UsefulBS - Straight Facts
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Why do barnacles permanently glue their heads to things and then eat with their feet?
TLDR: Barnacles glue their heads down to build a permanent, safe house. Since they can't move to chase food, they stick their feathery feet out to catch and filter plankton from the water to eat.
Why was a popular paint color made from grinding up actual human mummies?
TLDR: A paint color called Mummy Brown, made from ground-up Egyptian mummies, was popular from the 16th to 19th centuries because the resins and bitumen used in mummification created a uniquely rich and transparent brown pigment. Its use stopped once artists learned of its gruesome origin and the supply of mummies dwindled.
Why does a candle flame become a perfect sphere in outer space?
On Earth, gravity makes hot air rise, pulling the flame upwards into a teardrop shape. In space, without gravity, the flame expands evenly in all directions to find oxygen, forming a perfect sphere.
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How do parrots talk without having vocal cords?
TLDR: Parrots lack vocal cords and instead use a special organ in their chest called a syrinx to produce sound. They then use their thick tongues and beaks to shape these sounds into words, mimicking human speech.
Why do most dreams vanish from memory just moments after waking up?
TLDR: We forget dreams because the brain chemicals needed to create long-term memories are suppressed during sleep, and the flood of new information when you wake up quickly overwrites the bizarre and fragile dream fragments.
Why are the teeth on a wood saw set in an alternating pattern?
TLDR: The teeth are bent left and right to cut a channel wider than the saw blade. This prevents the blade from getting stuck or binding in the wood and allows sawdust to escape, making the cut smoother and faster.
What is the secret mechanism floating inside a Magic 8-Ball?
TLDR: Inside the Magic 8-Ball, a 20-sided die with pre-written answers floats in dark blue liquid. When you turn the ball over, one of the die’s faces randomly floats up to the clear window, revealing your answer.