Interesting Facts - Page 216

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1076

The first recorded use of the word "mammoth" as an adjective was by Thomas Jefferson in 1802.

1077

Much of what we know about giant squid comes from their remains found inside the stomachs of sperm whales.

1078

In Wisconsin, the governor has an extremely powerful line item veto. He or she can strike any text from a piece of legislation, even punctuation and numbers. This applies even if it completely changes the meaning of the text. Recently, the governor changed "2024–25" into "2425", extending a one year spending increase by 400 years.

1079

During the early 2000s, schools in Perth, Australia gave teenage girls "infant simulator" dolls which fussed and cried like real babies. It was intended to show how difficult motherhood could be and thereby discourage teen pregnancy. The results were surprising. The girls who received the dolls actually had significantly higher pregnancy rates than the control group who didn't.

1080

The largest lake in California is the Salton Sea. It was formed by accident in 1905 after an irrigation canal overflowed and water from the Colorado River flowed into the area for two years.

6 Comments

+13

Level 68

Apr 27, 2025

1078 is wild

Level 67

Apr 28, 2025

should send that one to lateral

Level 49

May 8, 2025

1079 - The results of the study could have a few different explanations.

- Some similar studies done within a few years of the 2016 one yielded no significant difference between pregnancy rates. Could be a fluke result.

-The teens received positive reinforcement for the desire to have a baby, when the baby is presented like a minor responsibility.

- The baby crying is expected by the teens, but the experience isn't realistic enough. Long-term stress, physical and emotional demands, and financial strain are obviously left out of the experience with the doll. It could trick them into thinking they can handle it.

- The role of teenage fathers was neglected. The idea could be more effective when they're the ones who have to think about consequences.

Level ∞

Aug 14, 2025

My guess is, like most studies, the result is essentially junk and won't replicate.

Nevertheless, I find it somewhat interesting that the people who ran the study thought "of course people don't want to do the thing that literally all their ancestors did and which they are biologically programmed to want". The presumption that babies ruin your life instead of making it better is fairly arrogant.

Level 71

Feb 1, 2026

The presumption that the decision to have a baby should depend on whether it enriches your life is even more arrogant, egotistical and self-centered. If you decide to bring a new life into this world, you're morally obliged to provide the child with its best chance in life. Teens are virtually never in a life situation to do that - a stable loving relationship, a stable income high enough to cover the family's needs and the ability for both parents to be at home and bond with the child are bare necessities for a good start in life. That comes later on. Of course, if someone don't want kids, that's obviously fine too. Fortunately we live in a time where both poorly conceived pregnancies (see what I did there?) and involuntary childlessness are fairly easily fixed.

Level 67

Mar 9, 2026

Of course 1078 is Wisconsin.