This site tells you exactly what happened the day you were born

If you love birthday trivia, you will adore this incredible website. It can tell you everything you want to know about the day you were born, including how many days ago it was.

Let’s dive into random factoid trivia, one of our favorite things of all time. It’s all relevant to the day of the year you were born.

What is WolframAlpha?

WolframAlpha is an artificial intelligence project devoted to compiling human knowledge. Instead of submitting queries and comparing them against an indexed series of web pages, this tool generates results through “dynamic computations” based on “a vast collection of built-in data.”

The goal? To make all information accessible, even to ordinary people. Of course, one of our favorite ways to use it is to cross-analyze the annals of history with the most important day of the year — our birthday. Thank you, science.

You can find great information on the site by entering your birth date. Here’s how: In the site’s home page search bar, plug in your birthday and use the small orange button to the right to compute input.

First, you’ll see a bunch of data on the time between now and the day you were born. Holidays, if any, will follow below. Underneath that tab, though, is where the exciting stuff is.

Under Anniversaries, select More to see all your results.

Famous births, deaths, major historical events, film premieres and political legislation will be laid out for you.

You can see a few fun facts on the example date we used above, Feb. 8, 1971. For one, Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil was born in 1961. Also, a one-ton meteorite fell in Chihuahua two years prior, in 1969. Not exactly what we were expecting, but we’re glad to know it.

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Millions of at-home COVID tests recalled - Did you take one?

The COVID pandemic has been raging for more than a year and a half now. What are your chances of getting COVID? Tap or click here for a map that charts breakthrough cases.

The good news is there have been developments to help, like at-home testing kits, so you can easily find out if you’re infected. But can these tests be trusted? At-home tests don’t seem to be as reliable as expected.

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Children and hot car deaths

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Every year, about 37 young children tragically die from heat-related incidents in cars. Some parents are placing the blame on car manufacturers.

Where was the testing? Philips just settled a $1.1 billion lawsuit over faulty DreamStation CPAP machines because the internal foam can crumble, causing people to breathe in tiny particles in their sleep. With 561 deaths linked to these devices, they got off easy.

300 times per day per patient

That’s how often alarms can sound in hospitals. “Alarm fatigue,” aka ignoring and forgetting to turn off or restart alarms, led to 566 deaths in the U.S. over a five-and-a-half-year period. The fix isn’t louder alarms but to make them more musical. Fascinating read!

What are your chances of getting COVID? New CDC map charts breakthrough cases

Government agencies like the CDC and other healthcare institutions provide tools to keep the public informed on the spread of COVID-19 and the measures taken to combat the pandemic. Online charts, graphs and maps are a result of extensive research and are available for anyone to see.

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18 people die after lightning strikes - Here’s why you shouldn’t risk everything for a selfie

Only a few professional photographers have managed to capture a truly astonishing selfie. That doesn’t prevent everyone with access to a camera or smartphone from attempting to get the perfect shot.

Unfortunately, many have taken the art of selfies a step too far. Sadly, several people have died trying to reach secluded spots or dangerous locations. In October 2018, a couple fell to their death from Taft Point at Yosemite National Park. Two months before that, another teen fell while trying to take a selfie in Yosemite.

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See just how deadly the coronavirus is compared to other epidemics

If you get our ad-free newsletter, The Current, you’ve already seen this. If not, you should try it. This free newsletter lands in your inbox twice a week, and it’s all the tech news you want, with no annoying ads or fluff.

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Frightening simulations shows 6 feet apart may not be enough to stop germ spread

Since implementing social distancing practices nationwide, the U.S. has seen a significant reduction in both new infections and projected deaths. Some health officials even suggest we continue distancing ourselves beyond the initial outbreak, which may help prevent second-wave infections.

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