Some Weird and Wonderful Facts

I know for some, that pointless facts are not their utmost priority, but for others, a good fact a day can really jump-start an otherwise weary morning. That may have sounded slightly cliched, but let us all admit that the most unexpected facts can sometimes catch us off-guard and have us wondering, is that really true? Can the urine of cats really glow under a black light? Can giraffes swim? Is avocado really toxic for birds? How intellectual and enlightening those questions may seem to you...
Well, if you have found any interest in my opening paragraph and now cannot stop pondering about cats, giraffes and birds, please feel free to read on. I feel like we go to school to learn hoards of information, that we must not only understand it, but we must also be able to apply and regurgitate that information in exams. But, facts are different. One must not mix the role of facts with that of subject material in schools. If we compare learning as a whole to a Christmas dinner, the school-side of it will represent the turkey and the stuffing, whereas a small fact is like a brussels sprout that is just waiting to be eaten. (Sorry to those who despise brussels sprouts, you may insert your on simile here..........).
Anyway, here are some small facts to take your mind away from the sprouts that I just mentioned.

1. Women produce half the world's food, but own only one percent of its farmland. Can you believe it? That seems a staggeringly high amount. But to be honest, I find it hard to believe that those particular women own the farmland, as they probably only work on it. Interesting how the world works.

'Hey, you know what... maybe we should get some of this land...'

2. Did you know that traffic lights were being used before the invention of the motor car? I'm not entirely sure what they were being used for....unless, horses were trained to respond to the familiar red, yellow, green colours. Somehow, I highly doubt it.

'Please stop Sir, the horse must cross'

3. A blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant. This may be commonly known because of how unimaginable such proportions are, but I still think it is a worthy fact in any compilation of facts.

'Oh man, this tongue is really weighing me down...'

4. Bone (presumably human) is five times stronger than steel. Now this fact I find incredibly hard to believe, due to the numerous cases of bone fractures that are received by the hospital. But essentially, it seems that bone is stronger than steel. Bone is also very flexible and light, meaning it is a seemingly perfect material.

'Hmmm, very interesting (strokes chine)... mum I have come to the decision that I don't need to wear a helmet to ride my bike.'

5. Tiger shark embryos fight each other in their mother's womb. Only the survivor is born. From the minute they are conceived, it is a struggle for survival. Imagine having to fight against your siblings for survival... I think this may conjure thoughts of a Hunger Games that has gone horribly wrong. Let us swiftly move on.

'Haha... as you can tell, I survived' (cue Destiny's Child music)

6. Phobophobia is described as a fear of developing phobias. Do you sense some irony? I find it extremely difficult to wrap my head around this, because if you have phobophobia doesn't that defeat the purpose because you are acknowledging that you have a phobia?

'Oh man, it's tough when you're scared of being scared'

7. Apparently, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parent on a daily basis. I don't know whether this is a conscious action, where babies are given for adoption as soon as they are born or a deeply unfortunate mistake made by the doctors and midwives. Either way, it is an odd statistic. What do you think?

'Hi mummy... you look a little different, did you do something with your hair?'

8. Did you know that Al Capone's business card stated that he was a used furniture dealer? I certainly did not know that. I wonder whether he sold a lot of furniture...

'So ladies, is that a large sofa or a small one?'

9. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. That's 64 muscles altogether, if you aren't able to add. I'm not too surprised about this fact because cats have extremely sensitive ears and they have evolved good hearing because it is so key for survival in their natural habitat. Imagine if we were able to exercise our ear muscles as much as we exercise our biceps or triceps... that would be an interesting sight.

'What? I've got how many muscles in these ears?'

10. Over 1000 birds a year die from smashing into windows. Having said that, as of yet (in my sixteen years of existence) I have not witnessed such an event, not that I wish that upon any bird. Although I have heard many a tale of this common occurrence from friends and family alike who always seem too bewildered to describe it to me. Maybe someday I shall witness it myself and then feel completely fulfilled in life... until I start to feel deeply sorry for the bird and immediately rush out to give CPR and attempt to resuscitate it.

'Oops, that is not going to end well'

I hope you enjoyed reading these facts. I chose these primarily because they caught my attention. If you would like some more similar blogposts that discuss various other facts, please leave a comment. Thank you for reading. Here are the websites that I used to discover these weird and wonderful facts of life:

http://www.tealdragon.net/humor/facts/facts.htm
http://www.omg-facts.com

Adios. xxx.