Science and Technology

Bizarre Fact #161:
Did you know...
Sound at the right vibration can bore holes through a solid object.

Bizarre Fact #162:
Did you know...
Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than through the air.

Bizarre Fact #163:
Did you know...
Starch is used as a binder in the production of paper. It is the use of a starch coating that controls ink penetration when printing. Cheaper papers do not use as much starch, and this is why your elbows get black when you are leaning over your morning paper.

Bizarre Fact #164:
Did you know...
STASI, the East German secret police organization, devised a devilishly clever way to prevent someone from giving them the slip during the Cold War: they managed to synthesize the scent of a female dog in heat, which they applied to the shoes of the person under surveillance. Then they simply had a male dog follow the scent.

Bizarre Fact #165:
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Sterling silver is not pure silver. Because pure silver is too soft to be used in most tableware it is mixed with copper in the proportion of 92.5 percent silver to 7.5 percent copper.

Bizarre Fact #166:
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The clock at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., will gain or lose only one second in 300 years because it uses cesium atoms.

Bizarre Fact #167:
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The color black is produced by the complete absorption of light rays.

Bizarre Fact #168:
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The densest substance on Earth is the metal "osmium."

Bizarre Fact #169:
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The Earth gets heavier each day by tons, as meteoric dust settles on it.

Bizarre Fact #170:
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The earth rotates on its axis more slowly in March than in September.