1151
@qikipedia
MIT students are certified as pirates if they complete archery, sailing, fencing, and pistol shooting courses.
1152
@qikipedia
From 1986 to 2007, all cosmonauts were equipped with a triple-barreled pistol, in case they encountered bears upon landing.
1153
@qikipedia
Humans used to have a bone behind the knee called the fabella, but evolved not to have them. In 2019 the fabella was found to to be making a comeback. No one knows exactly why. (Image Jmarchn and Mikael Häggström CC BY-SA 3.0)
1154
@qikipedia
Glow in the dark mushrooms can produce enough light to read by.
1155
@qikipedia
Deer in headlights don't freeze purely out of fear - their eyes are so light-sensitive they are easily temporarily blinded.
1156
@qikipedia
Atheists and agnostics sleep more soundly at night than Catholics or Baptists.
1157
@qikipedia
Word of the day: GRAMMATICASTER - someone who is annoyingly pedantic about grammar
1158
@qikipedia
According to Ancient Greek myth, when the goddess Demeter was depressed, an old woman named Baubo cheered her up by flashing her genitals.
1159
@qikipedia
In 2008 thieves in Russia stole an entire church, brick by brick.
1160
@qikipedia
Word of the day: CONCILIABULE - a secret meeting of those hatching a plot
1161
@qikipedia
When the US Postal Service was established, it had an eleven pound weight limit but no restrictions on what you could mail.
An Ohio couple therefore sent their baby to visit his grandmother - by post. He only cost $0.15 to mail but was insured for $50.
1162
@qikipedia
In a 2008 study, researchers at Bath Spa University asked volunteers to rank the intelligence of people with various accents.
A Yorkshire accent was rated highest. A Brummie accent was rated lower than staying silent.
1163
@qikipedia
Raindrops are about the same size on all planets - regardless of if they're made of water (Earth), methane (Titan), or liquid iron (WASP-76b).
1164
@qikipedia
The 19th century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt has over 300 species named after him, as well as places, asteroids and part of the Moon.
1165
@qikipedia
Slugs and snails have tongues covered in thousands of tiny, constantly regrowing teeth. (Image Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0
1166
@qikipedia
In 2021, 😭 became the world’s most used emoji. Previously, 😂 had spent years in the top spot.
1167
@qikipedia
In 1926 the White House was sent a raccoon to eat for Thanksgiving, but President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace kept 'Rebecca' as a pet.
1168
@qikipedia
A statue of Nelson Mandela installed in Pretoria in 2014 had to be altered when people spotted a rabbit sculpted inside one ear. (Image: PHParsons, CC-SA-3.0)
1169
@qikipedia
During the Second World War, British officer John ‘Mad Jack’ Churchill took a sword, a longbow and bagpipes into battle.
1170
@qikipedia
It is obvious that art cannot teach anyone anything, since in four thousand years humanity has learnt nothing at all.
ANDREI TARKOVSKY
1171
@qikipedia
The Welsh for ‘July’ is Gorffennaf, which literally means ‘end of summer’.
1172
@qikipedia
The Chinese giant salamander can reach almost six feet in length and seven stone (50kg) in weight, is prone to cannibalism and makes a noise like a crying baby.
(Image: Petr Hamerník)
1173
@qikipedia
Plastic bottles can now be recycled to produce vanilla flavouring for food using a genetically engineered strain of E. coli bacteria.
(Image: Feralbt)
1174
@qikipedia
Salvador Dalí bought a castle for his wife. He would only visit if she sent him written permission.
1175
@qikipedia
There is a museum in Australia entirely dedicated to animal droppings that is called Pooseum.
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves