Brain Drills, Pizza Crimes & That Feeling You Can’t Explain

Stone Age surgeons, a pizza-cutting dilemma, and the weird reason your brain knows when someone’s staring at you—buckle up, it’s a weird one!

Some facts are so wild they sound fake—but nope, science and history have receipts. Today, we’re diving into ancient neurosurgery (yes, really), a pizza problem that’s stumped mathematicians, and why your "sixth sense" is actually backed by science.

🧠 Ancient Brain Surgery Was Shockingly Common

• If you think modern medicine is wild, let’s talk about the fact that people were performing brain surgery over 5,000 years ago—without anesthesia.

  Archaeologists have found skulls from the Neolithic period with holes cut into them, a procedure known as trepanation. Even crazier? Many of the patients survived, as shown by signs of healing around the edges of the holes.

  Why did they do it? Theories range from releasing evil spirits to treating headaches, epilepsy, or battle wounds. Some cultures practiced it well into the 19th century (because nothing says "quick fix" like drilling into someone’s skull).

  🔹 Takeaway: Next time you complain about a headache, just be glad no one's reaching for a rock and a sharp knife.

🍕 The "Pizza Theorem" That Will Blow Your Mind

• Math and pizza don’t usually go together—unless you’re a nerd with a craving for deep-dish. Enter the Pizza Theorem, a real mathematical principle that proves if you cut a pizza into equal-size slices using two intersecting diagonal lines from the same starting point, one person might get way more pizza than the other.

  In simpler terms? If you and a friend are splitting a pie using a bad cutting strategy, someone’s getting ripped off.

  The theorem even inspired an advanced version called the Lazy Caterer’s Problem, which is all about the maximum number of pieces you can get with a limited number of straight cuts. Yes, mathematicians are out here solving pizza fairness while the rest of us are still arguing about pineapple as a topping.

  🔹 Takeaway: There’s actual math proving that bad pizza-slicing is a crime. Justice for the smaller slices!

👀 You Can Feel When Someone’s Staring at You

• Ever had the weird feeling someone’s watching you, only to turn around and catch them in the act? Turns out, your brain isn’t making it up—science backs this one up.

  Studies suggest that humans have a subconscious ability to detect direct eye contact, even from the edge of their peripheral vision. This comes from a special group of neurons in your brain called the gaze-detection system, which evolved to help early humans sense threats (or, you know, that one person in the coffee shop who won’t stop staring).

  Even babies as young as two days old show a preference for looking at direct eye contact over averted gazes. So if you’ve ever felt eyes on you, congratulations—you’re a highly evolved, paranoia-equipped human!

  🔹 Takeaway: The next time you know someone’s staring at you, trust your gut… or just stare back and make things weird.

From ancient neurosurgeons to pizza injustice and a scientific excuse for your paranoia, today’s trivia proves that reality is way weirder than fiction.

Stay curious, and if you catch someone staring—just know they’re probably admiring your superior pizza-cutting skills.

Yours in delightful discovery,

— Max Whitt🎩🧠🍕👀

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