In 1951, a researcher discovered something truly amazing: the cells of an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks, who died of cancer in 1951, can remain alive indefinitely and even multiply. On the this moment grown 20 tons of its "immortal" cells.
The leather for the interiors of Bugatti Veyrons is made from the skin of cows specially bred in the mountains of Austria, since it is there that the conditions for this are ideal - no barbed wire and mosquitoes. The result is an almost flawless skin.
Three years after the sinking of the Titanic, a ship called Eastland sank. The tragedy happened because new law required more lifeboats on board. As a result, Eastland was overloaded, sank and 800 passengers died.
The walking speed of a person depends on the satellite: a man slows down by 7% next to a woman he is interested in; women walking together adjust to the pace of the slowest; a man in the company of male friends tends to go a little faster than others prefer.
Pedro Lopez, nicknamed "The Monster of the Andes", killed more than 300 young girls in South America and is considered the bloodiest maniac of the 20th century. In 1998, he was released from prison and no one knows his current whereabouts.
Sitting around a campfire causes significantly more harm to health than smoking cigarettes. Studies show that smoke from burning wood contains 30 times more carcinogens than tobacco smoke.
In 1976, the mummified body of a certain Elmer McCurdy was discovered in one of the California amusement parks. This man was shot dead in 1911, and his body was covered with a layer of wax and used as a "hanging man" dummy. At some point, the mannequin's arm fell off and, to everyone's horror, human tissues and bones appeared at the site of the break.
The light of the North Star that we see now was emitted in 1962.
serial killers act like bees. They commit crimes close to home, but at a sufficient distance that the neighbors do not suspect anything. Bees also collect nectar around their hives, but not close enough for predators to find them. Experts studied the behavior of bees and discovered the algorithms that the police are now using to catch maniacs.
47-year-old Englishwoman Michelle Philpots has been living in Groundhog Day for two decades. As a result of two serious road accidents, she lost the ability to form new memories. Every morning a woman wakes up with the certainty that the year is 1994.
What is the most popular word in the world, can bees count, and when did it snow in the Sahara Desert? Read about this and much more in this collection of unusual facts.
1. When you fly in an airplane, your hair grows 2 times faster.
2. Human DNA is 30% identical to lettuce DNA.
3. Sneeze with open eyes impossible.
4. Global warming will deprive mankind of beer.
5. People with blue eyes more sensitive to pain than everyone else.
7. If you shout at a glass of water for 80 years, you can boil it.
8. A cockroach lives without a head for 9 days, after which it dies of hunger.
9. In Windows, you cannot create a folder called "Con", this word was called Bill Gates in childhood.
10. If Coca-Cola was not tinted, it would be green.
11. The movie Titanic cost more than the Titanic itself.
33. Almost everyone who read this text tried to lick their elbow.
34. The nose grows throughout a person's life.
35. In Russian and English there is no word for the back of the knee.
36. Tongue prints are individual for all people.
37. More living organisms live on the body of one person than people on Earth.
38. One hair can support a weight of 3 kg.
39. If you add up all the numbers on the casino roulette wheel, you get magic number 666.
40. The Coca-Cola Company for a long time could not find its name for sale in China. The fact is that the Chinese pronounce the name of this drink as “Kekukela”, which means “Bite the Wax Tadpole”. The company was forced to go through 40,000 spellings of its trademark, before "Coku Cole" which means "Happiness in the Mouth" was chosen.
National Geographic's new children's book features a lot of fun facts which many of you probably didn't know about. By the way, the book is called - "5000 amazing facts (about everything) 2". If you need to show off your mind in a company or start some dispute or conversation, these interesting facts can help you. We replenish our stock of erudite.
(Total 50 photos)
1. In 1889, Queen Margherita of Savoy of Italy ordered the first pizza delivery.
2. In Japan, you can buy eel flavored ice cream.
3. In Portugal, it is considered indecent to write in red ink.
4. Although the bobcat is rarely seen in the wild, it is the most common type of wild cat in North America.
5. The tail of a cat contains almost 10% of all the bones in her body.
6. On the paws of the gecko, there are millions of tiny hairs that stick to surfaces with the help of a special chemical bond, which allows these reptiles to climb walls and hang, holding on to only one finger.
7. The word "astronaut" comes from Greek words, which mean "star" and "sailor".
8. Calcium in our bones and iron in our blood came from the ancient explosion of huge stars.
9. The Nile crocodile can hold its breath underwater for up to 2 hours while waiting for prey.
10. Jellyfish in English are called jellyfish - literally "jelly fish", but in fact they are not fish, because they have no brain, no heart and no bones.
11. The Chinese giant salamander can grow up to 1.8 m in length, making it the largest salamander in the world.
12. According to studies, people prefer blue toothbrushes more than red ones.
13. Formerly people they thought that if you kissed a donkey, a toothache would go away.
14. Scientists claim that best time to take a nap - between 13:00 and 14:30, because that's when the drop in temperature in our body makes us sleepy.
15. Due to the change in the speed of rotation of the Earth over time in the era of dinosaurs, the day consisted of only 23 hours.
16. Hummingbird wings can beat 200 times per second.
17. On the territory North America over 1200 water parks.
18. A seahorse can move its eyes in the opposite direction - to find food in the water and spot predators in time.
19. To cook scrambled eggs on the sidewalk, the sidewalk needs to be heated to 70°C.
20. A group of jellyfish is not called a flock, not a school or a herd. It's called relish.
21. The mass of the Sun is 99.8% of the total mass solar system, and the diameter is 109 times the diameter of the Earth - the Sun can accommodate 1 million Earth planets.
22. There is no ice on only 1% of Antarctica.
23. Most a big wave, which has ever been paddled on a surfboard, was the height of a 10-story building.
24. A team of beagle dogs, which are used at 21 airports in the United States, help customs officers find and prevent the entry into the country of about 75,000 illegal items a year.
25. Some apples can weigh almost the same as 2 liters of milk.
26. Corn is grown on every continent except Antarctica.
27. Unlike most fish, seahorses are covered in bony plates, not scales.
28. Every day you lose 50 to 100 hairs.
29. The second name of the armadillo - "armadillo" - means "armored baby" in Spanish.
30. The smallest fruit in the world - an achene - is the size of a tiny ant.
31. New Jersey has the most malls.
32. Komodo dragons can eat 2 kg of meat in less than a minute. The extra fat is stored in their tail.
33. Not all moons are dry and dusty like ours. For example, Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under an ice crust.
34. Some Viking leaders were buried with their ships.
35. Clouds constantly cover about 60% of the Earth.
36. All monkeys laugh when tickled.
37. Spotted hyenas can digest skin and bones.
38. The length of the needle of African porcupines is 3 pencils.
Some interesting facts about things around us in Everyday life.
Candy wrapper
When talking about the great inventor Thomas Alva Edison, they mostly remember a few of his most famous creations: a phonograph, a typewriter, an exchange telegraph (an apparatus for transmitting current stock quotes by telegraph or telex.), an alternator, a carbon microphone, and, of course, , light bulb. The latter was actually patented by a Russian scientist Alexander Lodygin, and Edison has already taken up its improvement.
In 1882, Edison built the world's first DC power plant in New York City. He created a device that was the prototype of a voice recorder, a device for recording telephone conversations, designed an iron-nickel battery and much more (about 1000 patents in total). And among all this splendor, few people remember that in 1872 Uncle Edison also invented waxed paper, which served as the first wrapper for sweets. Eh, if not for him, how would we store sweets now?
Toilet paper
How our ancestors had to dodge in order to perform an elementary hygienic procedure after doing their natural necessities!
François Rabelais believed that the best way to do this was with a live duck.
In ancient Rome, a sponge was adapted for these needs: it was attached to a stick and, after use, was placed in a bowl of salt water.
The Vikings wiped themselves with woolballs, the Native Americans with all kinds of leaves and ears of corn.
The French kings approached this issue very elegantly and did it with lace and linen rags.
The Chinese were the first to use paper in this matter, but not mere mortals, but exclusively emperors.
Much later, all the rest of the world also switched to paper: old newspapers, catalogs, almanacs were used. It wasn't until 1857 that New Yorker Joseph Gayetti had the idea of cutting paper into neat squares and packing them into bundles. He was so proud of his invention that he printed his name on every piece of paper. Set the name of the person who invented folding toilet paper into rolls is not possible: for the first time such rolls began to be produced by the American paper mill Scott Paper in 1890.
Wheel 
Who, when and why first invented the wheel remains one of the biggest mysteries of history. The oldest wheel was found in Mesopotamia, and it was made about 55 centuries ago. Various goods were previously transported using what is now known as a sled. On a Sumerian pictogram from the 35th century B.C. For the first time, a semblance of a wagon was depicted: a sled on wheels. The wheels at that time were solid disks carved from wood.
The first spoked wheels were invented in the peninsula Asia Minor(the westernmost peninsula of Asia, now belongs to Turkey) in the 20th century BC. and in the same century reached Europe and China and India. Such wheels were used only in chariots for transporting people, but in Egypt they were also used for cargo. Wheels and all kinds of carts were most widely used in Ancient Greece and then Rome. In America, wheels and carts appeared only with the arrival of Europeans there.
Laces 
Strangely enough, for some reason, history did not retain the name of the genius who invented the shoelaces, but somehow retained the date when this event occurred - March 27, 1790. It was on this day that the first shoe lace appeared in England in the form of a rope with metal tips at the ends that prevented it from fraying and helped to thread the lace into the holes on the shoes. But before the advent of this invention, all shoes were fastened with buckles.
A spoon and a fork 
Button 
Ancient people, instead of buttons, connected pieces of their clothes with thorns from plants, animal bones and sticks. In ancient Egypt, buckles were already used, or one piece of clothing was threaded through a hole made in another, or the ends were simply tied.
Who exactly invented the button is unknown: some scientists are inclined to believe that they were Greeks or Romans, others that the button came from Asia. They were made mainly from ivory. Buttons became widespread only in the 13th century. And almost until the 18th century, they were a sign of wealth and noble birth: kings and aristocracy could afford to order buttons made of gold and silver. At the beginning of the 18th century, buttons began to be made of metal and copper, but almost to late XIX For centuries, buttons were such an expensive commodity that they were changed from one garment to another.
Clip 
They began to join sheets of paper together in the 13th century: cuts were made in the upper left corner of each page, through which a ribbon was threaded. Later, the tape began to be rubbed with wax, so that, firstly, the tape became more durable, and secondly, it was easier to remove or insert the necessary sheets.
In 1835, New York physician John Ireland Howey invented a pin-making machine. Pins were, of course, invented for tailors to make it easier for them to join pieces of fabric while sewing, but they also began to be used when fastening paper. The Norwegian inventor Johan Vaaler was the first to create paper with a twisted piece of wire in 1899, but it did not look like a paper clip today. And the paper clip in the form in which it now exists was invented by the English company Gem Manufacturing Ltd, but for some reason no one has ever patented this invention.
Comb 
The most ancient combs used by the inhabitants of the Earth can be considered fish skeletons. It is not known where and when the first comb was made, but one of the most ancient combs was found during excavations in the area. ancient rome. It was made from a wide animal bone with a handle and eight hand-carved teeth spaced 0.2 cm apart.
Subsequently, combs were also made from wood, coral, ivory, tortoise shell and the horns of various animals. This comb material was used until mid-nineteenth century. In 1869, two brothers - Isaiah and John Hyatt - invented celluloid, which completely changed the production of combs. Elephants and turtles were saved from total destruction, and people got cheaper combs made of material that looks very similar to coral, ivory, and tortoise shell.
Matches 
In what ways did people make fire before the advent of matches. Rubbing against each other wooden surfaces, knocked out a spark with silicon, tried to catch a sunbeam through a piece of glass. And when it was possible to do this, they carefully supported burning coals in clay pots.
And only in late XVIII century, life has become easier - the French chemist Claude Berthollet experimentally obtained a substance later called Berthollet salt. So in Europe, in 1805, matches appeared - “dipsticks” - thin splinter heads lubricated with Bertolet salt, which were lit after dipping them in a solution of concentrated sulfuric acid.
The world owes the invention of the first "dry" matches to the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker. In 1827 he discovered that if the tip wooden stick apply a mixture of antimony sulfide, bartolet salt and gum arabic (this is such a viscous liquid released by acacia), and then dry the whole thing in air, then when such a match is rubbed against sandpaper, its head ignites quite easily. And consequently, the need to carry a vial of sulfuric acid with you disappears. Walker adjusted small production of their matches, which were packed in tin cases of 100 pieces, however big money did not work on his invention. In addition, these matches had a terrible smell.
In 1830, 19-year-old French chemist Charles Soria invented phosphorus matches, which consisted of a mixture of Berthollet salt, phosphorus and glue. These generally ignited easily when rubbed against any hard surface, such as the sole of a boot. Soria matches were odorless, but were unhealthy because white phosphorus is poisonous.
In 1855, chemist Johan Lundstrom realized that red is sometimes better than white. The Swede applied red phosphorus to the surface of the sandpaper on the outside of a small box and added the same phosphorus to the composition of the match head. Thus, they no longer harmed health and easily ignited on a pre-prepared surface.
Finally, in 1889, Joshua Pucey invented the matchbox, but the patent for this invention was granted American company Diamond Match Company, which came up with exactly the same, but with an "incendiary" surface on the outside (Pusey had it inside the box).
Phosphorus matches were brought to Russia from Europe in 1836 and were sold at a silver ruble per hundred. And the first domestic factory for the production of matches was built in St. Petersburg in 1837.
Needle 
The history of sewing has more than 20 thousand years. primitive people skins were pierced with a prehistoric likeness of an awl made of spikes or hewn stones, animal tendons were threaded through the holes and thus they built a “suit” for themselves.
The very first needles with an eye, made from stones, bones or animal horns, were found in the territories of modern Western Europe and Central Asia about 17 thousand years ago. In Africa, thick veins of palm leaves served as needles, to which threads, also made from plants, were tied.
It is believed that the first steel needle was made in China. In the same place, in the III century BC, they came up with a thimble. The tribes that inhabited Mauritania (in ancient times a region in northwestern Africa, the western part of the territory of modern Algeria and the eastern part of the territory of modern Morocco) brought these inventions to the West.
Mass production of needles began only in the XIV century in Nuremberg, and then in England. The very first needle was made by mechanized production in 1785.
The first great-grandfather of modern scissors was found in ruins ancient egypt. Made from whole piece metal rather than two crossed blades, these scissors date back to the 16th century BC. And scissors in the form in which they are known now were invented by Leonardo da Vinci.
Heel 
The first heels appeared among eastern riders in the 12th century, but it was generally difficult to call them heels. These were some kind of blotches that served a very practical purpose: men nailed them to their shoes so that the foot would hold firmly in the stirrup when jumping. But who and when invented the real heel is not exactly known, but it is generally accepted that this happened in the 17th century in Spain with light hand craftsmen from the city of Cordoba.
They developed the structure and design of the heel, the main forms of which were beveled inward and "French" - with a "waist" in the middle. In the Rococo era, the heel moved closer to the center of the shoe, thereby, as it were, reducing the leg. Over time, the shape of the heel underwent various changes: from high heels-glasses to wide square ones, which were invented specifically for girls who danced the twist.
And finally, in 1950, the Italian fashion designer Salvatore Ferragamo invented the famous hairpin: he proposed a long steel stiletto rod as a support for the heel.
Toothbrush
The ancient Egyptians took care of oral hygiene three thousand years before the birth of Christ: prototypes of toothbrushes made from tree branches with fluffy ends were found in their sarcophagi. But the Chinese emperor, who built the first brush in 1498, is considered the inventor of modern brushes.
The bristles of Chinese toothbrushes were made from hair from the back of the Siberian wild boar, and the handles were either wood or animal bone. When this invention reached Europe in the 17th century, where toothbrushing was not customary at the time, the coarse boar hair was replaced with a softer horse mane. Prior to this, clean Europeans used toothpicks made from goose feathers, and those who are richer used copper or silver, or simply wiped their teeth with a cloth.
Wool and bristles of animals, in particular the same wild boar, were used in the manufacture of toothbrushes until the twentieth century. Nylon was invented in 1937, and since 1938 brush bristles have been made from it.
However, animal-derived toothbrushes continued to be more popular, as they were softer and did not scratch the gums, unlike artificial ones. Nylon toothbrush bristles only became as soft as they are today in the 1950s.
Heels were not designed for female legs, the umbrella was not used at all as protection from the rain, but the famous bubble wrap was invented for special purposes that hardly anyone would guess. There are many such things in our everyday life, and the initial application can be absolutely incredible. Especially when it comes to the usual pillow in the bedroom.
1. Shoes with heels
Hundreds of beauties will be disappointed, but heels were not invented for women's legs. In the 16th century, heeled shoes were made for Persian soldiers, whom they helped to maintain stability when shooting from a bow while riding. Good new development in the next century, European women noticed, who won the privilege of wearing heels. At first it was only ladies from higher strata society, but then fashion descended to everyone else.
2. Tea
Now we're drinking this delicious drink practically every day. But in ancient times, tea was available only to a few. It appeared in China and not as a drink, but as a medicine that gives strength and strengthens the immune system. Later, the marvelous remedy began to be used in Europe, where doctors gave tea to patients with gout. Some even claimed that they could save a dying person if he drank 50 cups a day. This, of course, is too much, but now the benefits of tea in moderation are obvious to everyone.
3. Hidden pocket on jeans
Almost any jeans have this strange addition. At first glance, it seems absolutely useless, then we try to put coins, a lighter, or other small items in there. And then, completely disappointed in its convenience, we think that the manufacturers simply made fun of it by adding a completely unnecessary detail. But not everything is so simple. It turns out that we just don't know, but this pocket was originally designed specifically for carrying small pocket watches. Here they are just perfectly placed and get with ease. Here's what it looks like:
4. Stand for a mug of beer
A small detail that has long become a familiar attribute of a beer mug. In fact, this coaster is called a coaster, which means "beer cap" in German. In the 19th century, it was conceived for summer cafes, in which it is necessary to protect the foamy drink from various insects, dust and falling leaves. And only later, someone savvy decided to use a stand to protect the table from scratches and beer stains.
5. T-shirt
The US Navy used this piece of clothing as underwear. It was worn under uniforms during the Spanish-American War. And on submarines, crew members wore T-shirts before bed, instead of nightgowns. Their convenience so captivated the military people that they began to use clothes in everyday life. When the new thing reached civilians, it quickly gained the popularity of millions.
6. Bubble wrap
Polyethylene bubble wrap perfectly protects fragile items during transportation. And before it was used for a completely different purpose. The creators of the film came up with it to stick on the walls in the form of wallpaper, which was very easy to clean. For the idea of a modern application, we should be grateful to the marketer Frederick Bowers. It was he who first used bubble wrap to package IBM computers.
7. Umbrella
Now an umbrella is an indispensable item for protection from the rain. But before it was relevant in sunny weather. Not for nothing even in the title different languages there are hints of the true purpose of the umbrella: parasol means "from the sun", and zondek is "canopy from the sun". The usual use for us appeared only in 1750.
8. Coca-Cola
The creator of the drink is considered a veteran civil war in the USA and pharmacist John Pemberton. He invented it specifically in order to get rid of morphine addiction. Due to war wounds, he suffered from pain, which he drowned out with morphine. Initially, the drink included kola nuts, alcohol and coca leaves, the ingredient from which cocaine is made. Subsequently, the pharmacist replaced alcohol with a mixture of cane sugar and began to sell "Pemberton's French Coca-Wine" (the first name of the product) as a cure for morphine addiction. Later, he sold the rights to the drink and, under the new name Coca-Cola, all the children of the world began to adore him.
9. Pillow
About nine thousand years ago in the territory modern Iraq pillows were used to protect against insects. People who slept on the ground were thus saved from annoying insects that strove to get into the nose, ears and even mouth. Only the pillow was not as comfortable and pleasant as it is now, because it was made of stone! This experience was also adopted by Japanese geishas, who slept on hard supports under their necks so that they could save their lush hairstyle during sleep. And even in the Middle Ages, the pillow was not yet considered an item of everyday use. It was used only by monarchs and pregnant women as a symbol of effeminacy and capriciousness.
