In 1976, grad student Barry Kidston synthesized the drug ... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
In 1976, grad student Barry Kidston synthesized the drug MPPP, but a botched step contaminated it with MPTP. He developed Parkinson's symptoms in days, dying 18 months later — yet MPTP became a tool for modeling the disease in primates.
Pure water is an insulator. Electricity passes through water not because of the water itself, but because of dissolved ions. Tap water conducts electricity well because it contains ions like chlorine from disinfection.
The barbershop pole originated from a time when barbers in Europe also performed surgery. Red represents arteries and bleeding, blue represents veins and shaving, and white represents bones and bandages.
The fact that scurvy can be prevented with citrus fruits was known as early as the 1400s. Yet humanity kept rediscovering and forgetting this cure for over 400 years. Mainstream medicine did not fully accept it until 1907.
Hypodermic injection needles aren't made by drilling holes. A flat steel strip is rolled into a tube, welded, then pulled through progressively smaller holes. Larger gauge numbers mean thinner needles — 18G means the wire passed through 18 holes.
Pufferfish venom blocks sodium channels in nerves, while monkshood venom activates them. Because the two poisons work in opposite ways, taking them together delays their effects. In 1986, a murderer in Japan exploited this principle to delay the time of death and fabricate an alibi.