If you're like me, and who wouldn’t want
to be (ha), then you probably also wake up at 3 AM sometimes with a flood of urgent questions
in your mind! How do barcode readers work? How did bubble wrap appear? And, most importantly, is there a reason most
erasers are pink? Well, here we go! 1. Ever paid attention to those metal or plastic
tips on the ends of your shoelaces? They’re called aglets. Sure, they keep the strings from fraying,
and they make lacing your shoes much less labor-intensive. But here’s the surprising bit: they appeared
in ancient Rome, where people made them out of glass or stone. 2. The reason why the computer mouse is named
after that cute little rodent is easy to explain: the thing is quick and small, and not too
long ago, it used to have a cord connecting it to the computer that looked like a tail. But when the first computer mice appeared,
producers referred to them as turtles. Makes sense! They’re covered with a hard shell, and all
the moving parts are underneath this “shield.” 3. Obviously, webcams let you see your friends
and relatives who can be halfway across the world. But few people know that the web camera was
created with a bit less noble purpose. It was 1991, and Cambridge computer scientists
were getting frustrated. You see, every time they went to the coffee
machine for a cup of Joe, there wouldn’t be any coffee left in the pot! A journey wasted! One day, they’d finally had enough and simply
invented the world's first webcam! They placed the camera next to the infamous
coffee pot with a perfect view to check the level. Then they’d know right from their desks
if the trip would be worth the effort! 4. What would childhood be without hours spent
sending a Slinky down a staircase? Ah, good times… The popular toy has been around for over 70
years, but there’s more to the Slinky than stair-time fun (and lots of tangles): its
older metal version used to serve as a makeshift antenna for engineers and soldiers. And in 1985, one Slinky even made it to space! Unfortunately, it refused to slink in zero
gravity. Astronauts reported that it just "drooped." 5. Paper money isn't the most reliable form of
cash because bills tend to wear out faster than you’d think. For example, a US 1-dollar bill usually lasts
for only 18 months – after that, it must be withdrawn from circulation and replaced. A 5-dollar bill goes a bit longer – for
2 years, a 10 - for 3 years, and a 20 – for 4 years. As for 50- and 100-dollar bills, they last
the longest – 9 whole years! And get this: the US Mint prints 37 million
bills a day, but 95% of them go to replace old ones that are dirty, torn, faded, and
unusable. Hey, I’ll be happy to take that dirty, torn
and faded cash! Call me maybe. 6. T-shirts were invented at the beginning of
the 20th century. In 1904, Cooper Underwear Company advertised
them as a perfect product for bachelors who couldn’t sew or reattach buttons to their
shirts. Back then, you were supposed to wear a T-shirt
under your collared shirt as an undergarment. Oh, and all T-shirts at that time were white
– no funny prints or bright colors. 7. In 1957, engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc
Chavannes decided to seal two shower curtains together with tiny bubbles of air stuck in
between. Why? It was supposed to be a cool new idea for
a wallpaper! Unfortunately for them, nobody was interested
in bubbly wall décor. But in 1961, people realized that this bubble
wrap could be great protection for fragile things! The company’s first client was IBM, who
used the stuff to cover their computers during shipment. I don’t know, I’m kind of into the wallpaper
idea now that I think about it – imagine how fun your house could be! 8. Erasers – why are they pink? Ok, I know they now come in all colors and
shapes, but I’m talking about that classic bubble-gum hue. History’s got all the answers! When a stand-alone eraser appeared in 1916,
it was made mainly of rubber and pumice. Without the pumice, the thing didn't have
enough friction to erase pencil marks. Pumice could be white or red, and the color
of an eraser depended on the hue of this volcanic rock. That year, the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company
started to add pink pumice to their erasers, which became popular under the name "Pink
Pearl." Nowadays, producers don’t use pumice or
natural rubber for their erasers anymore. But they decided to keep the color as an homage
to history! 9. Electric fans don't actually cool the air. If you put a thermometer anywhere close to
the working parts, you'll see the temperature rise due to the electric current. What it does do is cool your skin! The device speeds up the evaporation process,
making sweat on your skin colder. 10. Rice is the oldest food on your plate. And I don't mean it's expired! Rice is the product people have been cultivating
for the longest time: from 12,000 to 15,000 years. It first appeared in ancient China's Pearl
River Valley thousands of years ago. The only other food that’s almost as old
is corn. Native people in Mexico started growing it
between 7,000 to 12,000 years ago. 11. The keyboard you use today was originally
designed to slow you down! The position of the letters isn’t as random
as it might seem. It's called QWERTY design (see the top left
row of letters), and it appeared in 1872. The main purpose of this design was to slow
down the typists of that time. They were getting too fast for the machines
they used. As a result, typewriters jammed, which wasted
tons of time. And however counterintuitive it may sound,
slowing the typists down actually made them more productive. Obviously, there's no practical need for the
QWERTY keyboard nowadays, but people are so used to it that it’s probably not worth
coming up with a new design. 12. You might have noticed that some cables have
chunky cylinders on them. These cylinders are called ferrite chokes
(or ferrite beads), and they have an important function. Without them, cables turn into antennas that
can pick up and broadcast electrical interference. The cylinders, in turn, "choke" this interference. 13. Now stick with me here. Velcro was invented after a walk in the forest! George de Mestral, the Swiss inventor of the
popular quick fastener, once noticed how burs would stick to his dog's fur and his own pant
legs. This inspired him to come up with an idea
of creating the same effect for fabric. 14. Barbie saw the light of day in 1959. And in the 1960s, the legendary doll got a
fictional biography published in a series of novels. If you read them, you'll find out that her
full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts of Willows, Wisconsin, and her parents are George
and Margaret Roberts. But they’re all kind of artificial, know
what I mean. 15. Despite what I used to believe, barcode readers
aren’t reading the black parts of the code but the white ones! The reader emits rays of light that fall on
those bars. When that happens, the white areas reflect
this light, while the dark ones absorb it. And it’s the reflected light which helps
the device "read" the code and give you the information about the product. Man, I used to think the “Bar Code” meant
how many pretzels you were allow to eat along with your beverage. 16. In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought some
pineapples to Europe, and people fell in love with the taste of the exotic fruit. Sadly, they needed tropical climates to grow
to perfection. That's why the only way to get yourself a
pineapple was to import it from across the Atlantic. It took ages, and in the process, fruits could
get rotten or bruised. No wonder a single pineapple could cost a
ridiculous amount of money. It became a symbol of status, and people who
couldn't afford to buy one, rented pineapples for a night to show them off at their parties! And now, I think I’ll go back to sleep. Morning’s coming soon. But first: If you learned something new today, then give
the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other great videos I know
you'll enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
