10 INTERESTING FACTS YOU’LL SAY, “OMG”
1.THE HEALTHIEST PLACE IN THE WORLD IS “PANAMA”.
A small valley near Volcán in Panama has garnered the distinction of the world’s healthiest place to live. Called “Shangri-La Valley,” this area is home to beautiful scenery, a low cost of living, and a significantly longer life expectancy than the surrounding areas. All in all, the world’s healthiest areas have some common factors: a warm climate, an active social scene, healthy food, and a slower pace of life that makes for less daily stress.
2.There’s a Decorated War Hero Dog.
While in the trenches of World War I, the U.S. First Infantry Division found themselves unable to communicate with other troops because shellfire had damaged the telephone wires.
A young private came up with a unique solution: Rags, a mixed breed terrier whom the soldiers had adopted in Paris, would carry the messages from one division to the next tucked into his collar. He saved many lives, and when Rags passed away—in Maryland, at the very advanced age of 20—he was buried with military honors.
3.You Have a Nail in Your Body
Iron is an important nutrient that the human body needs. It helps your red blood cells carry oxygen, which is necessary for producing energy, throughout the body, so an iron deficiency can present with a feeling of exhaustion. Amazingly, a healthy adult has enough iron in their body that, if it were pulled out and melted down, it could form a nail up to three inches long.
4.Showers Spark Creativity.
Showers aren’t just good for your hygiene—they’re good for your creativity, too. A recent study out of Drexel University found that over seven out of 10 people have reported experiencing an insight or breakthrough while in the shower. Other solitary activities, like taking a walk and daydreaming,show similar opportunities for inspiration.
5.Dogs Actually Understand Some “English”.
Some owners of disobedient dogs may have trouble believing this, but dogs can learn to recognize a vocabulary of about 165 words. Unsurprisingly, dogs respond best to short words, as well as words with hard consonants like T or R, which may explain why they can hear “treat” from three rooms away.
If you want to try to expand your dog’s vocabulary, be consistent—for example, always call a meal “dinner” instead of breakfast, lunch, or supper. And don’t believe the myth: old dogs can learn words just as well as young dogs.
6.Space Smells Like Seared Steak.
When you see footage of astronauts in their space suits floating peacefully outside their ships, do you ever wonder what space smells like? That’s usually not the first question people have in mind, but according to some former astronauts, space does have a distinct odor that hangs around when they come back in the ship after a spacewalk. They’ve described it as “hot metal” or “searing steak.”
7.Pro Baseball Once Had “Women Players.”
While there are currently no female players in Major League Baseball, there have been plenty of women in professional men’s leagues. The first was Lizzy Arlington, who in 1898 pitched the ninth inning for the Reading Coal Heavers and won her team the game.
A little over 30 years later, an African-American woman, Jackie Mitchell, pitched against the Yankees during an exhibition game, striking out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. What’s more impressive: Mitchell was 17 years old at the time.
8.Water Makes Different Pouring Sounds Depending on its Temperature.
If you listen very closely, hot water and cold water sound slightly different when being poured. The heat changes the thickness, or viscosity, of the water, which changes the pitch of the sound it makes when it’s poured. What we feel as heat comes from the molecules of the water moving faster. Cold water is thicker and therefore makes a slightly higher-pitched sound.
9.Rolls-Royce Makes the Most Expensive (New) Car in the World.
Currently, the most expensive car in the world is a Rolls-Royce Sweptail that sold for $13 million. However, even if you have that kind of dough lying around, you won’t be able to buy it—only one was made, and it was custom-built from the ground up according to the buyer’s specifications. Apparently, though, brand new custom cars have nothing on used classics; the recent sale of a 1963 Ferrari GTO for $70 million is supposedly the highest price ever paid for a car.
10.A 70-Year-Old Woman Completed Seven Marathons in Seven Days, Across all Seven Continents.
Chau Smith was always an avid runner, and, in 2017, decided that for her 70th birthday, she would complete seven marathons in one week across all of the continents (yes, that includes Antarctica). Traveling made it challenging, as Smith made the race in Egypt just minutes before the start, because her plane to Cairo was delayed. Despite the obstacles, she went into full “beast mode” and completed her goal.
