There are times when silence becomes awkward and you run out of topics for small talk. There are situations when talking about the weather is just as uninteresting as talking about the taste of food. So how do you continue the conversation? These facts will come in handy. This list of facts can be the perfect conversation starter in a variety of situations. Did you know that dogs defecate in alignment with the Earth's magnetic field, or that "hash," now synonymous with "hashtag," is actually called an "octothorpe"? Here are a few more interesting facts.
And don't forget to read the first part of this list here.
1. In the 19th century in the United States, ketchup was made into tablets and sold as a medicine.
In the 19th century, it was claimed that ketchup tablets could cure indigestion and even jaundice! Ketchup was also claimed to treat two other ailments: rheumatism and diarrhea. In 1834, Dr. John Cook Bennett added tomatoes to ketchup, which had previously been a mixture of fish or mushrooms. When he introduced the product to the United States, he also added vitamins and antioxidants. He also hired a man named Archibald Miles, who converted ketchup into tablets, which were sold as medicine.
Soon after the "ketchup pills" hit the market, others began selling their own versions to make money. But some of the counterfeit pills were simply laxatives without tomatoes or Bennett's vitamins. The people making the counterfeit pills made elaborate claims, such as that their pills could cure scurvy and even mend bones! Because of these empty claims, the ketchup medicine empire collapsed by 1850. People exposed their deception, and along with the counterfeits, even the original pills disappeared. (source)
2. There is a difference between a "cemetery" and a "graveyard." A cemetery is attached to a church, while a graveyard is not.
Most of us use the words "cemetery" and "graveyard" interchangeably, but there is a difference. In the old days, people were buried in the area adjacent to the church, and the rich and noble were buried in crypts beneath the church. These places were called "cemeteries." But over time, as the population grew, these cemeteries became overcrowded, and new ones, not adjacent to churches, had to be used for burials. Cemeteries not adjacent to churches are called "cemeteries." Now you know. (source)
3. From a biological point of view, salmon are more related to the camel than to the lamprey.
Evolutionary biologist and paleontologist, Nobel Prize winner Stephen Jay Gould, after years of research, concluded that "fish as such do not exist." He argued that fish are actually distinct classes of aquatic vertebrates, unrelated to each other. Thus, an analytical observer would say that salmon are actually more closely related to camels or any other mammal, reptile, or other vertebrate classes than to hagfish. The fact that both salmon and hagfish live in the sea does not mean they are related.
Camel and salmon belong to the same class ( Animalia) and one type ( Chordata), and their ancestors are more closely related than the ancestors of hagfish and salmon . The phylum is further subdivided into seven classes of vertebrates. Hagfish belong to the category« Agnata »" - primitive vertebrates that arose 500-600 million years ago. "« Osteichthyes »" is the category of vertebrates that includes salmon, which first appeared around 300-400 million years ago in the Devonian period. Camels belong to the category "« Mammalian »" - mammals that first appeared about 200 million years ago. (1,2)
4. According to research, it only takes 0.2 seconds to fall in love.
Recent research by Dr. Stephanie Ortigue suggests that it takes just one-fifth of a second to fall in love. This scientifically validates the concept of "love at first sight." When a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain are activated. Hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline, and vasopressin are released. And this happens very quickly, causing a feeling of euphoria or infatuation.
This brain activity stimulates the heart and stomach, which explains why we feel a flutter in our hearts and butterflies in our stomachs when we're in love. So the next time you're in a public place and instantly feel attracted to someone, you might have fallen in love in just 0.2 seconds. (source)
5. Popcorn has been around for thousands of years. Popcorn remains found in Mexico date back to 3600 BC.
For some people, a bucket of popcorn and a good movie are the definition of a good time. Popcorn, which seems like something from modern times, has been around since at least 3600 BC. Around 10,000 years ago, corn was first domesticated in Mexico. Archaeologists have discovered popcorn remnants in Mexico dating back to this period. The word "popped corn" first appeared in print in 1848 in "« "Dictionary of Americanisms".
Popcorn's popularity soared in the 1890s after Charles Cretor invented the steam-powered popcorn machine. During the Great Depression, people ate popcorn frequently because it was inexpensive, costing 5-8 cents a bag, and the corn business helped farmers survive when other crops were scarce. During World War II, when sugar rationing was introduced and sweets became less available, popcorn became a popular substitute. (source)
6. If the male body produces the required level of hormones, men can lactate.
Science states that all mammals, both male and female, have mammary glands. In women, when the mammary glands mature, they begin to produce milk. A surge in the hormone prolactin triggers lactation. In men, the mammary glands do not reach this level of maturity and usually do not naturally produce the necessary hormones for lactation. However, if the male body produces the necessary hormones, either artificially or naturally, men can lactate.
Artificial lactation can be induced through medical intervention and injections of prolactin and estrogen. Some medications, such as the antipsychotic Thorazine, popular in the 20th century, are known to induce lactation in men as a side effect. Natural lactation in men is rare, but possible. For example, during World War II, thousands of men held in Japanese POW camps or Nazi concentration camps breastfed.
This occurs due to starvation and malnutrition. Starvation slows down the function of the pituitary gland, which produces hormones, and the liver, which breaks them down. Later, when food becomes available, the glands recover much faster than the liver, leading to a sharp increase in hormone levels and, ultimately, lactation. Alternatively, a pituitary tumor can also trigger lactation, as it causes the gland to secrete more milk-producing hormones. (source)