Three Facts & A Fib – Fri. 1/20: Origins of Word “Hot” / Einstein’s Extreme Confidence / Age of Sharks on Earth

David Beach / CC

Three of the following are FACTS…one is a FIB (scroll down to find out which one)

1.  The word “hot” became a synonym for “popular” or “in demand” around 1909.  In the 1920s, its meaning was extended to include sexual desirability.

2.  Albert Einstein was so sure he was going to win a Nobel Prize that he included the prize money in a divorce settlement three years before he won it.

3.  Sharks are older than trees.  Sharks have been around for 400 million years . . . and trees, only 350 million.

4.  In the 1800s, there was a superstition in the New England area that tuberculosis was caused by being bitten by a cat.

AND THE FIB IS (scroll down…)

#4!

In the 1800s, there was a superstition in the New England area that tuberculosis was caused by VAMPIRES.

SOURCES:

(New York Times / Wikipedia / Smithsonian / The A.V. Club)