Eleven Random Facts
By Olivia Gargiulo, 6th Grade
1. Competitive art used to be in the Olympics.
Around 1912 and 1948 the Olympics gave medals to sculptures, music, painting, and architecture. "After a heated debate in the post-war years, the competitions were scrapped."
2. "OMG" was used back in 1917.
The earliest use of "OMG" was in a letter from John Arbuthnot Fisher to Winston Churchill, "about rumors of new titles that would soon be bestowed." "I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis, "he wrote, ``OMG - Shower it on the Admiralty!"
3. Some cats are allergic to humans.
It's uncommon but it still is true, since we bathe more than animals and don't shed as much hair and skin. "Some animals can still be allergic to humans, according to Popular Science" If an animal is allergic to you it's often because of our perfume, cologne, and soap we use.
4. High heels were originally worn by men.
In the 10th century, men in Europe wore heels to make it easier to ride the horses, "Adding heels to their boots made it easier to stay in their stirrups" (Stirrups ~ a pair of devices on the side of a horse's saddle to support the rider's foot)
5. Stop signs used to be yellow.
In 1922 American Association of the State Highway Officials (AASHO) met to determine the design for stop signs and decided on the color yellow. "..because they thought that would grab the driver's attention." AASHO had considered red, but there was no dye at the time that wouldn't fade away. By 1954 sign makers had access to "fade-resistant porcelain enamel" and could start making the stop signs in red.
6. There is a fruit that tastes like chocolate pudding.
The fruit is called black sapote and has another irresistible name: the chocolate pudding fruit. "According to Good Morning America, the fruit-native to Central and South America-tastes like sweet custard with a hint of chocolate." When it's fully ripe, the flavor and consistency is almost exactly like chocolate pudding.
7. It takes 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop
According to some studies, this fact is in fact true. Engineering students from Purdue University designed a licking machine, built to work just like a real tongue and found that it took an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. 20 volunteers tried the experiment using their actual tongues and it averaged 252 licks. "And other studies averaged out to 144 (Swarthmore Junior High School) and 411 (University of Michigan) licks."
8. The average person will spend six months of their life waiting for red lights to turn green.
Driving can be a fun and liberating activity, until you get a red light. "The National Association of City Transportation Officials says that the average time spent waiting at a red light is 75 seconds, accounting for approximately 20 percent of all driving time." That's a lot of time sitting there and doing nothing!
9. Cherophobia is the word for the irrational fear of being happy.
It comes from the Greek word "chero," which means "to rejoice." People who suffer from cherophobia are often afraid of doing anything that might lead to happiness. "This includes participating in fun activities and rejecting opportunities that may lead to positive outcomes. This form of anxiety disorder should be treated with medicine much stronger than laughter: love (and therapy)."
10. Nearly 30,000 rubber ducks were lost at sea in 1992 and are still being discovered today.
Over 25 years ago a cargo ship traveling from Hong Kong to the U.S. accidentally lost a crate in the Pacific Ocean. In that crate were 28,000 rubber ducks not knowing they were about to embark on many long journeys across the world. "As rubber ducks continue to pop up on shores from Australia to Alaska, they've enlightened our understanding of ocean currents." Some of these ducks have made it all the way to the Atlantic Ocean while others have been found frozen in the Arctic ice.
11. There's a bridge exclusively for squirrels.
This bridge provides a safe passage to squirrels attempting to cross the N44 motorway, the Netherlands officials built a rodent-only bridge. "While it may have been a kind-hearted gesture, it might not have been the most economically sensible one: costing £120,000(about 165,061U.S. dollars, over a two-year span the bridge was used by just five squirrels." In 2014 three squirrels, and in 2015 two squirrels, were spotted using the bridge.
All of this information came from the BestLife website. If you would like to read more about these very random facts for numbers 1~7 head here: https://bestlifeonline.com/random-obscure-facts/
For numbers 8~11 head here:
https://bestlifeonline.com/crazy-random-facts/