50 Random Facts List #44

To eliminate all the elusive invasive goats in the Galapagos, researchers attached a GPS to a 'Judas goat' who would, because of its gregarious nature, seek out other goats. It was then tracked down, the group killed, but with the 'traitor' left alive to repeat the cycle.

2. Researchers found that growing up poor promotes eating in the absence of hunger in adulthood, regardless of one’s financial status as an adult.

3. "This Is Us" star Chrissy Metz is contractually obligated to lose weight as her character's journey progresses throughout the show. She considers it a win-win.

4. "Muggle" meant "joint" in the 1930s, and marijuana users were called "muggle-heads".

5. 71% of Americans are "fairly certain" that Alexander Hamilton is among their nation's past presidents. This confidence in Hamilton having been president is higher than for six actual presidents.

On New Year's Eve 2014, 835 of 1000 police officers meant to be on duty in Rome phoned in sick.

7. Fred Willard is the first (and so far, only) actor to appear as a live-action character in a Pixar movie. He plays Shelby Forthright, CEO of Buy and Large, in an archived video shown in the movie "WALL-E".

8. An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants, which are blind, are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle. The ants will eventually die of exhaustion.

9. During the Vietnam War over 800 murders or attempted murders of superior officers by enlisted soldiers were investigated. The term 'fragging' was coined due to the popular use of fragmentation grenades to commit the murders.

10. Beavers are considered fish by the Catholic Church, allowing them to be eaten during Lent.

In 1999, there was a Hepatitis A outbreak at 2 Subway locations in Seattle. The staff weren't washing their hands properly or using gloves, thus spreading infected fecal matter. One victim, a 6-year-old boy, suffered acute liver failure and required a liver transplant. He was awarded $10 million out of court.

12. Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a 7mm revolver. He walked home, saw doctors but there was no surgeon to remove the bullet. The doctors left him alone smoking his pipe in his room. He died at 37 of infection two days later and his last words were "The sadness will last forever".

13. Regina Rohde was a student at both Columbine High and Virginia Tech during both shootings.

14. West Germany fully decriminalized homosexual acts between males only in 1994 after criminal law needed reconciliation with the law in East Germany, where it had been decriminalized since 1968.

15. When stepped on a landmine, it never makes a soft "click" and explodes after the pressure is lifted like in the movies. It explodes the moment you step on it.

Yoga is more dangerous than previously thought, and causes as many injuries as other sports. It can also exacerbate existing pain, with 21% of existing injuries worsened.

17. According to “Solomon Curve” (also called the “Crash Risk Curve”), drivers traveling 5 mph (8 km/h) above the average speed of traffic are statistically the least likely to be involved in a crash while crash risk increases dramatically when traveling below the average speed.

18. Alice In Chains' lead vocalist Layne Staley in response to an article in 1998 asking, "Who will wipe and change the band now?" after their manager retired, mailed a jar of piss and a bag of his own feces to the magazine with a note attached that read, "Wipe and change this, motherf***ers!"

19. After abusing alcohol and drugs for the better half of her life, iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday was swindled out of her earnings and died with all of 70 cents in the bank.

20. Jim Dale performed 300 voices for the Harry Potter Audiobooks and had to playback recordings of himself on set to remember each one, each time.

In music, an 8th note is called a 'Quaver', a 16th note is called a 'Semiquaver', a 32nd note is called a 'Demisemiquaver', a 64th note is called a 'Hemidemisemiquaver', a 128th note is called a 'Semihemidemisemiquaver' and a 256th note is called a 'Demisemihemidemisemiquaver'.

22. Futurama Comics have been released bi-monthly since 2000, and it continues to keep the series alive after the show's cancellation.

23. The piece that holds the rotor blades to the helicopter is known as the "Jesus nut".

24. While wrestler Hulk Hogan was traveling with tag team duo, the Wild Samoans, whose gimmick was to never speak in public, police found an unregistered handgun in Hogan's car. Hogan begged the Samoans to come to his defense. The Samoans refused to break character and all three men went to jail.

25. John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli the dwarf in Lord of the Rings is the tallest member of the Fellowship at 6'1".