A list of curious facts
One: Back in 1990, eight remaining nuns of the order of St Clare—aged between 61 and 93—sold their Bruges convent for a handy $1.4 million. The holy sisters then purchased a fleet of cars including a $110,000 Mercedes limousine with a bar, racehorses and a chateau—and drove off to the South of France. The nickname for the order: Poor Clares:) Radar has this crazy story that reads like a “Hollywood movie with subplots.”
Two: New York University offers a course on Taylor Swift—which focuses on Swift’s songwriting, her feud with Kanye West and her impact on the music industry. The course consisted of listening to the singer’s albums, watching interviews and performances—students were expected to turn in a 2,000 word paper at the end of the course. Now, that’s your parents’ hard-earned savings well spent! (Wall Street Journal)
Three: Sarla Thakral was India’s first woman pilot who earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the age of 21 and flew a Gypsy Moth solo—in a sari! Despite losing her husband at a young age, she planned to become the first commercial pilot, but the World War intervened. She went on to move to Delhi, remarry and became a famous textile designer and artist. And on August 8, 2021, Google Doodle commemorated her 107th birth anniversary. Now, that’s truly a life story worth emulating! You can read more in this wonderful Paper Clip thread.
Four: If you need a break from all the bad girls, here’s something different. Scientists have discovered the world’s largest bacteria—which is two cm long, visible to the naked eye, and 5000X the size of the average microbe. They think it could be a missing link between single-cell organisms and the cells that make up the human body. See how large it is below. (BGR)
