thursday 13: bizarre but true facts

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1. the invention of chainsaws

One would think that these handy tools were invented to, well, cut wood. One would be incorrect. As it turns out, chainsaws were invented for the unlikely use as a medical instrument… to assist in childbirth. The original chainsaw was designed by Drs. John Aitken and James Jeffray of Scotland, and it was not powered by fuel. Instead, it was a flexible saw used to widen the passageway during birth. Which sounds horrific, and probably was.

source: BBC Science Focus

2. guinea pig rights

In Switzerland, it is illegal to own just one guinea pig. They can be bought singly but must be kept with at least one other, as they are very social animals. The Animal Protection Ordnance specifically lists guinea pigs as one of several species that are required to be in groups of at least two. The ideal grouping suggested is two or three females with a castrated male, as female-only groups tend to become more contentious.

source: Swiss Info

3. visually impaired chickens

Also in Switzerland, it is illegal to force domestic poultry to wear glasses or contact lenses. Because that is an issue that requires a law to enforce it?!

source: Swiss Info

4. Venus, the rebel planet

Venus is one of only two planets to spin clockwise, along with its pal Uranus. Some current scientific hypothesis contends that once upon a time, the planet spun in the same direction as most of the other planets, and that, in a way, it still does. It is believed that Venus flipped its axis 180° at some point, so it is still spinning the way it always has, just upside down. One theory about the flip is that it was caused by the force of the sun’s gravitational pull on the planet’s extremely dense atmosphere. But there are others that believe that the planet never flipped at all, that it’s rotation simply slowed to a standstill and reversed. Further rebellion… a day on Venus is longer than a solar year. A Venusian day is roughly 243 Earth days, while a Venusian solar year is only 224 Earth days.

source: Scientific American

5. pass the nutmeg, man

The colors, the pink elephants. Yes, nutmeg is a hallucinogen. But only at extremely high concentrations. Nutmeg contains myristicin, which blocks the action of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. This is what produces its psychoactive effects. It also contains elemicin, which can cause similar effects. Nutmeg intoxication can take hours to reach the maximum level, and the effects of it can last for several days. So what is the minimum dosage required to get loopy? Roughly 5 grams of nutmeg, which would contain 1-2 milligrams of myristicin. This is roughly 2 teaspoons of the spice.

source: McGill University

6. hand me a wrench, queen

The late Queen Elizabeth II was a mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II. Against her parents’ wishes, she enlisted to become a truck mechanic. She was the first female member of the royal family to ever serve in the military.

source: AutoWeek

7. our genetic cousins

No surprise, but we share 96% of our genetic material with chimps. But we also are pretty close cousins to the humble banana. More than 60% of our genetic makeup is identical to that of a humble banana. Close behind? Chickens and fruit flies, with 60% identical genes. Explains a lot.

source: Pfizer

8. your special day

Isn’t all that special. On average, we share our birthday with over 22 million others globally. This is based on the world population, divided by 365. But some days have more, others less. For example, a leap year birthday is shared with only about 5.5 million others. The fluctuations occur because of a lot of variants, to include: summer wedding traditions leading to midwinter births, natural disasters, holidays, seasons. Interestingly, September has the highest number of births internationally, while major holidays (and the time around them) have the least.

source: ThoughtCo

9. the high and low of it

The highest recorded temperature on Earth is 134° on 10 July 1913 in Death Valley, Nevada. Conversely, the lowest recorded temperature on Earth is recorded as -89.2° on 21 July 1983 at the Vostok Station, Russias Antarctica research facility.

sources:

• Guinness World Records (highest)
• Guinness World Records (lowest)

10. Venusian rainbows

We’re headed back to Venus for this one. In truth, the planet doesn’t have rainbows. What it does have is an optical phenomenon that is very similar, called a glory. Both are formed when sunlight falls on cloud droplets. But glories are caused by the interference of light waves within those droplets, while rainbows are caused by the reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light. And while rainbows are usually seen as an arc, a glory is generally seen as a series of concentric rings.

source: BBC Science Focus

11. the Eiffel Tower is alive

It grows in the summer, shrinks in the winter. But it’s less about being alive and more about thermal expansion. The heat causes an increase in volume, resulting in a height growth ranging from a few millimeters. The thermal expansion also forces the tower to tilt slightly away from the sun during hot months. The sun only hits one of the four sides of the tower, which creates an imbalance. Over the course of a clear day in the summer, the top of the tower can move in a roughly circular shape with a diameter of 15 centimeters.

source: Le Tour Eiffel

12. snail bites

Snails have teeth. Who knew? They have between 1,000 and 12,00 teeth, but they aren’t at all like our own. Instead, they are tiny little projections all over the tongue.

source: Natural History Museum

13. milk sweat

That’s the life of a platypus. They have mammary glands like any other mammal, but since they don’t have teats, the milk seeps from their skin. It looks like sweat, but the creatures are aquatic so they don’t actually sweat at all. Because of the less than hygienic way it’s release from the body, the milk contains extremely strong antibacterial proteins to protect babies.

source: BBC Science Focus