It doesn’t melt

Because ice cannot efficiently absorb microwave energy, heating it in a microwave mostly evaporates surface moisture, and heat doesn’t easily reach the center, so it doesn’t melt right away. In practice, a thin layer of water on the outside of the ice absorbs the microwaves and warms up, gradually melting the ice from the outside in, but ice does not melt in a microwave as efficiently as one might intuitively expect.

Witch’s Strike

In Germany, a sudden lower back strain is called “Hexenschuss.” Literally, it means “witch’s shot” or “witch’s strike.” The expression likens the sudden, unexpected onset of sharp lower back pain to being struck by a witch’s magic.

I'm not thinking about anything.

The Thinker is a famous sculpture created by Auguste Rodin that depicts a man deep in contemplation. However, there is no definitive answer as to what the figure is thinking; it leaves interpretation to the viewer. In that sense, the statue itself can be said to be “thinking about nothing.” Through its form, the sculpture invites viewers to form their own interpretations.

50 pieces

The stars depicted on the United States flag represent the 50 states that make up the country. Each star symbolizes one state, and the number of stars matches the number of states. When Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as states in 1959, the number of stars became 50.

Beige

The color of the universe is a beige-like hue, also known as “cosmic latte.” Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University named this color after analyzing the spectrum of light from the entire universe. Their results show that the average light from countless stars blends together to produce this specific color.

Japan-U.S. Conversation Handbook

The book that became a bestseller in September 1945, right after the end of the war, was a Japanese-American conversation handbook, which was needed to adapt to the new lifestyle and various changes. Driven by the need to rebuild postwar life, reform education, and reorganize knowledge, many people picked up the conversation handbook to learn new language, giving rise to this phenomenon.

Silver and gold plating

Olympic gold medals are not actually made of pure gold. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations, a gold medal must be made of at least 92.5% silver and plated with a minimum of 6 grams of gold. This standard has remained unchanged since the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Therefore, a gold medal is essentially composed of silver with a gold plating.

Because the kelp is alive

The reason kombu doesn’t release broth while it’s alive is that its cells prevent the flavor compounds from escaping. As long as kombu is alive, its cell membranes function properly, keeping the umami components inside. In contrast, once kombu is harvested and dried, the cell membranes stop functioning, and adding water makes it easier for the umami to be extracted.

The University of Tokyo

The origin of the term “daigaku note” (college notebook) traces back to the University of Tokyo in Japan. These notebooks were named as such because they were designed in a format that allowed University of Tokyo students to use them efficiently. Created with a fixed number of lines and considerations for character size to make note-taking in class convenient, they were named with academic use in mind.

mass blooming

In certain bamboo species, a phenomenon known as "mass flowering" occurs at very long intervals—about once every 60 years. Entire bamboo groves bloom simultaneously and then die within a short period. The flowering cycle varies by species, but a defining feature is that they bloom all at once after decades-long intervals. After flowering, the bamboo leaves seeds and then dies, beginning a new cycle in which fresh bamboo grows. In this way, bamboo passes on new life to the next generation.