KEEP IN MIND
- Dec 17
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Because of light pollution, many birds around the globe sing almost an hour longer today than historically or than those living more remotely.
Hunted to near extinction, since the 1980s green sea turtles have been listed as 'endangered.' Decades of sustained conservation has just resulted in their status being lifted to 'least concern'.
https://www.popsci.com/environment/green-sea-turtles-not-endangered
The volume of a typical cloud is around one cubic kilometre (or a billion cubic metres). With a water droplet density of approximately 0.5 grams per cubic meter, your average white fluffy cloud would weigh around 500,000 kilograms (1.1 million pounds or around 500 metric tonnes).
https://weatherworksinc.com/news/how-much-does-a-cloud-weigh
Researchers now believe HIV began spreading in the early 1900s, perhaps somewhere between 1910 and 9030, but was unnoticed until the 1980s because related fatalities resembled those of other diseases common in rural areas of Africa.
http://www.corevih-bretagne.fr/CROI_2018/Articles_Lundi5/Faria_Ignition_Science_2014.pdf
A recent study looking at temperature-related death over the last 20 years showed that across the globe climate change was responsible for over 30% of heat-related deaths, or roughly 175,000 fatalities. They also found climate change reduced cold-related neonatal deaths by more than twice that, roughly 457,000, over the same period.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49890-x
Due to the belief that they did not feel pain, prior to 1985 it was common for surgeons to operate on babies without first giving them anesthesia.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1526590013000254
A systematic review looked at randomized controlled trials recently published in leading medical journals and found nearly 400 ineffective medical practices and tools still in use.
https://elifesciences.org/articles/45183
Suicide rates have declined significantly (perhaps 30-40%) in 25 years.
https://www.iasp.info/2025/06/02/who-suicide-data
Part of the additional genetic material found on chromosome 21 of people with Down syndrome appears to be anti-cancer genes, resulting in this population having roughly half the rate of solid cancers.
Fingerprint patterns are shaped by a combination of genetic and environmental factors during development in the womb. While genetics determine the general pattern (like loops and swirls), the details arise from random influences such as fetus position, growth rate, amniotic fluid pressure, umbilical cord length, and nutrient access. As such, even identical twins have unique fingerprints.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-identical-twins-have-different-fingerprints-2
Since 2018, three studies have shown the famous Marshmallow Test, looking at a child's ability to delay gratification, is not an early skill predictive of long-term health, behaviour, or achievement.
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.14129
Undergraduates at Harvard and Yale diagnosed with a disability hovered around 3% a decade ago. Today they make up roughly 20% of students. At the same time 40% of students at Stanford were registered disabled while only 8% at MIT are.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/12/8/harvard-undergrad-disabilities-climb
More than two billion people have yet to use the internet (and most users have poor quality access or lack quality sites and information in their own language.)
The population of Manhattan peaked at 2.33 million residents in 1910. Manhattan currently has a population of just 1.66 million.
https://urbanomnibus.net/2014/10/the-rise-and-fall-of-manhattans-density
The guy who gifted us leaded gasoline also invented CFCs. He died a decorated hero in the world of chemistry, believing he'd made the world a better place.
https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/cautionary-tales/the-inventor-who-almost-ended-the-world
