20 interesting facts we learned in 2019
News / / January 02, 2021
On cloning police dogs, using emojis in court, and why helicopters dry cherries.
Each in his own way sums up the results of the outgoing year. The journalist Tom Whitwell, for example, compiled a large compilation incredible facts that he learned in 2019. The life hacker chose the most interesting.
1. Every year humanity producesEnergy and the Information Infrastructure Part 3: The Digital 'Engines of Innovation' & Jevons' Delicious Paradox. there are 1,000 times more transistors than grain, rice and wheat combined.
2. Emojis are starting to appear as evidence in court cases involving correspondence. This is seriously concernedEmojis Have Unsettled Grammar Rules (and Why Lawyers Should Care). lawyers, because there are no clear rules for interpreting symbols in a sequence yet.
3. Baijiu is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. Sold every yearCan baijiu, China's sorghum firewater, go global? almost 10 billion liters, with almost the entire volume coming from China. The second most popular drink is vodka. It sells only 5 billion liters a year.
4. At least three private companies in 2019 becameThe coming deepfakes threat to businesses. victims of audio scams. In each case, the CEO's computerized voice clone called the “senior CFO to request an urgent money transfer”.
5. Drunk shopping can bringThe 2019 Drunk Shopping Census. 45 billion dollars a year, and only 6% of people regret this spending.
6. From 1880 to 1916, Ireland hadTime Lords. A history of authoritarian time changes. own time zone, which was 25 minutes and 21 seconds less than Greenwich Mean Time.
7. The benefits and effectiveness of 10,000 daily steps have never been proven by research. This standard could have appeared due to the fact that the Japanese manufacturer of the tracker consideredWhat 10,000 Steps Will Really Get You. hieroglyph 万, meaning 10,000, very similar to the character walk.
8. More and more mechanical devices on AliExpressMatthew Brennan (Twitter). to wind up the numbers on the smartphone pedometer or fitness bracelet. Many people buy them to showcase their incredibly active life on the web.
9. Korean police officers includeClones of bomb ‑ sniffing dog delivered to Jeju police. five dogs that are clones of the dog named Quinn. It was he who in 2007, in just 20 minutes, discovered the body of a missing girl, whom the police had been looking for for a month.
10. Botanically eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers and pumpkin are fruits. A mushrooms, including truffles, haveVegetables Don’t Exist. more in common with people than with plants.
11. In the Northwest United States, rain often damages the fruit on cherry trees. To quickly dry them after a shower, useThe Life of a Cherry Drying Pilot. helicopters: Pilots are paid to fly over gardens and dry trees with downdrafts.
12. Facebook developsFashion ++: Minimal Edits for Outfit Improvement. Fashion ++ is a computer vision-based project that, based on a photo of your outfit, offers "minimal adjustments to improve the image." In particular, the system may advise you to put on a scarf, tuck in a shirt, or remove an accessory.
13. Globally, the perfume industry lags behind‘You can’t smell a selfie’: celebrity fragrance market under pressure to boost sales. from cosmetics and skin care products. Why? Because you can't smell the selfie.
14. 80% of prisoners released at the end of 2018 after the presidential pardon decided to returnKinshasa: Environ 80% des ex-prisonniers de Makala ont regagne leur lieu d'incarceration. to the infamous Makala prison in Kinshasa, Congo. The reason is the lack of means of subsistence.
15. Cheetos Flamin Hot chips were inventedHow a janitor at Frito ‑ Lay invented Flamin ’Hot Cheetos. a simple cleaner in the Frito-Lay factory. He is now Vice President of Sales at PepsiCo America.
16. Some people who have lost their eyesight are able to understand speech, which is almost three times faster than normal speech. They can use speech synthesizers at a speed of 800 words per minute (in normal spoken language - 120-150 words per minute). Research showsHuman speech may have a universal transmission rate: 39 bits per second.that the processing of sound can speed up the part of the brain that is usually responsible for responding to light.
17. In 2012, just one sports team (Manchester United) was worth over $ 2 billion. Today there areThe World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2019. 52.
18. The person who bought a NULL license plate receivedHe tried to prank the DMV. Then his vanity license plate backfired big time. $ 12,000 parking ticket bills. This is because the accounting system writes a NULL value if the offender's license plate could not be fixed.
19. Placebo drugs are so effective that they can provide results without direct use. A recent study has shownMerely Possessing a Placebo Analgesic Reduced Pain Intensity: Preliminary Findings from a Randomized Design.that even having an anesthetic cream devoid of active ingredients helps to relieve pain.
20. Since the 1960s, British motorways have been designedOn Roads: A Hidden History. computer as a series of long curves, not straight lines. This is for security reasons (less sleepy) and aesthetics (looks like a sculpture on a grand scale).
What interesting knowledge did you gain in 2019? Let us know in the comments!
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