France Used Guillotines Until 1977
Since the French Revolution the only legal method of delivering capital punishment in France was through the use of the guillotine. It is a scary instrument of death. A blade falls with great force, beheading the poor victim. The last one to die in such a way was Hamida Djandoubi. In 1981 the death penalty in France was removed, so it was just four years without the guillotine. It is funny though, no matter how barbaric it may seem to be, at least it was fast and clean. Nowadays lethal injections, electric chairs and gas chambers are notorious for their malfunctioning.
Eating a Polar Bear's Liver Can Kill You
It is called "hypervitaminosis A" and it refers to ingesting too much vitamin A. The effects are clearly toxic, going as far as altering the entire metabolism of the human body. Needless to say one Polar Bear's liver contains enough of the thing to knock you out and even cause a death. Just need to remember that even the best things can get dangerous when we take too much of them. People are known to have died from intense pleasure too!
Once A Pig was Accused and Publicly Executed
France again, the year is 1386 and the pig in question was accused of murder. It murdered a child, something so vile it just needed to have a proper trail. The French even went as far as dressing it up as a person. The pig was called "The Sow From Falaise" and since it couldn't communicate with humans in a proper way other pigs were summoned to defend him. Well, it might all be just one big lie but nonetheless it is a fascinating thing to think about. Could be a remnant of the old witch hunts.
Sneezing With Your Eyes Open Is Not Dangerous
It will not make them pop out. Sneezing can be very explosive and unpreventable but nobody lost their eyes because they forced them open while doing it. Closing your eyes is a reflex, this is where the myth comes from. You can bypass it if you want and try for yourself. There are no particular muscles behind your eyes, which will make them pop out. You'll have better luck asking someone to whack you on the back of your head real hard. On the other hand......sneezing and coughing can fracture your ribcage.
Crocodiles Can't Stick Out Their Tongues
It is a bit weird considering crocodiles are reptiles, same as snakes, but here you go. Their tongues are glued to the bottom of their months so they can't stick them out. This doesn't mean they are useless though. Crocodiles use their tongues to get rid of excessive salt, kind of like what our kidneys do. Except they have less efficient kidneys and their skin is very salt resistant, so tongues are their last resort.
White Whale's Tongue Is As Big As An Elephant
Sometimes we forget just how incredibly enormous white whales are. Lets refresh it, they can grow up to 30 meters in length and can weigh 180 tonnes. Knowing this it is not a big surprise that their tongues can match an elephant, it is to be expected actually. Blue Whales can hold up to 5 tonnes of water into their mouth, water filled with the plankton they eat. They need to move around this huge mass, get rid of the excess and swallow the goodies. Oh, and by the way their hearts are as big as a car too. If a blue whale ever tries to live on land, it will get crushed by its own weight.
Octopuses Have Three Hearts And Nine Brains
Having this many tentacles requires some precision not only from the brain but also from the heart. Two of the hearts pump blood to the gills, the other one takes care of the rest of the organs within the body. When Octopuses swim, that one heart stops, which exhausts them. This is why they prefer to crawl around instead. About the brains, there is one central brain, of course, and a large ganglion in each tentacle, which controls the movement. Finally, Octopuses have blue blood, like the royalty.
Camel Humps Are Tasty
In fact they are the tastiest part of a camel. We are talking about the Middle East(and parts of North Africa) here, camel meat is actually a very sought out delicacy. It is considered better than beef because it is healthier, leaner and is a good source of protein and vitamin E. The hump itself is even tastier because its more tender and fatter than the rest of the body. Only young camels are served like that, once they grow up their meat becomes dry.
Stepping On A Stonefish Can Kill You
Either that or you will experience excruciating pain and a huge swelling, not a very nice proposition. These fish live in the Indo-Pacific ocean and North Australia. They are famed to be the most poisonous fish in the world and for a good reason. They resemble a stone, but once they are threatened they will bring forth a bunch of nasty spikes from their backs. It is really a game over, unless your shoes are very hardy. But then again, who wears shoes on the beach....
Garlic Can Repel Mosquitoes
Get it? Vampires are bloodsuckers, mosquitoes are bloodsuckers, naturally what works on vampires will work on mosquitoes, haha! It does, sure, but it is not all that efficient. You need to grab some, squeeze the juice out over your skin and there you go, you are protected......for about 20-40 minutes. Not all that useful unless you don't have anything better to do and a huge quantity of garlic is lies right next to you. Oh, and also ingesting garlic won't do anything to help you out in the summer, your bad breath won't scare any insects away.
