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Fun Fact Friday: Beans and a lot of things

Seth Kelley Jan 2, 2015

We’re starting Fun Fact Friday, a list of the sometimes silly, but always interesting information we picked up over the previous week at Marketplace. Share your favorite Marketplace fun facts with us on Twitter @Marketplace or on our Facebook page.

OK, we’ll go first:

  • Fun fact: Hangover cures don’t work … mostly because scientists don’t know why we get them.

For years, pharmaceutical companies and … well … pretty much everyone on New Year’s day have tried to find a way around hangovers. But according to Marketplace reporter Stan Alcorn’s report, the search may be in vain.

Champagne wishes and hangover-cure dreams

  • Fun fact: The company Fuhu has a ball pit in the middle of its office.

Fuhu, maker of Nabi tablets for kids, estimates it has grown about 158,000 percent over the past year. You can find the full report, and a picture of the ball pit here.  

Fuhu: The company that grew 158,000 percent in 2014

  • Fun fact: Coffee, bourbon and bacon are going to be more expensive next year.

Stock up now, or you’ll pay later.

Things that will cost you more this year

  • Fun fact: You can rent a $378 Kate Spade necklace for $65.

At Rent the Runway, women rent formal-wear instead of buying. CEO and co-founder, Jennifer Hyman, says she believes fashion subscriptions will only get more popular.

Fashion’s new fairy godmother: Designer dress rental

  • Fun fact: Adidas released a soccer ball that uses sensors to measure your kick.

This technology can provide data and information like how fast the ball travels, how much it spins, and where to kick it for the best results.

Internet’s only just begun to run your life

  • Fun fact: The guys who invented the New Year’s glasses shaped like digits didn’t get rich off their idea.

In a battle over intellectual property, Richard Sclafani and Peter Cicero, the inventors of the glasses, lost out thanks to a multitude of knockoffs.

They put the digits in New Year’s glasses

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