These Fascinating Facts Are Worth All The Attention

It's hard to imagine a world before trees, but the earliest known examples of them date back to 350 million years ago. Sharks beat that by about 50 million years and survived four mass extinctions in their 400 million years on this planet.

Internet videos in general were a lot harder to reliably find back then, which gave Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim the idea to create a one-stop shop for them.

At least, that was plan B...

The trio had given it the name Tune In Hook Up, but it didn't attract much interest, so it didn't last long. After all, dating was already awkward enough without a comments section.

This apparently had less to do with the wall itself and more to do with corruption and fighting in the Ming Empire, but that still doesn't change the fact that Tatar forces broke through it in 1550.

The stuff apparently ends up looking like a mixture of milk and antifreeze, and it's a good thing that it's so easy to spot because humans have relied on it for decades.

Seriously.

It's incredibly sensitive to bacteria contamination, so every vaccine, IV drip, and medical implant needs to be exposed to it before we can make sure it's safe to use.

If they find any traces of nuclear bombs from the Cold War in the canvas, that tips them off to the fact that the painting is much newer than it's supposed to be.

If a group of fish come from the same species, "fish" is what you say. If members of other species have tagged along for the ride, then go with "fishes."

You're welcome.

At least, that's what the workers of a Broad Street brewery found out when they decided to meet all their needs with the free beer they got and none of them fell ill.

That might not be something you'll want to remember on your next vacation, but anything can happen at sea and they need to be ready.Hey, at least it's not found near the kitchen.

Moreover, Dr. Robert Epstein admitted this happened to him not once, but twice. So don't feel embarrassed if one catfishes you, because it literally happens to the best of us.

Despite being over three decades old, the Sega Master System sold 150,000 units per year in Brazil at least as recently as 2015. That's likely why production of the Genesis started up again back in 2016.

Not only is that not a joke, but it's actually developing into a serious problem because it turns out we really need sand for construction.

And even if you think you could live without seeing cool glass sculptures like this again, we need sand for electronics, too. Yeah, those massive iPhone lines tell us we'd really like to keep those around.

It was originally used to describe "jay-drivers" who drove their carriages on the wrong side of the road, but it wasn't hard to adapt the word "jay," an old-timey way of saying "noob," to walking.

Since early movie theater tickets let you sit in there all day, a Broadway producer named Nils Grandlund thought it would be a good idea to promote one of his plays in between films.

As one takes the lion's share of the workload, the other takes a break and only accepts a little air in a process called the "nasal cycle." This is also why one seems more stuffed up than the other when you have a cold.

They were supposed to be a way to ward off evil spirits in Ireland, but these edible gargoyles were made from pumpkins after Irish immigrants discovered them in North America.

At least, that's what was decided in a United Nations treaty in 1967. Apparently, it doesn't say anything about individuals owning it, though.

So, you can theoretically claim some territory yourself...if you can somehow make it up there.

The game was invented in Germany in 1892, where it was called "Stern-Halma." By the 1920's, the name had somehow switched to "Hop Ching Checkers," which then became "Chinese Checkers."

While this problem is hitting Flint and Detroit, Michigan and Gary, Indiana particularly hard, the total number of abandoned units has gone up by at least 2.1 million since 2005.

Urban explorers will be happy about this, but they're probably the only ones.

While none of us may be too thrilled about the smell, it's very effective at getting flies and carrion beetles to come pollinate the flower.

Fortunately for the rest of us, these plants are pretty rare, which is likely why this one is made of Lego.

While they seem to prefer growing into larger shells, they can also shrink themselves to accommodate smaller ones. So, we're not the only ones who can get used to living in small apartments.