Random Facts So Interesting You will be amazed to know Part 17
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1. The Iowa State Fair holds quirky competitions like a beard-growing contest and a husband-calling contest.
If you've ever been to the Iowa State Fair, you've experienced the sort of carnival-based fun that it's been providing since 1886. And if you've never been to the annual event, then you should know that you're missing out on quite a few quirky competitions, including cow-chip and rubber-chicken throwing contests, a husband-calling contest, and a beard-growing contest.
2. There's a textbook written entirely by an AI author.
Publishers are always eager to release something unique—and Springer Nature did just that when they published a textbook by an author named Beta Writer in 2019. No, that's not a cheeky pseudonym; it's the name of a machine-learning algorithm designed by researchers from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. The book is called Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Machine-Generated Summary of Current Research. And while it doesn't sound like the most interesting material, it is "the first machine-generated research book," according to the academic publishing company.
3. Earth won't always have the same North Star.
The North Star might seem like a fixed marker in the sky. However, what we now recognize as the North Star, Polaris, hasn't always been our guiding light—and it won't always be in the future. By the year 13,000 A.D., the star Vega will take its place, according to NASA. And by the year 26,000, Polaris will be right back where it was and return to its status as the North Star.
4. There's an entire family in Italy that feels almost no pain.
Members of the Marsili family handle injuries remarkably well and that's because they only experience pain for a moment before it fades away. Letizia Marsili told Smithsonian Magazine, "I just thought of it as part of who I was. I was strong, I was resilient. I bounced back."
However, when a researcher at the University of Siena, where Letizia works, noticed her unusual tolerance for pain—which is something her mother, sister, and son all share—the two decided to collaborate to see what was going on. They discovered that Letizia experiences "the good pain, the pain that alerts us to danger. Then it disappear[s]. The bad kind of pain, the chronic pain, the ongoing pain that we take painkillers for—she simply [doesn't] feel that."
5. The word "hipster" goes all the way back to the 1930s.
While "hipster" is used these days to describe someone who tries (perhaps too hard) to be stylish and trendy, the term is actually much older. According to Dictionary.com, the word was originally used (along with the similar "hepster") in the 1930s to refer to someone in the jazz scene.
6. Guinea pigs were once sacrificed wearing earrings and necklaces and wrapped like sushi.
Lidio Valdez, an archaeologist from the Institute of Andean Studies, made a surprising discovery in Peru when he came across 100 dead guinea pigs that had been sacrificed by the Incan people during the 16th century. The rodents, which had clearly been a part of some sort of ritual, were adorned with earrings and necklaces made from colorful string. "Some were even wrapped in cotton rugs like a sushi roll," wrote Gizmodo of the findings, which were published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology in 2019.
7. Hitler had a flatulence problem.
In 2012, Adolf Hitler's medical documents were being auctioned to the public by Alexander Historical Auctions. According to the files, The Telegraph reported, flatulence had become such a pervasive issue for Hitler that he had to regularly ingest 28 different drugs to keep it under control. But some of the anti-gas pills he used contained a base of strychnine, a poison that caused further stomach and liver issues.
8. Scientists were able to take a picture of an atom's shadow.
Whether you're a professional photographer or not, you'll probably be impressed by the photo-related feat accomplished by a team at Australia's Griffith University in 2012. Using an electrical field to suspend a charged atom in a vacuum chamber, the team shot a laser beam at the atom and took a photo of the shadow it produced. While atoms have been photographed before, their shadows have not, making this accomplishment unprecedented.
9. Maine is the only state that borders just one other state.
If you're in Maine, you'll find the Atlantic Ocean to the south and Canada to the north. But if you want to stay in the U.S., you'll have to head west to New Hampshire, because Maine is the only state in the country that borders just one other state.
10. The Twitter bird's official name Is Larry.
If you truly want to be among the savviest social media users out there, you should know that the Twitter bird has an official name: Larry the Bird (yes, like Larry Bird, the former pro basketball player who played for Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's home team, the Boston Celtics).