The world is an interesting place. You should try to learn a new piece of information every single day. While those pieces of information are sort of random, they do help you understand just how interesting the world can be. It is only when you embrace the random nature of our world that you can truly appreciate what a wonderful planet we all share.
For your enjoyment, here are twelve facts that are both random and interesting.
1. The Fact About the Maple Syrup “Cartel”
There is something called the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. It controls a lot of the world’s maple syrup production. It seems like a silly thing to try to control, I suppose, but pancakes would not be nearly as delicious without syrup.
Also, according to the image, maple syrup lasts for thousands of years. If you can believe this expiration date, this particular bottle of syrup will exist long after the human race has killed itself off.
By the way, the aforementioned federation controls syrup prices—it is the reason you have to pay a small fortune for the good stuff. The federation has also been around a lot longer than you would likely think. It was formed back in 1966.
If you have money to burn and want to pay a lot for syrup for whatever reason, there are bottles of the stuff that cost hundreds of dollars. If you are paying that much, you must really like pancakes.
Pure maple syrup, by the way, can be worth about $1,800 a barrel.
2. The Fact About the Swans and the Mating
In general, swans mate for life. That is the goal, anyway.
However, as is the case with human beings, swans occasionally decide their partnership is not working out so well. When that happens, swans part ways. I imagine the whole thing goes a lot better than it does when humans decide to split up. Swans are classy creatures; human beings, however, are not always so classy.
Generally, swans get a “divorce” if there is some sort of nesting failure. Swans will also seek out another partner if their mate dies prematurely.
In general, swans and humans get along just fine. Swans are not very aggressive. They definitely won’t attack unless you happen to enter their territory. They generally don’t go after humans for the fun of it.
But as is the case with any wild animal, you should be wary. They do not pose a danger to adults, but they could harm small children. Actually, they are more likely to attack your dog than they are your children.
3. The Fact About the Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are really interesting creatures. Their tongues actually wrap around their brain. They have tongues that are really, really long.
Humans find woodpeckers fascinating for a lot of reasons. People like watching them do their thing. One of the more famous woodpeckers, of course, is Woody Woodpecker. He has been delighting people since 1940.
Originally voiced by Mel Blanc, Woody recently appeared in a film. In the United States, it was released on DVD in February of 2018. It was also made available on Netflix. The film was not received well by critics; for one, the story was considered unoriginal. I am not sure what people were expecting, exactly, from a cartoon character that has been around for over 70 years.
Regardless, I am guessing we have not seen the last of Woody Woodpecker. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after all, and he has also been in video games. He is considered one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time. He is not going anywhere. Woody will be back.
4. The Fact About Toilet Paper
At one point, companies actually advertised the fact that their toilet paper was “splinter free”. This was big news once upon a time. Apparently, prior to the 1930s, toilet paper was not splinter free, which makes me really glad I wasn’t born prior to 1930.
Honestly, there are a lot of reasons I am glad I wasn’t born prior to 1930. The fashion was interesting in the 1920s, I suppose, but I wouldn’t want to wear it every day. Also, I have no idea what I would have done with my free time. I don’t know how people used to survive without cable and the internet. My ancestors must have lived terrible lives.
Technically, modern toilet paper dates back to the 19th century. However, paper has been used for hygienic purposes for over two thousand years.
5. The Fact About the Superheroes
Apparently, Marvel and DC jointly own the word superhero. You wouldn’t think the companies would be willing to share the trademark, but they do.
Neither company really has a reason to complain about anything these days, though. Marvel, in particular, is doing very well. Their superheroes have made them billions in the past few years. “Avengers: Infinity War”, which was released in April, has already grossed over $2 billion. A sequel will be released in 2019. Unless that sequel is terrible, which sort of seems unlikely at this point, the film will likely make hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Avengers: Infinity War”—which was praised by most critics—starred a lot of famous actors, including Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Josh Brolin, and Chris Pratt.
6. The Fact About the Olympic Torch
Nobody wants the Olympic Torch to go out; therefore, when it travels, there are backup flames. That is just good sense, really. Apparently, the lanterns containing the flames travel first class. That’s sort of irritating, as I have never flown first class. I once got bumped up to business class, and that should have been a great experience, but someone nearby had a baby that just would not shut up. There should really be a separate section of the plane for people travelling with children under the age of four.
7. The Fact About Smoky the Dog
If it weren’t for Smoky the dog, practically no one these days would have Yorkshire Terriers. She is the reason Yorkshire Terriers are so popular. They were a pretty obscure breed prior to World War II.
Smoky was also a legitimate war hero.
As a person who has owned several Yorkshire Terriers, I think it is fair to say they are a pretty cool breed of dog. They definitely have a ton of personality. They have their flaws as a breed, I suppose, but they are adorable and also extremely portable. You can take them almost anywhere.
Smoky was definitely the coolest Yorkie ever. Also, as you can tell from the image, she was adorable. Anyway, long story short, she was found in a foxhole and saved a bunch of lives in World War II. She survived 150 air raids. She served in 12 combat missions. She helped build an airbase.
She didn’t have access to veterinary medicine. She didn’t get proper food. She never got sick, though. She was a tough little terrier.
After the war ended, she became a national sensation in the United States and appeared on television over 40 times. She was a true war hero who also entertained millions.
Sadly, “Corporal” Smoky—also known as the “Yorkie Doodle Dandy”—died unexpectedly in 1957 of old age. Over 60 years later, she has not been forgotten.
8. The Fact About Cheese
For reasons unclear, cheese is the most shoplifted food in the world. I suppose it makes sense. While I do not like the taste of cheese, I know many people do. I also know that good cheese is extremely expensive. For example, there is a variety of Cheddar that costs about $200 a pound. The most expensive cheese, Pule, can cost around $600 a pound.
Not everyone can afford the cheese they want. Hopefully, if you are stealing cheese that costs $600, you are not putting it on a burger.
I really have no idea why anyone would pay that much for cheese; how good can it really be? However, there are bottles of wine out there that cost thousands of dollars. Who am I to tell people how to spend their money?
9. The Fact About the Tadpole
The woman in this image is holding a tadpole. It looks pretty gross, and it is also enormous as far as tadpoles go.
The tadpole in this image went on to become a creature known as the paradoxical frog—or shrinking frog. The tadpoles are enormous, but they end up becoming normal-sized frogs. The frogs are a lot smaller than the tadpoles. You wouldn’t think such a thing could be possible, but it is. Nature can be weird.
10. The Fact About the 10th President of the United States
The 10th President of the United States was a guy named John Tyler. If you didn’t know that, don’t feel too bad.
Why would you? Even historians view him as sort of an obscure president. They also don’t consider him a particularly good one.
He is kind of interesting for a few reasons, though. In addition to being the president, he was also a vice-president, senator, and governor.
Also, he somehow has living grandchildren. He stopped being the President of the United States in 1845. He was born in 1790. He died in 1862. He was the 10th President. Donald Trump is the 45th—think about that one. Somehow, Tyler has living grandchildren. One of his grandsons was born in 1924. The other was born in 1928.
In case you’re curious about who came next president-wise, James K. Polk was the 11th President of the United States. Polk is notable for a couple of reasons. These days, however, most people are familiar with him because the band “They Might Be Giants” wrote a song about his presidency. It was released in 1990. It was a surprisingly popular song considering the subject matter.
11. The Fact About Chocolate
Almost everyone loves chocolate; however, not everyone knows that we only have chocolate because of the cacao tree—also known as the cocoa tree. Chocolate begins as the seeds of the fruit that comes from the tree. Those seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate. What is interesting is that the fruit is known to be quite tasty. The pulp of the fruit is described as tangy and sweet. A lot of people think it has a mild floral flavor.
12. The Fact About Blue Whale Calves
Young creatures tend to grow quickly. They generally put on a lot of weight in the first year. Blue whale calves put on a ton of weight—literally—and they do so in a very short period of time. They routinely gain 200 pounds every single day during the first year of their life. That’s an insane amount of weight. Most people do not weigh 200 pounds.
Of course, one should not be surprised at how much weight they gain every day. Blue whales are enormous creatures. In fact, the blue whale is probably the largest animal that has ever existed. Even its tongue weighs thousands of pounds.
They really are interesting creatures. They live a long time, really, as far as animals go. Scientists believe that some of them live for 80 years. They also have no natural predators. Sadly, however, they are considered an endangered species—largely as a result of hunting. Fortunately, there is now a ban on hunting them, so the blue whales will likely be around for a while.
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