26McGovern's WWII Bombing Remorse
Former South Dakota politician George McGovern was an air force pilot during World War II and once inadvertently bombed an Austrian farm. He was haunted for 40 years until, after a TV interview, the farmer called the station to reassure him that he and his family evacuated in time, and if it contributed to toppling Hitler in any way, it was worth it.
27. When Larry Ellison divorced his wife Nancy in 1978, she relinquished any claim on his new company for $500. That company, Oracle (the database company), propelled Ellison to become the world's eighth-richest person ($130 billion as of today).
28. A Ugandan woman named Mariam Nabatanzi Babirye has given birth to 51 children, 44 of whom are still alive. As of April 2023, her eldest child is 31 years old, and the youngest is six years old. Her husband abandoned her in 2015, leaving her a single mother.
29. The US implemented permanent daylight saving time in 1973. However, public support for it plummeted following the subsequent winter, leading to its repeal within a year.
30. Henry Heimlich had the opportunity to perform the Heimlich maneuver in 2016, over 40 years after inventing it, when a fellow resident in his senior living community was choking. Despite having demonstrated it countless times, he had never used it in a real-life situation until then. He was 96 years old at the time.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Watson Brown's Gruesome Fate
After being killed during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, the body of Brown's son Watson was severely mutilated and exhibited in a nearby medical college by pro-slavery secessionists. Union soldiers subsequently burned down the college in 1862.
32. The woman in the iconic Great Depression photograph, "Migrant Mother," was only 32 years old when the photo was taken.
33. Laurence Fishburne was only 14 years old when filming "Apocalypse Now," having lied about his age to secure the role. Due to the extended production period, he was 18 by the time the film was released.
34. When registering for the Screen Actors Guild, actress Emma Stone found that her real name, "Emily Stone," was already taken. Consequently, she chose the name "Emma" in honor of Emma Bunton, a.k.a. Baby Spice of the Spice Girls.
35. Bruce Springsteen did not settle his taxes until he appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1975. He then spent the subsequent years paying off his taxes, which left him with only $20,000 on his 30th birthday despite achieving multiple best-selling records and successful tours.
