A list of curious facts
Colour me orange: Rivers in Alaska are beginning to resemble Donald Trump. The reason: Melting permafrost that is leaching iron into the waters—which are literally rusting. FYI: This water is toxic for wildlife. (Atlas Obscura)
A very tall drink of whiskey: The world’s most expensive bottle of whiskey sold for £1.1 million ($1.4 million) in 2023. The price tag, however, is a reflection of its size not quality. Standing at 5 feet 11 inches—the bottle is taller than the average human. Far more impressive: The bottle of Louis XIII cognac circa 1874—which sold for a sweet $2,188,280 this year. (The Guardian)
Hello, ‘upflation’: That’s what biz papers are calling the latest dirty trick being used to lighten our wallets. Here’s how it works: You take an existing product—rebrand it for a ‘new use’—and charge more for it. So you pay $14 for “all-over body deodorant”—double the cost of a standard stick—and $5 more for a razor for “tricky areas” than the regular Venus. (Bloomberg News, paywall, Business Insider)
Seen our second Moon? Did you know there’s another piece of rock that circles our planet… sorta. It's a “near-Earth asteroid”—meaning it “appears to orbit the Earth but is actually orbiting the Sun at the same time as Earth.” The asteroid is actually a Moon fragment that broke off 1-10 million years ago. The best bit is its name: Kamo`oalewa— Hawaiian for ‘oscillating celestial fragment'. (TIME Magazine)
A bonus fact: The Cerne Abbas Giant is a very large naked man carved into the ground in Dorset. Turns out it’s not a prehistoric relic—as previously believed—but a 9th century marker for a meeting place for the military (odd choice!). It’s supposedly inspired by Hercules… just saying. (BBC News)
