fun fact – Backyard Vitality

‘J’ Was the Last Letter Added to the Alphabet

2 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

For centuries, the letter “I” had to pull double duty. It represented both the vowel sound we know in words like “it” and the consonant sound at the beginning of words like “jar.”

In the 16th century, an Italian scholar named Gian Giorgio Trissino decided enough was enough. He argued that these two sounds were distinct and deserved separate letters. He proposed using “I” for the vowel and a modified version, “J,” for the consonant.

It wasn’t an overnight change. Even after Trissino’s proposal, it took a while for “J” to catch on. Early adopters were mostly in Romance languages like Italian and French.

One of the most significant moments for “J” in the English language was the 1629 revision of the King James Bible. This was one of the first major English texts to consistently use “J” as a distinct letter. This helped solidify its place in the alphabet.

Now, of course, “J” is a vital part of our alphabet, used in countless words and holding its own unique place in the English language.

So, while “Z” might bring up the rear, “J” was the last to truly join the alphabet club.

Which letter was first? Probably “A.” We think.

While it’s hard to say for absolute certainty which letter came first, “A” is generally considered the earliest addition to the alphabet.**

Here’s why:

The ancestor of our alphabet, the Proto-Sinaitic script, emerged around 1850 BC. The first letter in this script represented an ox head (called “aleph” in Phoenician) and made a glottal stop sound (like the catch in your throat before saying “uh-oh”). This evolved into the letter “A” and its sound.

The Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet, and their first two letters, “alpha” and “beta,” gave us the word alphabet. “Alpha” directly descends from the Phoenician “aleph.”

Ketchup Was Once Sold as a Medicine

2 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

Dr. John Cook Bennett, a rather eccentric American physician in the 1830s, was convinced that tomatoes held incredible healing powers. He believed they could purify the blood and cure a wide range of illnesses, from digestive problems to jaundice. He began selling ketchup as a concentrated form of tomato medicine, even creating “tomato pills” for convenient consumption. Bennett wasn’t shy about sharing his beliefs, publishing pamphlets and giving lectures promoting his “tomato cure.”

His claims caught on like wildfire, and soon the market was flooded with various tomato-based pills and concoctions, all promising miraculous health benefits. Unfortunately, many of these products were simply cashing in on the craze and contained little to no actual tomato. Some were just cleverly disguised laxatives. This led to a chaotic “tomato pill war,” with companies making outlandish claims and vying for customers.

However, the lack of scientific evidence to back up these claims, combined with the prevalence of fraudulent products, eventually led to the decline of the “ketchup cure” by the mid-1800s. People started to realize that ketchup wasn’t the miracle cure it was advertised to be.

Despite its failure as medicine, ketchup didn’t disappear entirely. In the late 19th century, companies like Heinz recognized its potential as a condiment. They began mass-producing and marketing ketchup, focusing on its delicious flavor and versatility rather than its supposed health benefits.

Today, ketchup is a beloved condiment enjoyed worldwide. It’s a staple at barbecues, a perfect pairing for french fries, and a classic ingredient in many dishes. It’s quite a journey for something that was once touted as a cure-all!

Oddly, tomatoes were once considered poisonous to eat.

Tomatoes were once considered dangerous due to a combination of factors. They belong to the nightshade family, which includes some poisonous plants, and their bright, shiny appearance further fueled suspicion.

Additionally, a misunderstanding about lead poisoning from pewter plates led people to wrongly blame tomatoes for illnesses. These factors created a fear of tomatoes that persisted for quite some time.

The longest one-syllable word in English is…

1 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

“Screeched” is often cited as the longest one-syllable word (9 letters), but it’s not the longest.

Here are a few one-syllable words that are even longer:

Schmaltzed (10 letters) – meaning to make something overly sentimental, often used in music.
Strengthed (10 letters) – an obsolete word meaning to strengthen.
Scraunched (10 letters) – meaning to crunch or crush something.
Scroonched (10 letters) – a variant of “scrunched,” meaning to squeeze or crumple.

There’s even some debate about whether “squirrelled” (11 letters) can be pronounced as one syllable, which would make it the longest!

Syllables aside, the longest word in the English language is:

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

It’s 45 letters long and refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silica dust, usually found in volcanoes.

Interestingly, it was originally coined to be the longest word in English, and it has succeeded in that regard.

You Can’t Smoke On a Plane. So Why Are There Still Ashtrays?

1 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

Even though smoking has been banned on airplanes, ashtrays are mandatory on every plane. This is for safe disposal in case someone breaks the law.

Ashtrays were once commonplace throughout the cabin. While smoking sections are long gone, the ashtray requirement remains as a legacy of that era and a reminder of the dangers of fire. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates the inclusion of ashtrays in airplane lavatories. This isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a legal requirement for all commercial aircraft.

Despite the ban and the obvious dangers, some people still attempt to smoke on planes. This could be due to nicotine addiction, defiance, or simply a lack of awareness. Ashtrays acknowledge this reality and offer a harm reduction approach.

Cigarettes are a major fire hazard, and a plane is a confined space with limited escape options. A smoldering cigarette butt thrown in a trash can could easily ignite other flammable materials, leading to a catastrophic situation. An ashtray provides a fire-resistant receptacle for safe disposal.

So the focus is on preventing a fire, rather than simply punishing a rule-breaker. While smoking on a plane is illegal and could result in fines or even arrest, the immediate priority is to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew.

Blindfolded, Humans Eventually Walk in a Circle

2 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

Humans cannot walk in a straight line without a visual point. When blindfolded or lost in a trackless expanse, like a desert, we will gradually walk in a circle.

Our bodies have internal sensors (proprioceptors) located in muscles, tendons, and joints. These sensors provide information to the brain about limb position, muscle tension, and joint angles. While generally reliable, these sensors require constant calibration and feedback. Even minor inconsistencies in terrain, stride length, or weight distribution can introduce errors over time. Imagine each step as a tiny vector with a slight directional error. As we walk, these small errors accumulate, leading to a gradual deviation from a straight path.

In addition, most people have a dominant side, resulting in subtle differences in leg strength, muscle activation patterns, and even bone length. This can cause an unconscious tendency to push off more strongly with one leg, leading to a curved trajectory. Even seemingly minor asymmetries in gait, your personal “walking pattern,” can contribute to veering. For example, a slight difference in hip rotation or foot placement can introduce a consistent bias in direction.

To make matters more complicated, your ears come into play. The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, plays a crucial role in balance and spatial orientation. It uses fluid-filled canals and tiny hairs to detect head movements and maintain equilibrium. While remarkably precise, the vestibular system can also experience slight drift or biases over time. This means that our internal sense of “straight ahead” may gradually shift without external reference points.

Finally, our brains rely heavily on visual information to navigate and maintain a sense of direction. Landmarks, distant objects, and even the horizon provide crucial reference points for spatial orientation. In the absence of visual cues, the brain attempts to integrate information from proprioception and the vestibular system. However, the inherent limitations and potential biases of these senses make it challenging to maintain a perfectly straight path.

In essence, walking in a straight line without visual cues is a complex task. The inherent limitations and potential biases in these systems, combined with the lack of external reference points, make it almost inevitable that we will eventually veer off course and, typically, walk in circles.

“She sells seashells by the seashore” was written about a female paleontologist from the 1800s.

1 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

Mary Anning’s story is one of remarkable resilience and scientific contribution in the face of adversity. Born in 1799 in the coastal town of Lyme Regis, England, Mary Anning grew up poor and with limited formal education. However, she possessed a sharp mind and an innate curiosity about the natural world, fostered by her father who supplemented his income by finding and selling fossils.

Tragedy struck early in Mary’s life, first with the death of her father when she was just eleven, and then again when she was an infant. She miraculously survived a lightning strike that killed three women, an event that was said to have intensified her inquisitive nature. To support her family, Mary turned to the cliffs of Lyme Regis, diligently searching for fossils amidst perilous conditions.

Her persistence paid off. At the age of 12 she unearthed the first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton, a marine reptile that challenged contemporary scientific understanding. This discovery catapulted her into the world of paleontology, where she continued to make waves with further groundbreaking finds, including the first near-complete Plesiosaur skeletons and a pterosaur skeleton. These discoveries provided crucial evidence for the evolution of life and the existence of prehistoric creatures, shaping the burgeoning field of paleontology.

Despite her significant contributions, Mary faced an uphill battle as a woman in a male-dominated scientific community. She was often excluded from academic circles and rarely received full credit for her work. Nevertheless, her expertise was recognized by some prominent scientists, and in her later years, she was granted an annuity by the Geological Society of London, a rare honor for a woman at that time.

What Flavor Are Froot Loops, Exactly?

1 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

Yes, despite their different colors, Froot Loops are all the same flavor. The colorful cereal pieces are made to look visually distinct, but they all have the same sweet, fruity taste.

The flavor is a sweet, sugary combination with hints of citrus, berry, and tropical fruit, which makes it taste like a generic “fruit” flavor. However, it’s not designed to mimic any particular fruit, like orange or strawberry, despite the colorful appearance of the cereal pieces. The blend is intentionally crafted to be a fun and fruity taste, appealing to a wide range of palates without focusing on any one specific fruit. This is a common feature in many cereals where the colors are used for visual appeal rather than distinct flavor profiles.

In some European countries, Froot Loops might be sold under different names or slightly altered packaging. The ingredients used in Froot Loops in Europe might differ slightly from those in the U.S. due to stricter food regulations in some European countries, especially concerning artificial colors and preservatives. In the U.S., Froot Loops contain artificial food colorings (like Red 40, Blue 1, etc.), while in some European countries, these may be replaced with natural food colorings to meet local standards.

Although Froot Loops have the same general fruity flavor worldwide, European versions may have slight variations in taste, sometimes due to the differences in sugar content or the use of alternative flavorings. The color-coded “fruit” flavor in the U.S. is generally uniform across all the loops, but the fruity flavor might be perceived slightly differently in Europe due to regional taste preferences or ingredient adjustments.

What Do Roller Coasters Have to Do With Sin?

1 min read | Author - Backyard Vitality

There is a popular theory that suggests roller coasters were invented as a means of distracting people from sinful or immoral behavior. It connects to the broader context of 19th-century America, where moral concerns were tied to public amusements.

LaMarcus Adna Thompson, who is often credited with creating the first true roller coaster in 1884, built the Switchback Railway at Coney Island, New York. This ride was designed to be a simple, gentle thrill with small drops. While Thompson was a businessman, he was also a devout Christian, and some sources suggest that he may have been motivated, in part, by a desire to create wholesome entertainment for the public. There are claims that he believed his roller coaster could provide a healthier, more moral form of entertainment compared to other activities that were seen as immoral or sinful, such as gambling or drinking.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was an ongoing moral and religious concern about the types of entertainment available in growing cities. Amusement parks often became associated with vice, such as alcohol, gambling, and promiscuity, leading some community leaders and religious groups to seek ways to counteract these “sinful” behaviors by offering wholesome alternatives. Roller coasters, as thrilling but safe, fast-paced rides, could be marketed as a way to divert people from these vices by offering exciting, yet clean, fun.

It can be said that the invention of roller coasters, along with other amusements like fairs and games, aimed to provide an alternative to the more morally questionable activities that were common in certain areas. The excitement and physical sensation of speed, height, and gravity on a roller coaster could engage people’s attention, offering a distraction from what some saw as sinful desires.

‘J’ Was the Last Letter Added to the Alphabet

Ketchup Was Once Sold as a Medicine

The longest one-syllable word in English is…

You Can’t Smoke On a Plane. So Why Are There Still Ashtrays?

Blindfolded, Humans Eventually Walk in a Circle

“She sells seashells by the seashore” was written about a female paleontologist from the 1800s.

What Flavor Are Froot Loops, Exactly?

What Do Roller Coasters Have to Do With Sin?

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