Strange But True: Oysters can change genders
By Lucie Winborne
Pinball was banned in most major cities from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s because it was considered a game of chance and, therefore, gambling.
Oysters can change genders back and forth.
The Zildjian Company was founded in 1623 by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian alchemist who ended up making a cymbal instead.
Tobacco companies spend the most money on advertising in January, when many people make a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking, but the largest increase in new smokers actually occurs in the summer.
There’s a national pillow-fighting tournament in Japan.
A 43,000-square-foot room beneath the Lincoln Memorial that was forgotten about until 1974 is filled with concrete columns and has its own plant life and ecosystem, as well as graffiti from the original workers.
Humans are comprised of about 30 of the 118 elements on the periodic table. Their iPhones, however, are made up of about 75 elements.
Intelligent people have more traces of copper and zinc in their hair.
The manchineel tree is one of the most toxic trees in the world. Its sap causes blisters, eating its apples can be potentially fatal, and the smoke from a burning manchineel can cause blindness.
Pythagoras, of Pythagorean Theorem fame, ran a commune that was forbidden to wear wool, forced to put their right sandal on before their left, and believed that beans could contain the souls of the dead, so even crushing a bean was considered murder.
Every day, around 18 acres of pizza are eaten in America.
At the U.S. Open and other U.S.-based tennis tournaments, the men play with the slower, heavy-duty felt balls while the women play with the faster, regular-duty felt version.
Thought for the Day: “Everyone knows something I do not; therefore, everyone is my teacher.” -Unknown
(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.