26In the limelight
Pre-electricity theatre spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). This mineral glows white when heated. These kinds of lights were called limelights and this is the origin of the phrase “in the limelight” to mean “at the centre of attention”.
27. After seeing American rock band ‘The Doors’ performance in 1967, Iggy Pop was inspired to push the boundaries of his stage performance. He was one of the first musicians to stage dive. On several occasions, he took massive amounts of drugs, exposed himself, rolled around in the glass, cut himself, and threw objects.
28. In 1965, painter Roman Opałka had the idea of representing the passing of time by painting numbers. He painted a 1, then a 2, then a 3, etc., and continued for the rest of his life. The last number he painted before he died in 2011 was 5607249.
29. Washington Irving, who authored “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” had a huge impact on American culture. He popularized the name "Gotham" for New York City and is responsible for our perception of Santa Claus as he wrote, in 1812, about Saint Nicholas flying over treetops in a flying wagon.
30. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech reached 69 as a single on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
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31Extraterritorial Canadian Hospital
In 1943, amid the Second World War, part of the maternity ward on the third floor of Ottawa’s Civic Hospital was declared "extraterritorial," i.e., it was no longer part of Canada, to clear the way for the birth of a Dutch princess. She is the only Princess born in North America.
32. Giraffes have sky-high blood pressure because of their long necks. 110/70 is the normal blood pressure for a large mammal. Giraffes have a blood pressure of 220/180.
33. After the catastrophic Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, the city was rebuilt with the world's first anti-seismic architecture. All buildings were restricted in height, poles were driven into the riverbed to reinforce, and streets were made into wide boulevards.
34. A Montana man named Jack Ass sued MTV for $10 million in 2002, claiming that the show was plagiarizing his name. Jack Ass, whose birth name was Bob Craft, changed his name in 1997 to raise awareness for drunk driving after his brother and friend both died in a car accident.
35. Carl's Drive-In Barbecue became Carl's Jr. when the owner opened a smaller version of the restaurant geared to faster service, which eventually outsold and replaced the original.
