VERY INTERESTING: MUSIC

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

Facts About Music That Really Sing!!!

They say music is a universal language. And, you know, they're probably right. After all, who doesn't love a great, foot-tapping tune? (If you believe the plot of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, even aliens do!) But as much as you love music and music theory in all its forms—and as much as you think you know about your favorite songs and artists—there are still plenty of opportunities to be totally floored.

Don't believe us? Read on. We've rounded up some totally rockin' facts and bits of trivia that will blow any music fan's mind. 

1. Musicians Have Shorter Life Spans Than the General Population

One study, conducted by a University of Sydney professor, titled "Stairway to H*ll: Life and Death in the Pop Music Industry," examined the deaths of artists which took place between 1950 and June 2014. The study specifically looked at longevity and the proportion of suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths. Longevity was determined by calculating the average age of death for each musician by sex and decade of their death. These averages were then compared with averages by sex and decade for the general U.S. population. The results? Musicians' lifespans are 25 years shorter.

2.In 2016, Mozart Sold More CDs than Beyoncé

In fact, Mozart sold the most CDs in 2016, beating out Adele, Drake, and Beyoncé, even though all of those artists had Grammy-winning hits that year.

So, how'd an 18th-century composer sell more than pop music's greatest names? Well, in October 2016, the Universal Music Group released a box set commemorating the 225th anniversary of Mozart's death. Each disc included in the box set counted as one CD sold, and each set contained 200 discs. Throw in the proliferation of streaming—which has significantly dampened CD sales—and voila. Plus, the box set itself flew off shelves: As of this writing, there are only four remaining on Amazon ($686).

3.Singing in a Group Boosts Mood

Multiple studies have been conducted that prove singing as a part of a group provides numerous physical and emotional benefits. Researchers have discovered that singing is soothing and does indeed raise one's spirits and mood. When you sing with others, the body releases feel-good hormones, like oxytocin, and reduces stress-causing ones, like cortisol. 

4. Some People Feel Nothing Toward Music

Per the results of one study conducted at the University of Barcelona, 5 percent of participants did not feel any emotion whatsoever—didn't feel any chills or want to tap their feet—when listening to music. Before you start calling these study subjects monsters, know that they're totally normal in other ways: they received pleasure from other things, like food and sex, and had no other evident psychological issues. These were happy, healthy college students who just naturally did not care for any kind of music. 

5. Listening to Music Enhances Physical Performance

Research has consistently shown that the synchronization of music with repetitive exercise provides enhanced physical performance, helping people both work out for longer and train more efficiently. In one study, participants who cycled in time to music found that they required 7 percent less oxygen compared to cycling with background (asynchronous) music. In other words, music provides temporal cues that have the potential to make more efficient use of physical energy. 

6.Rod Stewart Hosted the Largest Ever Free Concert

Several free concerts have been reported to have an audience of one million (or more), but such numbers tend to be exaggerated. However, according to Guinness World Records, Rod Stewart's 1993 New Year's Eve concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, remains the most-attended free concert that ever took place. 

An estimated 4.2 million people were in attendance at this performance. The second most-attended free concert was Jean-Michel Jarre's September 6, 1997, performance at the University of Moscow, which reportedly had an estimated audience of 3.5 million.

7."Wanna Be" by The Spice Girls is the Catchiest Song of All Time

In 2014, a group of researchers from The Museum of Science and Industry in England released an online test called "Hooked on Music." It contained one thousand quips from pop hits, going all the way back to the 1940s, and it asked 12,000 participants to identify songs as fast as possible. They found that "Wannabe" by The Spice Girls was the catchiest song: people were able to recognize it in about 2.3 seconds, which was way below the 5-second average of identifying other popular songs.

8. Finland Has the Most Metal Bands Per Capita

Perhaps head-banging an effective way to keep warm. According to a Reddit user who created a map using data from Encyclopedia Metallum's archive of metal bands, Finland is home to the most bands of this genre, with 53.5 metal bands per 100,000 people. 

Second place was tied between two other Nordic nations Sweden and Norway (27.2), while Iceland stole third (22.7). Though heavy metal music originated in the United States and the United Kingdom, their numbers for those countries were 5.5 and 5.2, respectively.

9An Astronaut Released an Album with All Songs Recorded in Space

In 2015, a Canadian astronaut named Chris Hadfield released his first album, which was entirely recorded while he was in orbit. Not only was he the first Canadian to walk in space, he's also a talented musician whose went viral with a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." Hadfield spent 144 days at the International Space Station recording his 11 original songs for his appropriately-titled album, Space Sessions: Songs for a Tin Can.

10.The British Navy Uses Britney Spears Songs to Scare Off Pirates

According to reports, British naval officers play Britney Spears songs to scare away Somali pirates off of Africa's eastern coast. Her songs "Oops I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" are the songs which are used. The rationale of playing these songs is because, supposedly, Somali pirates have a strong dislike for western culture and music, which make Britney Spears' songs a perfect fit to make the bandits move on as quickly as possible.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking