Interesting Facts - Page 129

641
The western world isn't getting better at making things. Productivity in the U.S. has barely increased for 20 years. In some western countries, such as Spain and Italy, productivity has actually fallen considerably.
642
The American Library Association keeps a famous list of "banned books". Their criteria for inclusion is a little odd. When a patron requests a book be removed from the library, it is counted as a "banned book", even if the library doesn't remove it. Meanwhile, books that the library chooses to remove for political reasons are not counted as banned.
643
At least 2.5% of adults in East Germany were informants for the Stasi, East Germany's secret police.
644
The B-36 Convair was a U.S. bomber plane so massive that is was designed to carry up to four small fighter planes inside it.
645
The B-52 Stratofortress is an American bomber plane that first entered service in 1955. It is expected to remain in service into the 2050s, one century after its initial launch.
94 Comments
+3
Level 60
Mar 6, 2021
641 is a really interesting fact.
+22
Level 57
Mar 6, 2021
Ironically it applies to me right now because I'm supposed to be doing homework
+1
Level 43
Mar 6, 2021
Same here... lol
+1
Level 61
Mar 6, 2021
Same
+1
Level 59
Mar 15, 2021
same :)
+1
Level 60
May 21, 2021
That is very coincidental.
+1
Level 50
Jun 29, 2022
Not same…SIKE!

Sometimes I don’t even finish my homework, if I read a book, nope, playing my iPad

+2
Level 52
Mar 6, 2021
By urban area, Toronto is larger than Hong Kong.
+5
Level 55
Mar 6, 2021
Is that really surprising? Toronto is in the middle of the Golden Horseshoe, which is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada, and takes up a good amount of size. Hong Kong is on a smaller plot of land.
+2
Level 52
Mar 6, 2021
When you think of Hong Kong, what do you think about? A metropolis, right?

Now compare that with what you think of Toronto.

+3
Level 55
Mar 6, 2021
I think of a small metropolis with a giant suburban population.
+10
Level 78
Mar 6, 2021
What do you mean? I always thought of Toronto as a metropolis.
+4
Level 75
Mar 15, 2021
I would be quite surprised if I heard that Hong Kong was bigger than Toronto
+4
Level 71
Mar 6, 2021
Just out of curiosity, how is "productivity" being measured year? Like how much America produces? Or is it more of a time management metric, as in how long it takes people to make things? Or I am just completely misunderstanding the fact?
+6
Level ∞
Mar 19, 2021
Productivity = goods and service produced / hours worked
+1
Level 71
Mar 22, 2021
Ah, I see, that makes sense.
+1
Level 60
Mar 7, 2021
Queen Elizabeth I of England never wore the same clothes twice.
+1
Level 54
Mar 9, 2021
wow
+1
Level ∞
Mar 19, 2021
Can't find a source for this.

However, it is true that QE2 never wears the same outfit in public more than once, except on rare occasions where it is deliberately planned.

+2
Level 54
Jul 11, 2021
Does anyone know why this is the case?
+11
Level 65
Mar 8, 2021
When the pyramids were built, mammoths still existed
+6
Level 55
Mar 8, 2021
Correct. That's a good fact. There was ONE colony of Mammoths on Wrangell Island when the pyramids were built.
+3
Level 60
Mar 9, 2021
I love this one. Lets hope it gets in
+1
Level ∞
Mar 19, 2021
It's a fun fact. Which is why it appears on pretty much every "surprising fact" list ever made. And that's why it won't appear here, as much as I think it's neat.
+10
Level 65
Mar 11, 2021
In the same vein: we're closer in time to the reign of Cleopatra than her reign was to the building of the pyramids. Them buildings old yo!
+3
Level 63
Mar 8, 2021
When certain varieties of quartz and limestone are strongly rubbed, they give off the odor of rotton eggs.
+4
Level 55
Mar 9, 2021
Anything that Contains sulphureted hydrogen will react that same way. Nothing New.
+1
Level 67
Mar 8, 2021
Mercury is dense. Like really, really dense! In fact Mercury is denser than any object in the universe that we know of except the earth. Because of this, even though it has only about a third of the volume of Mars, it has roughly the same gravity!
+3
Level 71
Sep 15, 2021
Many objects are denser than Mercury: E.g. Neutron stars left over when a giant star goes through a supernova period. A neutron star contains a few solar masses of material squeezed into a radius of only 20 km. This means the matter is so compressed that a thimble full of it would weigh millions of tonnes on Earth.
+1
Level 50
Aug 17, 2022
Are you talking about the material Mercury, or the planet, I’m really confused
+2
Level 67
Oct 28, 2022
Take a wild guess.
+5
Level 52
Mar 10, 2021
Guinea is larger than the UK
+1
Level 65
Mar 11, 2021
Both in terms of time AND genetics, a Tyrannosaurus Rex is closer to the common chicken than to a Triceratops. (240 million years vs 65 million years ago; and T-rex shares around 60% of genes with chickens)
+3
Level ∞
Mar 21, 2021
Probably at least partially true but can't find a source.

I'm guessing it's a lot higher than 60% though since humans and plants share about 50% of our genes.

+1
Level 69
Dec 7, 2023
This is not true. T.Rex and triceratops lived at the same time and on the same continent.

Perhaps you were thinking of stegosaurus?

+2
Level 55
Mar 11, 2021
There is not a known person who can by-heart the greek national anthem, which is 158 verses long.

https://www.203challenges.com/25-geography-facts-that-are-unbelievable-but-true/

+1
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Already posted that
+2
Level ∞
Mar 21, 2021
False I memorized the whole thing.

not really...

+3
Level 89
Jun 23, 2021
Actors memorize plays, including others' parts. Theologians memorize holy texts. I swear everyone in America at one point knew every line of Forrest Gump in perfect cadence. Maybe no one cares enough?
+1
Level 38
Mar 11, 2021
who makes and posts these facts?
+2
Level 54
Mar 11, 2021
QM (Quizmaster) The owner, founder and maker of this Beautiful website, Jetpunk!!
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Founder is whoever notices it first
+2
Level 55
Mar 17, 2021
What?
+1
Level 50
Aug 17, 2022
What?
+1
Level 67
Oct 28, 2022
Hoping to go up a level or two?
+3
Level 52
Mar 11, 2021
The city of Nagqu, China, has a larger area than Sweden. Despite this, the population of Nagqu is only 462,381.
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Jack Daniels died from a toe injury
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
The largest prime number has 17,425,170 digits
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Rugby can be played underwater
+2
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are banned in China
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
The US Navy uses Xbox controllers for their periscopes
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
The most common password is 123456
+2
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of 13
+3
Level 42
Mar 11, 2021
People from the Incas used knots to keep track of records
+4
Level 55
Mar 11, 2021
Its now 24,000,000+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_known_prime_number!

+4
Level 70
Mar 11, 2021
This is false. There is no largest prime number, they go on forever. Perhaps you mean the largest number that has been proven to be prime?
+1
Level 42
Mar 12, 2021
Yes
+2
Level 65
Mar 12, 2021
I'm also sure you can play any sport underwater, with adaptations. I bet you could also play rugby in 0 gravity.
+2
Level 65
Mar 12, 2021
Also, the password one isn't surprising.
+6
Level 87
Mar 11, 2021
I noticed that there are very few or maybe not at all facts about Balkans, so here are some about Serbia, that you maybe will find interesting:

1. 17 or 18 Roman emperors were born in the territory of modern day Serbia (that's more than 20% of all Roman emperors).

2. Serbian emperor Dušan the Mighty was one of the tallest monarchs in history with height of 214 cm (based on measurments of his skeleton). He had special guard (mostly consisted of German mercenaries) and one of the conditions of joining that guard, was to be taller than 2 meters (just imagine his enemies seeing those giants coming toward them, considering that average height in that era was about 170 cm). Only his standard-bearer was taller than him, and there is the story saying that that man was so strong, that he held a flag of 40 kg in one hand, and fight with the sword in other.

+4
Level 87
Mar 11, 2021
3. There is a river called Year, and it is called that because it is 365 meters long. (It's claimed that is the shortest river in the world, but i can't confirm).

4. Serbia is home to a mountain which is shaped like a pyramid – Mount Rtanj. Nobody is sure why it is this shape, but there are a few theories that it is an alien mothership that landed thousands of years in the past.

(Also, in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be found similar "pyramids" - Bosnian pyramids)

5. The world’s first vampire? Do you think it’s Dracula? Wrong! The first vampire was Petar Blagojević, from Serbia.

Also word "vampire" comes form Serbia.

6. The most expensive cheese in the world is made from donkey milk in Serbia, called Pule. It costs $576 for 1lb of cheese!

+1
Level 52
Mar 12, 2021
#3 is interesting, but the Year River is far from being the shortest. After doing some research, I am 100% convinced the shortest river in the world in the Tamborasi River, in Indonesia, at just twenty meters long. (I also made a quiz about it, which you can play here)
+3
Level 34
Mar 28, 2021
I literally don’t understand what you just said, nor do I ever understand what you say, turnbacktwo
+1
Level 89
Jun 23, 2021
The shortest river seems it would be an arbitrary decision not to call a brook a river or vice versa.
+1
Level 68
Oct 4, 2021
That's why it's not really worth considering
+1
Level 87
Mar 11, 2021
These are some for the beginning. Of course, there are plenty more, but those were kinda unusual and possibly interesting to someone. I am aware of a fact, that probably none of these will finish on the list, but my idea was to show you something that you surely never heard of. I hope I succeeded. :)

P.S. And the other Balkan countries are full of mind-blowing facts too.

+3
Level ∞
Mar 21, 2021
I was very excited to post some Dušan the Mighty facts but it seems that some of them may have been exaggerated. I can't find any reference to this extraordinary height in his Wikipedia article.
+1
Level 87
Mar 22, 2021
I checked one more time. I totally agree, there are many exaggerated things about him, usualy based on people's stories rather on historical documents.

However, those thing I mentioned before are pretty true.

Foremost, in the year 1991, one of the bishops of Serbian Orthodox church led the comission which measured his remains, which are very good preserved in Saint Mark's church in Belgrade, and they determined that his height was 214 cm or 215 cm.

His personal guard was composed from 101 people higher than 2 meters. Because the height was the condition, his guard was mostly composed from Germans, Catalans,...

Also, about his standard-bearer, he was Swede, by some sources, and his flag is still perserved in Serbian monastery Hilandar on Mount Athos. For this claims, historical documents exist, but they are usualy on old Serbian or Greek, and hard or impossible to find on internet.

This guy on Facebook (should be trustworthy) has explained it pretty good. I'll put links in answer.

+1
Level 87
Mar 22, 2021
More important one: https://www.facebook.com/Meet.the.Serbs/photos/did-you-know-that-serbian-emperor-du%C5%A1an-the-mighty-httpbitly2ezr4t0-was-probably/10154451808379968/

Less important one: https://www.facebook.com/Meet.the.Serbs/photos/a.10150723774339968.502315.53552959967/10151614171399968/?type=1&theater

+1
Level ∞
Mar 22, 2021
I really want to believe. But there are a paucity of reliable sources here. When I searched for "Dušan the Mighty skeleton" JetPunk actually came up as one of the first 10 results. Is there any non-Facebook source about how they measured his remains?
+1
Level 87
Mar 23, 2021
First of all, I want to thank you for your interest in this subject, you made my day. :)

Problem with measuring his heights was that it happened in 1991, year when there was no internet in Serbia and that time was also significant because of the beginning of Yugoslav wars, so no one really cared much about this.

Only sources I can give you, are these newspaper articles from mid 2010s. "Kurir" and "Blic" are famous Serbian newspapers (like The Daily Telegraph or The Sun in UK), so they should be reliable. It is written in Serbian, but should be easy translatable in English by Google Translate.

Kurir: https://www.kurir.rs/zabava/pop-kultura/3031393/dusan-silni-bio-visok-214-metara-zastrasujuc-izgled-cara-srba-grka-i-bugara

Blic: https://sport.blic.rs/kosarka/domaca-kosarka-i-aba/car-dusan-silni-bi-vladao-i-kosarkom/bjht0pk

Good article about his reign (in English): https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/dusan-mighty-0014139

+1
Level 87
Mar 23, 2021
Also, when I type in Google "Dušan the Mighty height", first result is Height: 214 cm, in same way when I type "DiCaprio height" or "Lebron James height". Although, default language of my explorer is Serbian, so it can be the reason.
+5
Level ∞
Mar 26, 2021
In search engine lingo, this is called a "featured snippet". They basically pull information from any website they can find. It is not vetted. You could say the moon is made of cheese and Google might display it in a snippet.

A few years ago, Google got in trouble for saying things like the Holocaust wasn't real.

+3
Level ∞
Mar 26, 2021
But I added a fact based on the other webpages.
+1
Level 87
Mar 27, 2021
Thanks! :)
+1
Level 87
Mar 27, 2021
Just one small correction - he ruled until 1355, not 1346. The year 1346 was the year of crowning for the emperor.
+4
Level ∞
Mar 28, 2021
Fixed, thanks!
+1
Level 65
Mar 12, 2021
Square watermelons (watermelons shaped like a cube) are grown in Japan. Of course, it will be expensive so it's price can sometimes be as high as 100$
+1
Level ∞
Mar 21, 2021
I have heard this fact before as well. Wikipedia is very obliging, saying without citation that they sell for "as much" as $100.

But it's really not that hard to grow a cubic watermelon. One of the pictures shows a cubic watermelon with a price tag of 3.9€ per kilo, making it much cheaper than the neighboring figs at 15€ per kilo, although quite a bit more expensive than normal watermelon.

+2
Level 43
Mar 14, 2021
Considering JetPunk Comments - Characters Limit, we need almost 190 comments for spell titin word. We also, need about 3,5 hours for spell it.
+2
Level 55
Mar 14, 2021
Wikipedia has an asteroid named after it.
+1
Level 50
Aug 17, 2022
What is it called, Wiki, or Wikipedia, or idk
+1
Level 60
Mar 14, 2021
Despite being part of China, Xinjiang is Muslim.
+5
Level 55
Mar 15, 2021
Yes,true. A lot of people have come to know that recently for certain reasons...
+1
Level 59
Dec 3, 2021
Of China's 55 officially recognised minority ethnic groups, 10 are majority Sunni, representing between 0.45% to 2.85% (6 million to 39 million) of the total population according to Wikipedia.
+1
Level 60
Mar 14, 2021
Despite Montenegro was a country for 5 centuries, Montenegro only had 1 king. Nikola.
+1
Level 50
Aug 17, 2022
Nikola Tesla?
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2021
Did you know that if you lined up all your blood vessels end to end, they would circle the Earth twice!
+1
Level 50
Aug 17, 2022
I’m longer than earth, if you stretch all my body
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2021
Also, Ancient Egyptians put honey on their wounds!
+1
Level 45
Mar 17, 2021
Last fact, a cloud of invisible microbes follow you everywhere. Creepy right?
+2
Level 41
Jul 6, 2021
I'm sure that there's a graph somewhere that shows western productivity fall at the exact rate that internet usage rises. I'll check the next time I'm at work.
+4
Level 84
Sep 24, 2021
#644 "is was" = "it was"
+1
Level 71
Sep 24, 2021
'sumguy' wins the 'Golden Nitpick Award' for Sept. 2021.. Congratulations!