Surprising Medicine and Health Breakthroughs
Fact · 8 facts — swipe through each one · Jun 4, 5:51 AM
Scientists have successfully developed a 3D-printed human heart using patient-specific cells.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been shown to effectively alleviate symptoms of depression without medication.
A pill-sized camera can now replace traditional colonoscopy, providing a non-invasive diagnostic alternative.
Gene editing technology, CRISPR, has been used to cure genetic disorders like sickle cell anemia in clinical trials.
A new vaccine for malaria has shown a 77% efficacy rate in clinical trials, providing hope for future eradication.
Research has led to the development of a bionic pancreas that automatically regulates blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Virtual reality technology is being used to reduce pain and anxiety in patients undergoing medical procedures.
Smart contact lenses are being developed to monitor glucose levels for diabetic patients in real-time.
Surprising Facts About Architecture and Engineering
Fact · 8 facts — swipe through each one · Jun 3, 6:26 PM
The Great Wall of China is not a single continuous wall but a series of walls and fortifications built by various dynasties.
The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer due to thermal expansion of its iron structure.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, started in 1882, is still ongoing with an estimated completion date around 2026.
The world's largest building by volume is the Boeing Everett Factory in Washington, which is large enough to fit 75 football fields.
The ancient Romans were known to have used concrete, and their formula included volcanic ash, making it remarkably durable.
The first recorded use of a steel-reinforced concrete building was in 1854, marking a significant innovation in construction methods.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 828 meters, uses a special chemical formula in its glass to minimize heat absorption from the sun.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been stabilized over the years with engineering techniques, including soil extraction and the addition of lead counterweights.
Surprising Facts About Social Media and Internet Culture
Fact · 7 facts — swipe through each one · Jun 1, 9:32 PM
The first YouTube video, uploaded in April 2005, features co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo.
The hashtag, now a staple of social media, was first used on Twitter in 2007 by Chris Messina.
The term 'selfie' was named the Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year in 2013.
The most liked photo on Instagram is an egg, which gained over 55 million likes to dethrone a photo of Kylie Jenner.
Facebook's 'Like' button was almost called the 'Awesome' button before its official launch in 2009.
The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971, and it was a test message to himself.
TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2020, surpassing Facebook's global downloads.
Surprising Facts About Technology and Invention
Fact · 7 facts — swipe through each one · May 31, 8:05 AM
The first 3D printer was created in 1984 by Charles Hull, kickstarting the future of on-demand manufacturing.
The term 'robot' was first used in a 1920 play by Czech writer Karel Čapek called 'R.U.R.', which stands for Rossum's Universal Robots.
The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971, who also decided to use the '@' symbol to separate the username from the computer name.
The world's first website, info.cern.ch, was created in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee, who also invented the World Wide Web.
In 1969, the first message sent over the ARPANET, the predecessor to the internet, was 'LO' because the system crashed while typing 'LOGIN'.
The first smartphone, IBM's Simon Personal Communicator, was introduced in 1992 and featured a touchscreen and apps.
Bluetooth technology is named after a 10th-century Scandinavian king, Harald 'Bluetooth' Gormsson, who united Denmark and Norway.
The Unseen Barrier Between Us
Brigham Young University — Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010 · Apr 27, 5:45 AM
“We've never been more connected, yet more alone.”
Scrolling through my social media feed, I marvel at the illusion of connection. Hundreds of 'friends,' endless likes, bu…
The Insight
In a world overflowing with digital connections, the most profound loneliness stems from the lack of heartfelt human interactions.
Surprising Health and Medicine Breakthroughs
Fact · 9 facts — swipe through each one · Apr 10, 7:44 AM
Scientists have developed a vaccine that can help train the immune system to fight against certain types of cancer.
Researchers have successfully used CRISPR gene-editing technology to treat beta-thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder.
Probiotics are being explored as a potential treatment for depression, linking gut health directly to mental well-being.
Virtual reality is being used in hospitals to help patients manage pain and anxiety without the need for medication.
Scientists have discovered a way to 3D-print living tissue, which could eventually lead to the creation of transplantable organs.
New technology allows for remote monitoring of vital signs through smart clothing, enabling doctors to track patients' health in real-time.
A groundbreaking study has shown that intermittent fasting can improve cognitive function and protect the brain from age-related diseases.
Artificial intelligence is being used to predict outbreaks of infectious diseases by analyzing climate data, travel patterns, and social media activity.
Stem cell therapy is being used to successfully regenerate damaged heart tissue after a heart attack.
Surprising Facts About Social Media and Internet Culture
Fact · 8 facts — swipe through each one · Apr 6, 6:45 AM
The most popular emoji, the 'face with tears of joy', was named the word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2015.
In 2021, TikTok surpassed Google as the most visited website in the world, marking a shift in internet usage trends.
The first video ever uploaded to YouTube was titled 'Me at the zoo' and was posted by co-founder Jawed Karim in 2005.
Instagram's most-liked photo is of an egg, which was used to set a world record by reaching over 56 million likes to date.
The concept of the hashtag was first introduced on Twitter in 2007 by a user named Chris Messina, transforming how content is categorized online.
Snapchat was originally called 'Picaboo' and was launched in 2011 as a platform for sending disappearing photos.
Facebook's 'like' button was originally going to be a 'awesome' button before it was redesigned to its current form.
The term 'meme' was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene' to describe cultural transmission.
Interesting Facts About Technology and Invention
Fact · 9 facts — swipe through each one · Apr 4, 6:27 PM
The first computer virus, known as the Creeper virus, was created in 1971 as an experiment to see if it could self-replicate across computers.
In 1992, the first text message ever sent read 'Merry Christmas' and was sent from a computer to a mobile phone.
The first webcam was invented at Cambridge University to monitor a coffee pot, so researchers could avoid pointless trips if it was empty.
The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in the 1870s to prevent typewriter jams by spacing out commonly used letters.
The first 1GB hard drive, released in 1980, weighed over 500 pounds and cost $40,000.
The term 'debugging' originated from an actual bug—a moth—being removed from a computer in 1947 by Grace Hopper's team.
The world’s first website, created in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee, is still online and can be visited.
The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971, and it was a test message whose content was most likely random letters.
The patent for the first telephone was filed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 just hours before a similar patent was filed by Elisha Gray.
