the cheeks and that gave Yoda an older, rather chinless look that is quite different to the drawings Ralph [McQuarrie] did.”

Surprising it is not

Look at them side-by-side and see what you think. The more you look, the more you can see it.

We want to know what Einstein would have thought. There are many photos of the genius looking goofy and joking around. But he wasn’t always known as a good guy. Unlike Yoda, his attitude sometimes outstripped his wisdom. — WTF fun facts

Source: “How Einstein Influenced the Look of Yoda” — Mental Floss

WTF Fun Fact 13151 – Franz Liszt Sent Fans Dog Hair

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In the 1830s, pianist Franz Liszt became one of the first celebrities. Women were so enamored of him (and his hair) that they sent requests to him for a lock of it. Eventually, Liszt bought a dog to clip hair from to fulfill their requests.

The first celebrity

Long before The Beatles made women go mad, there was Franz Liszt (1811-1886). The Hungarian musician was the star of concert halls all over 19th-century Europe. And not only was he talented, but people also found him very attractive. Word of his beauty spread like wildfire in a time before anyone could even share photos.

It’s probably no coincidence that the word “celebrity” began to appear in the dictionary around the time of his popularity in the 1830s.

It probably helped that Liszt’s talent was matched by his luscious locks, which he threw around in a frenzy as he played piano. And since he gave around 8000 concerts in just eight years alone, plenty of people got a chance to see him.

Fans were so mad about Franz Liszt that his biographer described the height of his popularity as “Lisztomania.” According to the BBC, “One eyewitness recalled that ‘on one occasion a woman snatched up a half-smoked cigar that Liszt had cast aside and in spite of repeatedly retching she continued to smoke it with feigned delight’. Baronesses and countesses tore at each other’s hair in trying to lay hands on a glass or handkerchief that Liszt had used.”

Eventually, women were throwing themselves at his feet and tearing at both his and their own clothing while doing so. Then there was the fanmail.

Franz Liszt and the hair conundrum

Women would often try to get a piece of hair or a broken piano string in his presence. One story that’s often repeated is that Liszt got lots of fanmail asking for the locks of his beautiful mane.

It may be an apocryphal story. But legend has it that he got so many requests for hair that in order to fulfill them, Liszt bought a dog that he could snip hair from.

To this day, people claim to have locks of his hair that likely belong to a dog (if the story is indeed true). — WTF fun facts

Source: “Forget the Beatles – Liszt was music’s first ‘superstar'” — BBC

WTF Fun Fact 13150 – When Moscow Ran Out of Vodka

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On May 9, 1945, reports that Nazi Germany had surrendered to the USSR resulted in a 22-hour celebration. The Soviets partied so hard that the entire country briefly ran out of vodka.

How the Soviets ran out of vodka

On May 9, 1945, a radio report in the USSR announced that Germany had officially surrendered to the Soviet Union. There was every reason to celebrate immediately. Joseph Stalin, the country’s leader, would address citizens later that day, but revelers were too overjoyed to wait.

While the country probably wasn’t entirely devoid of vodka, those who stayed up to celebrate drank the store shelves dry. And grain was in short supply in wartime, leaving few vodka reserves on hand to replenish the shelves.

War History Online notes that in the book History of Russia, author Walter Moss wrote, “During the famine of the early 1930s, Stalin ensured that sufficient grain and potatoes were still available for vodka production, and vodka revenues in this period provided about one-fifth of government revenues.”

There was also a state monopoly on alcohol. Stalin made its production a national priority, even during the widespread famine. So it’s likely that the shortage didn’t last long since vodka production never stopped.

In any case, by the time Stalin officially addressed the nation on that fateful day in 1945, those who hadn’t celebrated had to find another way to do so. Those who had were probably nursing one heck of a hangover.

Accounts of the vodka shortage

According to Mental Floss (cited below): “As one reporter put it, ‘I was lucky to buy a liter of vodka at the train station when I arrived because it was impossible to buy any later… There was no vodka in Moscow on May 10; we drank it all.‘”

War History Online quoted naval navigator Nikolai Kryuchkov, who recalled:

“On May 9, 1945, with the permission of the commander, I left for 3 days in Moscow. It was impossible to tell what happened on that day in Moscow…. We celebrated Victory Day with my family, the owner’s apartments and neighbors. They drank for the victory, for those who did not live to see this day and for the fact that this bloody massacre would never be repeated. On May 10, it was impossible to buy vodka in Moscow, because it was completely drunk.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “The Time Russia Ran Out of Vodka” — Mental Floss

WTF Fun Fact 13149 – Spiders Recycle Their Webs

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Not all spider webs are destroyed with a broom. In fact, spiders can recycle their webs by eating them!

How and why do spiders recycle their webs?

Some spider webs are built to last years while others only last a day or so. Of course, while those beautifully spun webs in the corner of your attic may have been built as a long-term home for the spider, in that case, their duration is influenced by how long humans allow them to stick around.

But for some neglected spider webs, they can be so enduring that a new generation of spiders might come to reside there.

More fragile webs may only last a day because spiders build them simply to catch food. Rain and pollen may affect their stickiness. In these cases, spiders will pack up a web for the day and build again the next. When this happens, spiders often eat their webs to recycle the amino acids that made up the silk protein used in web construction.

It’s an impressive feat since webs can consist of 65 feet of silk!

Not all spiders ingest their silk though. And some use it to wrap their eggs sacs. But considering how much energy it takes to weave a web, it’s not all that surprising that spiders recycle webs by eating them in some cases.

Spider web building

Spider web silk is made out of protein chains. And some of it is as strong as kevlar (though obviously it’s not as tightly woven, so we hardly notice when batting them away). In fact, scientists are studying it in the hopes of making future body armor!

Spiders typically start building webs by pulling silk from a gland in their fourth leg. The fourth leg on the opposite side contains even more silk glands. Then, in order to begin, the spider (depending on the species) can shoot it out to attach to an object or wait for a breeze to carry it to the base from which it will start building.

From there, the spider will typically create a number of attachment lines. Then they decide which are the strongest and begin weaving from there. Different spiders have different web patterns. In fact, they’re so distinct that experts can look at the structure of a web and tell you precisely which type of spider built it.

—WTF fun facts

Source: “Why do spiders eat their own webs?” — Discover Wildlife