Undeniable Fact: Haven't found him Yetti!

Monday, July 31, 2006

Video and photographic evidence aside, scientists say that the greatest indicator for the existence of Bigfoot is statistical.

Undeniable Fact: A Prickly Predicament

Sunday, July 30, 2006

The porcupine and the hedgehog are actually the same animal, "porcupine" being the West coast term, and "hedgehog" being the name on the East coast. The well known physical differences between hedgehogs and porcupines are caused by climate, not genetic diversity.

Undeniable Fact: Filet of Soul

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Although it is common knowledge that the human soul has been proven to weigh 21 grams, it is less well known that the human psyche weighs in at a mere 5 grams.

Undeniable Friday

Friday, July 28, 2006

It's Undeniable Friday! Every Friday, in addition to an odd little factoid, UndeniableFacts.com gives you a fun puzzle, illusion, or activity to enjoy and share.

Today, a recipe.

This is the recipe for the Hawaiian Friendship Pie presented to president Rutherford B. Hayes, by none other than the famous Hawaiian King Kamehameha.

Ingredients:
1 lb., finely diced roast pork
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup mashed taro root
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 whole Humuhumunukunukuapuaa (reef triggerfish)
1 cup honey (unfiltered mountain wildflower honey preferred)
2 large banana leaves (must be fresh)

Preparation:
1. Place the two banana leaves side by side, so that they form a rough circle. Carefully spread the taro root evenly on the leaves, to within about an inch from the edge.
2. Evenly distribute all remaining ingredients except for the fish and the honey
3. Place the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa perpendicular to the seam between the banana leaves so that its tail hangs over the edge, and so that its mouth is near the center.
4. Carefully roll the leaves around the fish and other ingredients like a burrito.
5. Roast the "pie" over an open flame for 12 to 58 minutes.
6. Once the leaves are thoroughly brown and crispy, carefully peel them off of the calzone-shaped pie.

If done properly, the tail of the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa will stick out of the top of the pie. Traditionally, the fish used for the pie is still alive during the roasting process, its screams delighting the village children.

The modern version of this desert is often made by substituting cool whip, lemon jello, and canned pineapple.

Mahalo!

Undeniable Fact: Aw nuts!

Yesterday's post reminds us: did you know that the squirrel is the most vicious animal for its size (according to the U.S. Animal Review) in the Northern hemisphere? It is.

Undeniable Fact: Nuts to you

Thursday, July 27, 2006

A bony fish, the barracuda is a descendant of the ground squirrel. It's just one of those cases of animals returning to the sea.

Undeniable Fact: Dishing it out

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

The Chinese do not call their country "China". Ironically the Western name "China" derives from the porcelain tableware, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit "chi ne", which literally means "eating bone". So much of this important trade commodity came from China, that it soon became the accepted name for the region.

Undeniable Fact: Phone Home

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Scientists believe that intelligent alien life may be as near as Venus, hiding just beneath the surface.

Undeniable Fact: Spittin' Image

Monday, July 24, 2006

You probably didn't know that the camel is not a distinct species, but is actually the result of interbreeding a rhinoceros and a horse. It is believed that the camel was discovered by Ancients attempting to breed a unicorn.

Miserable failure, or fantastic success?

Undeniable Fact: On Thin Ice

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Although they look like them, penguins are not actually birds. They are close relatives of the bird, but they lack the primary characteristic that all birds share: the gift of flight. In addition, unlike birds, penguins nurse their young. They are not mammals, however, lacking the requisite stereoscopic vision.

Undeniable Fact: Collecting Down Under

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Although they primarily use them for carrying their young, kangaroos have been known to store strange looking stones in their pouches.

Undeniable Friday

Friday, July 21, 2006

It's Undeniable Friday! Every Friday, in addition to an odd little factoid, UndeniableFacts.com gives you a fun puzzle, illusion, or activity to enjoy and share.

Today an illusion:

Stare at the crosshair in the middle of the image for about 30 seconds:



Now, still keeping your eyes on that crosshair, wave your hand in front of your face.

Do you see why the Ancients called this effect Athena's Fan?

Undeniable Fact: Just ask your mummy!

Originally used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process, sodium perchlorate has found a new use in modern society: mothballs!

Undeniable Fact: In Hot Water

Thursday, July 20, 2006

The Mpemba effect, which observes that in some circumstances hot water will freeze more quickly than cold, actually works in reverse: cold water will often boil more quickly than hot water. This why many steam turbines employ the use of cooling plates.

Undeniable Fact: Cheerio, then!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The so-called "English accent" did not actually exist before the American revolution. The accent was developed by the British in order to set themselves apart from the "impudent colonies". The plan backfired, however, when Australia, a British penal colony more hated by the Crown than
America, adopted the very same accent.

Ironically there are still a few isolated regions in Great Britain where the accent was not adopted. The denizens of these areas speak exactly like Nebraskans!

Undeniable Fact: Child Prodigies

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Recent studies show that our IQ's are highest at 7 months of age.

Undeniable Fact: Drumroll please

Monday, July 17, 2006

The results are in: the animal which is strongest for its size is the mouse.

Undeniable Fact: The Gall...

Sunday, July 16, 2006

No human being has survived more than 10 years after suffering from a gallstone, a fact which doctors are at a loss to explain.

Undeniable Fact: Respecting your elders

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney is the first vice president in history to be older than the president he served under.

Undeniable Friday

Friday, July 14, 2006

It's Undeniable Friday! Every Friday, in addition to an odd little factoid, UndeniableFacts.com gives you a fun puzzle, illusion, or activity to enjoy and share.

Today, a mathematical brain teaser.
First, take the day of the week on which you were born and find the number next to it in the table below:

Sunday - 3
Monday - 2
Tuesday - 6
Wednesday - 9
Thurday - 1
Friday - 5
Saturday - 3

Take that number and subtract it from the two digit year in which you were born. (If the result is negative, just add it to 100, e.g. -4 will become 96). Now switch the digits of the number you came up with and add 3. Next add the month in which you were born. Finally subtract the day of the month on which you were born.

The result is always 16.

Undeniable Fact: Heart of Darkness

The darkest material that science has discovered is silver. Because it is so reflective, it can appear very light, but what you are actually seeing are reflections of objects in the surrounding area, not the silver itself.

Undeniable Fact: Brush your antlers

Thursday, July 13, 2006

You wouldn't think it to look at them, but the antlers that deer sport are actually teeth. In contrast, other animals' horns are usually keratin, the same material that makes up hair, fingernails and bone.

Undeniable Fact: The color what?

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Most Chinese people cannot see the color purple. In fact, the Chinese language does not include a word for the color.

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Undeniable Fact: Heavy-Headed

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

As it turns out, the heaviest material in the human body is brain matter, which can weigh as much as 5 pounds per cubic inch.

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Undeniable Fact: Facial Hair

Monday, July 10, 2006

Most people don't realize that male facial hair is not actually thicker than head hair. Its stiffer appearance and texture is an illusion caused by its comparatively diminutive length. To experience this effect on a larger scale, try the following experiment. Grab a piece of dry spaghetti from your pantry. Holding it at both ends, snap it in half. Note the ease with which it breaks. Now do it again with one of the two smaller pieces. If you continue this with smaller and smaller pieces of spaghetti, you will quickly see why the hair on your head is softer than the hair on your face.

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A Letter to Teachers


I've gotten quite a few emails from teachers wanting to share facts and projects from this site with their classes. While I'd be honored to be part of your students' education, there is one very important thing which I think you should know before you proceed:

UndeniableFacts.com is a joke. Not only are the facts on this site deniable, they're completely wrong! While individual details may be true in some cases, the general premise of every single fact on this site is false.

The videos on the site are fake as well. The "science experiments" are hoaxes orchestrated through camera tricks and computer graphics, and we have researched them carefully to make sure that none of them actually work.

So why have we created this elaborate sham?
The site is a statement on the sorry state of critical thinking in our culture. The voracity of the public's appetite for misinformation knows no bounds, and unscrupulous capitalists provide an all-you-can-eat buffet. Their menu offers such nonsense as UFOs, psychics, chiropractors, crop circles, scientology, infomercials, diet pills ... the list goes on and on.

The real undeniable fact is that people simply aren't skeptical enough. We are trained - and perhaps instinctively compelled - to accept information based on the credibility of its source. This alone can be dangerous, but unfortunately, we are also becoming increasingly inclined to accept information based simply on the forcefulness with which it is presented.

Our brand of humor is certainly dry, and we have been a little surprised that so many people either accept the "facts" or don't get the joke. Of course, if you realize that the facts are intentionally false, they're pretty amusing. We have endless fun coming up with them, as well as writing lengthy, scientific sounding explanations for age-old special effects.

While you may think that we're cynical, we really do earnestly hope and believe that the situation can change. Which is why we have created this page, the only page on the entire site which does not contain any bald-faced lies. This page is here because we have a request: please try to give your students a little push in the right direction. Maybe put a question on a test where the correct answer is "He's just trying to screw with your head so he can scam you." Or maybe just emphasize the importance of fact checking a little bit more. Heck, I don't know. You're the teacher. But please, please, help us to dam the raging river of over-trust.

P.S.
While you may think we're cruel for trying to fool you, remember: we showed you how to "make" magnetic water. But at least we didn't try to sell you any.