Lipstick does not actually contain fish scales, but compounds extracted from fish scales. That's like saying that adding salt is like putting rocks in food. The most common source is herring (a food fish) and is used to enhance gloss in both lipstick and nail polish.

As for swallowing spiders, Snopes reports that it's not only false, but it was a deliberately concocted rumor that originated in a book on insect lore published in 1954 (as part of a section on "common misbeliefs") It's internet propagation goes back to a 1993 article.

"Can you give the number a year has a month?
It has twelve as the full moon runn'th"

-- WIllard ...

Lipstick does not actually contain fish scales, but compounds extracted from fish scales. That's like saying that adding salt is like putting rocks in food. The most common source is herring (a food fish) and is used to enhance gloss in both lipstick and nail polish.

As for swallowing spiders, Snopes reports that it's not only false, but it was a deliberately concocted rumor that originated in a book on insect lore published in 1954 (as part of a section on "common misbeliefs") It's internet propagation goes back to a 1993 article.

"Can you give the number a year has a month?
It has twelve as the full moon runn'th"

-- WIllard Espy.

Herbert Borison (1922-1990) was a pharmacologist who published two extensive study of vomiting, one in 1953 (Borison, H. L. and S. C. Wang. 1953. Physiology
and pharmacology of vomiting. Pharmacol. Rev. 5: 193-230.) and another in 1981 (Borison, H. L., R. Borison, L. E. McCarthy. 1981.
Phylogenic and neurologic aspects of the vomiting process. J. Clin.
Pharmacol. 21: 23S-29S.). According to this study, rats can regurgitate and horses do vomit, but only rarely.

Any time I see something titles "Weird Facts" or "Odd Facts", I figure I can safely assume that the few items that are actually true aren't worth knowing anyway.