Tell me something I don't know...

[Waytoomanycoasters]

What's the best/most outlandish/favourite fact in your repatoire?

That vanilla flavouring used in many foods comes from the anal secretion sacs of the beaver!

85% of all statistics are completely made up.

Woodlice can't wee!

Noooo. So Annie isn't ok?? 😭

Try harder.....

Huh?

No, how?! Vanilla from a beaver?!

That owls’ feathers aren’t waterproof. Despite living in the rainy uk. They’re also not very smart.

The southernmost state of the USA is Hawaii.
The northernmost, easternmost and westernmost state is Alaska.

John Tyler (born 1790, died 1862) was the 10th president of the USA. His grandson is still alive in 2024.

??

The etymology of helicopter is:

helix- spiral
pteron- wing

The “pter” bit of helicopter has the same root as in pterodactyl:

pteron- wing
dactyl- finger

Maybe you already knew that but I just learnt it the other day.

Castoreum used to be used as a flavouring, it is apparently similar to raspberry/vanilla, it is very expensive and not used now, other than in a Swedish drink. Source, the Smithsonian https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/does-vanilla-flavoring-actually-come-from-beaver-butts-180983288/#:~:text=While%20this%20statement%20is%20not,of%20your%20nearest%20grocery%20store.

vanilla flavour comes from vanilla pods or chemical substitutes

Humans have been using castoreum for more than 2,000 years, mostly to cure ailments like headaches, earaches, toothaches, fevers and gout. The Romans burned castoreum in lamps, believing the fumes caused abortions. It has also been used extensively in perfumery to add a leathery scent and as a lure for beaver trapping. But removing castoreum from beavers is a labor-intensive process. First, the animals must be anesthetized, then their castor glands must be “milked.”

“You can squirt [castoreum] out,” wildlife ecologist Joanne Crawford told Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato of National Geographic back in 2013. “It’s pretty gross.” The substance can also be harvested from dead beavers if their castor sacs are removed and left to dry.

It used to be much more widespread in food, but it's no longer the main source of vanilla flavouring due to cost and logistics. Most vanilla flavouring is now synthetic. But there are still lots of foods that do contain it.

I didn't say that it was the main source, just that there are still many products that do contain it.

Only female ducks quack 🤯

The boxer Audley Harrison has, drumroll, size 18 feet!!

It's still not a herb though, it's a fruit (albeit mostly a fucked-up one)

Herbs are the stems, leaves or flowers of a plant.

Forget Jupiter's red spot, Saturn has a hexagonal cloud formation over its north pole that is bigger than the diameter of the Earth.

Geckos can shed their tails if they are frightened

The handrails of the tube trains match the colour of the line you are travelling on with the exception of District and Circle lines sometimes.

And bananas are in fact berries, but strawberries are not.

If stranded at the North Pole and you kill a polar bear don't be tempted to eat it's liver. It has such a high concentration of Vitamin A it can kill you.
(Actually only at certain times of the year, but it's best to be on the safe side and not risk it.)

@possomblossom 🤣🤣

@Dartmoorcheffy And 16C = 61F.

The distance from your elbow to your wrist is the same as the length of your foot.

If you stretch your arms out sideways the distance from the tip of your longest finger on one hand to the tip of the longest finger on the other hand equals your height.