The Melbourne Cup is sometimes deplored but the central place it holds in Australian mainstream culture is rarely disputed. And its promotion came quickly. Its first running in 1861 drew about 4000 spectators. In 1870 an estimated 30,000 attended and 100,000 was claimed for the 1880 running – about a third of the population of Melbourne. Even allowing for some boasting spurred by colonial rivalry, these are remarkable figures.

The camel spider is a type of Arachnid found in most deserts around the world (with the exception of Australia, thank God.) They are notable for having ten limbs, the biggest jaws of any Arachnid and the ability to grow to distressingly large sizes. Oh yeah, and they literally scream while chasing down prey.

What's inside the glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction? It's one of the greatest mysteries in cinema. Writer and director Quentin Tarantino has remained deliberately coy on the subject, vowing to never reveal the answer. "It's whatever the viewer wants it to be," he once teased.

Except that's not quite true. The answer is explicitly spelled out in an original screenplay draft. (Spoiler: It has nothing to do with Marsellus Wallace's soul.)

Peter Brock was, without question, one of Australia’s best known and most successful auto racers, ever. He also ran a great factory-approved tuning company. But the story of his tragic downfall is perhaps the most fascinating of all. It involves a box of crystals that tap into mythical orgone energy. Seriously.

The modern Tesla is known for making modern electric cars, but the truth is the original Nikola Tesla made an electric car — and he did it all without batteries, way back in 1931. Or did he?

You know what would be really handy? If a trained rally driver with access to a bunch of all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles helpfully explained the difference between these two ever-more confused terms. Oh wait, here he is!

The ketogenic diet (or 'keto' for short) involves the eradication of most carbs from your diet in favour of proteins and fats. It has exploded in popularity among women in recent years, with multiple mummy blogs singing its virtues.

However, there's a slightly icky side-effect you may wish to ponder before embarking on a high-fat, low-carb diet. In short, it can cause a marked change in vaginal odour - AKA the 'Keto Crotch'.

Chronic wasting disease has now been reported in deer, elk, and moose in 24 states across the US, according to the CDC. The disease isn’t new, but its nickname is: you can now read sensational headlines about “zombie deer.”

Quick, think of things that are fast! Rockets? OK. Cheetahs? Sure, absolutely. Bullets? Oh, yes, quite. A bowl of rich, creamy soup? Ah, generally, no. Not so much. Then why do we call cars that have been made to go faster “souped-up?”

There’s an extremely common design trend that may have slipped by right under your nose, slowly taking over seemingly ever new car on the road, one by one. It’s only maybe a couple inches wide at most, and at all four corners of the car. It’s purpose a mystery, until now.

I’m not much of a cryer, but when I do, I bawl.

The English language was first spoken in early medieval England around 1400 years ago. This gradually gave rise to today's 'Modern English' which became the dominant form by the 1550s. Today I discovered some of the earliest English words that are still in common usage today.

Earlier this week, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai faced a House Judiciary Committee in the United States Congress to answer questions about recent data breaches and other important security matters. So, naturally, the discussion turned to extremely serious and important matters. Like why searches on Google for the word "idiot" turn up images of President Donald Trump.

In 1930, a wild, black-haired, green-eyed tomboy commanding her motorcycle caught the eye of a man named Tommy Wisdom. He was working as a journalist at a motorsport magazine and knew that this beautiful woman was going to be his partner in life.

Two blowflies were chowing down on a dog turd mixed with their own vomit for lunch. One of the flies burped. The other replied: "Don't be so disgusting while I'm eating!"

But anyway.

Have you ever wondered why we call Frankfurt sausage rolls "hot dogs"? When you stop and think about it, that's a pretty disgusting name for a Western dish. As it turns out, the origin of the word is fittingly repellent - and it means exactly what you think.

If Porsche were a person, it would be the student with the unique name in a class full of Davids and Brittanys. “Porsch?” the substitute teacher questions, every time, after smoothly going down the list otherwise. “Porsch? P—ortch?”

One of the unintended benefits of virtual-reality headsets is the ability to watch TV. The Google Daydream, Samsung Galaxy Gear VR and PlayStation VR are provide excellent private viewing theatres to catch up on your favourite shows.

Today I discovered that this concept isn't new. In 1937, a British company launched a tiny, personalised TV set known as the 'Television Monocle'. Tell me you don't want one.

Graphic designers, you should probably stay away from this one. This optical illusion messes with your vision in a way that creates false colours that could linger for over three months - though don't worry, you have to be trying pretty hard to have that pronounced an effect. It's called the McCollough effect, and here is how it works.