1Space Shuttle Atlantis
In 2009, just in case Space Shuttle Atlantis was damaged while working on the Hubble, Endeavor was readied to launch a rescue mission. This was one of the few times both shuttle launch pads were occupied.
2. There is a 'fake' townhouse in Brooklyn Heights that's actually a ventilation shaft for the subway.
3. There is an Island in Louisiana named Isle de Jean Charles that has lost about 98% of its landmass due to rising sea levels. Plans are underway to relocate the remaining residents.
4. You steadily "dry out" as you age. A newborn human baby is 75% water, adult men are about 60%, adult women 55%, and elderly people are roughly half.
5. Usain Bolt was offered a position as a wide receiver in the NFL and rejected it due to the hits NFL players take.
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6George R.R. Martin
George R.R. Martin was an award-winning author decade before he ever became famous, with his first Hugo Award in 1975 and first Emmy nomination for producing the Beauty and the Beast TV series in 1988.
7. Honeycrisp apples were developed in 1974 by the University of Minnesota and patent royalties have generated more than $10 million by 2011 for the University.
8. Up until the 1600s, a “black swan” was a metaphor for something that did not exist. Then a group of Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to see black swans in Western Australia in 1697, and the phrase was amended to mean “a perceived impossibility that might later be disproven.”
9. Ben Hawkey, the actor in Game of Thrones who plays Hotpie, opened his own bakery and sells Direwolf shaped bread.
10. Poposicle ice pops were originally known as Epsicles, as they were invented in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson. Epperson shared the frozen treat with his kids many years later, at which point they became known as "Pop's sickles," leading up to a patent on the frozen treat in 1923.
11Fake bus stop
In Senior Centre in Düsseldorf, the adminstrators have set up a fake bus stop as a means to keep Alzheimer's patients from wandering off. The idea was so successful that it has been adopted by several other homes across Germany.
12. Horses cannot vomit due to the angle their esophagus enters their stomach and the muscle tone of their esophagogastric junction. If a horse does vomit it means that they are close to death.
13. Watermelon mosaic virus is a virus that "draws" circles on watermelons.
14. "Orang" in Orangutan does not refer to the color orange, but rather the Indonesian word for "person".
15. Spain's first documented serial killer, Manuel Romasanta, was raised a girl till he was 6 because his parents thought he was a female.
16Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley's autopsy and toxicology reports are the property of the Presley estate and are sealed from public view until 2027 ie., 50 years after his death.
17. You aren’t allowed to spin your players in Foosball.
18. When North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was parodied in the film Team America: World Police (2004), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea asked the Czech Republic to ban the film.
19. A Dairy Queen in Franklin, PA, has one of only four surviving Apollo command module boilerplates displayed in its front yard.
20. John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli the dwarf in Lord of the Rings is the tallest member of the Fellowship at 6'1".
21Wild Samoans
While wrestler Hulk Hogan was traveling with tag team duo, the Wild Samoans, whose gimmick was to never speak in public, police found an unregistered handgun in Hogan's car. Hogan begged the Samoans to come to his defense. The Samoans refused to break character and all three men went to jail.
22. The piece that holds the rotor blades to the helicopter is known as the "Jesus nut".
23. Futurama Comics have been released bi-monthly since 2000, and it continues to keep the series alive after the show's cancellation.
24. In music, an 8th note is called a 'Quaver', a 16th note is called a 'Semiquaver', a 32nd note is called a 'Demisemiquaver', a 64th note is called a 'Hemidemisemiquaver', a 128th note is called a 'Semihemidemisemiquaver' and a 256th note is called a 'Demisemihemidemisemiquaver'.
25. Jim Dale performed 300 voices for the Harry Potter Audiobooks and had to playback recordings of himself on set to remember each one, each time.
