fun fact, in russia it is considered back luck to whistle inside because they think it will make you lose all your money.

as a regular inside whistler, this can cause problems with my Russian wife, but after a number of years, hearing people whistle inside now also makes me uncomfortable if other people do it

During triage, someone who screams could be in a better medical condition than someone who isn’t, as screaming tells you they are conscious and breathing, which further means their life isn’t immediately in danger.

Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) is the only mathematician depicted in a statue while naked, well, in a "heroic nudity” they say, but still 🤘

The Abel prize, perhaps the most prestigious prize a mathematician can get, is named in his honor.

Three lions rescued a girl of 12 kidnapped by men who wanted to force her into marriage, chasing off her abductors and protecting her until she was rescued by Ethiopian police.

The men had held the girl for a week in the remote south-west, repeatedly beating her, before the lions chased them away.

"They stood guard [for half a day] until [police and family] found her and then they just left her like a gift," said Sergeant Wondimu Wendaju inKefa province.

"If the lions had not come then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage," he said.

Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said it was likely the girl had been saved because she was crying.

"A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why [the lions] didn't eat her," he said.

The girl was "shocked and terrified" and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings, Sgt Wondimu said.

He said police had caught four of the men, but were still looking for three others.

5 reasons platypus are the world's weirdest mammals, not including the egg laying thing

The diversity of life on Earth is mind-boggling. Scientists have identified over a million different species, but they estimate that it's less than 15% of the total number of species that exist in our world. We've barely scratched the surface of what creatures we share the planet with, and yet the variety of animals we know about is absolutely wild.

Among nature's weird animals, though, one stands out at perhaps the strangest—the platypus. The famed oddity from Down Under is known for being one of the tiny handful of mammals that lay eggs, but that's only the beginning of their weird quirks. Here are five reasons platypus might just be the most anomalous animal ever.

Perhaps the most telling indicator that platypus are weird is that even actual animal researchers were in disbelief when they were first introduced to them.

Around 1799, biologist George Shaw was working in the natural history department of the British Museum when he received a pelt and drawing of a mysterious creature from the continent of Australia. It appears to be part duck, part otter, and part beaver—a Frankenstein's monster of an animal, essentially—and it was so strange that Shaw and others questioned if it was even real. After cutting into the pelt in various places to look for stitches, he determined that it was not a scientific hoax but a genuinely unique species.

To be fair, it genuinely does look like it's just a bunch of random animal parts all stitched together, so we can't really blame them for being skeptical.

At least the males are. Spurs on the back of male platypus feet look a bit like dog's canine tooth and contain a clear, slightly venom. If you get stung by a platypus, you won't die, but you will be in a lot of pain—worse than childbirth, according to a woman who was stung by one—that could last for weeks. The localized swelling can last for months, and if you're super lucky you'll get some muscle wasting as well. Morphine and other standard analgesics won't relieve the pain, either, but nerve-blocking drugs can help. Neat, huh?

You're not likely to be attacked or stung by a platypus, however. The main thing to remember is to never pick up a male platypus from below, as touching its belly can trigger the spur response. (Or, you know, play it safe and just don't try to pick up a platypus.)

Platypus are mammals, which means they produce milk to nurse their young. Only problem is they don't have nipples. How does that work?

Specialized mammary glands produce milk that oozes from a platypus's skin, much like sweat. As aquatic animals, they don't actually sweat at all, but it's the easiest way to describe how their milk comes out. As it's secreted, it pools into creases in the platypus mother's skin, where her babies—colloquially and adorably known as puggles—lap it up from her fur.

Platypus have eyes and ears that work fine on land, but these semi-aquatic creatures hunt in the water. When they go underwater, they keep their eyes closed most of the time, and flaps covering their ears close, rendering them mostly blind and deaf. So how are they able to locate the bottom-dwelling invertebrates they feed on (insect larvae, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks) when they can't see or hear?

Platypus use electroreceptors in their bills that detect electrical fields in their prey. Waving its head back and forth in the water like a metal detector, it can sense the direction and distance of its snacks.

Platypus are about as "boring brown" as an animal can come, which allows them to blend into their natural environment easily. However, that drab coat is hiding a fun little secret: it glows under UV light.

Biofluorescence is common among some species, but exceedingly rare among mammals. Flying squirrels and opossums were the only two mammals known to glow this way prior to the discovery that platypus do it. Black lights make platypus glow a lovely blue-green color and no one knows why. Another delightful mystery.

All of that on top of the fact that they're a monotreme—a mammal that lays eggs—one of only five species with that claim to fame. No wonder they continue to surprise researchers just by being their cute, quirky selves.

OP https://www.upworthy.com/5-reasons-the-platypus-is-an-even-weirder-creature-than-you-might-think

The original Progressive Movement in America was largely about advancing major industrial interests, like railroads and such, as well as seeking state remedies for everyday problems. #898839

(8% of Sats given to this get forwarded to @Undisciplined)

Edit: @Undisciplined It would make my life easier if you'd continue putting the words "Fun Fact" in front of your fun facts. You didn't at all this week, so I can't be sure whether the fact I picked is fun or even a fact at all.

Fenbendazole, originally designed to cure parasites, selectively blocks the synthesis of microtubules by binding to β-tubulin. This action stops the polymerization of tubulin dimers in parasite cells, leading to their death. Surprisingly, fenbendazole, along with other benzimidazoles, exhibits similar effects against tumor cells. Today, it is believed that fenbendazole kills cancer through three main mechanisms:

1. Apoptosis Induction - cancer cell cycle arrest and cytotoxicity

2. Inhibition of Glucose Uptake in Cancer Cells - malignant cells are known for their high glucose uptake, consuming glucose 200 times faster than ordinary cells

3. Reactivation of the p53 Gene - the strongest tumor suppressor in our bodies

The proboscis monkey’s nose is so big that it must push its nose out of the way when it is eating.

Hi its me again. In 1386, a pig was executed in France. In the Middle Ages, the pig attacked a child who went to die later from their wounds. The pig was arrested, kept in prison, and then sent to court where it stood trial for murder, was found guilty, and then executed by hanging. Some crazy stuff lol

300 years ago everyone had a job and unemployment was unknown.

The concept of blockchain was first introduced in 1991 by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, but it gained popularity with the launch of Bitcoin in 2009

Just a fun fact in Bictoin history:

Bearish start of March => Bullish continuation Bullish start of March => Bearish continuation

;)

A magic square is a grid of numbers arranged so that the sum of each row, each column and its diagonals are all equal to the same value, called the magic sum (or magic constant).

For example 39 is the magic sum of this grid:

each row, column, and long diagonal add up to 39 (as do the 4 corner squares, and the 4 center squares).

At $80,000, Bitcoin is now down around 27% from its all-time high of $109,000. Is that a big drawdown for Bitcoin? No...