Mental Floss: Instant Knowledge (36 page)

(or how to give a dog a bowl)

USEFUL FOR:
chatting up people who love
Fear Factor
, nonvegetarians, mailmen, and cat lovers

KEYWORDS:
I hate dogs or I love soup

THE FACT:
While you might be hard pressed to find someone who’ll eat it, man’s best friend makes man’s best soup in some parts of the world.

For those of you with iron stomachs (and no fear of the SPCA), the Chinese Bosintang, or dog meat soup, is relatively easy to make, assuming Bowser is agreeable. The soup requires taking strips of dog meat and boiling them in a soy paste. Then vegetables like green onions, taro stalk as well as the herb perilla leaves are added to the mixture, and the broth is brought to a boil. Finally, a sauce made from mashed garlic, red pepper, and ginger is mixed in. Rumor has it that it goes very well with a glass of soju (an Asian liquor). Of course, the dish has a bit of versatility. Rice can be served with the soup or the combination can be mixed together to make sumptuous leftovers or a warm meal the kids can take in their lunch box…or a doggie bag. Ugh.

(and their fisticuffs)

USEFUL FOR:
barroom banter, Civil War reenactments, and avoiding fights across the land

KEYWORDS:
excuse me

THE FACT:
Strangely enough, “cultures of honor”—or societies where it seems essential for men to avenge insults with their knuckles—have been on anthropologists minds for a while, and the South made for an interesting case.

Two University of Michigan researchers decided to see if theU.S. was still split into cultures of honor. They conducted a study in which a man bumps into a male subject in a long hallway and then calls him a derogatory term (one that rhymes with “bass hole”). The result? Men from the South were deemed more likely to throw a punch. And not only were they visibly angrier than their Northern counterparts, but, after the incident, their saliva tested higher for cortisol (associated with stress, anxiety, and arousal) and testosterone (associated with aggression). It’s thought that this simply means that Southerners (generally rural) are less accustomed to this type of confrontation and thus react angrily, whereas Northerners (in crowded urban areas) get bumped around and called names on a regular basis.

(great for beetles, a little less so for humans)

USEFUL FOR:
barroom banter, locker room chats, and warning anyone looking for happy pills in Chinatown

KEYWORDS:
Viagra, aphrodisiac, or any condition that starts with “erectile”

THE FACT:
Mention “Spanish fly,” and people’s thoughts turn to carnal activities. In truth, though “The Fly” isn’t a fly at all, but a beetle.

In fact, it’s a beetle that produces a compound called cantharidin, an irritant of the urogenital tract. While it isn’t an aphrodisiac, “Spanish fly” can produce an erection. It can also pose a serious threat to human health. Luckily, however, it poses no threat to the male pyrochroid beetles, which rely on the stuff for mating purposes. During the mating ritual, the male secretes a gooey substance that the female tastes. Only if she tastes cantharidin does mating become a possibility—a good example of chemical warfare and species survival. The female passes the cantharidin on to her eggs, which are then less appetizing to predators such as ladybugs.

(and a reason to cry over it)

USEFUL FOR:
cocktail parties, impressing history buffs, and anytime you’re drinking milk

KEYWORDS:
Lincoln, sour milk, or expiration date

THE FACT:
Strangely enough, one of the unfortunate victims of bad milk was Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, who died of milk sickness in 1818.

The sickness, which actually wiped out many pioneers, had nothing to do with bacteria and everything to do with a cow’s diet. When the animals grazed on a plant called snakeroot, people who drank their milk got sick and often died. A naturally occurring substance in the milk called tremetol was converted by human body enzymes into a highly toxic substance. When chemists linked milk sickness to snakeroot early in the twentieth century, farmers were counseled to rid their fields of the plant, and the milk sickness was quickly eliminated.

(studs of the animal kingdom)

USEFUL FOR:
barroom banter and making small talk at the aquarium

KEYWORDS:
endurance, tentacles, or calamari

THE FACT:
According to some interesting recent research, the lowly squid has the kind of stamina that could put Sting to shame.

Scientists at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have uncovered the bizarre and intricate mating rituals of the squid, a deep water creature, and, once word gets out, the squid is certain to become the talk of the ocean. Squid mating begins with a “circling nuptial dance,” where teams of squid continuously circle around spawning beds in an area that can reach 200 meters across. At daybreak, the squid (or squids, whichever you prefer) begin to mate and continue all day long, halting the activity only long enough for the female to dive down and deposit her eggs. Once she comes back to the circling area, she reunites with her male companion and the process begins again. At dusk, the males and females go offshore to feed and rest. Then, at the first sight of sun, they head back to the spawning area and go at it again all day long. In fact, it’s believed that this routine can last for up to two weeks, which undoubtedly results in some sore tentacles.