– OUT OF THIS WORLD – Tidbits delivers what you need to know about Mars, “The Red Planet.” • There’s a specific name for the scientific observation and study of the planet Mars, Areology. The word has its roots in the name of the Greek god of war, Ares, the son of the Greeks’ chief deity Zeus and his wife Hera. Its Roman equivalent is Mars. Both cultures associated the planet with war because its color resembled the color of blood. Ancient Chinese astronomers referred to it as “the fire star,” while the Egyptians called it “Her Desher,” meaning […]
TIDBITS® Has Info on Guys Named Jim
by Kathy Wolfe Here is Tidbits’ tribute to guys from various walks of life named Jim! • In 1912, Oklahoma-born Jim Thorpe became the first Native American to win Olympic gold medals, victorious in the pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm, Sweden. The King of Sweden called him the greatest athlete in the world. Yet within months, Thorpe’s medals and titles were revoked when it was discovered he had been paid for playing two seasons of minor league baseball, violating the rules of amateur status. The following year, he signed to play major league baseball with the New York Giants, the […]
Weird Facts
• Cats use a litter box because of primordial instincts to hide their scents from predators. • The world record for a cat surviving a fall is 43 stories. • Babies will cry without shedding tears until they are several weeks old. • Jerry Springer was born in the London underground tube system. • The University of Oxford in London (est. 1096 AD) predates the establishment of the Mayan culture (est. circa 1428). • “Jazz” is the hardest word to guess in the game of Hangman. • The antlers of a moose are so sensitive they can detect a fly […]
The Vomit Comet
– OUT OF THIS WORLD – • There was a need to acclimate astronauts in training to zero gravity. In 1950, the U.S. Air Force recruited two German brothers, aeronautical engineer Fritz Haber and physicist Heinz Haber. They proposed simulating the microgravity in airplanes that would make parabolic flights in a wave-like configuration similar to a rollercoaster. In 1957, the Air Force began what would become NASA’s Reduced Gravity Program, training astronauts this way. • During a typical flight, the plane flies out over the sea, climbing in a wave pattern of steep climbs and sharp dives. As it […]
TIDBITS® Admires Spider Webs
by Janet Spencer The word “spider” comes from the Old English words “spithra” and “spinnan” meaning “to spin.” Come along with Tidbits as we admire spider webs! AN AMAZING SUBSTANCE • Spider silk is incredibly elastic, able to stretch up to 130% of its original length. It’s five times stronger than a similar strand of steel. It’s chemically inert, stable at high temperatures, waterproof, and non-allergenic. • Silk starts out in the spider’s body as a sort of liquid protein. As the spider squirts it out, it passes through a narrow tube which forces all of the protein’s molecules […]
Rice
September is National Rice Month, and Tidbits is giving you the opportunity to learn more about this food staple. • Although the U.S. produces 20 billion lbs. of rice annually, America has the lowest consumption of rice in the world. The average American might consume 10 cups of rice a year, compared to the average Asian who eats upwards of 5 cups a day! People in Burma, in southeast Asia, consume about 500 lbs. (225 kg) per person annually, while in the U.S., that figure is 25 lbs. (11 kg). China and India are the world’s largest producers. […]
Chuck Yeager
– OUT OF THIS WORLD – If you’re not familiar with the accomplishments of aviator Chuck Yeager, you’re about to learn some things, as Tidbits passes along this knowledge. • While Chuck Yeager’s most famous feat is that of piloting the first manned airplane to exceed the speed of sound, he was already a hero before that day in 1947. Although he had no aviation experience, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps directly out of high school in 1941, becoming an aircraft mechanic at a California Air Force base. When the United States entered World War II in December […]
TIDBITS® Utters some Four-Letter Words
by Kathy Wolfe We all have heard some inappropriate four-letter words, but how about these unusual four-letter words? This week, Tidbits opens the dictionary to find some curious and unfamiliar ones. • The Latin word “surdus” meaning “unheard, noiseless, or silent,” gives us the word “surd,” which is defined as an unsounded consonant. This would be the “k” in “knife” and “knot,” the “s” in “debris,” or the “t” in “whistle.” • Anil is a much easier way of saying “indigofera suffruiticosa,” a flowering shrub found in tropical areas that is the source of deep-blue indigo dye. It’s a member […]
Left-Handed
• Left-handed people make up 12% of the world’s population. • Around 1% of the population is ambidextrous, meaning they can use both hands equally well. • For every 4 left-handed women, there are roughly 5 left-handed men. • If a fetus sucks its left thumb while in the womb, it will grow up to be left-handed. • According to one study, women in their 30s and 40s were far more likely to have left-handed children than younger women. A study of 2,228 college freshmen found that those whose mothers were aged 40 and over when they were born had […]
Space Factoids
– OUT OF THIS WORLD – • Average temperature of the Moon during the day: 224 F • Average temperature of the Moon at night: -243 F • Weight of a single teaspoon of a neutron star: 6 billion tons • Number of Earths that could fit inside the sun: 1 million • Number of years required to fly to Pluto in an airliner: 800 • Length of a day on Jupiter: 10 hours • Length of a day on Neptune: 16 hours • Speed required for a rocket to get into orbit: 17,600 mph • The longest time an […]