![http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naturaltroll1.jpg](http://www.futilitycloset.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/09/2010-09-03-a-natural-troll.jpg)
Like mermaids, trolls probably joined the culture when people misperceived perfectly natural phenomena. This one “lives” on the coast of the island of Hamarøy in Norway.
Like mermaids, trolls probably joined the culture when people misperceived perfectly natural phenomena. This one “lives” on the coast of the island of Hamarøy in Norway.
An optical illusion. There’s no spiral, just concentric circles.
Tallest U.S. presidents:
And shortest:
The world’s most popular languages, by number of native speakers:
“The great thing about human language,” wrote Lewis Thomas, “is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand.”
“Years ago it meant something to be crazy; now everybody’s crazy.” — Charles Manson
Famous people who have died by choking:
A falling person reaches a top speed of around 120 mph. After that, all falls are equally dangerous: If you survive the lack of oxygen, a fall of 10,000 feet won’t necessarily hurt you any more than 2,000 feet.
During World War II, at least three airmen survived free falls of around 20,000 feet without a parachute. All three lost consciousness, and two of them landed in deep snow.
In 1972, a Yugoslavian flight attendant fell from 33,330 feet when terrorists blew up her DC-9 over Czechoslovakia. She broke both legs and was paralyzed from the waist down, but only temporarily.
When financier Charles Vance Millar died in Toronto in 1926, he willed his fortune to the woman who had the most children in the next 10 years.
And people took him up on it — in the end, four women tied at nine births apiece. Each got $125,000.
The period is known as “The Great Stork Derby.”