Really TRUE odd factoids

[Chris S]

 

[classic33]

Every day, lightning strikes 8.6 million times on average.
The world’s lightning hotspot is Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

 

[classic33]

Oymyakon: The Coldest Inhabited Place on Earth!

With temperatures plunging to -71.7°C, this remote Siberian town is colder than Antarctica’s extremes! Despite the brutal cold, 450 people call Oymyakon home, living in a place where even boiling water freezes mid-air.

 

[Beebo]

When ABC sang their ode, “when Smokey sings”, Smokey Robinson was only 47.

The equivalent today would be a modern day band singing an ode to Roman Keating or Gary Barlow!

 

[matticus]

When ABC sang their ode, “when Smokey sings”, Smokey Robinson was only 47.

The equivalent today would be a modern day band singing an ode to Roman Keating or Gary Barlow!

Well they have already made a Robbie Williams bio-pic!

 

[T4tomo]

In a bizarre incident in 2019, a Taiwanese man named Ben Hsu accidentally swallowed an Apple AirPod while sleeping. Upon waking and unable to find the device, he used his iPhone's tracking feature, only to hear it beeping from inside his stomach.
Medics at Kaohsiung Municipal Hospital confirmed the AirPod's location via X-ray and prescribed a laxative. Remarkably, the device passed through Hsu's digestive system naturally, and he retrieved it the next day.

Was it still working though?

 

[classic33]

Was it still working though?

Reports say it was at 41% power and that it still worked. Knowing where it had been, and how it came out, I wonder if he ever used it again.

 

[Chris S]

The pre-decimal guinea coin, first minted in 1663, was named after the region of Guinea in West Africa because the gold used to produce it came from there.

 

[Beebo]

The pre-decimal guinea coin, first minted in 1663, was named after the region of Guinea in West Africa because the gold used to produce it came from there.

And livestock is still sold in Guineas. Which are worth £1 and 5p.
The owner gets the £1 and the auctioneer gets the 5p from the sale value.

 

[T4tomo]

For some reason I always thought it was £1, 1shilling and 1d which would be £1.06 in modern equivalents, but wiki supports the £1.05. I guess it did fluctuate with gold prices pre decimalisation when it became a token amount as opposed to a coin

 

[Profpointy]

For some reason I always thought it was £1, 1shilling and 1d which would be £1.06 in modern equivalents, but wiki supports the £1.05. I guess it did fluctuate with gold prices pre decimalisation when it became a token amount as opposed to a coin

'twas always 21 shillings I believe. As an aside I did hear of an IT contractor (freelance one man company) rather cheekily quoting his day-rate in guineas and netting himself an extra £40 per day or whatever it was as the customer didn't notice during the rate negotiation

 

[Chris S]

Elysia chlorotica, an emerald sea slug, is the first animal known to be able to photosynthesize.

 

[T4tomo]

'twas always 21 shillings I believe. As an aside I did hear of an IT contractor (freelance one man company) rather cheekily quoting his day-rate in guineas and netting himself an extra £40 per day or whatever it was as the customer didn't notice during the rate negotiation

I might be confusing it with a Sow's gestation period, which is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days or is that a Ewe's?

 

[Chris S]

I might be confusing it with a Sow's gestation period, which is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days or is that a Ewe's?

Sorry, I don't see how this relates to guineas?

 

[Beebo]

Sorry, I don't see how this relates to guineas?

Guinea pig?