Mental Floss: Instant Knowledge (34 page)

(that’ll get you tanked!)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, barroom banter, and knowing what beverage not to order in the South Pacific

KEYWORDS:
alcohol, drool, or what could possibly be worse than licking a toad to get a buzz

THE FACT:
In much of the South Pacific, kava is the traditional drug of choice. Kava supposedly reduces inhibitions and enhances conviviality, much like alcohol. However, it isn’t the drug itself so much as the traditional mode of preparation that often dismays outsiders.

The active substance in kava is apparently released in interaction with chemicals contained in human saliva. Kava roots are thus thoroughly chewed, the masticated mass is wrung out in a twisted cloth, and the resulting liquid is then ready for drinking. Even though young people with good teeth and fresh breath are usually the designated chewers, kava drinking is still likely to put off the fastidious traveler.

(the poodle-loving pessimist)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties and talking about philosophy, without actually talking about philosophy

KEYWORDS:
Schopenhauer, misogynist, or glass half empty

THE FACT:
One of philosophy’s most notorious sourpusses, Arthur Schopenhauer was a definite pessimist, and viewed reality as a malicious trap. In fact, he believed we live in the worst of all possible worlds.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, though, notorious misogynist Schopenhauer once pushed a woman down a flight of stairs. Grudgingly, he paid her regular restitution for her injuries until her death, when he recorded in his journal, “The old woman dies, the burden is lifted.” Schopenhauer despised noise but inexplicably had a fondness for something more odious—poodles. A series of disposable poodles were his constant companions for most of his life. Not a pleasant academic colleague, Schopenhauer resented the success of Hegel, whose philosophy he thought was the worst kind of nonsense. Perhaps planning to undo Hegel, Schopenhauer scheduled his course lectures at the same time as Hegel’s. The result, however, was an early retirement for Arthur.

USEFUL FOR:
PTA meetings, impressing your high school history teacher, and irritating people at Sunday school

KEYWORDS:
creationism, evolution, biology class, or monkeys

THE FACT:
Everyone knows the Monkey Trial had something to do with teaching evolution in school. Not everyone remembers the actual outcome, or the monkey that was made of the prosecution.

It was a simple case. A Dayton, Tennessee, teacher had taught Darwin’s theory of evolution, in defiance of a new state law. But the charges quickly became international news when Clarence Darrow, the era’s most famous liberal lawyer, took up teacher John Scopes’s defense. The case only got more intriguing when William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate, joined the prosecution. During the defense’s case, Darrow stunned the courtroom by calling Bryan to the stand. For two hours, the two dueled over Bryan’s literal interpretation of the Bible which hardly helped Mr. Scopes. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. Bryan died a few days after the trial. But the state’s ban on teaching evolution was reversed in 1967.

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, stirring up ’60s nostalgia, and taking the wind out of an eight-year-old’s sail

KEYWORDS:
monkeys, brine shrimp, or the worst pet ever

THE FACT:
Ah, sea monkeys. You know ’em; you love ’em; you’re totally confused by ’em. Well, consider the monkey mystery solved.

Turns out, they’re
Artemia salinas,
or brine shrimp. In the 1960s, inventor Harold von Braunhut discovered that the shrimp’s eggs lie dormant in salt flats waiting for the right conditions before they spring to life, so he started experimenting with them for his toy product, Instant-Life. Later, he changed the name (and struck pop culture gold) after a colleague heard him call the creatures his “cute little sea monkeys.” The shrimp became popular because of their ability to “come back to life” after being stored dry on a shelf, but fell from favor after children discovered that they had a lifespan of about a month. Over the years, however, von Braunhut managed to breed better sea monkeys—the shrimp can now live up to two years. As for von Braunhut, who passed away in 2003, he was also responsible for X-Ray Specs and the late-1980s hermit crab craze.

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, barroom banter, anywhere martinis are being drunk

KEYWORDS:
Shaker?

THE FACT:
Officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, the Shakers were founded in Manchester, England, in1747. Nearly 250 years later, though, there isn’t a whole lot of Shaking going on.

As a group of dissenting Quakers under the charismatic leadership of “Mother Ann” Lee, the Shakers came to America in 1774. Like most reform movements of the time, the Shakers were agriculturally based, and believed in common ownership of all property. Unlike most of the other groups, however, the Shakers practiced celibacy, including rejection of marital sex. So how exactly did the movement spread? Membership came via conversion or by the adoption of children. Shaker families consisted of “brothers” and “sisters” who lived in gender-segregated communal homes. And during the required Sunday community meetings it wasn’t uncommon for members to break into a spontaneous dance, thus giving them the “shaker” label. However, their religious movement wasn’t built to last. In fact, of the original 19 communities, there is only one in existence today.