Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

In medieval writing, i and j weren’t separate

In the Middle Ages, scribes didn’t see “i” & “j” as different letters because there was just one symbol doing both jobs. Any time that they needed to make the last “i” in a Roman numeral stand out, they’d stretch the tail down & leave it like that. They’d write the number 23 as “xxiij” for 23, which is where the j-shape came from.

Trissino’s 1524 proposal split i and j

The story then moves to Renaissance Italy. This is where Giangiorgio Trissino began adjusting the alphabet, and in 1524, he wrote a pamphlet about it. He suggested that the vowel “i” & consonant “j” should finally get their own letters. However, it took a while for his ideas to catch on through reprints & scholars across Europe.

Printers normalized the distinction

English printers also had their role in changing things. By the 1600s, more of them started setting “i” & “j” as separate letters, especially at the start of words, although some of the presses did hang on to the old habits. It took a few decades for the newer style to become the norm in printed books.

The 1611 King James Bible still printed “Iesus”

One of the most obvious examples of that old style lives in the first edition of the King James Bible. After all, it contains names like “Iesus,” “Iuda,” & “Iohn,” which look like typos to a modern reader. But that’s just how things were. “J” hadn’t officially become a letter yet, so “I” was used in its place.

Grammar books flagged the shift

Soon after, grammar writers like Charles Butler began talking about how English spelling was changing. They wrote about how “i” & “j” were becoming separate letters in everyday language, and some of these books included spelling rules to keep things consistent. It says a lot about how common the confusion had become.

English gave j the sound through French loans

Interestingly, the sound we connect to “j” today didn’t actually start in English. It came with French words like “joy” & “jewel” that have that soft /dʒ/ sound. Later, English adopted the sound & kept the spelling before eventually pairing it with the letter “j.” But the split wasn’t totally settled. Samuel Johnson’s 1755 dictionary still included “I” & “J” in one section.

France’s 1694 academy dictionary drew a line

The Académie française printed its first dictionary in 1694. In it, they clearly spelled out that i and j were two different letters in their system, although this wasn’t meant to change pronunciation. They were simply trying to define how the alphabet should look on paper going forward.

Spanish rules in 1815 gave j the /x/ sound

Things went a different way in Spain. The Real Academia Española published new spelling rules in 1815 that officially stated that j made the /x/ sound, as before that, x sometimes carried it. That was rather confusing. However, the update didn’t erase older spellings entirely, but instead created the modern rule.

The 1769 Oxford KJV created modern spellings

In 1769, Oxford University handled a major Bible revision, which is when spellings across the entire King James text were cleaned up. Words like “Jesus” replaced older forms such as “Iesus.” Those changes stuck. Soon enough, this version became the one that most people actually saw, whether in church or at home.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary called j the tenth letter

Noah Webster’s dictionary also affected how Americans thought about language. Near the start, he listed J as the tenth letter of the alphabet, while also mentioning the history of I and J. Including this detail was important. Now, it was clear that J was officially part of the alphabet on its own, no question.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. The Alphabet Book: A guide to early modern English secretary hand
2. Early modern English: grammar, pronunciation, and spelling
3. The Holy Bible: a facsimile in a reduced size of the Authorized version published in the year 1611
4. Popular Speech: Oral and Literate Culture in England 1500–1700
5. The influence of Latin and French on the use and phonological development of the digraphs <ie>, <ea> and <ou> in English between 900 and 1800 CE
6. A Textual History of the King James Bible
7. An American dictionary of the English language

The sticky base layer inside many washers

Every washer has a bit of grime that never really leaves. The grime eventually becomes a film that’s slimy & sticky, which is perfect for bacteria to take hold. It forms on plastic parts and hoses, as well as rubber seals, becoming a glue trap for microbes.

They thrive off leftover detergent and fabric softener. Worst of all, the microbes will continue surviving after each rinse.

Where microbes tend to hide in a machine

Pull open your detergent drawer and look inside. You may notice some grayish gunk around the edge. It’s where most microbes live because it’s moist, and they also enjoy staying in the drawer & door seal.

These areas stay damp between cycles, while any leftover water gives the germs a place to multiply. 

A washer linked to infant colonization

A study in Germany once researched the dangers of washing machines. They found that several newborns were carrying a rare & drug-resistant strain of bacteria called Klebsiella oxytoca.

The washing machine that cleaned the babies’ clothes was spreading these germs because the bacteria had settled inside the washer’s rubber seal. They spread to every load that went through it. So much for a washing machine “cleaning” your clothes. 

Cold and “eco” cycles

Quite a few people use low temperatures or eco settings to save energy. Unfortunately, there’s a catch. Cold water doesn’t kill bacteria, and a 104 °F (40 °C) wash will only remove dirt & smell, not the bacteria lingering on your clothes.

Higher heat cycles of over 140 °F (60 °C) are much better for destroying bacterial colonies. 

Viruses in laundry

Viruses work differently from bacteria. Some of them may break down quickly in detergent, while others are able to hold onto your clothes unless the temperature is too high.

You’re best off washing your clothes with a good cleaning agent & at a high temperature. A quick wash? That’s just asking for trouble.

Fungi aren’t rare in washers

You might notice a musty smell whenever you open the washing machine door. It’s usually mold. Fungi like Aspergillus & Cladosporium love damp and dark places. Your washer gives them exactly that.

Fungi are able to grow in the rubber gasket or behind the drawer, since it never quite dries out over there. You’ll need a full cleaning cycle or bleach to rinse them out.

Not all machines are the same inside

Yes, front-load washers are efficient. But the problem is that they tend to trap more moisture because they have airtight doors, leaving behind more dampness & a better chance that germs can grow.

Top-loaders dry out faster between washes. You’ll have to decide which one matters more to you, efficiency or cleanliness.

What we know from controlled fabrics and time-on-textile tests

The fabric you use can also make a difference. Microbes can live for days, sometimes even weeks, on damp cotton & polyester, while others tend to die off on dry fabric.

Leaving wet laundry in a pile is a huge mistake. Essentially, you’re giving them exactly what they need to multiply and cause you more problems.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. Microbial Colonization, Biofilm Formation, and Malodour of Washing Machine Surfaces and Fabrics and the Evolution of Detergents in Response to Consumer Demands and Environmental Concerns
2. Metabarcoding Analysis of Microorganisms Inside Household Washing Machines in Shanghai, China
3. The Washing Machine as a Reservoir for Transmission of Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase (CTX-M-15)-Producing Klebsiella oxytoca ST201 to Newborns
4. The effect of low-temperature laundering and detergents on the survival of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on textiles used in healthcare uniforms
5. Virucidal Efficacy of Laundering
6. Evaluation of building washing machines as an extreme environment for potentially pathogenic fungi
7. Microbial cross contamination in household laundering and microbial ecology of household washing machines

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

The mechanical problem on early machines

Essentially, the first typewriters were a bunch of thin metal bars all swinging toward the same point. Two that got there almost at the same time would jam together, which stopped everything. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it was to reach in & pull them apart. This meant inventors had to find a way to keep the most common letters from bumping into each other.

The change from alphabet rows

Christopher L. Sholes first tried using a simple alphabetical layout for the keyboard. But that didn’t last long. The constant jamming problem meant he had to shuffle things around, and he kept rearranging letters to space out those problem pairs. What started as a neat A-to-Z setup slowly turned into something far less tidy.

The Remington step

Remington began creating typewriters & things started to look more familiar. The company put the machine into production, and by mid-1874, buyers got their hands on a version that had the bones of the QWERTY keyboard. Now, it was no longer a tinkerer’s experiment, but a commercial product you could actually order.

What the 1878 patent actually shows

A few years later, Sholes locked things in officially with an 1878 patent that included a diagram showing the early QWERTY layout. But why? Putting certain letters farther apart in the type basket reduced the chance of two bars swinging next to each other too quickly. In doing so, the machine worked a lot better than before.

Was the aim to slow the operator?

There’s a myth that the layout was meant to slow everyone down. However, the records don’t really support that, since Sholes’s main goal was to avoid jams & make the machine reliable enough to sell. Changes to speed were a side effect more than an active aim.

The arrival of the shift key

Shortly after QWERTY started hitting the market, Remington released a version with a shift key so you could use uppercase & lowercase easily. The update stuck rather quickly. It made typing quicker & trimmed the number of keys. But it also kept the layout mostly the same, and for a design that’s often accused of slowing things down, this went in the opposite direction.

What early models left off the keyboard

Interestingly, some of the earliest office machines didn’t even bother including a full set of number keys. The numerals 1 & 0 were missing entirely on certain models. Operators had their own workarounds, where “i” doubled as a 1 & “O” covered 0. It’s all because those keyboards were built with different priorities than modern ones.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. U.S. Patent No. 79,265 (June 23, 1868)
2. U.S. Patent No. 207,559 (Aug. 27, 1878)
3. Separating myth from probability in the origins and evolution of QWERTY
4. On the Prehistory of QWERTY
5. Clio and the Economics of QWERTY
6. The Fable of the Keys

But why? Why did medieval Europeans wear pointy shoes? Here are the facts.

What exactly were these pointy shoes?

Medieval people had a few names for pointy shoes, including poulaines and Crakows. They used both terms to talk about a slim, low-cut leather shoe that had a stretched tip. The shoe’s front extended to look a bit like a beak.

The shoes had quite a simple structure. They had a flat sole & upper cut close to the foot, along with a long extension. Some shoes included a small lace on the side.

The shoes were made of soft leather, usually from a cow or calf, and they were so thin that they kept their shape when archeologists pulled them out.

Where and when did people wear them?

Medieval Europeans weren’t the first people to wear pointed shoes. However, it was the elongated style that really took off in Europe during the mid-1300s.

The style spread all over Europe, including France, Poland, the Low Countries (like the Netherlands), Germany & England.

The shoes remained popular throughout the 15th century. You can still see surviving shoes in late-medieval riverside dumps in England, and they were a big part of clothing laws & illustrations until the end of the century.

How were pointy shoes made?

The majority of poulaines were stitched inside-out & flipped after sewing. They were known as “turnshoes.” Shoemakers left the seam inside so the shoes looked smooth on the outside, while the soles were far thinner than the ones we have today.

The extended toes did cause some problems. Shoemakers had to reinforce them with moss or horsehair to make sure that they kept their shape, although that didn’t always work. Some pairs were slightly more flexible than others.

Who actually wore them?

You might assume that such shoes were only for the nobles. But you’d be wrong. Archeologists discovered a whole range of sizes for both genders & all age groups. They were meant for city populations as much as they were meant for court circles.

However, there was a slight distinction between the pairs.

The longest & flashiest versions were for nobles, while women usually got the shorter, pointier choices. Yet other people wore moderately pointed ones alongside more practical footwear. They were shoes that were, quite literally, for people from all walks of life (pun intended).

Laws, sermons, and complaints

But not everyone liked these shoes. In fact, a few medieval rulers were completely against them, and Charles V actually banned shoes that stretched out too far in Paris.

Edward IV of England also set limits. He stopped people below a certain rank from being able to wear pointed shoes that were longer than a few inches, with later acts targeting shoemakers themselves.

Why did they dislike the shoes?

Simply because they wanted people’s clothes to match their position. Everyone wearing stretched-out toes made it harder for rulers to keep track of who was who. Other rulers thought that making pointed shoes took too much time & energy. They believed the money could be better spent elsewhere, so they banned them.

Why did people wear them?

But the commoners wearing poulaines weren’t thinking about city budgets or clothing politics. A lot of them just liked the style. They wanted to keep up with the new fashion, and shoes were one of the easiest ways to stay trendy. You could simply change your shoes without changing your entire wardrobe.

At first, the shoes were only for the rich. Wearing a pointed shoe was quite impractical for work, so only those who didn’t need to work (AKA the rich) would wear them. The shoes were essentially a status symbol.

However, this changed. Regular people liked the shoes because they went well with the newly popular styles of the time, like fitted hose & shorter tunics. A lot of modest families liked poulaines because they were so cheap to make. You didn’t need any rare dyes or fine fabric to create something that felt modern.

How the style faded out

The shoes began to lose popularity by the late 1400s. Records show that people’s shoes began to widen again, and a style called the “duckbill” or “bear paw” became more common. These shoes were broader & more blunt-toed than poulaines.

Of course, the shoes didn’t immediately fall out of fashion & later centuries did experiment with the use of pointed shoes. But none of these quite matched the stretched and stuffed leather beaks of the 14th to 15th centuries.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. Fashion for pointy shoes unleashed a wave of bunions in medieval England
2. The Prescot Street Poulaines
3. Poulaine Fashion History
4. Stepping Through Time: Archaeological Footwear from Prehistoric Times Until 1800
5. Getting To The Point Of Medieval Shoes
6. Footwear: Shoe, Boot, Slipper, Patten
7. Medieval Shoe Fashion May Have Left Marks on Wearers’ Feet

While the world was changing before our eyes, culture, technology, politics and day-to-day life were quietly evolving forever. Here are 10 incredible things that happened in 1969, the year our modern world was born.

The Apollo 11 moon landing

On July 20th, 1969, mankind took “one giant leap for mankind” when the lunar module “Eagle” touched down on the moon. Millions of viewers around the globe watched anxiously on their fuzzy black-and-white TVs as Neil Armstrong took his famous steps on the gray, dusty surface.

The moon landing didn’t just teach us about space; it unified the world by showing us how amazing humanity could be when we work together. We went from being residents of Earth to space travelers overnight.

The birth of the internet (ARPANET)

You may have heard that the internet was invented in the 1990s, but the two computers used to create the worldwide network actually exchanged the first “digital handshake” in October of 1969.

Computers at UCLA tried to send the message “LOGIN” to a research center hundreds of miles away. After successfully transmitting “L” and “O”, the system overloaded and crashed.

Although it would take three more decades to develop into what we know today, the Internet was born that day with the successful completion of “LO”.

The Woodstock music festival

In the summer of 1969, nearly half a million youth gathered on a muddy farm in New York for a three-day music festival called Woodstock. Ticket vendors lost control of the massive crowds and famously knocked down the fences, allowing everyone to camp out for free.

Music fans soaked in rainstorms danced for days, despite poor sanitation, little food, and massive traffic congestion. Festival goers enjoyed unprecedented “peace, love, and music” as iconic artists like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin played for the crowd.

Sesame Street premieres on TV

Kids everywhere got a new friend on November 10th, 1969. That’s the day Sesame Street made its debut on television. Before Sesame Street, children’s programming was limited to cartoons or simplistic storytelling.

Street was different, educational, and was also the first time that children were introduced to such a diverse mix of races and cultures living harmoniously on one TV show. Friendly puppets like Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch taught kids across America how to read, count, and behave using playful activities.

The first Concorde Supersonic flight

Imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice as fast as the speed of sound. That became a reality to everyday people when the Concorde took its first flight in March of 1969.

With Concorde, you could fly from London to New York City in less than 4 hours (half the time of today’s modern flight). Resembling a giant metallic bird, Concorde featured an adjustable “droop nose” and skinnyJT-shaped wings.

The Beatles’ rooftop concert

On a cold January day in 1969, The Beatles took the stage for the final time. The entire world knew that the rock-n-roll band was splitting up, but no one expected their finale to take place on the rooftop of their own London office building.

The impromptu concert caused office workers to look up from their desks to see four of the biggest music stars in history playing together one last time. Although The Beatles would only play for another 40 minutes before being shut down by police, the historical performance remains one of the most incredible moments in rock-n-roll history.

The first artificial heart

In April 1969, Dr. Denton Cooley changed cardiac history when he installed the first all-mechanical heart inside a human patient. While the patient only survived 64 hours with the metal heart, it kept him alive long enough to receive a transplant.

Never before had a non-biological device successfully taken on the responsibilities of a human organ. It gave hope to millions of heart patients and paved the way for mechanical hearts that we still use to save lives today.

The Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet”

In the 1960s, airplanes were only for the super wealthy. Planes could only seat a few dozen people at a time, and ticket prices were high.

All of that changed when Boeing invented the 747 Jet, aka “The Jumbo Jet”. When it debuted in February of 1969, it was so big that it was the very first airplane to have two aisles and two stories.

Taking advantage of its massive seating capacity, airlines were finally able to reduce airfare costs. Suddenly, air travel wasn’t something just for the rich and famous. It lets everyday families take trips to other countries for the first time.

The Cuyahoga River fire

The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in June of 1969. It was heavily polluted by coal and oil plants upstream. So much industrial waste was dumped into the river that it was literally ON FIRE in 1969.

Although it’s embarrassing to think about, the burning river water was one of the biggest reasons we have environmental protections today. Photos of flames licking the surface of the river prompted Congress to pass laws regulating water and air pollution.

The first ATM is installed

Before 1969, if you wanted cash from your bank, you were limited to the hours it was open. If your local bank closed at 3 pm, you didn’t get cash after that time.

Want to take your kids out on Saturday night? Too bad if your bank was closed. All of that changed when the first ATM was installed at a bank in New York.

Customers were skeptical about interacting with a robot at first, but ATM’s allowed people to bank whenever they wanted. Soon, everyone expected to “have it now,” whether it was information, food, or money.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. Charley Kline Sends the First Message Over the ARPANET from Leonard Kleinrock’s Computer
2. 30 January, 1969 – The Beatles Play Their Legendary Rooftop Gig
3. 50th Anniversary of the World’s First Total Artificial Heart
4. Cuyahoga River Fire: The Blaze That Started a National Discussion
5. The Moon Landing
6. A Year in History: Timeline of 1969 Events

Designers have gone to great lengths to meak sure these uniforms mean something and do something useful. Here are seven elements of U.S. military uniforms that will surprise and delight you.

The U.S. flag patch seems to be facing forward

The patch on a U.S. combat uniform with the U.S. flag on it seems backward. But it’s not. The patch is designed so that the field of stars is on the forward edge of the arm. It looks like the flag is flapping in the wind as the soldier moves forward. It’s an intentional design that allows the flag to always look like it’s advancing and not retreating.

Sailor uniforms have secret historical meanings

The U.S. Navy “crackerjack” jumper is not only adorable, but it’s also historical. Those back flaps on the jumper began life as protective flaps so the grease from sailors’ hair would not so easily come off on the uniform. Back in the day, sailors would grease their hair to help it stick in place as they moved around in the ship’s rigging.

The three white stripes on the jumper represent three major victories by the British Royal Navy’s Admiral Lord Nelson, paying tribute to early naval influences.

Some fabrics are built to save lives

Combat uniforms aren’t just made to help military members blend into the environment. Sometimes, the fabric itself is actually life-saving. Modern combat uniforms are often made from flame-resistant fabric like TenCate Defender M, which self-extinguishes when exposed to open flame or even radiant heat sources.

That means if an explosion happens nearby or there is some other nearby fire, the uniform will not melt onto the wearer’s skin. This drastically cuts down on the risk of burn injuries.

Uniforms tell your whole story at a glance

Uniforms let others see more than just rank. Uniforms can tell the story of a military member’s service history. Service stripes sewn on the sleeve indicate how many years of service. In addition, ribbons and badges may indicate campaigns, qualifications, or other special skills. Scan a uniform long enough and you might as well be looking at a résumé.

Camouflage patterns have their own evolution story

Before digital camo, there were patterns like Frog Skin. This was one of the first camouflage patterns created that were specifically disruptive in design to break up a soldier’s shape in jungle environments. Made during World War II, it was one of the first attempts to help soldiers blend into their surroundings.

Hidden “liberty cuffs” were a former sailor tradition

In the early 1900s, U.S. Navy sailors decorated the inside cuffs of their uniform shirt sleeves when they were on leave, which were known as liberty cuffs. These embroidered patches could only be seen when the sleeves were rolled up. This made them a sort of covert personal flair among sailors before regulations banned them.

Some uniform buttons are placed to prevent injuries

On older U.S. military uniforms, especially the 19th century and early 20th century styles, button placement was not random. They were often placed in certain locations to relieve chafing and pressure when walking long distances while carrying heavy packs or weapons. In some uniforms, the buttons would be placed a little off center so they didn’t dig into a soldier’s body during extended movement or in combat.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. 9 interesting Reasons Behind US Military Uniforms
2. Did You Know? Fun Facts About Military Uniforms
3. Frog Skin Camouflage
4. Liberty Cuffs

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

George Washington’s foxhunting miles on horseback

Before most people were even awake, George Washington was on horseback chasing foxes across uneven Virginia fields. He’d go on long rides with hounds over mud & hills. In his journals, Washington described these hunts happening constantly, sometimes for hours, and it wasn’t casual, either. Riding like that took a lot of core & leg strength.

Thomas Jefferson’s daily exercise rule

Thomas Jefferson treated movement as something he couldn’t skip. He pushed his family to block time out every single day, usually for long walks or horseback rides, and he also suggested target practice as a good way to stay active. For him, exercise was a part of the schedule.

John Quincy Adams’s Potomac swims at daybreak

John Quincy Adams had a rather specific routine that involved walking a couple of miles from his place and swimming across the Potomac River. He’d then walk back home like it was nothing. And it didn’t even matter how the weather was because he always did it before breakfast, rain or shine.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s therapeutic swimming at Warm Springs

But Adams wasn’t the only one who liked to swim. Franklin D. Roosevelt liked going to the warm pools in Warm Springs, Georgia, to exercise after polio, and he’d spend hours in the water doing therapy sessions. He also swam laps. In fact, Roosevelt made the trip rather often and made it a regular part of his physical routine.

Theodore Roosevelt’s jiu-jitsu lessons in the White House

For Theodore Roosevelt, jogging around or doing light stretches wasn’t enough. No, he invited a Japanese judo master, Yoshiaki Yamashita, to teach him jiu-jitsu right inside the White House, and he also paid for lessons for a few friends. Roosevelt learned throws & holds in the East Room.

Herbert Hoover’s morning “Hooverball”

Hooverball was a game that, unsurprisingly, Herbert Hoover played. It worked like volleyball, except the ball was a heavy medicine ball that he & his friends would throw on the South Lawn. They’d toss it back & forth over a net, and keep score like any pickup game. Sure, it sounds odd, but it was intense cardio that kept him in shape.

Harry S. Truman’s fast morning walks

Of course, not every president relied on doing strange fitness routines. Harry S. Truman went for a fast morning walk that often had his bodyguards trailing behind, trying not to lose pace. He clocked about 120 steps per minute according to the reporters who timed him. Truman kept these walks up daily, often for a few miles around D.C.

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s golf habit 

Dwight D. Eisenhower loved golf long before he putted on the White House lawn, but it became part of his recovery after he had a heart attack in 1955. Doctors encouraged him to do steady, moderate movement. Golf fit the bill. Eisenhower also had the South Lawn fitted with a putting green so he didn’t have to leave to play.

Barack Obama’s pickup hoops and a full-court upgrade

Basketball was Obama’s favorite sport. Rather than squeezing in gym time, he’d just call up staff or friends & run pickup games on the White House grounds, later converting the old tennis court into a full basketball court. He took the game rather seriously & it apparently was one of his favorite ways to keep fit.

Richard Nixon’s late-night bowling sessions

Richard Nixon didn’t stick to daytime exercise, as he bowled at night, usually downstairs in the single-lane alley beneath the North Portico. Sometimes he’d bring a few people along, other times, he played alone. It actually became a regular thing for him. And it was especially important during long stretches at the White House since it gave him a break.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. The Diaries of George Washington. Vol. 1
2. Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 19 August 1785
3. John Quincy Adams: Family Life
4. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Yoshiaki Yamashita
5. Hooverball: Case Study, Literature Review and Clinical Recommendations
6. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Polio, and the Warm Springs Experiment: Its Impact on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
7. Harry Truman’s Hometown: Out and About in Independence
8. Eisenhower’s Billion-Dollar Heart Attack — 50 Years Later
9. Understanding Obama Through Basketball
10. President Richard Nixon’s Daily Diary, December 1-15, 1970

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

The world hit 8 billion on November 15, 2022

Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, was a special date. It was when the UN’s official estimate finally reached over 8 billion people, although they didn’t count heads one by one. This number came from decades of birth & death records blended with census data. It’s more of a symbolic date than a “true” count. But it was still an important moment in history.

India is the most populous country

China had the most people for many years. But in 2023, India pulled ahead, with a gap of around two million people, which sounds small, but it was enough for the UN to call it. India had about 1.428 billion & China slightly less at 1.426 billion. It was a real passing of the crown. And it’s all thanks to the slowing birth rates in China and steady growth in India.

Global births peaked in 2012

More babies were born in 2012 than in any other year so far, at roughly 146 million. That number has decreased slightly since then. Demographers have tracked this figure with fertility rates, but the big picture is that the world’s “baby boom” year already came & went. Who knows when the next one will happen?

The growth rate fell below 1%

2020 sure was a record-breaking year. It was the first time since the 1950s that the global growth rate slipped under 1% a year. The headcount did rise afterwards, but it’s climbing more slowly than before. Fewer than one extra person per hundred has been added each year worldwide.

Eight countries drive over half of growth

Population growth isn’t spread evenly. According to the UN, just eight countries will account for more than half the world’s increase through 2050. These are Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines & Tanzania. The majority of other countries? They’re suffering from low birth rates.

Urban living will reach about 68% by 2050

Anyone who lives in a city will know how packed they feel now. But try imagining nearly 7 out of 10 people worldwide living in one. That’s the UN’s forecast for 2050, and in 2018, the number was closer to 55%. They used data from tracking settlements & standardizing to create this figure. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that bad.

Older adults surpassed under-fives in 2018

In 2018, the worldwide demographic flipped. The number of people aged 65+ outnumbered kids under five for the very first time in history. Looking forward, the UN projects that about one in six people will be 65 or older by 2050. This figure means that the age pyramid will look more like a rectangle in the future.

Japan has the highest share of people over 65

Almost three out of every ten people are now over 65 in Japan. That’s roughly 29% of the population in 2023. It’s a higher figure than anywhere else in the world, even in countries like Italy & Finland. These also have large older populations. But Japan has a high number of older people, yet also a low number of young people.

38% of people live close to coasts

A huge chunk of the world prefers to stay near the water. One 2018 study showed that about 38% of people live within 100 kilometers of a coast, for one reason or another. That’s nearly four out of every ten humans choosing spots that aren’t far from shorelines. It makes sense, though. Coastal zones often mean easier access to trade, food & transportation.

The world will have 43 megacities by 2030

A megacity is defined as 10 million people or more. And the UN expects there will be 43 of them by 2030, although back in 2018, there were only 33. The biggest growth is happening in Asia & Africa. Urban areas are expanding there faster than anywhere else, with cities like Lagos & Kinshasa being on track to join or climb higher on the list.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. World Population Prospects 2022
2. India to overtake China as world’s most populous country in April 2023, United Nations projects
3. World Urbanization Prospects 2018
4. World Population Prospects 2024
5. World population to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022
6. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision
7. Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for First Time in U.S. History
8. Population aging in Japan
9. 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects
10. Accelerating growth of human coastal populations at the global and continent levels: 2000–2018

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.

The pistol shrimp cavitation snap

A pistol shrimp is able to slam its claw shut, and it’s loud. Pretty loud. In fact, it blasts out a jet of water so fast that it makes a bubble collapse with a bang. That brief implosion is hotter than the surface of the sun & it also gives off a flash of light. It all comes from a shrimp under two inches long.

The peacock mantis shrimp’s punch

The peacock mantis shrimp uses more than simple muscles to punch. It has a biological “spring-loaded hammer,” which is a kind of joint that stores energy. The mantis then lets the punch fly in a move that’s faster than most bullets in water. In fact, high-speed cameras have clocked the strike at over 50 mph. That’s enough to crack crab shells & even aquarium glass.

The electric eel’s shock

An electric eel is essentially an eel with built-in tasers. It fires off rapid electrical pulses that are able to make the fish’s muscles contract without the fish needing to move. The shock freezes prey in place, leaving it utterly helpless, and the eel can use this ability when it’s threatened. The fish can leap up & deliver the jolt straight to whatever’s touching it.

The bombardier beetle’s boiling spray

This beetle has chemistry labs inside its body, and when threatened, it mixes stored chemicals. These instantly react & heat to boiling. The result? A scalding spray that comes out in bursts, almost like a tiny machine gun, with a temperature that reaches near 212°F. The beetle can swivel its nozzle to aim with surprising accuracy.

The wood frog’s deep freeze survival

Wood frogs do what sounds impossible every winter. They literally freeze. Their hearts stop & ice fills much of their bodies, but they aren’t dead. This is because of the amount of glucose & urea that they pump into their cells. It acts like natural antifreeze. Once the warmth of spring arrives, they thaw out and hop off as if nothing happened.

The hagfish’s rapid fiber-gel

The hagfish is a fish that defends itself with instant slime. Yes, really. It releases threads & mucus that mix with seawater to form a gooey net in seconds. The creature expands so much that it can choke the gills of predators trying to bite it, although that’s not the weirdest part. It’s the fact that it takes very little raw material to make gallons of the stuff.

The immortal jellyfish’s lifespan

Scientists found that Turritopsis dohrnii doesn’t age like other animals. Anytime something bad happens, like injury or stress, these jellyfish can literally de-age themselves. They roll back into their polyp stage. Essentially, they start fresh instead of breaking down with age, and they can do it again & again.

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

1. Snapping shrimp make flashing bubbles
2. Biomechanics: deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp
3. Electric Eels Concentrate Their Electric Field to Induce Involuntary Fatigue in Struggling Prey
4. Biochemistry at 100°C: Explosive Secretory Discharge of Bombardier Beetles (Brachinus)
5. Molecular Physiology of Freeze Tolerance in Vertebrates
6. Composition, morphology and mechanics of hagfish slime