useless facts

[Platapus]

Vultures are relatively silent as they lack a syrinx so they can only hiss, growl, and snarl.

[Rockstar]

The demon core was a spherical 6.2-kilogram (14 lb) subcritical mass of plutonium 89 millimeters (3.5 in) in diameter, manufactured during World War II by the United States nuclear weapon development effort, the Manhattan Project, as a fissile core for an early atomic bomb.

… The standard protocol was to use shims between the halves, as allowing them to close completely could result in the instantaneous formation of a critical mass and a lethal power excursion.

Under Slotin's own unapproved protocol, the shims were not used and the only thing preventing the closure was the blade of a standard flat-tipped screwdriver manipulated in Slotin's other hand. Slotin, who was given to bravado, became the local expert, performing the test on almost a dozen occasions, often in his trademark blue jeans and cowboy boots, in front of a roomful of observers. Enrico Fermi reportedly told Slotin and others they would be "dead within a year" if they continued performing the test in that manner. Scientists referred to this flirting with the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction as "tickling the dragon's tail", based on a remark by physicist Richard Feynman, who compared the experiments to "tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon".

On the day of the accident, Slotin's screwdriver slipped outward a fraction of an inch while he was lowering the top reflector, allowing the reflector to fall into place around the core. Instantly, there was a flash of blue light and a wave of heat across Slotin's skin; the core had become supercritical, releasing an intense burst of neutron radiation estimated to have lasted about a half second.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core

[Jimbuna]

The village of Giethoorn has no roads.

[Jimbuna]

The word ‘testify’ comes from an ancient Roman practice.

This practice made the men swear on their testicles when in court. This would force them to speak the truth or risk having their testicles taken away.

[Platapus]

Vultures prefer their food fresh and won't eat carcasses that are older than a day or so.

[Jimbuna]

A family in Kentucky had blue skin for generations.

[Platapus]

A group of vultures is called a committee, venue or volt.



In flight, a group of vultures is a kettle and when feeding at a carcass, the group is referred to as a wake

[Jimbuna]

The word ‘pants’ was once considered to be a dirty word.

[Ostfriese]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

The word ‘pants’ was once considered to be a dirty word.

The word "gay" wasn't for most of it's existence.

[Jimbuna]

1000 is the first number from 0 that uses the letter a when spelled.

[Ostfriese]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

1000 is the first number from 0 that uses the letter a when spelled.

Only in English In German it's 8.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

The word ‘pants’ was once considered to be a dirty word.

That's now Depends

[Jimbuna]

A bar in London sells vaporized vodka.

[Aktungbby]

Ethereal Spirits! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_inhalation

There are occupational health and safety risks of inhaling alcohol vapor and mists. Inhalation devices make it "substantially easier to overdose on alcohol" than drinking, because the alcohol bypasses the stomach and liver and goes directly into the bloodstream, and because the user does not have a reliable way of determining how much alcohol they have taken in. Inhaled alcohol cannot be purged from the body by vomiting, which is the body's main protection against alcohol poisoning. Inhaled alcohol can dry out nasal passages and make them more susceptible to infection.[10] There is also a potential increased risk of addiction.

[Ostfriese]

When whiskey is stored in warehouses to undergo aging alcohol vapors emerge from the casks. The amount of alcohol is enough to make you tipsy by just walking through the warehouse.


The Irish call the alcohol vapors "Angel's share".