1Lee Lorch
Lee Lorch was a mathematician blacklisted in the 50s by most US universities for his civil rights activism. Before his death in 2014, he was asked if he would have done anything any differently. "More and better of the same," he replied.
2. The 'Red Ring of Death' cost Microsoft $1.15 billion to provide repairs for Xbox 360 owners, to which the Microsoft CEO said, "Do it."
3. The traffic on the Arc de Triomphe roundabout in Paris is so chaotic, insurance companies will always split the liability of an accident 50/50.
4. A family's home was burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1945. The parents and four children escaped unharmed. Five other children of theirs were trapped in upstairs bedrooms and presumably perished, but no remains were ever found and the search for the missing children continued for decades.
5. Wealth and power cause brain damage that effects empathy and being able to see things from other's point of view.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Power grid
When Adelaide opened it's power grid to competition, instead of lowering costs as intended, generators were shut down at peak demand so companies could charge more, leading to the highest costs for power anywhere on Earth.
7. Ramen noodles are now used more in bartering than tobacco products in prison.
8. McDonald's is called Macca's in Australia. The nickname became so popular, they've registered it and in 2013 they even changed the signage.
9. The 1940 Winter Olympics were originally given to Japan. They declined the games due to the start of the Sino-Japanese War. Eventually, they were awarded to Germany. 3 months later, Germany invaded Poland. The games were canceled altogether.
10. "Cage-free" eggs really don't make a difference in the wellbeing of the hen, since they can be cage-free and still stacked on top of each other in a coup. We just continue to pay significantly more for the same product that just 'sounds' better.
11Statue of Liberty's torch
The Statue of Liberty's torch has been closed to the public since July 30, 1916, when it sustained structural damage from the Black Tom explosion an act of German sabotage targeting a US munitions depot during World War 1.
12. About 30,000, or 24% of the world's cranes machines, are currently operating in Dubai.
13. When Andy Samberg's comedy trio, The Lonely Island, was making a TV pilot in 2000 they were filming a scene in which an elderly lady is getting mugged when Kiefer Sutherland happened to walk by and tried to stop it thinking it was real.
14. In 1959, Guinness dropped 150,000 special “messages in a bottle” into the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate its 200th birthday, making it one of the longest ad campaigns ever.
15. Edward Stuart Baker survived a panther attack by shoving his left arm down its throat. Despite losing his arm, he remained a formidable tennis player and even won a local tournament several years later.
161959 ice block expedition
In 1959, a Norwegian insulation company took on the challenge from a radio station of driving a truck carrying three tons of ice from the arctic circle to the equator. The ice only lost 11% of its mass during the 27-day long journey.
17. During the Cold War, the Soviets secretly bought clear Coca-Cola from the US and disguised it as vodka.
18. Three explorers (Bill Wilson, Henry Bowers, and Apsley Cherry Garrard) who wanted to prove that the penguins are the missing link between birds and reptiles went in the middle of the Antarctic winter (– 60°C) to collect penguin eggs in 1911 and when they returned back with the eggs the museum initially refused to look at them.
19. In 1961, when Yuri Gagarin returned from space Nikita Khrushchev wanted to boost the Soviet's anti-religion campaign by saying: "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any God there."
20. There are scented bowling balls and, contrary to rumor, the creator came up with them because bowling pro shops are stinky places.
21NHL
The "National" of the National Hockey League, refers to the nation of Canada, not the U.S.
22. A small kid who has been nicknamed “Mini Jack Ma” due to his resemblance to 'Jack Ma', founder of Ali Baba Group, comes from a poor Chinese family, and has received donations and at least one offer to fund his education all thanks to his resemblance to the billionaire tycoon.
23. Isolating a female cannabis plant from a male can increase production of buds (richest THC source) as the female increases her efforts to attract pollen from the male plant.
24. The caduceus symbol mistakenly used by many American medical companies is actually associated with thievery and commerce, the true medical symbol is the similar looking Rod of Asclepius.
25. In the 18th century England, some wealthy landowners would hire "ornamental hermits", who were poor people dressed in a Druid costume to live in rustic homes in their garden. This may have inspired garden gnome statues.
