12 Formidable Bits of Trivia That Harness the Awesome Power of the Elements, Wielding Them From One Monstrous Fuselage Like a Hideous Chimera of Facts and Figures
You’d better max out your armor upgrades and stock up on elemental elixirs, bucko, because this hulking list of trivia is about to kick your ass six ways to Sunday. Just when you think you’ve wrapped your mind around the one about the horniest Halloween treat, there’s another one about the game of goat soccer that’s too brutal even for the Taliban. You’ve got guts, kid, we’ll give you that.
Shooting a Cactus in Arizona Is a Felony
The delightfully folksy felony charge of “cactus rustling” usually entails cutting down or absconding with the succulents, but it also technically includes shooting or otherwise defacing them. (Source)
There Are 169 Active Volcanoes in the United States
Over a hundred of them are in Alaska and Hawaii, which makes sense, but there are over 60 in the lower 48, too. Most of those are on the West Coast, but there is one lonely little guy in Colorado. To be fair, the definition of an “active” volcano is a little loose: A) it’s erupted within the last 11,000 years or so; and B) volcano nerds think it might happen again some time. (Source)
Pumpkin Pie Is, Scientifically, an Aphrodisiac
Before you drop your favorite seasonal hot take about how pumpkin spice is stupid, know this: A study of penile blood flow found that pumpkin pie combined with lavender can increase bonerage by 40 percent. (Source)
A Billionaire Bet His Last Dollar in Vegas
Fred Smith, who’s now worth over $5 billion, once played blackjack with the last $5,000 in the coffers of his little startup, Federal Express. He turned it into 27k, and was able to get the company back up on its feet. (Source)
Afghanistan’s National Sport Is Goat Soccer
But like, not in a cute way. Buzkashi is played by two teams on horseback who compete to throw a goat carcass into the “Circle of Justice.” It’s so brutal that the Taliban banned it the first time they were in charge (but are currently cool with it). (Source)
The Society of Professional Obituary Writers Has a Biannual Award Ceremony
It’s called the Grimmies, and headstone-shaped plaques are handed out at ObitCon. The best obits are often written for dead celebrities, so they also have a “Best Obit of An Ordinary Joe/Jane” category. (Source)
‘No One Is Dead Until They’re Warm and Dead’
That's the rule of thumb among doctors treating extreme hypothermia. In 1980, Jean Hilliard got caught in a blizzard and was found so thoroughly frozen, doctors kept breaking needles trying to puncture her skin. She survived six hours of brutal exposure because her heart rate slowed down to a hibernation-like state. Despite looking a lot like a dead person, doctors persisted in warming her up and treating her, and she made a full recovery. (Source)
The Nebraska ManBearPig Fossil Fiasco
In 1917, a rancher found an odd fossilized tooth in a riverbed and pocketed it for a few years. When a geologist took a look at it, he (incorrectly) identified it as evidence of a missing link human/ape hybrid. It became known as Nebraska Man, before they figured out it was actually the tooth of a primitive pig-like animal. (Source)
The Most Canadian a Guitar Has Ever Been
Six String Nation is an art project that constructed an acoustic guitar out of a collection of the most important wood in Canada. It includes slivers from Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick, an Olympic skier’s ski, the world’s longest covered bridge (the pride of Newfoundland) and Kiidk'yaas (a sacred tree that was famously cut down by a deranged weirdo who later died mysteriously). (Source)
The U.K. Only Has the Fourth-Highest English-Speaking Population in the World
The top five largest populations of English speakers are the United States (306 million), India (265 million), Pakistan (104 million), the U.K. (68 million) and Nigeria (60 million). (Source)
The First Use of ‘OMG!’ Was in a Letter to Winston Churchill in 1917
An admiral wrote to Churchill about some wartime headlines that had “utterly upset” him, and noted (with dramatic punctuation befitting the phrase), “I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis — O.M.G. (Oh! My God!) — Shower it on the Admiralty!!” (Source)
Serial Killers Are Going Extinct
In 1987, there were 198 active serial killers and 404 victims. In 2018, those numbers had plummeted to 12 known killers and 36 known victims. Don’t say the surveillance state never did anything for you. (Source)
