50 Random Facts List #9

Tigers can, and will, take revenge on those who have wronged them. They are one of the most vengeful animals on the planet.

2. In 2016, 1250 gallons of mayonnaise went bad at Michigan State University, the school's Sustainability Officer used an anaerobic digester to turn it into energy and power part of the campus.

3. The Iron Sheik planned to kill the man who murdered his daughter by slitting his throat with a razor he hid in his mouth in the courtroom court. His family surrounded him and talked him out of it. Instead, as a tribute to his daughter, he quit drugs and got his life back on track.

4. The city of Whynot, North Carolina has its name because as residents were arguing over a name for the city, some bloke stood up and said: "Why not name the town Why Not and let's go home?" And so they did.

5. An eight-year-old named Gabi Mann of Seattle, Washington receives gifts from crows in her garden. She feeds the crows regularly and little "treasures" are given in return including a miniature silver ball, a black button, a blue paper clip, a yellow bead, a blue Lego piece, and a pearl colored heart.

James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President, was morally opposed to slavery but believed it was protected by the constitution, and so continuously brought slaves with his own money in order to free them

7. The NFL has no written rule against female players; women would, in fact, be allowed if they met the league's eligibility requirements.

8. In 2006, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia launched a $1.2 million program to retrain prostitutes as nursing home caregivers. A supporter explained they had “good people skills, aren't easily disgusted, and have zero fear of physical contact.”

9. When Matthew McConaughey was arrested for possession of marijuana in 1999, police found him playing the bongos and dancing, naked, while another man joined in and clapped along.

10. Before she was famous, Nicki Minaj was fired from approximately fifteen jobs for discourtesy to customers.

The US government set a bunch of beer next to an atomic bomb blast to determine if it was still drinkable. In the event of a nuclear war, beer is safe to drink

12. The highest earning athlete of all time was a Roman charioteer named Gaius Appuleius Diocles. He earned approximately $15 billion in prize money alone.

13. 140 years after an ancient stolen ring was found on a rural farm, a tablet was found at another site (“Among those who bear the name of Senicianus to none grant health until he brings back the ring to the temple of Nodens”). One of the scholars who translated it was Oxford professor J R R Tolkien.

14. A New Orleans restaurant (Antoine's Restaurant) has been owned by the same family since 1840. Antoine's, famous for Oyster Rockefeller and Baked Alaska, has had five generations of the family run it, and a sixth is preparing to take over. It is the US's oldest continuously family-run restaurant.

15. During the Irish Famine the Choctaw Nation, who were going through poverty and starvation themselves, donated as much money as they could raise in solidarity with the Irish. The 'Kindred Spirits' sculpture commemorates this event

The D-Day (June 6) Crossword Panic of 1944 in which, in the 35 days before the invasion, 5 obscure, top-secret code words appeared in the Daily Telegraph puzzles. The words 'Utah, Omaha, Overlord, Mulberry and Neptune' triggered an MI5 investigation.

17. H.R. Giger refused to give the xenomorphs from Alien eyes because "It's scarier if you don't know where they're looking".

18. A man, after surviving 33 days lost at sea, finally came ashore by chance on the Marshall Islands only to discover that his uncle, believed lost at sea 50 years ago, had washed ashore on the same island and started a family there.

19. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan proposed "friendship and peace" with the fellow nomadic Khwarezmian Empire in Persia. The Khwarezmia Shah ordered a Mongol trade delegation killed, prompting Khan to invade the empire, kill 1.25 million, and destroy the Khwarezmian Empire.

20. A guy named Seth Putnam wrote a song about how being in a coma was stupid, and soon after went into a coma himself. After he awoke, when asked how it felt to be in a coma he said, “It was just as f*cking stupid as I wrote about in my song”.

The Californian tried to warn surrounding ships about ice but were told to 'shut up' by Titanic's operator 40 mins before the collision

22. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were drunk in the scene where Leia and Solo arrive at Cloud City in "The Empire Strikes Back" due to partying all night into the morning with the Rolling Stones and Eric Idle.

23. 95 percent of those of European origin can trace their maternal roots to one of seven women who lived between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago.

24. By 1932, Mickey Mouse had lost his edge since becoming a role model for children. Disney wanted to create a character to portray more negative character traits, which could no longer be bestowed on Mickey. That’s when Disney started working on a short-tempered character named Donald Duck.

25. Silica gel packets are only stamped with "DO NOT EAT" to prevent people from choking on the packet. It's otherwise non-toxic (although still not food so don't eat it).