10 Cool Facts for Social Gatherings to Make an Impression
6 Once upon a time, the Aztecs used cacao beans as a form of currency since they believed them to be a gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom.
Chocolate started its journey in Mesoamerica. People there were making fermented chocolate beverages as early as 450 BCE. The Aztecs had a very different view of chocolate. They believed that the cacao beans were a gift from the god of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl. This led to the cacao beans holding so much value that they were used as a form of currency!
Originally, chocolate was just consumed as a liquid. It was either consumed bitter or mixed with spices and corn puree. The drink was considered an aphrodisiac and was believed to give strength to the drinker. Even today, some locals in southern Mexico consume chocolate in the same manner.
It was only after chocolate made its way to Europe that sugar was added to it and it became the chocolate that we know today. (source)
7 A second is so called because it divides the hour by 60 for the second time, the first time being called a “minute.”
The second is a unit of time and has a very logical, mathematical definition. But, the term actually originated as the “second minute.” The first minute, or what is rightly known as the “prime minute,” was the first division of the hour by 60. The prime minute is what we know today as simply a “minute.” Now, when the prime minute is divided by 60 again, it gives the “second minute” or the second that we know today. (source)
8 The Romans were some of the first people to wear bikinis.
Bikinis might look like a modern, liberating piece of clothing for modern women, but in reality, women have been wearing bikinis since the 4th century! In an artwork in Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily that dates back to the Diocletian Period, women were depicted wearing garments that resemble modern bikinis. The artwork is a floor mosaic that has the images of 10 women known as the “Bikini Girls.”
It’s amazing that these women are depicted as working out. While one of them is lifting weights, the other is throwing a discus. There were also a few who seemed to be playing handball and dancing. These ancient, Roman women were athletes and dancers. The part of mosaics with these women is the most replicated among the 37 million colored tiles at the location.
Similar mosaic artworks have also been found in Tellaro, Italy and Patti, Sicily. (source)
9 Pineapples used to be so expensive in the 18th century that people would rent them as a centerpiece for their party.
It’s hard to believe that once upon a time, pineapples used to be an item of luxury. Only wealthy people were able to afford them. The crowned top of the fruit combined with its gem-like texture was seen as a symbol of wealth and power by ancient people.
Christopher Columbus was the first to discover this fruit. When he brought it back to Spain, the people, especially the royalty, was taken aback by its deliciousness. It was a rare fruit that people had never seen before. It was difficult and costly to transport the fruit, so it immediately became a symbol of wealth and power.
When the pineapple made its way to England in the 17th century, it brought its aura of royalty around it. In the 18th century, a single pineapple could cost as much as $8,000 in today’s money! It became so desirable that people would rent a pineapple for the night to show off among friends and other party goers.
By the 20th century, the US started producing pineapples on a large scale. and it became affordable to the masses. (1, 2, 3)
10 Horses have more in common to rhinos than they do to deers.
Who would have thought that horses and rhinos are related! They hang on the same branch of the evolutionary tree. Although scientists had known the similarity between the two for a long time, they were yet to discover any physical link between the two. Horses and rhinos belong to the same biological group known as “perissodactyls.” The missing physical link has come in the form of a fossil discovered in India that scientists claim to have been the common ancestor of both horses and rhinos.
The fossils belonged to a creature known as Cambaytherium thewissi. In the past 10 years, more than 200 bones of Cambaytherium thewissi were dug up by scientists in Gujarat, India. The bones were restructured to draw a picture of the creature. The picture turned out to resemble the biological group perissodactyls. Now, scientists believe that Cambaytherium thewissi must have been the common ancestor of all the animals belonging to the perissodactyls group that includes horses and rhinos.
The Cambaytherium thewissi walked the Earth 54.5 million years ago. They might have migrated to other areas during that time, and their descendants must have adapted to the evolutionary and environmental changes of the new areas. This is may be why we see no physical similarity between a horse and a rhino, although they are genetically connected. (1, 2)
Useless Facts that You Really Don’t Need to Know – Part 2
In 2006, the Usually Salty Seawater Turned Sweet in Mumbai’s Mahim Creek for a Day Leading People to Hail it as a Miracle