WTF • Fun • Fact    ( /dʌb(ə)lˌju/  /ti/   /ef/ • /fʌn/ • /fækt/ )

     1. noun  A random, interesting, and overall fun fact that makes you scratch your head and think what the...

WTF Fun Fact 12614 – The Fear of Cooking

Plenty of people don’t like to cook. Or maybe you might enjoy it if it weren’t such a chore. After all, for most of us, cooking is something we have to do day in and day out, mostly for other people who may not even appreciate the effort (parents, we’re looking at you).

But there are a group of people who are genuinely afraid of cooking. So much so that it gives them severe anxiety (and we all know the kind of health problems stress and anxiety can cause). These people are known as mageirocophobics.

Mageirocophobia is the extreme fear of having to cook, and it’s typically classified as a social anxiety disorder because it can have a lot to do with a fear of judgment.

According to the Cleveland Clinic: “Mageirocophobia occurs when you’re fearful of cooking or the idea of cooking. You may experience intense anxiety or go out of your way to avoid cooking. For many people, this phobia stems from not wanting to make mistakes.”

Mageirocophobics may have other mental health issues, such as OCD, but not always. Sometimes, the fear results from extreme perfectionism and concern about the consequences of doing things wrong. (And to be fair, a lot can go wrong in the kitchen, from a lousy casserole to a missing finger or a kitchen fire.)

People who fear cooking may also suffer from PTSD after a bad kitchen or cooking incident. It can be a singular incident that caused them (or someone else) harm or even years of being criticized for their cooking.

The kitchen can be stressful for many people, even those who once found it relaxing. Sometimes it depends on your most recent experiences. For example, a chef who gets a bad burn in a kitchen fire might suddenly become mageirocophobic.

This particular phobia may not get in the way of everyday life (as long as sufferers can find a way to eat). In that case, it may not ever be treated. Treatment for the phobia is typically reserved for those who need to get over the fear because it keeps them from enjoying life or eating properly (or caring for those they have a responsibility to feed, like children).

There can even be more mild mageirocophobia. In this case, you won’t enjoy cooking, but severe anxiety arises when trying a new recipe, cooking for others, or needing to use a new kitchen tool.

Of course, more severe cases result in a person being unable to think much about food or developing a fear of watching other people cook.

It’s common to experience a little anxiety when trying new things, but a phobia is a whole different category of fear. Luckily, some treatments can help reduce the effects of mageirocophobia. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Mageirocophobia (Fear of Cooking)” – The Cleveland Clinic

WTF Fun Fact 12613 – Frogs Barf Their Guts Out

When we saw a webpage titled “Frog Vomit: Everything There is to Know,” we knew there would be something great to share with you. And by “great,” we mean we hope your stomach has already committed to holding down your breakfast because we’re going to talk about barf. (Emetophobics – that is, people who have a fear of vomit – turn back now.)

Ok, so most frogs have a unique way of tossing their cookies, so to speak. The little creatures can’t just hurl the way the rest of us do.

When we vomit, it’s because of signals in our brain that contract all of our major muscle groups – diaphragm, chest wall, abdominal muscles – put so much pressure on our stomachs that the contents are then forced up through our throats and through our mouths. You probably know the feeling. But next time you have to heave, just be glad your stomach is staying where it is because that’s not the case for most frogs.

No matter what you think of vomiting, we must be able to do it because it can keep us safe from anything toxic being absorbed into our bloodstream and killing us. So frogs are lucky, too, because they CAN vomit. It’s just a bit more of a production.

Frogs expel the contents of their stomach via a full gastric eversion. And while your worst hangover might have felt like that, it wasn’t. A full gastric eversion is when a body doesn’t just eject vomit, it ejects the entire stomach organ.

When frogs puke, they actually see their stomachs outside of their bodies. Of course, it doesn’t freak them out because that’s just how their species rolls. But what we find fascinating is that their stomach can just be out there, all like “hello, world!” and then go back in without much drama.

According to the experts, frogs can even give their stomachs a bit of a dust-off while they’re at it, wiping their bellies clean of whatever might be stuck in there causing a problem. Seriously, they’ll use their little froggy hands to wipe it right off, using the front, right hand (obvs). (Ok, we also didn’t know this, but the front, right hand of a frog is the closest to their expelled stomach due to the way the stomach is positioned in their bodies.)

If you’re wondering what happens next, it’s all relatively routine after that. They just pick their expelled organ up, plop it back in their mouths, and swallow it. After all, it’s the only way back in!

And there’s no chance of them biting it either since frog teeth (which, we’ll admit, we never really thought about) are only used to keep food in, not for chewing.

Frogs vomit for many of the same reasons we do – because there’s something in their stomach that is toxic, inedible, or simply too big (buffet-lovers, you know what we mean). Frogs can even vomit due to motion sickness!

Now, if something very unnatural happens in their environments and they cannot re-swallow their stomach for some reason, the frogs will suffocate and die. So if you see the little guys (and gals) in a rough situation, give them a minute to swallow before you interfere.

If you got this far, we know what you’re thinking. So there’s a video below where you can see a frog barf its stomach out. You’re welcome. (Oh, and if the pedant in you wants to point out that this is a toad, please note the fun fact that a toad is a type of a frog and that there is no official scientific distinction between the two creatures.) – WTF fun facts

Source: “Frog Vomit: Everything There is to Know” — Toads N Frogs

WTF Fun Fact 12612 – The Cowbird’s Secret Password

Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) have an interesting way of parenting.

Females (known as “brood parasites”) use all their energy to produce eggs and can even lay around three dozen each summer. It seems like a lot of babies, right? But they’d never know because they abandon them all to whatever feathery foster parents they can find. They lay their eggs in the nest of other birds and expect those birds to raise their young. They’ll even lay their eggs in a nest with other chicks already in it and expect the resident birds to evict their own young in favor of the newcomers!

Even more interesting is that they don’t choose other cowbirds – the babies are raised by completely different species of birds. There are at least 220 other species of bird that could find cowbird eggs in their nest one day, but individual females tend to choose one species with which to leave all of their eggs.

Cowbirds have been a challenge for scientists to understand because it’s hard to follow and get to know birds that don’t build nests. But we’ve had more luck in recent years as their habitats have become smaller, and they’ve moved closer to humans (although that’s not really a good thing for the birds).

So, you may wonder how cowbirds learn to become cowbirds if they are raised by other species. And that’s where the really interesting fact comes in.

Cowbirds eventually find their own kind and spend the rest of their lives associating with other cowbirds. They reunite with their species as juveniles, even though there’s no reason they should have the skills to recognize that they aren’t like their foster parents. (Bird brains aren’t that big.)

So how do cowbirds come to recognize one another? They have a password or “secret handshake” deal going on. Technically, it’s a very specialized chatter call. No matter their age, they can take to the trees, make their calls, and other cowbirds will come and find them. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Neural basis for parasitic cowbird’s secret password identified by researchers” — Science Daily

WTF Fun Fact 12611 – The Ancient Origins Of the Loch Ness Monster

Perhaps the modern version of the Loch Ness Monster legend began on May 2, 1933, but that was long after the first sighting of a beast that lived in the Lochs of Ness had been “sighted.” In the early 20th century, a couple told the Inverness Courier about seeing “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” The journalist chose to use the word “monster,” and a new chapter in the legend was born.

Once the London newspapers heard about it, it would be a tabloid story for decades to come. Thousands of people would not only try to see the beast but collect rewards from circuses and the like to capture it.

We don’t believe in the Monster, but do you want to know another fun fact? The loch sits on an enormous ancient fault line. So feel free to rile up the believers by telling them the creature could have come from the center of the earth. They love that stuff!

Anyway, the oldest sighting we know about comes from historical accounts dating all the way back to August 22, 564. An Irish priest, who would later become known as St. Columba, reported seeing an animal in the water while visiting Loch Ness, Scotland. In fact, he not only saw it, but he also claimed it tried to eat one of his servants. Luckily, he was able to command it through some sort of priestly superpower to find a snack elsewhere.

Today, the Loch Ness Monster is one of many cryptids (animals whose existence has never been proven). While it’s neither a profitable profession nor an actual science, those interested in this phenomenon can become cryptozoologists!

According to National Geographic: “Besides the Loch Ness Monster, other lake cryptids include Champ (in Lake Champlain, the United States, and Canada); Issi (in Lake Ikeda, Japan); and the Lagarfljot Worm (in Lagarfljot Lake, Iceland). Other cryptids include chupacabras, blood-sucking creatures that threaten livestock throughout Latin America; bunyips, which lurk in Australia’s swamps; dingoneks, “jungle walruses” found in lakes and rivers in central Africa; and, of course, Bigfoot, who stalks old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.”

Enthusiasm over the Loch Ness Monster has dampened in recent years partly because of the decline of the ridiculous tabloids that used to tout their existence in the check-out aisle of the grocery store. But we think it’s also probably because so many of the photos people submitted as proof of its existence have been proven fake. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Aug 22, 564 CE: Loch Ness Monster Sighted” — National Geographic

WTF Fun Fact 12610 – The Rules Of the Aquatic Road

Manatees are often called “sea cows” because they’re big, slow, and gentle. And perhaps other animals have just learned to respect them for it.

We were surprised to find out that not only do manatees native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea migrate to Florida each year for winter, but they become a well-respected part of the aquatic ecosystem.

In fact, even alligators will treat them like guests and give them the right of way if they swim through each other’s paths. There have been no recorded attacks on manatees by alligators, even though manatees can get a bit pushy when they don’t get their way. They’ll even swim up to and “bop” an alligator that does not yield.

While the alligators don’t know this, their gesture is helping save the endangered creatures, who have died in droves over the last decade.

And even Florida politicians seem to respect the manatees. In 1979, Florida Governor Bob Graham designated November as Manatee Awareness Month. Every governor has renewed the proclamation during their tenure.

If you’d like to see how well these creatures get along, check out the video below – WTF fun facts

Source: “8 things you didn’t know about manatees” — PBS

WTF Fun Fact 12609 – Unexpected Tenants Cause a Buzz

Justin and Andrea Isabell never had plans to invite tenants into their 100-year-old Perkasie, Pennsylvania home. But nature finds a way.

The couple went viral in 2020 after Tropical Storm Fay rolled through and left them with a mysterious substance running down the walls of their mudroom. Justin decided that the best way to solve the mystery was to taste the substance which (lucky for him) was honey.

“After the recent tropical rainstorm soaked our area, we walked in the house through the backdoor and were faced with a stream of something coming down the walls,” Andrea told TODAY. “I was afraid it was water damage, but my husband made a closer inspection to discover it was honey. We were pretty surprised and didn’t understand how that could happen.”

Only after the discovery did they see the bees swarming around their rooftop. They had never spotted nor heard that creatures before that.

“I was pretty overwhelmed imagining what a mess this would be to clean up combined with the costs of repair to the house after the bees were removed,” Isabell said.

The clean-up only involved removing the honey and the comb. It turns out the bees had largely given up on their squatting rights after the rainstorm damaged the honeycomb.

“The comb was damaged from the rainstorm and they’re too smart to stay and have that happen again,” Isabell said. “We will still be having the comb removed and see if we can determine how long we had unknown guests.”

The couple’s Facebook photos went viral, and even show Justin licking the wall.

In their final update, they told those following the story:

“FINAL UPDATE: Bees naturally swarmed off due to the damage to their hive that caused the honey leak the Sunday/Monday after all of this hit the internet. They were found 2 days later as a massive swarm in a neighbor’s tree. The beekeeper, from Yerkes Farm, collected all bees and queen and re-hived them at his location. The bees survived. My house has not been opened up yet as the bees aren’t an issue any longer… when I open the wall, I will take pictures if hive is significant.” – WTF fun facts

Source: “After noticing honey dripping down their walls, couple discover bee problem” — TODAY

WTF Fun Fact 12608 – Predicting the Future With Cheese

While the practice itself is not recorded in detail, at least one ancient source – Artemidorus of Daldis – refers to the practice of tyromancy, or predicting the future using cheese.

Humans have used all sorts of strange objects to try and read the future, including bones, tea leaves, and animal entrails. But we have to admit that cheese divination is new to us.

According to Mental Floss, the only recorded reference to tyromancy in the ancient world is from a skeptic, “the Greek diviner Artemidorus.” While he believed in divination, he “did not feel that cheese divination was very reliable, and included cheese diviners among his list of ‘false diviners,’ alongside dice diviners, sieve-diviners, and necromancers. (The interpretation of dreams and livers was far more dependable, he felt.)”

The practice of tyromancy involved reading the meaning of holes in a piece of cheese. In some cases, women would write the names of men on pieces of cheese, and the first to mold was thought to predict their ideal mate.

While there is scarce evidence for its practice, Ohio History Connection, a non-profit history organization, says:

“Tyromancy is the ancient art of divining the future through cheese, and has been used by various cultures around the world for centuries. By the 19th century, tyromancers would offer visitors a platter of different cheeses and determine their path based on which piece they were drawn to.”

Tyromancy is not the only cheese-based divination method. According to Interesly:

“Another method of Tyromancy was to write the possible answers to a question on separate pieces of cheese and then place them inside a cage along with a hungry rodent. Whichever piece the mouse ate first was the correct answer. This manner of divination was also a form of Myomancy.”

Frankly, we don’t expect to predict the future with cheese, but we’re not opposed to buying more cheese just in case. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Witchy Wheys: Cast Spells and Predict the Future with Cheese Witchy Wheys: Cast Spells and Predict the Future with Cheese” — culture

WTF Fun Fact 12607 – The Lenten Origins of Pretzels

While we tend to associate pretzels with Germany, they’re likely Italian in origin. And even though they’re a typical Oktoberfest food these days, they were once closely associated with Easter and, more specifically, Lent.

It appears the humble pretzel originated in Aosta, Italy in 610 AD with a young monk who decided to get creative with the unleavened bread he was preparing for Lent. He rolled and twisted the dough in the shape of arms crossed in prayer. (In those days, people prayed with their arms crossed over their chests and not with their hands in the prayer position we do today.)

Source: Wikipedia

Originally, the pretzels or “pretiola” were handed out to children to get them to say their prayers, and the word pretiola is Latin for “little reward.” Some historians also believe that the three holes in the pretzel are meant to represent the Holy Trinity.

It’s unclear how pretzels made their way out of the monastery to become a larger European tradition, but by 1440, pretzels became a popular Good Friday food in Germany, along with eggs, which were nestled in the pretzels’ holes. The evidence is scarce, but it has long been said that Germans used to hide pretzels along with eggs on Easter morning. – WTF fun facts

Source: “Why We Eat Pretzels On Easter” — Mashed

WTF Fun Fact 12606 – Octopuses Getting Punchy

Octopuses are incredibly smart. In fact, we’re only just now starting to learn how their complex brains work.

Take this factoid, for example. Octopuses need so much intellectual stimulation that those in captivity require games and puzzles to keep them from eating off their own arms out of boredom!

But did you know octopuses also have a bit of a mean streak?

Researchers have observed the creatures punching fish in the past – everything from a warning “boop” to a “curl up and let ’em have it” punch. Punching is pretty rare, but in many cases, the researchers could ascertain some reason for the punch. Usually, the octopus was trying to keep the fish from spoiling its meal.

However, sometimes octopuses punch fish for revenge. And revenge isn’t something we usually think of as relevant to underwater creatures.

More recently, Eduardo Sampaio recorded the underwater action. He also concluded that some octopuses seem to haul off and punch their hunting partners for no reason at all. That is, they don’t stand to benefit in any way from punching the fish.

Sampaio even posted a video to Twitter to illustrate the punching action:

So, apparently, “throwing a sucker punch” is yet another factoid we can add to humanity’s ever-growing list of things we know about but can’t explain when it comes to octopuses.

– WTF fun facts

Source: “Octopuses Punch Fish, Sometimes For No Apparent Reason” — NPR