The IFOD
The Interesting Fact of the Day Blog
Headaches – Why Do We Get Them and Related Facts
Where Do Headaches Come From? Headaches don’t occur in the brain. The brain has no nerves that can register pain - which is how some brain surgeries can occur with the patient awake - cutting the brain causes no pain or other sensations. So, where does the pain...
Oranges – A Superfood
In the past 24 hours I have consumed six oranges. It wasn't part of any sort of contest - I just really like oranges. In addition to the great taste, I really feel a sense of accomplishment after I've peeled an orange. Maybe the extra effort oranges take to eat as...
The Streisand Effect
In 2002 as part of the California Coastal Records Project to document and study erosion, photographer Kenneth Adelman took thousands of aerial photos of the California coastline. One of the photos, shown above, captured Barbra Streisand's Malibu mansion. Babs found...
How Big are the Planets and other Stuff in Our Solar System?
Our Solar System (Not Anywhere Close to Scale) Our solar system consists of One yellow dwarf star (the sun)Eight PlanetsFive Dwarf Planets181 moons (Mars has 2, Jupiter 79, Saturn 53, Uranus 27, Neptune 14)Over 550,000 asteroidsOver 3,000 comets Here is a really cool...
Errors of Commission vs. Errors of Omission
Errors of commission are errors of action. You do something and it ends up being a mistake. For example, you go on a date with someone you didn't really like and had a bad time, or worse, married someone and it didn't end up working out. Errors of omission are the...
Does Living in California Make People Happy?
I live in St. Louis. We get all four seasons in full force: hot humid summers and snow in the winters (the spring and fall are usually very nice). It's a nice place to live, but not spectacularly beautiful - we have no mountains, no ocean. We don't have nearly the...
The Commuting Paradox
Another working day has ended. Only the rush hour hell to face. Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes. Contestants in a suicidal race.-The Police, Synchronicity II An IFOD a few weeks ago concerned how much commuting we can generally tolerate each day. The...
Views of Luck: An Important Mental Model
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's business partner, is a big fan of recognizing and using "mental models" to help shape thinking. According to Shane Parrish of Farnham Street, Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how...
The Overton Window
The concept of the "Overton Window" was created by a policy director at a think tank, Joseph Overton. The concept is that (most) politicians will not pursue policies and ideas outside of a relatively small window of acceptability. Things that are too far outside of...
Graphene: Possibly the Most Amazing Material Known to Humans
Graphine may be the most amazing material known to humans. Andre Geim won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for isolating graphene from graphite. What is it? What is Graphene? Graphine is a one atom thick layer of graphite (carbon) with remarkable properties: Being a...
BEG Concerns: Boutique, Exotic Ingredient, Grain Free Dog Food
Beware fancy grain-free dog food! We've been feeding our dog fancy, super-healthy sounding and expensive dog food for years. The food we've been buying him have main ingredients such as Cod, Pumpkin and Orange; Whitefish and Potato; Salmon with fruits and vegetables....
Why is the Picture of the M87 Black Hole A Big Deal?
The picture from EHT of the supermassive black hole at the center of the M87 Galaxy. An amazing announcement occurred this week: scientists working with what is called the Event Horizon Telescope ("EHT") had captured and image of a black hole. Why is it a big deal? A...
Get in Touch
Want to book John at your next event? Or, do you have a question for him, a topic you'd like him to explore on his IFOD blog, or just want to say hey? Reach out here, he responds to all inquiries (although it might take some time—he gets a lot of fan mail).
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314-719-1523
jjennings[at]archbridge.com
