In Arizona, a law was brought into effect after a public menace case in 1924. A merchant used to allow his donkey to sleep in a bathtub and when the town flooded, the donkey was washed a mile down the valley. The donkey survived, but locals spent a lot of time and manpower to save the animal. This law was passed shortly after.

Anyone who visits Myanmar will notice people in the streets with what seems like mud smeared over their faces. This is a little disconcerting at first but it’s nothing to worry about.

Actually, it’s a special mixture of powdered bark that comes from a particular tree. When it’s produced, locals wipe it on their faces to act as protection against the sun. Some also say that it’s good for the skin and has anti-aging properties. When you’re in the country, try it for yourself and you can make up your own mind.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, a large and powerful Kingdom flourished in the plains of central Myanmar. Kings built a succession of ancient temples and pagodas, which became a center for Theravada Buddhism. This was also the birthplace of the dominance of Burmese culture and language in modern-day Myanmar.

Visiting the temples in modern-day Bagan is one of the top things people do when they visit the country. You can see more than 2000 religious monuments in a very tiny area and experience the best sunset of your life.

If you think cats can’t do tricks, then you’ll be shocked to learn this cat fact. The most tricks performed by a cat in one minute is 24! Didga completed a series of tricks from rolling over, to even jumping a bar whilst on a skateboard!

The Netherlands has one of the highest home birth rates in the developed world. Around 30% of Dutch women deliver their babies at home, and this figure has changed little since 1990. So why are home births still cherished in the Netherlands? It’s partly because Dutch health insurance fully covers home births, but doesn’t always cover hospital births without medical necessity. The Dutch medical system also has a good screening system and provides midwives (verloskundige) who help mothers have a safe delivery at home.

The tallest people in the world live in the Netherlands. The average height for Dutch men is 183cm (6ft), while women average 171cm (5ft 7in). According to military records, the average male height in the Netherlands has risen by 20cm in the last 200 years. This fun fact about the Netherlands remains a mystery, as the reason for their height is still uncertain. Some theories attribute Dutch genetics, universal healthcare, low social inequality and a diet rich in cheese and dairy products.

Back in the 10th century, carrots were originally white, purple, or pale yellow. So how did they get their distinct orange colour? The story goes that when William of Orange (King William III) helped the Dutch win independence from Spain in the 17th century, Dutch farmers honoured the King by turning their carrots orange through clever breeding. The new colour became hugely popular and is still the Netherlands official colour and the colour of the Dutch Royal family. The Dutch celebrate King’s Day by wearing orange and even the national sports teams wear orange.

This cat fact will really blow your mind. A study discovered that our little house cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers! They also share a lot of the same behaviours such as scent and urine marking, prey stalking and pouncing.

If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you’d be right. According to Veterinary Hub, Cats actually spend 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It’s a cat’s life!

In 1985, a series of fires broke out in England that destroyed various homes and businesses. A group of paintings known as “Crying Boys” were the lone survivors of the fires, and as a result, all of the paintings belonging to the series were thought to be cursed. The original collection, created by painter Bruno Amadio, intended to depict children who had been recently orphaned as a result of World War II. The paintings were mass-produced in England, but everyone who had one sought to destroy theirs after the curse of the fires.

After the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, many believed the Egyptian Pharaoh cursed all who entered it. Aside from the curse of the pharaohs—which is a belief that anyone, thief or archeologist, who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian person will be cursed—an expedition led by Howard Carter furthered the mysticism. During the expedition, a canary that led Carter to the tomb died, Carter’s financial backer, George Herbert, died after a mosquito bite grew infected, and numerous other deaths became associated with the decade-long dig.

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, Herodotus wrote in 440BC that when a pet cat died in Ancient Egyptian times the family members would shave off their eyebrows in mourning. Now that’s an interesting cat fact!

An orange tabby cat called Stubbs was the mayor of Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska for 20 years! He had several uncontested elections and although he didn’t hold any legislative power, he was loved by locals and tourists alike.

Amsterdam’s beautiful bridges are an icon of the city. There are 1,281 bridges in Amsterdam which connect the city’s 165 canals. 

There are several historic bridges, while others are decorated with bright flowers or lit up at night. You can even see 15 bridges at once, by crossing the Reguliersgracht and Herengracht bridges.

An accountant told us that he loves his work because as long as he follows his checklist, he knows he’s doing a good job. A professor hates rules and needs to set his own agenda. They both do their jobs well, but they’d be disasters in the other’s position. Just like everyone else, people with ADHD need to understand their strengths and weaknesses and find or build an environment that will help them thrive. We know people who are the first at work to volunteer for jobs that suit their skills, so they don’t get stuck doing the ones that aren’t a good fit.

Some braille tattoos are simple (like “love”) and some are complicated. Most people get flat (ink) braille across tattoos, while others reportedly get small surgical beads inserted under their skin to create raised braille dots. If you’re not ready to go that far, temporary braille tattoos are also available. 

In uncontracted braille, every word is spelled out. Contracted braille is a “shorthand” version where common words are abbreviated, much like “don’t” is a shorter version of “do” and “not.” Most children learn uncontracted braille before they learn the contracted version.

In 1999, NASA’s Deep Space 1 probe flew past an asteroid while on its way to photograph the Borrelly comet. NASA named the asteroid “9969 Braille” in honor of Louis Braille.

While a sighted person can read 300 words per minute, some fast braille readers can whip through a book at a speed of 400 words per minute. The key to reading braille so quickly is a light touch – and using both hands (one hand reads while the other is poised to start on the next line).

It’s a tactile alphabet that can be used to write almost any language. There are braille versions of Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew and many others.