Cumin is an annual plant of the parsley family. Dried fruits of the cumin plant, which look more like seeds, are used as a spice in many different cuisines. If it helps, the difference between an herb and a spice has to do with which part of the plant is used. 🧵⬇️
At the 1936 Olympics, Haiti and Liechtenstein discovered they essentially had the same flag. To avoid future confusion, Haiti added its national crest, and Liechtenstein added a yellow crown. Both are really, really ridiculously good-looking.
While working at Toronto’s Second City Theater, Catherine O’Hara was made Gilda Radner’s understudy. When Radner left in 1974, O’Hara became a member of the company, and her ability to imbue her comedic characters with depth and humanity launched a decades-long career.
An estimated one septillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) snowflakes fall worldwide every year. We may have come close this week.
Greenland sharks are believed to be the longest-living vertebrates on Earth. Researchers have determined that one female is around 400 years old. That means she was alive during the Napoleonic Wars, the Boston Tea Party, Charles Darwin, and ABBA winning Eurovision.
For no reason at all: how does salt melt ice? There is a layer of water above ice, which allows salt to dissolve into ions. Ions make it harder for water molecules to bond together into ice crystals. This is called 'freezing point depression,' and no, SAD lamps don't help.🧵⬇️
Aquarius’s representation as a man pouring a stream of water out of a jug may be because in ancient times, the rising of Aquarius coincided with a period of floods and rain in the Middle East. Another conspiracy theory for them to consider.
When a container of mixed nuts is shaken, the largest nuts rise to the top. This phenomenon is known as the ‘Brazil nut effect,’ and there are a couple of mechanisms at play. Or: “Making physics fun with snacks.” 🧵⬇️
A chicken can be placed in a hypnotic-like trance called “tonic immobility” by holding its head to the ground and drawing a straight line in the dirt from the tip of its beak outward on the ground. We don't know what to do with this information, either.
Protestors are currently flying an old version of Iran’s flag, both in Tehran and worldwide as their movement gains momentum. Here’s some information on the old flag, as well as Iran’s current one.
If lizards had legs, they'd kick you. (they do and they would)
The Mercator projection is widely used for navigation charts, but is less practical for world maps, because the scale is distorted and areas farther away from the Equator appear disproportionately large.
A timeline of the January 2nd U.S. military mission to arrest and remove Venezuelan Pres. Nicolás Maduro and his wife. 🧵⬇️
Loons feed mainly on fish, crustaceans, and insects, which you could say are their heated rivals.
During his lifetime, Claude Monet painted more than 250 water lilies paintings, seemingly never stopping to say, “Enough. Enough for now.”
Mistletoes are parasitic plants. Some have explosive fruits; some fling their babies to new branches they can infect. They can also cause abnormal growths called “witches’ brooms” that deform the branches and decrease the reproductive ability of the host. Romantic.
Florida upside down kind of looks like the Grinch. Who knew the 27th state, consisting of mostly geologically young, low-lying plains, had such strong feelings about Christmas?
FYI: “Capricornus” usually refers to the zodiacal constellation, and “Capricorn” usually refers to the astrological sign. Capricorns would want you to get that right.
December 21 is the winter solstice, which means that in the Northern Hemisphere: - The path of the Sun is farthest south in the sky - The Sun travels the shortest path, giving the day the least daylight and the longest night - Things can only get lighter from here
All I want for Christmas is…a painting of a mouse riding a lobster. Christmas cards during the Victorian Era tended to be rather unusual, reflecting an offbeat sense of humor before Christmas iconography had solidified into what it is today. Let’s shake this tree down. 🧵⬇️
Feel free to use this as your OOO message for the rest of the year:
Reindeer generally stick to a plant-based diet, and in winter, they rely on high-carbohydrate lichens called reindeer moss, which they reach by digging craters in the snow. Bacon-wrapped scallops would certainly be a treat.
During most kidney transplants, the diseased kidneys are not removed. The new kidney is added to the lower abdominal area to allow easy connection to the bladder.
Happy Hanukka/Chanukah/Hannukah! Because it’s a transliterated word from Hebrew, there are many different spellings for the holiday (24, according to the OED). All are acceptable, but if it’s spelled with a “Ch,” the first sound is still “H” (cc: Smokey Robinson).
Happy 100th birthday to Dick Van Dyke. Among his diverse jobs in show business, from 1947–53 Van Dyke and a partner played in nightclubs with a comedy pantomime act, billed as the Merry Mutes. Lucky for us, he didn't stay mute very long. www.britannica.com/biography/Di...
Dick Van Dyke | Biography, TV Show, Films, Mary Poppins, & Facts | Britannica
Dick Van Dyke is an American actor and comedian known for his affable charm, comedic timing, and loose-limbed physical comedy. He is most celebrated for his roles in the TV shows The Dick Van Dyke Sho...
britannica.com
Counting the number of times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds and adding 40 will tell you the temperature in Fahrenheit. Your phone will also give you this information.
Yule ≠ Christmas Yule is one of the oldest winter solstice festivals, with origins among the ancient Norse thousands of years ago. Although today it’s heavily associated with, and even confused with, Christmas, the celebration existed long before Christianity. 🧵⬇️
