Fun facts are so fun!
I love fun facts.
They’re silly and interesting and entirely pointless up until that one conversation where something you know is actually relevant. I live for those moments. After years of spouting out seemingly useless facts, I was dubbed a “Did-You-Know Bat”, a reference to a comic series of bats exchanging occasionally-true occasionally-false facts with, well, no purpose. I’m feeling confident there are some Did-You-Know Bats reading this, so here are 15 (potentially) new pieces for your arsenal of trivial knowledge!
- Alphabet does not come from the Greek alpha and beta but from the Hebrew alef and bet.
- Somerville is home to multiple farmers markets with two in Davis Square, one that runs in the summer and one in the winter. Tufts Dining even hosts weekly farmers markets in the fall!
- Cinnamon isn’t really cinnamon. What is sold as cinnamon is actually from the cassia plant, while cinnamon (also known as ceylon cinnamon) is typically thinner and more fragile than the thick chunks of cassia sold in stores.
- Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar (which is a byproduct of winemaking).
- If you have any egg yolk in a meringue, the fat from the yolk will destabilize the proteins in the meringue and therefore make it less fluffy and delicious.
- Carrots have only been majority orange for the past 400 years or so when the Danish learned to isolate the beta-carotene in honor of William of Orange.
- There is a genetic difference between people who enjoy the taste of cilantro and those who think it tastes like soap.
- In the 19th century, linguists had a dispute whether the letter beta stood for the sound b or v. It was decided when they discovered a verse that said sheep went beta-alpha, beta-alpha.
- 15 year after a shipment of rubber ducks accidentally spilled into the Atlantic, scientists are continuing to use the locations of where the ducks are landing to track the ocean current.
- Before World War II, computers were a job description for people who would sit in a room and do calculations.
- Jumbo was the largest living thing in North America before he died in 1885.
- On most sailboats, there is a yard (wooden pole) that moves with the sail and has a tendency to smack people in the face; it is called the boom.
- The French word “bistro” comes from the Russian word “bistro” meaning “quickly” after Russian troops occupied Paris and wanted their food “bistro.”
- Bulls run towards matadors in bullfights not because they are enticed by the red color of the cape, but by the cape’s waving motion.
- AND FINALLY! The CEEO (Center for Engineering Education and Outreach) is working with a group of Girl Scouts by having them program a robot to help them distribute cookies. Three of my favorite things, robots, engineers, and Girl Scout cookies.
You know cool and interesting things that I don’t, so share them with me in the comments section! Maybe I’ll even make another post using the best of the ones you share. Did you know... I’m always up for more fun facts!