Because I had no interest in writing anything truly newsworthy, this is a list of 13 facts about interesting and strange stuff. Normally I’m not the type of person who stays up late at night looking for weird facts online, but for lack of a better column idea, you’re now stuck reading about them. I guess you’re not necessarily stuck here – you could quit reading now if you wanted. But right under this is a fact about farts, so hopefully you’re hooked at this point. I would be.
Farts have been clocked at a speed of 10 feet per second.
-Not sure how something like that gets measured without the tester needing serious therapy afterward, but I believe it. All you crop-dusters out there are not fooling anyone. And don’t walk past me. I want nothing to do with the potent speed demon exiting your backside.
The character of Indiana Jones was, in real life, named after a dog – a husky named Indiana that belonged to George Lucas. It was the same dog that was the inspiration for Chewbacca.
-Great, Chewie. Great! Always thinking with your stomach!
An apple can perk you up more than a cup of coffee can.
-Doubtful. This is something I could be interested in testing out sometime, but to be totally honest with myself I probably won’t do it. Given the option of a healthy red delicious and a grande caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and no whip? I think you and I both know the outcome of that.
Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark.
-Get it?
The game of golf was invented in Scotland, and stood for Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.
-I’ll buy that. I can’t putt my way out of a wet paper bag. I actually did look this one up though, and apparently golf is derived from the Dutch “kolf,” meaning, “club.” Makes sense, but I like the acronym better.
Honey never goes bad.
-But I have seen it get really old and crusty. And do you notice how you can never seem to keep the bottle from permanently being sticky? You can wash that stupid plastic bear off for days and the one time someone happens to want a little honey on their toast, you basically have to pry the bear bottle out of their hands afterward so it doesn’t react to heat and start causing some real problems.
Honey may never go bad, but it probably should at some point for the sake of human sanity.
It’s illegal to drink beer from a bucket while you’re sitting on a curb in St. Louis.
-Wow, I’d hate to be the guy who breaks that law. But I would love to be the guy who caused that law to exist.
M*A*S*H star Jamie Farr was the only cast member to actually serve in the Army in Korea.
-Klinnngerrrrr!
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
-So, the hair dye is in aisle three? Great, thanks.
In the time of Shakespeare, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattresses tightened, making the mattress firmer to sleep on. That’s where “goodnight, sleep tight” came from.
-I always thought “sleep tight” meant, “hey, I’m tucking you in, so like, sleep tight in the covers.” Well, there goes everything I ever stood for as a child.
The most common birthday in the U.S. is October 5 and the least common is May 22.
-May 22? Definitely my own dad’s birthday. Myth: BUSTED.
About 6 percent of all marriage proposals are made over the phone.
-And 100 percent of those proposals are shot down. At least ask her on the Jumbo-tron at an Islanders game or something.
Christian Bale auditioned for the role as Jack in “Titanic,” but James Cameron didn’t want two British actors playing the two American lead roles.
-Real reason: OMG, Leonardo DiCaprio is like, way hotter than Christian Bale. In all seriousness though, no one can top DiCaprio’s hotness level in that movie. Let’s be honest. It only took the length of three big-screen viewings and two whole VHS tapes for me to fall in love with that man. Yes, at the ripe young age of 10, I spent a good chunk of my hard-earned allowance money on that box set. You did, too. Worth it.
Justine Harris is a junior public relations major from Normal. She is the Voice editor.
Direct comments, questions and other responses to jmharris@mail.bradley.edu.
