mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
On January 1, BBC News posted their list of 100 things we didn’t know last year, a fun list of tidbits from around the world. By each tidbit, a “more details” link leads to a BBC story explaining it. Here are some favorites:
16. Chimpanzees make their own spears for hunting.
20. More than half (52%) of smokers haven’t told their parents about their habit.
34. Kryptonite exists.
49. CDs were nearly called mini-racks.
62. Until the late 1990s, the RAF’s nuclear bombs could be activated using a bicycle lock key.
See also: lists from 2006, 2005, and 2004. (Via kottke.org.)
I’m a smoker for 5 years now and mom still doesn’t know. I’m 23.
posted by Sara on 1-8-2008 at 12:16 pm
With respect to #62 and the bicycle lock, do remember that it was an English bicycle lock, and so that is quite all right. Cheers!
posted by Kent on 1-15-2008 at 2:04 pm