From a slow start in 1978 Space Invaders experienced a meteoric ascension to become a true icon as it is today. The mere image of one of the ‘aliens’ instantly brings to mind video games as a whole. Its sudden rise in popularity after its initial 2 months was on a scale never seen before. In Japan, the home of video games, it became so popular that it managed to cause a thankfully temporary 100 yen shortage, a feat so notable that it was recorded in the 2008 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. It also forced the Japanese to further increase the amount of 100 yen coins they were producing each year.
Within 2 years of release the game was making some serious ground. Arcades with nothing but Space Invaders machines opened up, and it was seen by many as the first case where games came even close to competing with major forms of entertainment such as Film. Video games were much more marginalised in the 1980’s, but Space Invaders came to the fore, its success was a precursor to the position video games now occupy in the 21st Century, the largest of all the entertainment forms.
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–This Article comes courtesy of my good friend Jack Evans.–
In 1942, American dental surgeon Lytle S. Adams was contemplating bats. As World War II raged on around him he looked into bats as a possible weapon, some kind of animal attack that could no doubt be harnessed in the fight, specifically the Empire of Japan. Four potentially useful biological features of bats were noted, each of which was essential to producing one of the least known, yet most deadly products of the war.
Firstly, they could be found in huge numbers in Texas. This would mean they could easily be ‘mass produced’ as a weapon. Secondly, they could carry more than their own weight in-flight – females can even fly whilst carrying twins. Thirdly, bats can hibernate and during this do not need food or indeed any kind of sustenance or maintenance. If this could be harnessed, they could be made dormant and stored for large lengths of time, then awakened and unleashed on an unsuspecting enemy. Lastly, they fly in darkness and seek out buildings in the day time, meaning that they are both a stealth weapon and would home in on vulnerable buildings. Along with this, bats held other natural advantages. They could defy conventional detection systems. They were difficult to destroy using existing air defences and could easily navigate the confines of cities. With these advantages, he came up with the perfect way to weaponise bats; and so he created the bat-bomb.
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Tags: animal cruelty, animals, article, bat, bizarre, bomb, countries, fact, history, humans, interesting, japan, most odd, mostodd, odd, odd facts, population, trivia, usa, weapon, weird, world, world war II, WWII
Subsaharan Africa is an inhospitable place at best, life maintains a tenuous grasp on that hot and arid landscape. It has long presented a great challenge to travelers, expeditionaries and nomads alike. Crossing the Sahara even today is quite an undertaking. In 1969 humanity first set its footprints into the lunar dust, in the Shara another frontier was being broken. Overshadowed by the moon landing but still deserving of its own plaudits. For in 1969, humanity also first crossed the Sahara, in a bus. Well I say bus, really it is more than that. Not so technically advanced as the space shuttle but something equally as novel. It was ROTEL.
ROTEL is a simple concept from Germany, a hotel on wheels. Check in, tour the world then check out. To this day ROTEL still runs, operating tens of buses visiting over 150 countries. Touring from Baghdad, Bali, Scandinavia, the Arctic circle to just about any other country. For over 40 years ROTEL has provided the lazy explorer with the world. All in relative comfort, not decadence but at least from a position most unique. Where else after all, does the room itself take you to your destination?
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Sokushinbutsu is the name, a practice no longer observed or condoned by any Buddhist sect, self-mummification requires patience, dedication and a steely determination. Preparing for and living through your own death is an unpleasant process, truly a suicide slow.
It begins with 1000 days of withering. For just under three years only nuts and seeds are eaten, stripping any person of their body fat. Combined with this was a punishing exercise regime. After the initial thousand days the next stage was employed.
The next thousand days saw a shift, the only permitted solid consumption was a mixture of bark and roots. Then came a new tincture, the sap of the Urushi tree. A substance used to lacquer bowls. When ingested it is poisonous, causing rapid evacuation of their bellies and bowels. This was not the main purpose though, whilst it did test fortitude there was a practical use. Three years of imbibing that deathly sap would spread poison through the whole body, tainting all reaches. The aim was to make the body so poisonous that no maggot or other animal would consume it after death. In turn, preventing any rot or deterioration after death.
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The 15 stripes flag
For the majority of its life, the United States flag has had far less than 50 stars. In fact the number tends to move a lot, since its inception the United States flag has changed 26 times.
The original was only 13 stars and 13 stripes, that lasted for 18 years. The Vermont and Kentucky joined, the flag was changed, increasing the number of stripes to its maximum. 1975 to 1818 America managed to have 15 stars and 15 stripes. then more states joined and someone, namely President James Monroe, decided to take away the two extra stripes and just add a new star for each state.
Thanks to the rapidly increasing number of states, the United States did run through flags very quickly, in fact there have been nine flags in total which have only been in use for a year before being phased out. Unlike Denmark which has had the same flag for at least 500 years.
In this vein, one can praise the United States for being prepared; in case some new states are suddenly added the United States Army Institute of Heraldry has ready-designed flags with up to 56 stars. The current American one has lasted 50 years, nothing compared to Denmark, but a long time for the U.S. In fact it is their flag with the longest ‘lifespan’ so to speak. Maybe it’s time to change it. Possibly add a state here, or take one away, the possibilities are endless.
Bonus Fact : There are 6 U.S. flags on the moon, that’s more flags than any other nation – for the moment at least.
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The beautiful house pictured above belongs to Icelandic singer Bjork, who got it for free.
It is on an island called Elliðaey near Vestmannaeyjar, a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. It was a gift from her motherland, as a form of thanks for finally putting Iceland on the international map.
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A small shock awaits anyone who flies from Tonga to Samoa these days.
The flight takes two hours in the air, but crosses the international date line. Meaning you arrive before you left. Therefore the flight takes a total of negative 22 hours were you to trust the watches.
Tags: countries, flights, flying, funny, geography, interesting, most odd, mostodd, movement, odd, odd facts, planes, samoa, time, tonga, tourism, travel, trivia, weird, world
Language is the product of its parent culture and reflects it invariably. As other cultures seem strange do us so do their words. As such the following is a small portion of words with no direct equivalent in English:
- Dreimannerwein(German) – A wine so disgusting that it takes three men to make you drink it.
- Age-Otori(Japanese) – Looking less attractive after a change in your hairstyle.
- Raphanidóo(Ancient Greek) – To insert a radish into someone’s gluteus maximus.
- Tartle(Scottish) – Pausing when introducing someone because you have forgotten their name.
- L’appel du vide(French) – “The call of the the void,” the instinctive urge to jump from high places. Read the rest of this entry »
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In 1959 and 1960 the United States Air Force ran Project Excelsior, a series of 3 extreme altitude parachute jumps. These 3 jumps were undertaken by Captain Joseph Kittinger and set the record for the fastest speed reached by a human without a vehicle and the worlds highest parachute jump at 31 kilometres above sea level. Both records still stand.
In the 1950’s, military jets were reaching ever higher into the atmosphere and there were concerns about safety when ejecting at high altitudes. Tests with dummies showed that pilots at high altitudes would uncontrollably spin with a potentially fatal speed. A new special multi-stage parachute was designed to stop the spinning. Then there was another problem, the chill.
At higher altitudes temperatures reach as low as -70°C, this was less than healthy for anyone; so a special pressure suit was designed to combat both the extreme pressure changes and the low temperatures. It was a bit on the bulky side, combined with the new parachutes the whole ensemble weighed as much as Captain Kittinger. Then came the first extreme altitude jump, Excelsior I.
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Tags: aeronatuics, air force, airforce, america, atmosphere, balloon, cloud, countries, death, falling, history, humans, interesting, life, military RAF, most odd, mostodd, NASA, odd, odd facts, parachuting, physics, pressure, record, records, science, sky diving, skydiving, space, temperature, time, usa, weather, world, world records
The shortest place name in the world can be claimed by a small fishing village in Norway. The name is – Å.
It is pronounced ‘aw‘ and it means river in Scandinavian languages. It lies inside the arctic circle and is the proud location of the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum.
There are other places called Å, but this one is special. It is special thanks to a new cycling route that started there and went, from Å to the hamlet of Bee in Nebraska, USA. From A to B, literally, or at least as close as you can get without founding your own settlement, which is cheating.
The route is 5600 miles long and goes through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and America. The result of the curious route is that Å has now become a minor tourist spot, attracting those who love brevity in place names, or quite like cycling. for this increased fame ,Å has paid the price. The road sign for the village is a bit of a novelty; and is frequently stolen.
Further Reading
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Most Odd - Facts of Interest 