901
@qikipedia
Word of the day: ANTE-JENTACULAR - occurring before breakfast
For instance, your elf is not at her best at anything ANTE-JENTACULAR.
902
@qikipedia
Word of the day: ATTACHIANT(E) (French neologism) - someone you can't live with but can't live without.
It is a combination of "attachant" (endearing) and "chiant" (incredibly annoying).
903
@qikipedia
Some female hummingbirds masquerade as males to avoid harassment.
(Image: Kathy & sam; CC BY.)
904
@qikipedia
Dogs can tell when you're intentionally not giving them treats.
905
@qikipedia
The centre of the galaxy tastes of raspberries.
(Image: ESO/Y. Beletsky; CC BY.)
906
@qikipedia
Last year scientists discovered an explosion, 390 million light years away, which was the equivalent of ‘setting off 20 billion, billion megaton TNT explosions every thousandth of a second for the entire 240 million years.’
907
@qikipedia
Salamanders can count to three (but no further).
Image: Camazine
908
@qikipedia
The first woman to circumnavigate the globe was the botanist Jeanne Baret, who disguised herself as a male valet on de Bougainville’s expedition of 1766-69.
909
@qikipedia
There is an object hurtling through the Milky Way known as The Accident – it is neither star nor planet, but a very old, cold brown dwarf.
910
@qikipedia
Eight out of ten of all the languages humans have ever spoken are now extinct.
911
@qikipedia
In 1910, Lilian Bland flew Ireland’s first biplane and became the first woman in the world to design, build, and fly her own plane. She was cautious about the attempt and called the plane ‘Mayfly’, explaining: ‘It may fly, it may not’.
912
@qikipedia
‘Alphabet fatigue’ is a phenomenon whereby a dictionary team becomes less and less thorough as they move through the letters of the alphabet. For instance, the first edition of ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ had three volumes: A-B, C-L, and M-Z. (h/t @MerriamWebster)
913
@qikipedia
There’s a village in Montenegro that holds both the World Championships of Laziness (lying on a mattress for the longest time), and a slow bicycle race where the winner is the last to finish.
914
@qikipedia
In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster wrote that ‘the domestic cat needs no description. It is a deceitful animal, and when enraged, extremely spiteful’.
915
@qikipedia
Near the Norwegian village of Grense Jakobselv, the border between Norway and Russia runs in the river Jakobselva. The Norwegian bank of the river has a sign that says ‘No peeing towards Russia’.
916
@qikipedia
Word of the Day: IRRITAINMENT — an extremely annoying media spectacle that you can’t stop watching.
917
@qikipedia
Paris, Texas has an Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on it.
(Image: Adavyd; CC BY-SA.)
918
@qikipedia
"A vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you're attempting can't be done." TERRY PRATCHETT
919
@qikipedia
A quote from US President Richard Nixon unearthed in 1997 said that had rap existed when he was young, he might have chosen to become a rapper instead of entering politics.
(Image: Nancy Wong; CC BY-SA.)
920
@qikipedia
Word of the day: MUCK-SPOUT (19th century) - someone who swears too much
921
@qikipedia
In 2001, a Belgian beer society convinced a local primary school to offer beer at lunch rather than fizzy drinks.
The move was intended to prevent childhood obesity, but proved unpopular with parents.
922
@qikipedia
Word of the day: RAGGABRASH - someone who is absolutely, completely disorganised
923
@qikipedia
In 2007, Russia planted a Russian flag on the Arctic sea floor to claim the area as Russian territory.
The Canadian foreign minister responded that "this isn’t the 15th century. You can’t go around the world and just plant flags and say, ‘We’re claiming this territory.’ "
924
@qikipedia
"There are of course many problems connected with life, of which some of the most popular are 'Why are people born? Why do they die? Why do they want to spend so much of the intervening time wearing digital watches?'" DOUGLAS ADAMS
925
@qikipedia
PILGARLIC is a sixteenth-century term for a bald man.
It derives from his supposed resemblance to a peeled garlic.
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves