10 Things You Might Not Know, Part 7

It’s that time again! I’ve learned ten new things, and so I’m sharing! (And just in case you need to refer back to some of the goofy amazing facts I’ve shared before, I made a new category where all these lists can be found. I know… it’s exciting!)

1. 97% of all email sent is spam. I’m stunned by that number. Thank you, Gmail’s awesome spam dectectors!
2. April Fools Day ends at noon in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. In those countries, you are considered an April Fool if you play a trick after noon. I would like that. I’d only have to feel that odd, nervous vulnerability for half a day. In fact, I could sleep in and miss the dangerous hours altogether!
3. Every year during Entrepreneur Week, Stanford’s Technology Ventures Program gives an award for the “Biggest Failure” in their Entrepreneurship Tournament. Hats off to Stanford for recognizing most successes come after more than a few failures.
4. According to a VERY informative book I read (written by a fifth grader which is why I believe it absolutely), zebras smile. Their “grimace-smile” is used to greet other zebras. (They laugh, too, of course. You heard it here first!)
5. I’m freezing, and so my brown fat is burning up calories! I actually already knew about brown fat and how it’s better than yellow fat because it burns calories trying to keep you warm. But this piece on NPR reminded me there’s a bright side to not being able to afford heating my house to a comfortable temperature!
6. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gives stink bombs and rotten eggs their smell. But according to Italian researchers, H₂S has an unexpected side effect: It also triggers erections. I’m guessing until they figure out the smell thing, it won’t be a viable replacement for Viagra.
7. My Urban Dictionary calendar is full of useful vocabulary. Take this word: Yoink! It is “an exclamation that, when uttered in conjunction with taking an object, immediately transfers ownership from the original owner to the person using the word, regardless of previous property rights.” I know. This is a SERIOUSLY useful word.
8. Okay, so I’m guessing most of you already know the Obamas’ new dog is (or will be) a Portuguese Water Hound. But have you seen his picture? Hello cutest First Puppy ever!
9. In Colorado, a vegan woman wanted to get a personalized license plate that proclaimed her love for tofu. “ILVTOFU,” she wanted it to say, but she was denied. Apparently in Colorado you can’t have the letters F and U together “because some people could read that as street language for sex.” Reading that, I realized I’d be “some people.” I can’t decide if I’m happy or sad that my mind goes to the gutter before it goes to natural, healthy goodness.
10. The largest prime number found to date is nearly 13 million digits long. To get an idea of just how big that is, if you write 10 digits per inch, the number would extend for 20.45 miles. On NPR.org you can download a free program that will search for the next (even bigger) prime number whenever your computer isn’t doing something “more important.” There’s a snide math-phobe remark here dying to be made, but I’m not going to make it.

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And now for something completely different… Have you seen Julian Beever’s sidewalk art? Here’s a sample. There is much, much more! He takes my breath away!

Kiss me, Kid. I'm a princess!