19 Things I Learned This Week That I Almost Didn't Believe
The stingray skeleton haunts my dreams.
1. You may have seen this viral photo of a crow "riding" an eagle. In actuality, the crow is probably attacking the eagle for encroaching on its territory:
2. By now you probably already know that dolphins are highly intelligent animals. Just to drive that point home, here's the difference between a shark brain and a dolphin brain:
3. The earliest known photograph of the White House is from 1846 during President James Polk's first year in office:
4. This iPhone hack has revolutionized texting for me:
5. Gravity affects fire, as illustrated by this candle in zero-G:
6. A very committed prankster by the name of Tony Signorini managed to keep his role in the Clearwater Monster hoax a secret for 40 years. And he wasn't just leaving footprints on beaches; he also knocked over lifeguard stands and left feathers in his wake:
7. White space suits and orange space suits serve two very different (and very important) purposes:
8. Arnold Schwarzenegger is allegedly 6′2″ and is therefore not a small man. Standing between Wilt Chamberlain and Andre the Giant, however, would make most people look small:
9. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world's tallest building. At 2,716 feet high, it contains 200 stories and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building:
10. Meanwhile, China boasts the tallest outdoor elevator, which is officially recognized by Guinness:
11. This wedding dress was originally a parachute that saved George Braet's life during WWII. Repurposing parachutes wasn't an uncommon practice in those days due to the fact that they were made of silk, which was in very short supply:
12. Weatherproof pods called "Ulmer Nests" are providing Ulm, Germany's homeless population with a safe and comfortable alternative during wintertime. The designers of the Ulmer Nest ultimately hope to roll them out nationwide:
13. The "Sweden Solar System" is the largest model of our solar system in the world. The Ericsson Globe, an arena located in Stockholm (pictured on the left), represents the Sun:
14. This is what it looks like after a deer sheds its antlers:
15. The Perseverance Rover touched down on Mars on Thursday to search for signs of ancient life at the Jezero Crater, which was once a lakebed and river delta:
Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars
16. Sea turtles aren't accustomed to the freezing cold weather conditions in Texas right now, so volunteers are working around the clock to rescue as many as possible:
17. A woman named Jenny Joseph was the model for the reference photos that were used to paint the newest (and current) iteration of the iconic Columbia Pictures logo:
18. I don't know what I imagined a stingray skeleton* would look like, but I didn't imagine this:
*This is all cartilage. Stingrays don't have bones.