1BBC
In 1942 BBC issued an appeal for postcards and photographs of the coast of Europe from Norway to the Pyrenees. It was actually an intelligence-gathering exercise. They were sent to the War Office to help determine a suitable location (Normandy) for the eventual D-Day landings of 1944.
2. Tar and Feathering wasn't fatal because it was done with pine tar not the asphalt tar used in modern times.
3. In 1846, a species of land snail named the eremina desertorum was collected and glued to a museum index card, presumed dead. 4 years later, the specimen was being looked at with warm water, when it suddenly awoke and looked around to see what was going on.
4. The smaller chunks that break off of icebergs are officially called "bergy bits."
5. President Coolidge and his wife had a pet raccoon named Rebecca who lived with them in the White House. Rebecca was supposed to be eaten for the 1926 Thanksgiving dinner, but they adopted her instead.
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6John Laurens
John Laurens was an officer in the Continental Army who strongly opposed slavery, and tried unsuccessfully multiple times to institute black regiments in the struggle for independence. His abolitionist views were admirable, considering his South Carolina birth and father’s ownership of slaves.
7. The Matrix wanted Sandra Bullock as 'Neo' before Keanu Reeves took the role. The producers had such a hard time finding the right man for the role that they briefly considered changing Neo into a female character. She was also considered for the part of Trinity and regretted not taking it.
8. In the midst of the messy divorce, Charles Dickens referred to his wife as “dearest darling, Pig” and attempted to have her committed to an insane asylum so he could live with his 18-year-old mistress.
9. The streets of London were once paved in gold called fool's gold. Martin Frobisher shipped over a thousand tons of fool's gold from what's now Canada to London under the impression that he was shipping gold ore. It was later discovered that it was iron pyrite and it was used for road metalling.
10. The PS3 launched in 2006 at $599 making it one of the most expensive consoles of all-time. But despite its high price, Sony continued to lose money on every PS3 sold until 2010.
11Story Musgrave
Story Musgrave is the most formally educated astronaut with six academic degrees. He is a consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California, and is the only astronaut to fly on all 5 Space Shuttles.
12. Dietary Iron is required for production of sleep monoamine neurotransmitters, so lack of Iron will cause severe sleep disturbance. A study showed that those who were Iron deficient also had a significant increase in anxiety and depression.
13. McDonald's used to have a mascot named Captain Crook who stole Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, as opposed to the Hamburglar's hamburger thievery.
14. In 2013, fraudsters in China cost Apple over $2 billion by returning fake iPhones for refunds.
15. Scientists in Tel Aviv have found that soon after a bee flies past an Evening Primrose, the flower increases the sugar content of its nectar by 30%. Playing bee sounds has a similar effect, but there is no effect on the flower when other vibrations are emitted.
16Fukushima disaster
There is only 1 reported death from radiation at Fukushima, but over 1600 reported deaths from "evacuation stress" such as suicide and health access.
17. Sea turtles are among the most ancient animals still in existence today with the oldest fossil dating back 215 million years – older than the oldest dinosaur.
18. Marilyn Bell, at the age of 16, became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario in 1954. Her 32-mile route was greatly lengthened by high wind and high waves. Fanged lamprey eels attacked her in 65-degree water. She accomplished this feat in 21 hours.
19. There is a Native American version of a Trojan Horse. In 1763 Native Americans played an early version of Lacrosse outside a British fortress during the Pontiac's Rebellion. They hit the ball through the open gate and both teams chased after the ball. Once inside, they killed the soldiers.
20. Speed cameras in Germany take photos of drivers who sit in the left side of the vehicle, so a driver using a British car put a muppet in the passenger seat to hide their identity.
21Female Komodo Dragons
Female Komodo Dragons can impregnate themselves without a male through a process called parthenogenesis. By forcing the duplication of sex chromosomes they can give birth to male Komodo Dragons and keep their species alive.
22. The band name Smashing Pumpkins doesn't mean breaking a gord; the "Smashing" in it is an adjective, not a verb. So smashing as in "fantastic."
23. In the 1930s, residents of Munich would take a small side street so they didn't need to render the Nazi salute to the shrine of the Nazis who died in the Beer Hall Putsch. This side road came to be called "Drückebergergasse" or "Shirker's alley."
24. A Scottish scientist named Dr. Henry Faulds discovered that fingerprints were unique, and asked Charles Darwin to help him promote the idea. Charles Darwin shared this with his nephew, who then claimed the finding as to his own.
25. Skilled archers can make shot arrows turn in mid-air, hitting targets behind obstacles.
