Facts learned about our world in 2018.

1

“Almost 20 years ago, Japanese railway stations started installing blue LED panels on platforms as a suicide prevention measure, believing that blue light improves mood. A ten-year study found an 84% decline in suicide attempts at stations where lights were installed, with no decline at stations without lights.” (Source)

2

“AgriProtein is a British company that operates two fly farms in South Africa. Each farm contains 8.4 billion flies, which consume 276 tonnes of food waste and lay 340 million eggs each day. Those eggs (maggots) are dehydrated, flattened and used as animal feed. The company is worth $200m, and they’re planning to open 100 more factories around the world by 2024.” (Source)

3

“By optimising their email subject lines to be short, negative, surprising and full of brand names, CB Insights earned an extra $625,000 per year.” (Source)

4

“Rera is an online poultry farm startup from Harare, Zimbabwe. It’s like Kickstarter for chickens. You order, the farmer grows, you save 40% of retail costs.” (Source)

5

“Using a middle initial makes people think you’re clever.” (Source)

6

“In Uganda, half the population is under the age of 15.” (Source)

7

“In 2016, Singapore police reported 135 total days without any crimes including snatch-theft, house break-ins and robbery.” (Source)

8

“One prominent television actress paid $40,000 to have her [honeymoon] hotel bathroom’s granite sink lifted 7 inches higher — all so she wouldn’t have to bend over when washing her face.” (Source)

9

“Times Newer Roman looks almost exactly like Times New Roman, but each character is 5–10 wider. That means a 15 page, 12pt document contains just over 5,800 words. The same page count in Times New Roman would require over 6,600 words.” (Source)

10

“Vanilla pods now cost $500/kg, roughly the same as silver. Madagascan farmers have briefly become vanillionaires, causing chaos in areas where the nearest bank might be a day’s walk away.” (Source)

11

“In New York City, there are around 1,000 crosswalk buttons. In 2018, only 100 are functional, down from 750 functional buttons in 2004.” (Source)

12

“Researchers found that Starbucks customers in northern China are more likely to move chairs out of their way, while customers in southern China will move themselves around the chairs. The researchers attribute this to ancestral food production. In the north, the primary crop is wheat, which is grown by individual farmers. In the south, farmers have to collaborate to grow rice. So, they believe, people in the south are less individualistic.” (Source)

13

“Fake acupuncture works as well as real acupuncture.” (Source)

14

“35% of Rwanda’s national blood supply outside the capital city is now delivered by drone.” (Source)

15

“Air crews are exposed to more radiation than people who work at nuclear power stations.” (Source)