One reason airplane meals taste flat is cabin pressure. C... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
One reason airplanemeals taste flat is cabin pressure. Cabins mimic 1,800–2,400 m altitude and dry nasal passages. A 2010 Fraunhofer experiment found sweet and salty taste sensitivity fell ~30%, so airlines emphasize umami and tomato juice.
The word 'ketchup' comes from '膎汁' (kôe-chiap) in the Chinese Min Nan dialect, meaning 'fish sauce.' It was originally a fermented fish and shellfish sauce—tomato ketchup was not invented until 1812.
In 19th-century Paris, all city clocks were synchronized via compressed air. Around 300km of underground pipes carried minute-by-minute pressure pulses from a central master clock to over 4,000 clocks. When the 1910 Paris flood hit, every clock in the city froze at 10:53 AM.
Highway and railroad curves are not circular arcs — they use a special shape called a "clothoid" (Euler spiral). Its curvature changes gradually, so centrifugal force increases smoothly when transitioning from a straight section to a curve, rather than hitting suddenly.
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.