52 things I learned in 2019

[OfTheCross]

Some of these are

1. Each year humanity produces 1,000 times more transistors than grains of rice and wheat combined.
2. Emojis are starting to appear in evidence in court cases, and lawyers are worried: “When emoji symbols are strung together, we don’t have a reliable way of interpreting their meaning.” (In 2017, an Israeli judge "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">had to decide if one emoji-filled message constituted a verbal contract)
3. Baijiu is the world’s most popular spirit, with 10bn litres sold each year, almost entirely in China. The second most popular spirit in the world is vodka, with just 5bn litres sold. [
4. Drunk shopping could be a $45bn /year industry, and only 6% of people regret their drunk purchases.
5. The goal of walking 10,000 steps per day may have originated when a Japanese pedometer manufacturer noticed that the 万 symbol (which means 10,000) looks a little like someone walking. The actual health merits of that number ‘have never been validated by research.’
6. People hate asking sensitive questions. However, it turns out that people don’t hate being asked sensitive questions. So talking around difficult questions in research interviews is a waste of time and money.
7. Black women in the United States die in childbirth at roughly the same rate as women in Mongolia.
8. Sometime in the 1990s, it seems the US forgot how to make a critical component of some nuclear warheads.
9. Three million students at US schools don’t have the internet at home.
10. No babies born in Britain in 2016 were named Nigel. ["); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">Jonathan Ore] (Correction: Robert Colvile, who "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">broke the original story, points out that there could have been one or two Nigels in 2016 — the ONS only reports names with three or more examples)
11. In 2018, the Nigerian government spent more on subsidies for petrol than on health, education, or defence. ]
12. CD sales still make up 78% of music revenue in Japan (compared with less than 30% in the UK). Japanese pop fans have been encouraged to buy multiple copies of their favourite releases to win rewards (buy 2,000 copies, "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">win a night at a hot spring with your favourite star). One 32 year-old fan was charged with illegally "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px);">dumping 585 copies of a CD on the side of a mountain.] [found by TomBot*]
13. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were invented by a cleaner at a Frito-Lay factory. He’s now VP of multicultural sales for PepsiCo America.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

"Black women in the United States die in childbirth at roughly the same rate as women in Mongolia."

I've known this for a while. In some southern states the childbirth mortality rate for Black women is several times worse. It is a REALLY big issue and one that the health care debate largely ignores. If you ain't fighting for better health care for everyone then you're culpable in the deaths of Black mothers.



"In 2018, the Nigerian government spent more on subsidies for petrol than on health, education, or defence."

Another one I've been talking about on here before, Nigeria has just turned into a corrupt petro-state. It's oil wealth is useless for the welfare of its people.




"In 2017 Google and Facebook lost $100 million between them to one scammer who sent them fake invoices."



How does someone even get that bold? Like, wouldn't you think, "I've pulled in $5 million I think I'm gonna cut and run now."

 

[OfTheCross]

"Black women in the United States die in childbirth at roughly the same rate as women in Mongolia."

I've known this for a while. In some southern states the childbirth mortality rate for Black women is several times worse. It is a REALLY big issue and one that the health care debate largely ignores. If you ain't fighting for better health care for everyone then you're culpable in the deaths of Black mothers.



"In 2018, the Nigerian government spent more on subsidies for petrol than on health, education, or defence."

Another one I've been talking about on here before, Nigeria has just turned into a corrupt petro-state. It's oil wealth is useless for the welfare of its people.




"In 2017 Google and Facebook lost $100 million between them to one scammer who sent them fake invoices."



How does someone even get that bold? Like, wouldn't you think, "I've pulled in $5 million I think I'm gonna cut and run now."

RE: the Black childbirth mortality rate

That's a topic that Bernie Sanders touches on frequently in in rallies and town halls.

lol @ the dude scamming Google and Facebook tho.


@us forgetting how to make nuclear bombs