random facts

Hi I'm Wren (she/they) and I am going to be posting a random fact every day! If you have any you would like to share please send it to me and I will look into it. I will always research the facts before posting them and include my sources but if anything I post is incorrect please let me know so I can fix it! I also think it is important that I give a shoutout to my favorite podcast History For Weirdos where I find out about a lot of the stuff I post (I do fact check everything and find sources other than the podcast)

[random-facts-official]

The Chernobyl elephant's foot was a highly radioactive lava-like mass that burned through several floors of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant starting in April 1986. It reached temperatures of roughly 3000 degrees Fahrenheit (1600 degrees Celsius) until it finally reached the basement and cooled down and solidified. In December of the same year members of the clean-up crew discovered an offshoot of the mass which is now called the elephant's foot. It was extremely radioactive, enough that if you stood next to it when it first formed the radiation could have killed you in roughly five minutes.

source: chemistry world

[random-facts-official]

There are two common theories about how the universe will end, the big crunch theory and the big freeze theory. The big freeze theory says that the universe will keep on expanding until all atoms are so far apart and the universe reaches a thermodynamic equilibrium that no energy is created and nothing more can happen. This is the most likely of the two theories based on what we can see of the universe's current movements. The second theory, the big crunch, says that the universe will slowly condense and move closer together until it 'crunches' together. This could cause another big bang and the birth of a new universe.

sources: Wikipedia (big freeze), Wikipedia (big crunch)

[random-facts-official]

The resolute desk (the desk in the oval office in the white house) was built from the wood from the British ship HMS Resolute. the ship was part of an expedition to find Sir John Franklin who had disappeared while searching for the northwest passage but got stuck in the ice and was abandoned by its crew. in 1855 George Henry (an American whaler) rediscovered it and the us Congress returned it to England as a gift to queen Victoria, who returned the favor by building the resolute desk from its wood once the ship had been decommissioned.

sources: the white house historical association

[random-facts-official]

the chemical makeup of comets causes them to smell like a mixture of urine, burning matches, rotten eggs, almonds, alcohol, and various other scents.

sources: BBC, CBS,

[random-facts-official]

Greek fire, a substance similar to modern napalm, couldn't be put out by water, making it extremely deadly and useful in war, especially in naval warfare because it could be shot from cannons at opposing ships and stay lit on the water. There were only a few things that could put it out: sand, vinegar, and urine (especially old urine).

sources: medieval.substack.com, warfarehistorynetwork.com

[random-facts-official]

a mix between a Siberian husky and a pug is called a hug

source: wag

[random-facts-official]

The word hello is fairly new (first recorded use in the mid 1800's) and doesn't have the same origins as hi or hey. Hi originates from hey which is a variation of hei, hai, ai, he, or heh, often used in middle English to express disappointment or encourage hunting dogs, as well as similar words in Latin, German, French, etc. Hello (variations: halloo, hallo, halloa, halloo, hello, hillo, hilloa, holla, holler, hollo, holloa, hollow, hullo) was used as a shout for attention unrelated to hi or hey.

sources: dictionary.com, English Language & Usage Stack Exchange, etymonline (hi/hey), etymonline (hello)

[random-facts-official]

About 0.012% of the potassium in bananas is the radioactive isotope potassium-40. One banana contains on average 0.1 microsieverts (μSv). You would have to eat ~5 million bananas in a few minutes for the radiation levels to be harmful.

sources: versant, epa, medium

[random-facts-official]

dragonfly nymphs can suck water in through gills in their rectum (the same ones they use to breathe) and squirt it out of their butt to propel themselves through the water.

sources: springer nature link, Missouri department of conservation

[random-facts-official]

During the era of romanticism tuberculosis was very common. Many people during that time romanticised the effects of the disease (being pale, skinny, and having rosy cheeks and red lips) and it heavily influenced the beauty standards of the time. Dying of tuberculosis was considered 'a romantic way to die.'

sources: asm.org, sciencemuseum.org