Every moment that we live on this earth, we learn something new about something every day. It also leads us to question the knowledge that we have currently. This flood of information that we have on our fingertips will come in handy to us someday when we are involved in a debate or a discussion at a party or some meeting that will give us the upper edge over our peers. Here are some of the facts that we should know about everyday things but could have never imagined to go this way.
High Heels Were Actually Meant For Men
Men in the 17th century actually rode into battle wearing the heels that are today worn by women all over the world. They were also worn by the mighty warriors of the century and their trend can be traced back to the 10th century. The riders wore the heels in order to avoid stirrups.
The Four Suits Of Playing Cards
The clubs represent the farmers, the diamonds represent the merchants, the hearts represent the church, while the spades represent the military. The King of Hearts represents Charles or Charlemagne, the one of Spades represents King David, that of the diamonds represents Julius Caesar, while the King of Clubs represents Alexander the Great.
Cell Phones Are More Popular Than Toilets
A UN report suggested that 2.5 billion people in the world lacked amenities such as toilets. Another report showed that there were more cell phone users in the world than that number, which shows that more people have access to a cell phone than toilets.
The First Eyeglasses
The first eyeglasses were documented to be in existence in 1284 AD. These were heavy magnifying glasses shaped like plates that the people in Italy used to read the things that had been written minutely.
Toothpaste On Your Toothbrush
The small blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush is known as a Nurdle. The next time you want to call it something, avoid calling it a ‘dab of toothpaste’ and just call it a Nurdle.
Houseplants Prevent You From Becoming Sick
Having houseplants in your home can reduce the molds and bacteria in the air of your room by nearly 60%. This purifies the air to a higher degree and also brings in a nature decor to your home.
Salt Was Money At One Time
There was a time when the currency of the world used to be material things and not paper currency that we see today. People exchanged goods in lieu of goods to get the things that they wanted. The Romans believed that the salt was actually quite valuable and they paid their soldiers with rations of salt.
One Gallon Of Gasoline Consists Of Many Calories
Drinking one gallon of gasoline is more harmful than you think. It is not just about the poisonous chemicals inside the gasoline. It is also because of the many calories, nearly 31,000 calories in one gallon of gasoline.
Your Smartphone Can Send People To The Moon
The smartphones of today are more powerful than the Apollo Guidance Computer that was used by NASA to send astronauts to the moon back in 1969. This means that if you have all the right technology, you can use the computing and processing power of your smartphone to send people to the moon.
Rice Is The Oldest Grain In The World
History tells us that humans have been cultivating rice for the better part of their existence. Rice has been around for more than 15,000 years, making it the oldest grain that we eat today.
Dogs Can See Color
Contrary to popular belief, dogs are not colorblind. They can see a limited number of colors out of the spectrum. The furry little creatures are able to see yellow, blue, and violet colors out fo the entire white spectrum but are not able to see red, orange, or green.
Pens Have Caps With Holes To Prevent Choking
Children have a habit of chewing the pen caps and there are high chances that they can swallow the caps. The holes in the caps prevent the air passageways from blocking and ensure that the child does not choke.
Correction Fluid Was Invented By The Mother Of Monkees
The correction fluid that we use on a daily basis to correct our mistakes was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith who was paid $47.5 million in addition to other royalties in the future. However, in 1979, she sold all her rights to Gillette Corporation.
The Invention Of Webcam
The invention of the webcam took place because the researchers over at the University of Cambridge were so lazy that they did not want to check the coffee pot every time it was full. In order to keep an eye on it, they invented the webcam in 1993.
Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, And Cherries Are Not Berries
According to the botanists of the world, a berry must have at least three layers, more than two or more seeds, and come from a flower with only one ovary, three conditions which the above mentioned fruits do not fulfil. However, according to this criteria, an eggplant is a berry.
The Contribution Of Each Honey Bee To Honey
Every single honey bee has only a small contribution to the production of honey. Every bee produces only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey and we just pour honey over our pancakes without any consideration of all the effort the bees put in making it.
The Co-Inventor Of The Refrigerators
The first refrigerators were created by General Electric in 1911. However, these refrigerators created a lot of toxic gases which caused the death of a family. The news caused Einstein to step in and he created a refrigerator which did not have any moving parts to avoid any leakage.
Trailers Before Movies Were Not A Thing Always
There was a time when the trailers were played only once the movie ended and the credits had rolled in. This meant that the audience in the cinemas had to get in the hall right before the playtime started.
Chocolate Was Once Used As A Medicine
Chocolate had so many healing properties according to the European doctors that they would prescribe people to eat chocolates in almost every disease such as fever or indigestion. Now we know that chocolates are healthy to control your blood pressure.
You Can Chill A Can Of Soda Or Beer In 2 Minutes
If you are having a party and the drinks are not cooled yet, you can fix it. All you have to do is just fill a bowl of water and add quite a lot of ice cubes to it. Next, just sprinkle some salt in it and then add the cans to the bowl. This will chill the cans in less than two minutes.
The Reason Behind The Hole In Spaghetti Spoons
Do you always end up making extra spaghetti and then having a ton left over in the bowl? There is a reason why there is a hole in the spaghetti serving spoon. You can measure the spaghetti through the hole in the spoon and each holeful of spaghetti is enough for one person.
Roundabouts Are Better Than Intersections
A roundabout is safer than a regular intersection with traffic lights. This is because a roundabout has lesser points of conflicts which can reduce the number of accidents that can happen.
The Full Form Of M&M’s
The candy that we all love is actually named after two people that were responsible for the development of the brand, Forrest Mars and Murrie. The former found a way to manufacture the chocolate inside the candy in drops to be framed in a hard shell while the latter was the son of the founder of Hershey’s.
The Original Function Of Bubble Wrap
Every one of us loves to pop the bubbles in a bubble wrap. It is an important relaxing technique and the wrap itself is used widely in packaging. However, the original motivation behind the development of the bubble wrap was to use it as a textured wallpaper.
QWERTY Keyboards Were Designed To Slow Down The Typing Speed
The typewriters before the ones that we know off now had letters arranged alphabetically. This allowed people to type quite fast. However, the speed of typing became faster than the speed of the machine and hence the letters were scattered to form the QWERTY keyboard.
Croissants Are Not Actually French
We all associate croissants with French baking but the truth is that the sweet pastries are not actually French. They were first made in the 13th century in Vienna, Austria and it was a Viennese baker who first brought the croissants to the streets of Paris.
All The Different Ways To Tie A Knot In A Tie
How many ways do you know to tie a tie? Five? Ten? Well, a study found out that there are actually 175,000 ways to tie a tie. There were a lot of combinations and permutations of knots, wrappings, and windings in the result of the study.
Dollar Bills Last Only 18 Months
Paper bills have a problem that they wear out quite quickly. An average US Dollar bill last only for about a year and a half and then it needs replacement. 97% of the bills are printed simply because the old ones were too torn and dirty to be circulated.
The Tip Of A Shoelace
There is a specific word for the tip of a shoelace. It is called an Aglet which is derived from a French word Aiguillette, which means needle.
The Second Most Traded Commodity
25 million farmers from 50 different countries around the world produce coffee and it is the second most traded commodity in the world. Nearly 40% of this coffee is produced in Brazil.
The Mouse Of The Computer Was Once The Turtle
The computer mouse had a hard shell on its top like a turtle which is why it was known as a Turtle before it was renamed the mouse.
Brown And White Eggs Are Just The Same
Both the white and the brown eggs have the same nutritional value and it is contrary to the popular belief that the brown eggs are healthier just like brown bread and brown rice. The only reason why the brown eggs are costlier is that the hens laying the brown eggs require more feed to produce.
IKEA Products Have A Naming Pattern
There is a naming pattern to all the products in IKEA so that there would be no confusion. The beds are named after various places in Norway, the sofas are named after the towns in Sweden, the kitchen tables are named after the various places of interest in Finland, and so on.
A Fan Does Not Provide Cool Air
Contrary to popular belief, a fan does not provide you with cool air but it actually cools down your body. The air circulation speeds up the evaporation on your skin and allows you to cool down.
The Yellow Color Of Pencils
In the 1890s, the pencils were in high demand and the best graphite came from China. In order to show gratitude to the Chinese, the manufacturers of the pencils would paint their products yellow, the color of the Chinese Royalty.
Standard Times Of All CDs
Phillips and Sony were the main corporations which made CDs. The diameter of every CD was 12 cm and they could record 74 minutes of music in it.
The Invention Of Cotton Candy
The cotton candy was invented by John C. Wharton, a candy maker, and William Morrison, a dentist. The original name of the cotton candy was Fairy Floss and it was later in the 1920s that it was named Cotton Candy, by another dentist named Josef Lascaux.
The Original Use Of Play-Doh
Play-Doh is quite a famous toy for children. However, the original plan for the Play-Doh was not to be used as a toy but as a way to clean off the soot from the walls and the wallpaper.
The Shipping Algorithm Of Amazon
Have you ever wondered why even small products come in big boxes from Amazon? It is because Amazon chooses the box size in order to keep the other boxes from sliding around in the trucks.
Rain Boot Throwing
Rain Boots are also called Wellies and in many countries of the world, it is actually a competitive sport. People line up behind each other and see who can throw the boot the farthest.
