In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft carrying something unusual: a golden record containing sounds, images, music, and greetings from Earth, intended for any extraterrestrial civilization that might discover it.
The Voyager Golden Record includes greetings in 55 languages, whale songs, thunder, and music ranging from Bach to Chuck Berry. Each spacecraft carries a record made from gold-plated copper, along with instructions explaining how to play it. 🌌💿

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Nightingale floors were used long ago in temples and palaces like Nijō Castle in Kyoto, Japan.

They made a squeaking sound when stepped on because nails rubbed against clamps under the floor.

This helped protect the buildings by warning people of intruders.

Unless you count old squeaky stairs, we don't use this security system anymore.
😉

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Whisky (or whiskey) comes from the Gaelic word "uisge" or "uisce," meaning "water." It is related to the Latin "aqua vitae," which means "water of life." In Gaelic, this was "uisce beatha," meaning the same. 🥃

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@googlefactss #Whisky #Etymology #Language

In ancient Egypt, people believed that the heart held a person's memories, emotions, and moral character.

During the funerary ritual known as the Weighing of the Heart, the deceased's heart was weighed against the feather of Ma'at, the goddess associated with truth and justice.

According to Egyptian mythology, a balanced heart allowed the deceased to enter the afterlife.

An unbalanced heart could be devoured by Ammit, a creature with the head of a crocodile, the front of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus.
⚖️🐊

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Fire-stick farming or cool burning, is a cultural burning practice whereby Aboriginal Australians regularly use fire to burn vegetation, a management technique which has been utilized for thousands of years.

There are a number of purposes for doing this special type of controlled burning, including to facilitate hunting, to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area, weed control, hazard reduction, and increase of biodiversity.

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Aichmophobia is the fear of sharp objects like knives or pins. Trypanophobia is the fear of medical needles or injections.
🗡️💉😨

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#Aichmophobia #Trypanophobia #FearOfNeedles #PhobiaFacts #MentalHealth

In Iceland, Að tefla við páfann is a euphemism for pooping; it can be roughly translated as “playing chess with the pope.”⁠

@googlefactss #europe #slang #nowyouknow

The Panopticon is a building designed so one guard can watch many people without them knowing if they are watched. It has a round shape with cells around a center tower. This idea helps control people by making them feel watched all the time. It was first made for prisons but is used in other places too. 👁️🏢

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The term sakoku (鎖国), literally translates to “chained” or “locked country,” it was a Japanese policy consisting of a series of directives implemented over several years during the Edo period aka Tokugawa period during 1603–1867.

This enforced self-isolation from foreign powers in the early 17th century.

The directives included banning the religion of Christianity and prohibiting Japanese people from making trips or returning from trips overseas.

Foreign trade with various countries was also restricted.

The concept of sakoku largely stemmed from Japan’s mistrust of foreigners, today this would be called xenophobia.
🇯🇵🏯🔐


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The boiling frog theory is often told as a proven fact and as a warning.

The story goes that if you throw a frog into boiling water it will jump out immediately.

But if you place the frog in cold water and slowly heat it, it will stay until the water boils and die.

This is not biologically accurate, real frogs do attempt to escape and boiling water would instantly kill a frog..

The warning in the story however may be true, humans may often not notice that the environment changes in a way that is dangerous to them until it's too late.
🐸🔥☠

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The Bechdel-Wallace Test checks if a movie or story has at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. It shows how women are often missing or only shown in relation to men. Many films fail this simple test, highlighting the need for better female representation in media.
👱‍♀👩‍🦳 🚫🤷‍♂


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#BechdelWallaceTest 🎬 #WomenInFilm #Representation #Equality

The Komodo Dragon used to live in Australia, but is now only found in Indonesia.
🐉🇮🇩🇦🇺

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The first mass-produced cotton swab (Q-tip) was developed in 1923 by Leo Gerstenzang after seeing his wife’s homemade cotton-and-toothpick swabs fail while she used it for their babies eyes and ears.

Unable to find a safer alternative, he invented it.

Originally named "Baby Gays" for infant use, it was later renamed "Q-tips" (Q for quality).

While commonly used to clean ear canals, this contradicts manufacturer advice.

Inserting Q-tips into ears can push wax deeper, irritate skin, or damage the eardrum.

Ears typically clean themselves naturally; consult a doctor if symptoms arise.

[Source 1]
[Source 2]
[Source 3]
[This may help]

Disclaimer: We are not doctors at @GoogleFactss. Always consult your own doctor.

#QTip #Healthcare
#DontPutItInThere

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Dziady (lit. 'grandfathers, forefathers) refers to ancestor spirits and pre-Christian rites in East and West Slavic folklore centered on the "communion of the living with the dead."

These rituals aimed to secure the favor of deceased ancestors, viewed as fertility caretakers.

The term dziady is primarily used in Belarus, Poland, Polesia, Russia, Ukraine, and border areas.

Similar practices, known by other names such as pomynky, przewody, radonitsa, and zaduszki, exist(ed) among Slavs, Balts, and other global cultures.

In Slavic tradition, the feast of the deceased was celebrated at least twice yearly but this depends on the local traditions: Spring dziady around May 1–2, and Autumn dziady on the night of October 31 to November 1 (All Saints Day), preparing for the autumn day of the dead around November 2.

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Boko Haram is an extremist group in northeastern Nigeria. It rejects Western education and wants strict Islamic law.
The name means "fake is forbidden" , fake means western education in this case.
The group raids villages and schools, kidnaps children, and forces some into slavery or as child soldiers. It has also carried out bombings, assassinations, and other attacks. The group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and later split into rival factions. Its actions have killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
🕌💣🚨👶

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“Sioux” is a name Europeans used for the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. It comes from an Ojibwe word meaning “enemy people,” used in maps, treaties, and records. These are Native American groups in the Great Plains. They are part of the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires, and speak related Siouan languages.

Lakota means “allies”.
Dakota means “friends”.
Nakota means “the allies of allies.”
🪶🌾🗺️

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The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia and Tasmania that became extinct in the 20th century, with the last known individual dying in captivity in 1936.

Although there are claims that some still survived somewhere, this has not been proven.
🧬🏝️🇦🇺

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HD 189733 b (see picture) appears bright blue and friendly to life like earth, but is lethal.

Winds reach 5,400 mph (2 km/s), 7 times the speed of sound, spiraling potential travelers around the planet.

Rain most likely consists of sideways glass.

The blue color results from a hazy, blow-torched atmosphere with high clouds laced with silicate particles, not from an ocean, at least not one made of liquid water as temperatures reach between 1,192±9 K (919 °C; 1,686 °F) and
1,490±68 K (1,220 °C; 2,220 °F)
🪐🌐🚀👽👩‍🚀

[Source 1]

[Source 2]

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Special thanks to Greygabe for the post idea.
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