1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (124 page)

FACT :
Burping cows emit up to
100 gallons of methane gas per animal each day
, joining other livestock to create nearly a third of man-made methane emissions annually. Methane is a greenhouse gas that warms Earth’s atmosphere at twenty-one times the rate of carbon dioxide.
You don’t even want to know about their farts.

Bettina Gartner, “How Better-Fed Cows Could Cool the Planet,” Christian Science Monitor, August 16, 2007,
www.csmonitor.com
.

946

FACT :
Depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer aggravates health effects caused by exposure to UV radiation. Even a 10 percent loss of ozone could cause an additional
300,000 skin cancers
and up to 1.75 million more cases of cataracts worldwide every year.
It’s easier to get a tan now, though.

“Ultraviolet Radiation and Health,” World Health Organizations,
www.who.int
.

947

FACT :
One gallon of used motor oil can ruin approximately
1 million gallons of fresh water
.
Hello? That’s why we seal up the barrels before we toss them in the ocean.

“Why We Should Recycle Used Oil,” L.A. County Department Of Public Works,
www.dpw.lacounty.gov
.

948

FACT :
In 1979 Skylab, the first U.S. space station,
crashed to Earth
in pieces.
So did David Bowie, but nobody cared about that, either.

“Fun Science Facts You Didn’t Know,” High Tech Science,
www.hightechscience.org
.

949

FACT :
Because of time zones, if you fly from London to New York by Concorde, you can arrive
two hours before you departed
.
I knew the Concorde was fast, but damn.

“Fun Science Facts You Didn’t Know,” High Tech Science,
www.hightechscience.org
.

950

FACT :
A bolt of lightning discharges up to
100 million volts
and 30,000 amperes of electricity, and at 54,000°F (30,000°C), is roughly six times hotter than the sun.
That’s why it’s not a bad idea to always carry Neosporin and a Band-Aid with you.

“Fun Science Facts You Didn’t Know,” High Tech Science,
www.hightechscience.org
.

CHAPTER 20
What
the—?!

The Worst of
the Worst and
the Weirdest of
the Weird

951

FACT :
In 2008,
an Illinois woman had her big toe chewed off
by her pet miniature dachshund while napping. Because of diabetes-related nerve damage in her extremities, the woman felt nothing and slept through the attack.
Maybe her feet smelled like cheese. Mine sometimes do.

“‘Beloved Dachshund’ Chews Off Owner’s Toe,” Reuters, July 4, 2008,
www.news.com.au
.

“Sausage Dogs Are the Most Aggressive,” Telegraph UK, July 5, 2008,
www.telegraph.co.uk
.

952

FACT :
Freshly laundered towels might smell and look nice, but if they were washed with underwear,
they could be contaminated with feces
.
That’s the kind of underwear you just throw out, not wash.

Philip M. Tierno, The Secret Life of Germs: What They Are, Why We Need Them, and How We Can Protect Ourselves Against Them (Simon & Schuster, 2004), 93.

953

FACT :
Some of the most prestigious libraries in the United States have
books bound in human skin
.
They don’t have any skin magazines, though, so don’t ask.

M.L. Johnson, “Some of Nation’s Best Libraries Have Books Bound in Human Skin,” Boston Globe, January 7, 2006,
www.boston.com
.