No, not a blue whale or an elephant.
A mushroom. A giant ass mushroom.

The armillaria ostoyae, or the honey fungus, it's a common mushroom and you probably even have one in your garden!

'But if it's a giant ass mushroom, I'm sure I don't have one! I don't even have enough space for a small koy pond, let alone a giant ass anything!' - You may say.

Listen, I'm not using that adjective lightly! The largest ever recorded specimen, in Malheur National forest, in Oregon, covers 890 hectares (2,200 acres), and is between 2,000 and 8,000 years old!

This enormous fungus was originally thought to grow in different clusters around the forest, but researchers have confirmed it's in fact one very, very large single organism!

The majority of this organism is under ground of course, in the form of a massive mat of mycelia, its roots.

But anyway, for me, this honey fungus thing can grow wherever it wants, the only mushrooms I'm concern about are those right here!

Hmmmm....Mushrooms....

Wonder about that!

If I'm going to talk about pills, you know what kind of reference I'm going to pull right?
Matrix.

So, Neo had to choose between the blue pill that would have put him back to sleep in the boring world of cubicles, and the red pill that would wake him up to the industrial womb factory world.
If you missed that, red pill wakes you up, blue pill makes you sleep!

Now, what colors are the sleeping pills? Yep, be it the package or the pill itself, all you see there is blue! And that's no coincidence; researchers have found that the color of a pill makes a difference in how it works.

In a study, patients were given the exact same sedative, but some received it in a blue pill and others in an orange one. The blue pill takers reported falling asleep 30 minutes faster and sleeping 30 minutes longer than the orange pill takers.

It's another weird manifestation of the placebo effect. How you perceive effectiveness, affects effectiveness.

In a different experiment, subjects were told they were going to get a sedative or a stimulant, when in fact they were getting placebos. Yet 66% of the subjects who took the blue pills reported feeling less alert compared to 26% of those who took pink pills.

And in another study, researchers put fake medicine packages in front of subjects, who picked certain color of boxes over others. It seems warm colors like brown and red were perceived as more potent; green and yellow on the other hand, might as well have been mentos as far as they were concerned.


So, this is why heart medicine are often red or brown, while skin medicines are yellow, sleeping pills blue or green, and painkillers are often white.

Wonder about that!

Yep, you read that right.
Fishbowls.

Apparently, in Monza, Italy, the issues of modern society escalated a bit. Forget the poverty and starvation, the unemployment and politics, the environment, crime spree, STD's, etc.
In this town, they don't have time to worry about unimportant stuff like that; they're too busy dealing with serious and intense problems like what happens to a fish if you keep it in a fishbowl.

So, do you know what happens to a fish if you keep it in a fishbowl? Do you?!

See? The people in Monza are the one who have this thing all figured out!
It seems that if you keep a fish in a fishbowl, the poor animal will see the world all messed up, that's what!

According to the town council, a fishbowl provides "a distorted view of reality"; and they're not having any of that crap there!

So, yeah, the council has banned the bowls in favor of square aquariums which represent an accurate and heart-warming fashion of the reality of the fish.

Wonder about that!

Upon my arrival you will see

The origins of April Fool's Day are a mystery.

The most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of beginning at the start of spring, early April. However word of the change traveled slowly and some people continued to celebrate the New Year in that date. These dwellers became known as "April fools".

Some disagree with this interpretation believing that April Fool's Day simply grew out of age-old European spring festivals of renewal, in which pranks and camouflaging one's identity are common.

There's also some that believed that the idea came from Roman jesters during the time of Constantine I in the third and fourth centuries A.D. As the story goes, jesters successfully petitioned the ruler to allow one of their elected members to be king for a day. So, on April first, Constantine handed over the reins of the Roman Empire for one day to King Kugel, his jester. Kugel decreed that the day forever would be a day of absurdity.

Nowadays, the April Fool's Day goes beyond just switching out the sugar with salt. Here is a list of the top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes!


Wonder about that!

So, as a woman, I take pride in having a giant ass mirror in my room.
Maybe you guys who have to go to the bathroom to check your hair and don't care how the clothes you're wearing fit won't get this but, trust me, any woman would kill for a mirror like mine. It's practical and useful, for obvious reasons...Well, obvious for the feminine gender of course. Nonetheless I'll sum it up for you males. Clothes, hair, make-up and overall figure.


Anyways, this looking glass it's not only useful for these things. It has one more trick up its sleeve!

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

As you all probably have seen in movies, there's a cliche scene where the protagonist has a one-on-one pep talk with himself in the mirror, and usually happens when he's faced with an ethical decision or he needs to boost his confidence.

Yes, in reality, doing this would seem silly, but you have to admit you have done this at least once!
Okay, maybe you didn't talk, maybe you didn't point to the mirror pretending you have a gun, maybe you didn't say "Are you talking to me?"; maybe you just thought to yourself "I can do this!"
...Or maybe you did all of this. No judging here.


Studies have been conducted to determine how confrontation with our own reflections affects our morality. One, conducted on Halloween, gave kids the opportunity to grab candy out of unsupervised bowls. The bowls were exactly the same at separate houses, the only difference was that one bowl had a mirror behind it. As a result, the children were significantly less likely to steal candy when they had to look at their reflections, even though they were wearing costumes! and a similar test was done on adults at a news stand who paid for newspapers on the honor system. The results were nearly identical. We are more likely to act morally while confronted with our own faces.

So, it seems the looking glass is used as a moral compass...And if you know someone with spectrophobia (fear of mirror and one's own reflections), beware!

Wonder about that!

So according to popular believe, if your friend or whoever avoids social interaction, they're antisocial, 'cause if they don't want to do something social, they must be anti social!

Yeaaah...No.

I get how people think that if someone who is reluctant to participate in social situations is categorized as antisocial. However, in fact, these people, the antisocial ones I mean, are often pro social, even unusually so!

Antisocial Personality Disorder is diagnosed in adults (18 years or more) who consistently disregard and ignore the rights, are impulsive, irresponsible, lie, or generally act recklessly with no concern for the safety of themselves or others. They are often extroverted and very much the opposite of the type of people who are so often called antisocial, who care about other people's feelings. These people are usually just shy or have social anxiety disorder or maybe avoidant personality disorder.

Wonder about that!

Maybe you think you've got a smart dog, I know I do. And maybe you've given him a tiny hat and a monocle, named him something like Sir Nicholas and taught him how to roll over and stuff like that.

But while you and Sir Nicholas were perfecting those tricks, the stray dogs of Moscow have mastered the city's subway system.

Since dog catching fell behind when the Soviet Union collapse, today there are around 35000 strays in that city. And, over several generations of breeding, those dogs have gotten very smart indeed.

Stray dogs have to rely on their skills to survive, and since only 3% of those strays survive long enough to breed, only the toughest and smartest end up procreating. Yeah Darwin, stop bragging already.

So, many of these streets dogs have taken up residence in the underground metro stations and have learned how to travel via subway train! Yep, you hear me alright!....Well, read me alright! they'll stand and wait for the train, just like the people, then sneak on and get off at their stops! Freaking awesome right? Right?!
Scientist figure they use smell and the recorded names of stations to navigate.

But wait! That's not all they've figured out! Yes, there's more! They have learned how to send out the smallest and cutest among them to beg for food, and the big ones to jump and bark at on a person eating a snack, making them drop it, then pouncing on the dropped food.

So, you know what this means, right?
...They're coming for us.

Wonder about that!

So you had an argument with your better half / parents / friends? You've been having a financial stress? Dealing with health issues? Problems at work?
Oh, and did I mention you just woke up to that annoying disco song?
Hm?

Hello everybody!
I apologize for the silence this weekend, but I wanted to post on this particular day. The day for the lovers, the chocolate and jewelry, the flowers and cards. Yep, Valentine's day.

So if you're in a relationship and you have time to spare, you're spending it with your better half and I doubt you're reading this today. If you're not in a relationship and you're feeling alone and with no one the give you some treats and all that, I'm gifting you some facts about this day...That, now that I think about it, will probably make you sadder.

#1 Valentine's day traces its roots to an ancient pagan holiday called Lupercalia, in which men stripped naked, grabbed whips and spanked young women in hopes of increasing their fertility.
...Which sounds a lot more fun than this thing we do nowadays..Just saying!

#2 Throughout history, there have been approximately 8 St. Valentines, 3 of them had special feast days in their honor. The 2 St. Valentines who most likely inspired Valentine's day are Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome.
St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers and engaged couples; but he is also the patron saint of epilepsy (which he is said that to have suffered), plague, greetings, travelers, young people and bee keepers!

#3 The Christian martyr St. Valentine was beheaded on February 14th for performing marriages in secret. Also, the famous St. Valentine's day massacre, in which 7 Chicago gangsters were gunned down on February 14th, 1929, was one of the bloodiest in mob history.
My bloody Valentine indeed...

#4 The 1st Valentine's day card was sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife, while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

#5 Red hearts are a Valentine symbol. Red is traditionally associated with the color of blood.
At one time, people thought that the heart, which pumps bloods, was the part of the body that felt love. In fact, when the Egyptians mummified their dead for burial, they removed every organ but the heart because these hopeless romantics believed that the heart was the only part of the body necessary for the trip through eternity. (*awww*)


#6 40% of people have negative feelings towards Valentine's day.


#7 The saying "wearing you heart on your sleeve" is from the Middle Ages. Boys at this time would draw names of girls to see who would be their 'Valentine' and then wear the name pinned on their sleeve for a week.

#8 Engagements rings are often worn on the 4th finger of the left hand because the ancient Greeks maintained that that finger contains the vena amoris (vein of love) that runs straight to the heart.
And, speaking of rings, the 1st recorded wedding rings appeared in ancient Egypt, with the circle representing eternity as well as powerful sun and moon deities.



Wonder about that!

Yep. Scientists have discovered that when we perform synchronized activities such as singing songs, reciting chants or even just walking together, we end up feeling more connected to the people we're performing these activities with. Although, it turns out it's not exactly what you're saying or singing that matters, it's just the fact that you're performing these activities in unison with other people.

In a faraway land, there is a scourge that few people dare mention out loud. It is not only nefarious, but..Well, there's no other way to say this, remarkably retarded! It is....Silly string!

For years and years, citizens faced each Halloween on Hollywood Boulevard like Anne Frank, hiding away and hoping for the madness to stop.

Finally, someone stood up to the terror of silly string and put an end to it, banning it under the penalty of a $1,000 fine.

That...Hmm..Hero was city councilor Tom LaBonge. And yes, as you can see, the ban is for just one night out of the year, the Halloween.

This resulted from complaints that random silly string sprayings originated fistfights during the usual Halloween street gatherings. Apparently, there were reports of people throwing the cans at each other.


What this tells me is that instead of a ban, maybe they should have simply offered classes on how to properly use silly string!


Wonder about that!