Water, Water Everywhere
Estimated minimum gallons of water used annually to produce Coca Cola products: 8,000,000,000,000 Portion of the world’s population that amount would supply with drinking water each year: 1/4
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Covered In Bees
Wearing only his underpants, a Chinese beekeeper set a new Guinness World Record this week after he covered himself in 240 pounds of bees. Organizers placed several queen bees on Gao Bingguo, 55, to attract the workers, and then dumped boxes of bees on Gao until he was wearing a buzzing coat of 1.1 million insects. He smoked a cigarette […]
Read moreMedication In The U.S.
Portion of Americans who are currently taking at least one prescription drug: 1/2 Who are taking five or more: 1/10 Estimated number of U.S. children aged two or three being prescribed ADHD medication: 14,000
Read moreNot Becoming A Statistic
Trameka Pope has a lot to be proud of. The 19-year-old was homeless as a child and had a daughter right before she entered ninth grade, but next week she’ll graduate as valedictorian of Chicago’s Wendell Phillips Academy High School. The teen mom is a cheerleader and member of the National Honor Society, and in the fall she’ll attend Western […]
Read moreOh, That Smell
A specimen of the world’s largest flower, the titan arum, is about to bloom at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. To attract carrion insects, the flower emits a stench botanists likened to “a very dead elephant.”
Read moreHomelesness In New York City
Percentage by which New York City’s homeless-shelter population increased under Bloomeberg: 65 Portion of the city’s shelter population who are children: 2/5
Read moreJoining Jihadist Groups
Young Muslims are still flocking to radical jihadist groups in record numbers. A United Nations study found that at least 25,000 people from more than 100 nations have left home to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other radical groups. The number of foreign terrorist fighters worldwide increased by 71 percent from mid-2014 to March 2015.
Read moreTHE FASTEST TRAINS
A magnetic levitation passenger train set a world speed record of 375 m.p.h. (603 km/h) on a test track in Japan on April 21. Here are top operating speeds, in miles per hour, of some of the world’s other fastest trains: Shanghai Maglev Train, China: 268 TGV, France: 199 AVE, Spain: 193 Sapsan, Russia: 155 Acela Express, U.S.: 150
Read moreRisky Professions
One in six roofers suffers an injury each year. The least risky profession: Legal services.
Read moreGreat Government Giveaways
The Dutch city of Utrecht will give unconditional monthly payments of about $1,000 to select citizens starting in January 2016 to see whether “basic income” can work as a means of welfare. Various other governments have resorted to unusual handouts to achieve certain ends: DUBAI City officials tried to boost public transport in November by raffling off prizes, including 8.8-lb. […]
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