random funny fact

WTF Fun Fact 13021 – The Scully Effect

The way we see scientists portrayed in books, movies, and television shows shapes the way we think about science in general. It also affects whether we can relate to the idea of being a scientist. This is especially important for women, who are underrepresented in most science fields. That’s part of what makes the Scully Effect so remarkable.

What is the Scully Effect?

Dana Scully was a character on the iconic television show The X Files. She was one of the first visible examples of a female scientist on a long-running television show. And it turns out that Gillian Anderson’s portrayal of the character changed the way viewers thought about the role of women in science.

According to a blog published by Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WWEST) on Simon Fraser University’s website (cited below), “a phenomenon called ‘The Scully Effect’ has been anecdotally reported among fans of the TV show The X-Files and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.”

In 2017, WWEST started a project called Media Depictions of Women in STEM “to evaluate how woman characters in STEM are depicted in popular media and how this might shape viewers’ ideas of women’s role in STEM (especially viewers in elementary and secondary school).”

They also reported that “a study by the Geena Davis Institute has examined just how much the character of Dana Scully has influenced girls and women to focus on STEM in their schooling and careers.”

What does the research show?

There were 2,021 participants in the study, in which :
– 63% of women who were familiar with Dana Scully said she increased their belief in the importance of STEM.
– 50% of those same women said Scully increased their interest in STEM.
– 43% of women who were medium to heavy viewers of The X-Files were influenced to consider working in STEM fields by Scully.
– 27% were convinced to actually study STEM.

Gillian Anderson said of “The Scully Effect”:

“At the time that Scully showed up [in 1993], we didn’t see that type of female represented very much at all out in the world of television, which is what we look to more and more as examples of who we are and to help make sense of us as human beings. And so, to suddenly have an appealing, intelligent, strong-minded female who was appreciated by her pretty cool male coworker was an awesome thing to behold, and I think that a lot of young women said, ‘That’s me. I’m interested in that. I want to do that. I want to be that.’”

Other research has shown that children tend to associate men with science around age seven due to cultural depictions of men in books, shows, and films. But when this can be prevented by also showing women as scientists, girls are more likely to believe that science is a general career path open to them as well. — WTF fun facts

Source: “The Scully Effect” — Simon Fraser University

WTF Fun Fact 13020 – Some of the World’s Oldest Advice

One of the oldest pieces of literature known to mankind is called the Instructions of Shuruppak, which contains some of the world’s oldest advice. This was found on the Abu Salabikh Tablet which was excavated in Central Babylonia (which is now southern Iraq). This Sumerian text has been dated to roughly the mid-third millennium BCE (2500 BCE).

Ancient advice via “wisdom literature”

The oldest recorded advice is written in the voice of a Sumerian king named Šuruppak to his son, Ziusudra. Some of it is similar to the biblical 10 Commandments, while other gems include how not to engage with prostitutes (in other words, a warning to lead a virtuous life) or act while drinking beer.

It begins:

“My son, I would instruct you,
Take my instructions,
Ziusudra, I would utter a word to you,
Give heed to it,
Do not neglect my instruction,
Do not transgress the word I uttered,
The father’s instructions, the precious,
Carry out diligently.”

The oldest fatherly advice

This ancient advice is only available to us in fragmentary form and (obviously) through translation. Still, it’s fascinating to see how much of it still applies, such as:

You should not locate a field on a road…
You should not place your house next to a public square: there is always a crowd there.
You should not loiter about where there is a quarrel; you should not let the quarrel make you a witness.
You should not steal anything…A thief is a lion, but after he has been caught, he will be a slave. My son, you should not commit robbery…
You should not speak improperly; later it will lay a trap for you.
You should not curse strongly: it rebounds on you.
My son, you should not use violence (?); ……. You should not commit rape on someone’s daughter; the courtyard will learn of it.
You should not boast in beer halls like a deceitful man.

It contains much more advice than this, which you can find here.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “The Instructions of Shuruppak, Some of the Earliest Sumerian Literature” — HistoryofInformation.com

WTF Fun Fact 13018 – Can Meditation Be Dangerous?

While we know various types of meditation can promote better mental and physical health, it’s easy to neglect the fact that just about anything can be dangerous if you don’t know how to do it right or aren’t prepared for it. But can meditation be dangerous?

In some cases, yes. But mostly for beginners who quit too early.

How can meditation be dangerous?

Dangerous is a loaded work, however, there are certainly some potential downsides to meditation. For those who are in a dark place or have multiple stressors that they have been repressing, harmful thoughts can sometimes arise during meditation. And if you aren’t skilled at pushing those thoughts away, it can cause you to ruminate on them even more.

According to Psychology Today (cited below), “The most profound interaction you experience in meditation is the interaction with yourself. As part of that, you would get in touch with buried and suppressed emotions. Meditation could trigger waves of anger, fear or jealousy, which had been sitting deep within you, and that would make you feel uncomfortable.”

Of course, having these emotions surface is likely good in the long term if it helps you deal with them and get past them. But if you stop meditating due to discomfort with those feelings, it can leave you worse off. (This is similar to starting and stopping therapy too soon – it can be uncomfortable at first, but that’s usually part of the process.)

The danger of being a beginner

If you’ve ever had a hard time meditating or found that you feel worse afterward, you’re not alone. But we tend to downplay the potential side effects for beginnings since there are so many potential benefits. And typically, the more you keep meditating, the better you get at it.

However, for those who have been through traumatic experiences, being left to meditate on their own with no other emotional support can be very challenging and can lead to poor mental health outcomes. You may need more than just meditation if you’re dealing with trauma.

Meditation beginners also sometimes misunderstand the idea of non-attachment and of letting their feelings go. Most techniques allow troublesome thoughts to come up and encourage you to acknowledge them and then push them away. But sometimes that can lead us to avoid truly dealing with these emotions in a way that will be productive in the long run.

While meditation seems to benefit many people, it’s not as easy as the internet makes it sound. Those dealing with trauma will probably want more personalized guidance and a support system as part of their meditation practice. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Dangers of Meditation” — Psychology Today

WTF Fun Fact 13017 – The Dementor Wasp

The dementor wasp sounds like a character from Harry Potter. But somehow it’s much worse (mostly because it’s real). These wasps can turn their prey into “zombies” before eating them alive. Isn’t nature wonderful?

Dementor wasp tactics

The Ampulex dementor is actually named after the soul-sucking Harry Potter characters, so you know they must have made a big impression.

The wasps have a pretty unconventional and gruesome way of preparing their prey for mealtime. First, they inject venom into their favorite snacks, cockroaches. And while you might not have a lot of sympathy for roaches, they do die in a pretty awful way.

The venom from the dementor wasp leaves them without control over their own bodies. That usually has the effect of forcing them to run right into their tormentor’s nest so that they can be eaten alive. The World Wildlife Fund said it rendered the roaches “passive zombies” in the process.

How do roaches turn into zombies?

According to the Washington Post (cited below), the WWF report states:

“Cockroach wasp venom blocks receptors of the neurotransmitter octopamine, which is involved in the initiation of spontaneous movement. With this blocked, the cockroach is still capable of movement, but is unable to direct its own body. Once the cockroach has lost control, the wasp drags its stupefied prey by the antennae to a safe shelter to devour it.”

Sounds like the stuff of nightmares.

Luckily, the wasps seem confined to just one place in the world – Thailand – and are pretty recognizable with their red and black bodies (not that the venom is enough to turn any of us into a zombie).

What’s in a name?

The Post also described the dementor wasp naming process:

“The Museum für Naturkunde, a natural history museum in Berlin, asked 300 visitors to pick the wasp’s name from among four options: ‘Bicolor,’ after its red-black pattern; ‘Mon,’ after a local ethnic group where the wasp lives; ‘Plagiator,’ since it mimics, or ‘plagiarizes,’ ants; and ‘Dementor,’ described to visitors as ‘magical beings, which can consume a person’s soul, leaving their victims as an empty but functional body without personality and emotions.'”

Frankly, the other options were pretty lame, and we doubt anyone was surprised people chose the Harry Potter-themed name. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Say hello to the dementor wasp. It turns cockroaches into zombies” — Washington Post

WTF Fun Fact 13016 – Petting an Animal Reduces Stress

You’ve probably heard that petting an animal reduces stress. If you’re lucky, you’ve even experienced it firsthand. And if you have the pleasure of consistently getting some hands-on time with a furry companion (or even a pal’s pet), you may not always notice it, but you probably do have less cortisol in your system.

How does petting an animal reduce stress?

One of the most oft-cited studies about the animals reducing our stress comes from a study in the journal of the American Educational Research Assocation (AERA). It was a rigorous study that controlled for multiple other factors, such as overall health of the subjects. And it found that just 10 minutes of petting a cat or dog (many of which happened to come from a shelter and probably benefitted from some socialization) results in measurably smaller levels of cortisol, the hormone that regulates our flight-or-fight response.

The research was done on college students (who often get stressed out around midterms and finals). And one of the best parts was that even brief animal encounters could help reduce stress levels.

The researchers didn’t find the same effect when students viewed photos of pets or saw them in person – the real benefits came from physical contact.

Details of the study

The researchers collected saliva samples from 249 college students who participated in one of four types of animal encounters. (Cortisol levels can be measured using saliva.)

  • 73 students got to pet the cats and dogs
  • 62 watched other people pet the animals
  • 57 watched a slideshow of images of the same animals
  • 57 remained on the waitlist

Saliva samples were collected first thing in the morning and then two more samples were collected 15 and 25 minutes after the animal encounter.

Students with hands-on animal interactions had the lowest cortisol levels, though it didn’t necessarily last throughout the day. Still, even momentary stress relief can help regulate stress.

The researchers hope the knowledge that petting animals reduces stress will help colleges (and others) help people regulate stress before it causes more serious physical and psychological disorders. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Animal Visitation Program (AVP) Reduces Cortisol Levels of University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial” — AERA Open

WTF Fun Fact 13015 – The Great Wall Sticky Rice Connection

Walls between countries are more symbolic than anything, and that’s true for the Great Wall of China as well. Still, it’s such an epic structure that it took thousands of years to complete. It’s also not actually one long wall but a series of structures. Oh, and it’s held together by sticky rice.

What’s the story behind the Great Wall?

The first emperor of a unified China Qin Shi Huang Di began building the wall, but like many of his monumental structures, it was unfinished by the time of his death. In fact, it wasn’t until several hundred years later that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty (in the 14th – 17th centuries) took up the project again in earnest, building more sections along with the iconic gates and towers.

These emperors built hundreds of miles of the most famous section of the wall, which China has claimed is over 13,000 miles long – but likely includes sections that no longer exist (Chairman Mao encouraged people to take pieces of it to build their homes, for example). It’s a magnificent structure no matter its exact length, even if it didn’t always keep out invaders.

It is, however, held together with sticky rice.

Why sticky rice?

You might be confused if you’ve only had your rice cooked from the instructions on a package of Uncle Ben’s, but Chinese rice is deliciously sticky. It also helps make great mortar.

But don’t make fun of Chinese cuisine – sticky rice is just one part of the limestone mortar used to hold together this structure. This was discovered by scientists at Zhejiang University in China, and the recipe makes it the first example of composite mortar (something we all benefit from today whether we know it or not).

According to Smithsonian Magazine (cited below), the researchers “found that ‘sticky rice-lime mortar has more stable physical properties, has greater mechanical storage, and is more compatible, which make it a suitable restoration mortar for ancient masonry.’”

That makes sticky rice mortar one of the greatest and most enduring (literally) inventions of an already amazing lineage of governments. It is part of the reason structures built during this period are still around, surviving earthquakes and other tests from the elements.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Sticky Rice Mortar, the View From Space, and More Fun Facts About China’s Great Wall” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13013 – Olesja Schemjakowa and a Snack Snafu

Olesja Schemjakowa made a very expensive mistake in 2018. She accidentally paid almost $8000 for a coffee and a slice of cake at a bakery in Switzerland. That mistake ended up costing her exactly $7,732.

Olesja Schemjakowa and the expensive snack

It was a mistake anyone could have made. The woman simply entered her PIN code for her credit card by accident when the machine was asking for the tip amount.

We doubt the coffee or cake was that good. But leaving an even worse taste in her mouth was the fact that her credit card company refused to reverse the charges since it was not a fraudulent transaction. It was her mistake, and she would have to live with it.

When Schemjakowa got in touch with the owner of the cafe, things looked like they might work out for the best. He originally agreed to refund her the money. Unfortunately for her, as time went on, she saw nothing was being done. That’s when she found the cafe had shut down and the owner had filed for bankruptcy.

No happy ending

The Russian woman was likely the victim of her own translation error at the New Point cafe. She didn’t speak the language when dining in Zurich. And since tipping customs are different all over the world, she likely didn’t expect to be asked for a tip at all, hence entering her PIN code. Let this be a lesson for us all to start our PIN codes with a zero or two!

Her bill was just $23, meaning she left a 32,000% gratuity.

The Swiss police also refused to intervene since no crime had taken place.

When the news came out in 2021 of the 2018 snafu, Schemjakowa told the Swiss newspaper Blick:

“I just can’t understand how the cafe owner can just keep the money, and I cannot do anything about it. That’s just not fair!” “I’ve been told there may still be a one percent chance that I’ll see my money back.” — WTF fun facts

Source: “A woman accidentally tipped $7,700 for coffee and some cake — and she will probably never get that money back” — Business Insider

WTF Fun Fact 13011 – Facebook and Divorce

What’s the connection between Facebook and divorce? Well, one clue comes from a study published back in 2013 that found an astonishing 1/3 of divorce papers included a reference to the social media platform.

The relationship between Facebook and divorce

We’d be interested to know where this study stands now and if anyone looked more deeply into the results. What we do know is that in 2011, 1/3rd of all divorce filings contained the word “Facebook,” according to Divorce Online. This was up from 20% just three years earlier. ABC News (cited below) also pointed out that “more than 80 percent of U.S. divorce attorneys say social networking in divorce proceedings is on the rise, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.”

Lawyers have also seen an increase in the number of times Facebook has been used to prove infidelity during divorce cases as well as in child custody hearings.

ABC News also reported that “Despite the increase, the top Facebook mentions were the same: inappropriate messages to “friends” of the opposite sex, and cruel posts or comments between separated spouses. Sometimes, Facebook friends would tattle to one partner in a relationship about bad behavior by the other.”

How Facebook affects relationships

A 2013 study in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking also showed that Facebook was playing an important role in the end of relationships.

While Facebook might have helped some of us forge new relationships, it may not be the best use of our time once we’re in them. In fact, it may be damaging to our romantic relationships, according to Russell Clayton who performed the research and found that “people who use Facebook excessively are far more likely to experience Facebook-related conflict with their romantic partners, which then may cause negative relationship outcomes including emotional and physical cheating, breakup and divorce,” according to a press release.”

By surveying Facebook users ages 18 to 82 years old, the researcher found that high levels of Facebook use among couples “significantly predicted Facebook-related conflict, which then significantly predicted negative relationship outcomes such as cheating, breakup, and divorce.”

When it came to couples in a relationship for three years or less, Facebook proved to be a particularly large problem.

“Previous research has shown that the more a person in a romantic relationship uses Facebook, the more likely they are to monitor their partner’s Facebook activity more stringently, which can lead to feelings of jealousy,” Clayton said. “Facebook-induced jealousy may lead to arguments concerning past partners. Also, our study found that excessive Facebook users are more likely to connect or reconnect with other Facebook users, including previous partners, which may lead to emotional and physical cheating.”

If you want your relationship to last, you may want to consider being more mindful about how and how often you use social media. — WTF fun facts

Source: “Can Facebook Ruin Your Marriage?” — ABC News

WTF Fun Fact 13010 – The Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Fun fact: We have a woman named Ruth Wakefield to thank for the invention of the chocolate chip cookie in 1939. She ran the restaurant at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. She assumed adding broken pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate to her cookies would make the chocolate melt into the batter. But the chocolate largely maintained its shape, and the cookies became so popular that she published the recipe in a Boston newspaper.

***

Even if chocolate chip cookies aren’t you’re favorite, it’s hard to claim they don’t hold an iconic place in American culinary history. According to the Nestlé website,

“It all started back in 1939. Ruth Wakefield, who ran the successful Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, was mixing a batch of cookies when she decided to add broken pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate into the recipe expecting the chocolate to melt. Instead, the semi-sweet bits held their shape and softened to a delicate creamy texture and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Ruth’s ‘Toll House Crunch Cookie’ recipe was published in a Boston newspaper and her invention of the chocolate chip cookie quickly became the most popular cookie of all-time.”

The original chocolate chip cookie recipe

Want to make the original chocolate chip cookie? Nestlé shared the recipe on their website:

The recipe that started it all

More than 80 years later, Nestlé Toll House’s Original Chocolate Chip Cookies are a true classic and a go-to recipe for all occasions.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (if omitting, add 1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour)

Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375° F
Step 2: Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets
Step 3: Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “A timeless discovery: The chocolate chip cookie” — Nestlé