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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Jordan Moore
Water is often called the “universal solvent” because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. This means that wherever water goes, it carries with it, chemicals and substances.
The Ogallala Aquifer
A fairly recent law (2011) makes it illegal to be shirtless in Barcelona, Spain.
It’s illegal to climb trees in Toronto, Ontario and it’s also verboten to swear in that city’s public parks. After all, Canadians are nothing if not polite people!
A fish’s age can be determined by counting rings on its scales or those on its ear bones, which are known as otoliths. These are similar to the rings on trees.
Unlike most fish, which give birth by laying eggs, some shark species - such as hammerheads, bull, and blue sharks - give birth to fully formed “pups.”
Carp includes a number of oily fish species native to Eurasia but considered invasive in most other parts of the world. Goldfish and koi are members of the carp family, Cyprinidae.
Except for sharks, most fish don’t have eyelids.
All fish have vertical tail fins, while aquatic mammals, such as dolphins and whales, have horizontal tail fins. This is probably due to a strange quirk of evolution.
Members of the catfish family are “naked” fish without scales. Since catfish don’t have scales, they aren’t “kosher”!
When the Pet Rock hit the store shelves in 1975, it became a fad. The fad faded quickly but lasted long enough for creator Gary Dahl to make millions.
Although the people of Pre-Columbia Mesoamerica never developed wheeled vehicles, they did create what are believed to be wheeled toys for their children.
Hasbro first used the term “action figure” in 1964 to refer to its G.I. Joe figures because they didn’t think boys would want a toy called a doll.
After the 1970-71 TV season, American TV executives collectively cancelled nearly all of the Western and other rural-themed shows in what became known as the “rural purge.”
WASH is an acronym for “water, sanitation, and hygiene.”
The average person will spend about one to one and a half years on the toilet in a lifetime. Men spend more time on the throne than women.
Jain monks are forbidden from washing any parts of their bodies except their hands and feet. Bathing kills microorganisms, which is against the creed of Jain monks.
In 2018, the monetization rules were changed to require 1,000 subscribers who watch at least 4,000 hours of content.
Although TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government blocks the overseas version, tiktok.com, on the mainland.
Linen is a textile made from the flax plant.
the average woman hasn’t worn $550 worth of clothing they own or about 20% of their wardrobe. Interestingly, shoes are the number one unworn item.
haberdasher
On average, Americans spend about 3.5% of their income on clothes. This may seem like a lot, but it’s down quite a bit from the 11.5% of the 1950s.
mullets,
A Calico is not a breed; it’s any tri-color coat domestic cat. Calico cats are almost always female.
A dog’s brain is larger than a cat’s, but a cat’s brain is more complex. Cat brains have about 300 million neurons compared to about 160 million for dogs.
It’s commonly believed that one human year equals seven cat years. Vets, though, multiply the cat’s year by four and add 16 years to get the “cat years.”
weasels
clowder
Although cats do love milk, and it’s not inherently toxic for them, most cats are actually lactose intolerant.
A cat usually has 24 whiskers, 12 on each side. Whiskers help cats navigate and determine distance, although they technically don’t help them “see” any better.
Islam has traditionally viewed dogs as “unclean,” so they aren’t very common as pets in the Middle East. Cats were kept by Mohammad and considered “clean.”
It takes just under 24 hours for the Earth to rotate. The precise time is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and four seconds.
From 1700 to 1712, Sweden used its own calendar, which resulted in a February 30 in 1712. Sweden went back to the Julian calendar in 1712.
A hurricane is a storm system that rapidly rotates and is marked by a low-pressure center, or “eye.” In most locations, these are known as cyclones, but in the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, they are hurricanes.
The Maya storm god was named Huracan, which may be the origin of the word “Hurricane,”
Hurricanes/cyclones spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, but cyclones in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise. This because in the southern hemisphere, winds traveling toward the equator will move eastward, and winds traveling toward the South Pole will curve west, which is known as
the Coriolis effect.
The largest piece of hail recorded was found in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010. It weighed nearly two pounds and was eight inches in diameter.
The Unification Church, also known as the Moonies,
consanguineous
betrothed
Elopement
Charivari
caper”
blasphemy
apostasy.
Warrior goddesses were not uncommon in the ancient world. The Greek goddess Athena, the Assyrian goddess Ishtar, and the Egyptian lioness headed goddess Sekhmet, were all martial deities.
Hirudotherapy is the medical practice whereby leeches are applied to a person’s body to reduce swelling in the tissue.
When NASA launched the Vanguard 1 satellite on March 17, 1958, it was the first satellite to use solar electric power. It’s still orbiting the Earth!
