Random facts.
November 1, 2024
AI-generated content or “slop” is flowing onto every major platform where people post online.
AI data centers consume significant amounts of water for cooling, up to 5 million gallons daily. This is equivalent to the water usage of a town of 50,000 people. U.S. centers consumed over 75 billion gallons in 2023.
Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached new record highs in 2023, locking in future temperature increases for years to come.
More than one in three species of trees are at risk of extinction worldwide, threatening life as we know it on Earth.
The iconic British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell their recorded-music and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million.
The founder of General Motors, William Crapo Durant, died a penniless bowling alley operator reliant on friends to cover his debts.
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball sold for $4.392 million at auction, shattering the record paid for any sports ball.
Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City was named the best bar in the world for 2024.
Two artificial intelligence pioneers were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in machine learning, which laid the foundation for the current AI boom.
A new study shows that fungi have memories, learn shapes, can make decisions and solve problems.
Southwest Airlines will have assigned seating in 2026.
At 7 feet, 9 inches, Olivier Rioux, an NCAA college basketball player at Florida, is the world’s tallest teen.
A 25-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes began producing insulin after receiving a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells from her own body, making her the first person to undergo this treatment.
The United Kingdom has shut down its last coal-fired power plant, marking the end of an industrial era. Britain, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, has become the first G-7 nation to fully phase out coal power.
According to the pet insurance company Spot, Luna, Bella and Milo are the top three pet names in the U.S.
Imitation Ozempic is flooding the market, and these products come with real risks.
Chicago’s Adalina restaurant serves the most expensive cocktail in the U.S., a $13,000 Marrow Martini, complete with a nine-carat diamond necklace on the side.
If eyesight among children and teens continues to worsen at the same rate going forward, the prevalence of myopia in young people worldwide could reach nearly 40 percent by 2050, exceeding 740 million cases.
A human brain contains 80 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections.
Women currently serve as the head of government in just 13 of the 193 member states of the United Nations. Overall, 60 UN member states (31%) have ever had a woman serve as head of government.
The Tropicana Casino, one of Las Vegas’ longest-standing and most historic hotels, was demolished to make room for a new Major League Baseball stadium.
Researchers at Google DeepMind in London have devised a ‘watermark’ to invisibly label text that is generated by artificial intelligence.
The FTC’s new “click-to-cancel” rule would make it “at least as easy” to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up.
Cable companies, advertising firms, and newspapers are asking courts to block the federal “click-to-cancel” rule.
Stress can cause your hair to turn gray by damaging hair follicles and stem cells through oxidative stress, which halts melanin production.
The Council for German Orthography caused a stir amongst grammar perfectionists when it announced that as of 2025, an apostrophe used to indicate possession will be considered correct.
Maurizio Cattelan’s viral artwork Comedian, a banana duct-taped to a wall symbolizing the absurdity of the art market, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s next month with an estimated value of $1 million to $1.5 million.
“Never odd or even” spelled backwards is still “never odd or even.”
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