Chaos & Civilization
This pandemic wiped out roughly one-third of Europe’s population in the 14th century.
What is the Black Death (Bubonic Plague)?
This stage of sleep is when vivid dreams are most likely to occur.
What is REM sleep?
This Ice Age giant, related to modern elephants, went extinct about 4,000 years ago, long after the pyramids were built.
What is the woolly mammoth?
This organ beats around 100,000 times per day, circulating blood through roughly 60,000 miles of vessels.
What is the heart?
This bodybuilder became a global icon after winning seven Mr. Olympia titles and later served as the governor of California.
Who is Arnold Schwarzenegger?
In 1962, this 13-day standoff between two superpowers brought humanity close to extinction.
What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?
This phenomenon occurs when your brain’s memory circuits misfire, giving you the eerie feeling you’ve lived a moment before.
What is déjà vu?
Standing nearly 3 feet tall, this bird native to Mauritius became the poster child for extinction after humans discovered it, and quickly ate it, in the 1600s.
What is the dodo?
This body system, made up of the heart and blood vessels, delivers oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
What is the cardiovascular system?
This NBA star delivered a now-iconic rant in 2002, repeating the word “practice” over 20 times while defending his commitment to the game?
Who is Allen Iverson?
This emperor had a city named after himself, declared himself a god, and was assassinated by his own guards after less than four years in power.
Who is Caligula?
This neurotransmitter, associated with reward and motivation, spikes when we anticipate something exciting rather than when we actually get it.
What is dopamine?
Despite its Hollywood fame, this 65-million-year-old apex predator never roared, scientists think it sounded more like a crocodile.
What is the Tyrannosaurus rex?
The largest organ, constantly regenerating and protecting you from the outside world, yet most people never think of it as an organ at all.
What is the skin?
This cyclist was stripped of seven Tour de France titles after admitting to years of performance-enhancing drug use.
Who is Lance Armstrong?
This legendary library, home to hundreds of thousands of scrolls, was destroyed, possibly by Julius Caesar’s troops.
What is the Library of Alexandria?
During this condition, your body is still immobilized by REM sleep chemicals while your brain wakes up, often leading to terrifying hallucinations.
What is sleep paralysis?
After being declared fake for over 100 years, this gentle, long-necked dino made a scientific comeback in 2015.
What is the Brontosaurus?
This mineral, stored mostly in the bones, also plays a role in muscle contraction and nerve signaling.
What is calcium?
This NFL team has won the most Super Bowl titles in history, with six championships to its name.
What are the Pittsburgh Steelers?
This ancient Roman arena, famous for gladiator battles and public spectacles, could seat over 50,000 screaming fans, centuries before the NFL existed.
What is the Colosseum?
Scientists say this “second brain” in your body contains about 100 million neurons and communicates directly with your main brain.
What is the gut (enteric nervous system)?
In 2018, the last known male of this species, named Sudan, died in Kenya, marking the functional extinction of his subspecies.
What is the northern white rhinoceros?
Made up of three major muscles, this muscle group is primarily responsible for bending the leg at the knee?
What are the hamstrings?
The “Golden Era” of bodybuilding in the 1970s centered around this famous Venice Beach gym that created legends like Arnold and Franco Columbu.
What is Gold’s Gym?