The worst year EVER, plus cubic poop

Still looking for laughs in all the right places, I found two in today’s 538 Significant Digits:

536 A.D.

Take solace, fellow living humans: According to some scientists, 536 was the worst year ever to be alive. It was what used to be called the Dark Ages, and a “mysterious fog” darkened entire continents day and night. That fog is now thought to have been caused by a volcanic eruption in Iceland. A plague in Europe followed a few years after, and things were just really nasty all around. Plus, “A Christmas Prince” wasn’t even available yet on Netflix. In any case, I eagerly await 2018’s ranking when the dust settles. [Science]

2 centimeters across

Wombats are the only animal known to drop cubic poop. Each piece is about 2 centimeters across, and wombats collect 80 to 100 poops in a night. They then strategically place them “around their domain” to mark their territory and attract mates. The cubic nature of the poop is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation, improving “stackability” and making the poops less likely to roll away. [Gizmodo]

This entry was posted in The Facts of Life and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.