Here's your (not so) totally useless fact(s) of the day:

[phkrause]

Fake oil paintings can be detected because nuclear bombs detonated in 1945 contained isotopes (now found in oil) that did not previously exist in nature. If a painting contains those isotopes, they were painted after 1945.

James

[phkrause]

Bad ventilation in your bedroom at night can result in increased carbon dioxide and is associated with poor sleep, headaches, and a decline in cognitive performance the next day.

James

[phkrause]

In 1971, a Texas state legislator introduced a bill honoring Albert DeSalvo, commonly believed to be the Boston Strangler, for his role in "population control." He tried to show that his peers often passed laws without due diligence. The bill was approved unanimously.

James

[phkrause]

In 1951, Thelma Howard was hired as a maid for Walt and Lillian Disney. Walt gave her shares of Disney stock every Christmas for 30 years. Upon her passing in 1994, it was discovered she had all 192,000 shares, valued at $9 million. It all went to her disadvantaged kids.

James

[phkrause]

During World War II, the United States published a spy manual urging middle managers in enemy territory to sabotage their employers by bringing up irrelevant issues, promoting bad employees, arguing over petty details, and holding unnecessary meetings.

Lol. Doesn’t this happen here already.

James

[phkrause]

In the 17th century, the equivalent of saying 'Go to hell!' was 'Turd in your teeth'.

James

[phkrause]

Humans have the largest butts in the animal kingdom.

James

[phkrause]

The blast of air you feel when you walk into a store is meant to stop bugs from flying in.

James

[phkrause]

The phrase "snake oil salesman" is attributed to Clark Stanley, who gained national attention marketing snake oil at the 1893 World's Fair. In 1916, a USDA analysis concluded that the snake oil Stanley was selling was actually 99% mineral oil.

James

[phkrause]

Dr. Seuss based the Grinch on himself, saying that he created the character to rediscover something about Christmas he had lost. In the book, the Grinch says he had been putting up with Christmas for 53 years – the age at which Seuss wrote the story.

James

[phkrause]

More than 80 percent of the ocean floor has never been viewed by humans. A far greater percentage of the surface of the moon and planet Mars have been mapped and studied than our own seafloor.

James

[phkrause]

Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of Pong and founder of Atari, also founded Chuck E. Cheese.

James

[phkrause]

Stan Lee had a younger brother, Larry Lieber, who co-created Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man with him. Larry is currently 90 years old and only retired from pencilling comics in 2018.

James

[phkrause]

In 1964, a Swedish art gallery displayed 4 paintings by an unknown artist named Pierre Brassau. Nearly every critic praised the avant-garde pieces except one, who said, "Only an ape could have done this". Pierre Brassau was, in fact, an ape and the display was an elaborate hoax.

James

[phkrause]

A Texas man once went to the ER with a blood-alcohol level of 037, but he hadn't been drinking. People suspected he was a "closet drinker" for years because he often became unexpectedly drunk until doctors found he had auto-brewery syndrome. He got drunk whenever he ate carbs.

James

[phkrause]

In the 1980s, Procter & Gamble created a toll-free number to reassure customers that their laundry soap was not being used to support Satan.


James

[phkrause]

There are more public libraries than McDonald's in the US.

James

[phkrause]

Outer space is only an hour away, if you could drive your car straight into the sky at 60 MPH.


James

[phkrause]

The word "photography" is derivative of two Greek words that mean "writing with light".

James

[phkrause]

The original location for the 1947 Miracle on 34th St. movie was the N.Y. Macy's in Herald Square. However, for the remake in 1994, Macy's refused to participate. Therefore, the fictional store Cole's was created.

James

[phkrause]

The pistol shrimp creates a bubble louder than a gunshot and when it bursts, it generates heat four times hotter than lava.

James

[phkrause]

Ants sleep by taking around 250 one minute naps throughout the day, totaling just under 5 hours of sleep. This allows for 80% of their colony to be awake, working and prepared at any given moment.

James

[phkrause]

Ernest Hemingway survived malaria, pneumonia, anthrax, skin cancer, dysentery, anemia, hepatitis, diabetes, two plane crashes, a ruptured kidney, a ruptured liver, a ruptured spleen, a fractured skull, and a crushed vertebra.

James

[phkrause]

A person who hides their pain behind a smile is called an “eccedentesiast.”

James

[phkrause]

On average, an arm and a leg are worth $323,099 in the US.

James