Tuesday, April 9, 2024

I’ve been thinking about the fact that things have been a little intense lately. We don’t mind working hard, and we aren’t entirely allergic to change. Yet lots of buzzing about and things to keep up with can wear a brain out. When that happens, I check in with the fine folks over at Mental Floss for a mental reset. Here are a few random remarkable facts that helped my brain adjust, and I hope they will help yours, too. Enjoy!

When Disneyland first opened in 1955, Tomorrowland was designed to look like a year in the distant future. That year was 1986.

The AMC Gremlin was released on April 1, 1970. AMC advertised it by saying “competitors will find there is nothing ‘April Fool like’ about this car.”

PEZ candies were originally anti-smoking mints.

In 1965, Tommy Cash – brother of Johnny Cash – released a song titled “I Didn’t Walk the Line.”

The FBI called Ted Kaczynski “The Unabomber” because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) and airlines (A).

The tectonic or continental plates drift as fast as your fingernails grow.

Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was “Moon”.

In the late 1800s, residents of Corinne, Utah, could buy divorce papers from a vending machine for $2.50.

A group of pugs is called a grumble.

Polar bears gain more than 400 pounds during pregnancy.

Many people are either right- or left-eared and eyed in the same way they’re right- or left-handed.

The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. A journal from the ship reads, “we could not now take time for further search or consideration; our victuals being much spent especially our Beere.”

Sleeping through the summer is called estivation.

In 1777, Frederick the Great issued an official statement urging his subjects to drink beer in the morning instead of coffee.

In Australia, weed whackers are called whipper snippers.

The paint that coats the White House and Buckingham Palace is made by the same German company.

In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one PEEPS Marshmallow Chick. The same process takes 6 minutes today.

An estimated 1 million dogs in the US have been named the beneficiary in their owners’ wills.

The Truman Show Delusion is a mental condition marked by a patient’s belief that they are the star of an imaginary reality show.

The plural of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac.

A butt is a real unit of measurement for a cask of wine. A buttload is about 108 Imperial gallons.

Pigeons can be trained to distinguish between the paintings of Picasso and Monet.

The Statue of Liberty wears a size 879 shoe.

And finally, there is a man on the planet who does this. Thankfully.

Until next time,

Mary Schuster
Chief Knowledge Officer
October Research, LLC