Really TRUE odd factoids

[Joey Shabadoo]

Sharks are older than the North Star (Polaris)

 

[Alex321]

Sharks are older than the North Star (Polaris)

This is supposed to be for TRUE factoids. Sorry, but that one isn't really.

Sharks are believed to have existed for around 450 million years.

Polaris is actually a triple star system, with the oldest of the three(Polaris B) estimated to be about 1.5 gigayears old (i.e more than three times as old as sharks, and the middle one (Polaris Ab) just given as > 500 million years. The third star (Polaris Aa is indeed thought to be younger than sharks, at 45-67 million years, but is the smallest part of the system, and possibly formed by the merger of two other stars.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.02326

 

[Chris S]

Bacon was traditionally made from pork. A halal beef version is now available.

 

[classic33]

It was an Irishman who "invented" the duty free.
Brendan O’Regan from Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, opened the world’s very first duty-free shop at Shannon Airport, in 1950.
What started as a bold idea in a small Irish airport went on to become a global tradition, one every traveller knows today.

 

[Chris S]

In 1990 McDonald's sued two Greenpeace activists for defamation. A young barrister, outraged by what he saw as an attack on freedom of speech, provided the defendants with free legal assistance. It was Keir Starmer.

 

[FishFright]

In 1990 McDonald's sued two Greenpeace activists for defamation. A young barrister, outraged by what he saw as an attack on free speech, provided the defendants with free legal assistance. It was Keir Starmer.

He did many good things like that before he decided to be a (swear word) with a lust for power.