Not-So-Fun Facts That Have Us Not Feeling So Great

“Broken Arrow” is a term that refers to accidents with nuclear missiles. This could include accidental detonation, theft, or simply misplacing the terribly deadly nuclear warhead. Since Fat Man and Little Boy were developed in World War II, 32 “Broken Arrow” incidents have occurred. Many took place in or over the ocean, and some around military bases; often they were a result of unrelated engine trouble with the aircraft transporting the weapons.

However, there are still six nuclear weapons completely unaccounted for. It’s now been 71 years since the oldest one was listed as missing – a bomb was dropped somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in 1950, yet never detonated when the flight crew dropped it. In 1956, two nuclear cores went missing when the aircraft transporting them failed to show up at its rendezvous point. Another bomb was dropped over the Savannah River in Georgia; one was lost near Goldboro, NC; and two more disappeared in the ocean.

These six missing American nuclear weapons are nothing compared with the hundreds of former Soviet Union nuclear weapons that are still unaccounted for today, some of which were actually stolen.

The TSA, or Transportation Security Agency, formed in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The agency’s purpose was, and continues to be, to “[p]rotect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.”

To execute this mission, TSA has implemented strict guidelines and requirements in airports across the US over the last 20 years. Fortunately, the agency has been very successful at identifying and confiscating oversized bottles of shampoo and unnecessary amounts of toothpaste. In the area of actually identifying weapons, though, TSA fell a little short. In fact, the agency fell a lot short.

When undercover agents attempted to smuggle weapons in their luggage, TSA agents failed to identify and secure these weapons 95% of the time.

That’s right – those folks who harass you for the forgotten granola bar at the bottom of your backpack are the same ones who seemingly don’t know what real contraband looks like. These weapons included fake bombs and guns, and were hidden in super-secret places, like being taped to the back of one undercover agent. While the 95% failure rate was shockingly high, it’s unfortunately par for the course for the TSA, which has continually failed to detect weapons in undercover investigations.

If you watch enough true crime shows or listen to enough podcasts, you’d think murderers were just about always caught. It might take a while, and it might not be who you thought it was, but they’re going to be caught.

Well, not so much. According to FBI data, it turns out that almost 40% of murders in the US are never solved. Of course, this raises many issues. There are concerns that perpetrators may then go on to commit subsequent murders, or varying other crimes, which would have been prevented if they were apprehended. It also seems to give courage to law-breakers, as their odds of not getting caught are fairly good.

This data has stayed about the same. In fact, the average clearance (solving of the case) of homicides in the US has hovered around 60% since 1965, with the other 40% going unsolved and becoming cold cases. It’s estimated that the country currently has more than 250,000 cold cases, and many in law enforcement see this as a crisis situation.

Chainsaws were originally invented to cut through not wood or shrubs, but human bone. Before birth by C-section was an option, doctors and midwives had very few options if a baby got stuck during labor. To remedy this, they might cut open the mother’s pelvis with a sharp knife, but that often took too much time. So in 1780, a pair of Scottish doctors invented a specialized saw to assist with what is referred to as a symphysiotomy.

Fortunately, the 18th-century chain saw was not the gas-powered monster we see today, but was operated by a hand crank and was about 12 inches in length.

For those who grew up in the 1990s, The Land Before Time was a staple of childhood, with Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Cera all struggling to make it as adorable baby dinosaurs in a dangerous prehistoric world.

It’s tragic to know the movie that brought so much joy to countless children had a dark history. Judith Barsi was born in 1978, and became a child actor and voice-over talent by the time she was in grade school. It was her work and steady income that helped her immigrant parents, both from Hungary, live the American dream. Some of her last roles were voicing Ducky, the lovable Saurolophus in The Land Before Time, and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Her father, József “Joe” Barsi, was known to have a temper and an alcohol abuse problem. In the years prior to Judith’s death, he repeatedly made threats about killing his wife Maria, their daughter, and himself. One night, the words became more than just threats. Seemingly overwhelmed by his anger toward his wife, who was allegedly preparing to leave him for her and their daughter’s safety, Joe pulled a gun on Judith, Maria, and finally himself.

Biological warfare is unpleasant business, and it’s likely been around for centuries. Although they weren’t the first to utilize the bodies of dead enemies, the Mongols did take advantage of the practice in the 14th century.

Using their advanced technology, the Mongols launched bodies of those known to have been infected with plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis) into cities under siege. Some scientists and historians even believe that the use of this biological warfare during the siege of Caffa (in modern-day Ukraine) is what brought the deadly bubonic plague to Europe.

If you’ve ever spent any time in the ocean, you’ve probably thought about all the creatures living there and the natural bodily functions that occur. Well, next time you accidentally get a mouthful of seawater, remember this: whales like to relieve themselves when they surface from a dive.

So, instead of being considerate of us humans and doing their business deep underwater, they tend to leave clouds of feces and urine floating on the surface. Some scientists have even seen whales lying on their backs and peeing upwards, sending fountains of urine in the air.

As if tumors weren’t bad enough on their own – even the noncancerous ones can cause damage and pain to the body, and can also be unsightly. Some even have the superpower of growing tissues and organs, such as hair, muscle, and teeth.

Called teratomas, these tumors are very rare but can appear in adults as well as children and babies. Although they are usually benign, they can sometimes be cancerous, and even benign teratomas can sometimes grow back after removal. They are most commonly found in the tailbone area or genitalia.

Frequently, teratomas are a result of miscommunication in the body’s growth process. The neoplasms themselves start in germ cells, which explains why they usually appear where those germ cells live in the body. Germ cells can also morph into specialized cells – hence the teeth, hair, bone, organs, and wax that can turn up inside the tumors. But just because there’s a logical scientific explanation doesn’t make them any less disturbing.

For many of us, Pluto was the ninth planet in our solar system as we grew up, but has since been demoted to dwarf planet status. Another fun fact about Pluto, besides the fact that it lost its planethood, it that it has yet to finish orbiting the sun since it was first discovered in February of 1930.

While it takes the planet we call home 365 days – or one Earth year – to complete an orbit, Pluto requires 248 Earth years just to complete one entire orbit around the sun. Hopefully we’ll all be around to celebrate Pluto’s “birthday” in March 2178.

When people think of Australia, they might think of some of the outback’s most unique creatures: koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, a variety of lizards, and of course, kangaroos. They might picture pristine beaches and deserted bushland. Or they might consider the Great Barrier Reef, and the majestic yet dangerous ecosystem it supports.

If asked about one of the deadliest things in all of Australia, people would offer many good (but wrong) guesses. They might be surprised to learn that one of the deadliest aspects of Australia isn’t the spiders or sharks or crocodiles – it’s the sun.

In fact, 14,000 Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer each year, and two out of three will receive the diagnosis before their 70th birthday. Experts cite several reasons for this. First, depending on the season, the ozone layer can thin somewhat over Australia, which allows more UV rays from the sun. Secondly, most Australians trace their lineage back to Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, where the climate is much different. Thus, their fair skin is made for a drearier climate as opposed to the warm, sunny Aussie weather.

Combine that with the fact that Australia has more than 250 days of sun on average yearly, and plenty of beaches, and you get a whole lot of skin cancer. Better grab that high-SPF sunscreen.