Isabel

Your body is shrinking, and it’s never going to stop. Once you reach your 30s, you lose 1/2 an inch in height every 10 years. Source

Norwegian police don’t use guns. In Norway, only 2 people have been shot and killed by police in the past decade. When the officers are faced with danger, they back out, form a plan, and try to solve the problem without using firearms. Source

►►Read more about why elite schools are such a gamble…

Going to an elite college might not be worth it. Most students attending prestigious schools end up with greater debt and with earnings no higher than students who didn’t choose the best school they could get into.

If you’re looking for a job, your application and resume style aren’t nearly as important as having an inside referral. Knowing someone who works at the company increases your chance of getting an interview and makes you 40% more likely to get the job over someone with a fancier resume. Source

►►►Click here to learn more reasons why dogs spin in circles!

Dogs like to align themselves with the North-South axis when they poop. They do this whenever the Earth’s magnetic field conditions are normal - but if they’re unstable, dogs get confused and turn around in circles before doing their business.

See the video and learn more about the new elevators here ►►

The next generation of elevators will be able to travel sideways. A German engineering company has created the world’s 1st rope-free elevator system that uses a new magnetic technology. The test tower will be launched in 2016.

Flu shots are more important than you think. The CDC recommends that all children from 6 mos to 18 yrs should have an annual shot, but only about half do. During the 2012-2013, influenza killed 149 children. 90% of them weren’t vaccinated. Flu shots increase a child’s chance of not even needing to see a doctor by 60%. Source

Blowing your nose too hard makes you more congested. When you’re “stuffed up,” its because of swollen blood vessels, not excess snot. Hard blowing shoves mucus up into your sinuses and slows the drainage process. You should either blow softly, or snort and swallow. Source

►►►►Click here to find out why!

Putting on a red shirt makes women find you more attractive. Many studies have shown that women are culturally and biologically attracted to men wearing red.

►►►► WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Thomas Edison took a video of Mark Twain in 1909. The silent film shows Twain walking around his Connecticut property in his signature white suit, smoking a cigar, and having tea with his daughters. It is the only existing footage of him and was taken a year before he died. 

In the 1800s, a man was convicted of murdering his wife because her ghost “visited” her mother and accused him. The ghost’s “testimony” was used in court to show the jury that the mother was crazy, but she was so convincing they found him guilty - even though there was no evidence. Source

►►►►►►Learn more about falling cats here!

The farther a cat falls, the better. Cats are less likely to be injured if they fall from greater heights. When cats fall from 5 stories or higher they reach terminal velocity and relax their bodies, which slows them down and protects them from the impact.

The Orion spacecraft is taking special artifacts on its 2014 test flight. As it travels 15 times higher than the International Space Station, it will bring along a T Rex fossil, a piece of an Apollo 11 spacesuit, and 2 Sesame Street mementos: Cookie Monster’s cookie and Ernie’s rubber ducky. Source

Night vision goggles are green because the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color. Source

Benjamin Franklin wrote a scientific essay about farts. Because he thought European academic societies were pretentious, he responded to a call for scientific papers with his essay, “Fart Proudly,” which suggested research be done to improve the odor of human flatulence. Source

In Ancient Egypt, little people were well-respected and some were considered to be gods. The Egyptians were tolerant of many medical disorders, and they thought that caring for all people was a moral duty. Source

The more you trust people, the better you are at spotting liars. A recent study showed that people who put faith in the honesty of others were more accurate when determining if someone was lying to them. Source

►►►Find out more about how to board an airplane

There’s a much faster way to board a plane that airlines aren’t using. Not charging passengers to check bags and seating every 2 rows at a time (instead of every seat in order from front to back) could reduce boarding time by 30%. Source

There is a single tree that produces 40 different types of fruit. Professor Sam Van Aken from Syracuse University spent 9 years cultivating the ‘Tree of 40 Fruit,’ which grows varieties of cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots. Source

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A blue-skinned family lived in Kentucky in the 1800s. “The Blue Fugates” had a condition called methemoglobinemia that limits oxygen in the body’s tissues. Because of the family’s inbreeding, many of them had blue skin.

►►►►Learn 7 more amazing facts about snow!

Snow is white because snowflakes are complex. Their intricate, complicated structures don’t allow light to pass through. All the wavelengths of light are reflected, which makes the snow appear white.

One of the most popular Christmas toys in 1975 was a rock in a box. Gary Dahl’s novelty invention, “Pet Rock,” was a smooth stone that came in a cardboard box with instructions for “care and feeding.” The fad only lasted for about 6 months, but Dahl made $2 million. Source

Tobacco could be used to fuel airplanes in the future. A new type of tobacco plant grown in South Africa produces oil that converts into biofuel and could lower carbon emissions by 80%. Source

A little girl save her dad’s life after she learned fire-safety from Sparkles the dog at a school seminar. When her house caught fire, she remembered what he taught her and crawled out to call for help. Her father, who would have burned to death, was saved just in time.

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People used to be terrified of tomatoes. In the 1700s, eating tomatoes caused many deaths, but it was actually the high lead content in their pewter plates that killed them. The tomatoes just soaked up more of it because of their acidity. Source

Salvador Dali didn’t always pay at restaurants. He was known for drawing sketches on the back of his checks because he knew that the restaurant wouldn’t want to cash a valuable piece of art. Source

Reading Harry Potter makes kids more accepting of others. Psychologists found that reading the Potter series improved young people’s tolerance of immigrants, homosexuals, and other stigmatized groups. Source

70% of managers are making their teams worse. Gallup scientists have found that companies are hiring the wrong people to be managers or supervisors 82% of the time, wasting time and money and causing their employees to become disengaged. Source

Your phone can hurt you. “Text neck” happens when you lean over your phone to read or text, which puts up to 60 pounds of pressure on your spine. Instead of bending your neck, looking at your phone with your head up can save you from future pain. Source

We use the terms “white meat” and “dark meat” because the Victorians were prudes. In the early 1800s, people found it vulgar to say leg, thigh, or breast, especially around women. Source