1Highs & Lows
The highest point (The peak of Mount Whitney at 14,494 feet / 4,418 meters) and the lowest point (The Badwater Basin area of Death Valley at -282 feet / -86 meters) in the Contiguous United States are both in California, both in the same county in California, and only 88 miles apart.
2. The US reached peak coal mining employment in 1923, when there were 883,000 coal miners employed in the US. Today, there are only 50,000 coal miners in the US. Nevertheless, the US produces about 50% more coal than it did 100 years ago.
3. 17 miles (27km) from Mount Rushmore, a gigantic sculpture is being carved in the Black Hills, showing Native Chief Crazy Horse on his steed, pointing east. The construction started in 1948 and will take another 50 years to be completed.
4. Although there is no specialized sensory organ for time, our perception of time nevertheless depends on the rate of change in different sensory modalities. In the absence of sensory input, e.g. under anesthesia, the sense of time is often lost or impaired.
5. Jazz violinist Joe Venuti, known for practical jokes, once called every double bass player in the New York phonebook, asking them to meet with him on a street corner. Over 50 arrived with their instruments, creating a minor roadblock. Venuti later had to pay them all, as mandated by the AFM.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Purple Hearts
United States anticipated so many casualties in the planned invasion of Japan during WW2, that it is still awarding Purple Hearts originally manufactured during the war and intended for troops of that invasion.
7. One of the reasons the Great Wall of China still stands after so many years is due to a secret binding agent in the mortar which was sticky rice.
8. Ahmed Best, voice actor for Jar Jar Binks, became suicidal after the massive societal backlash against the character he played.
9. In 2018 the Sagrada Familia Church agreed to pay Barcelona $41 million as fine for lacking a building permit for 136 Years.
10. Charles Bronson, one of the toughest men in Hollywood, was so poor growing up that at one time he had to wear his sister's dress to school for lack of clothing.
11Space Odyssey
"2001: A Space Odyssey" was initially very poorly received by audiences due to its slow pace and ambiguous plot. The movie became more successful when masses of people began flocking to watch the movie while stoned, with MGM even advertising it as "The ultimate trip".
12. Volkswagen sells more sausages than cars, sold under the "Volkswagen original parts" number 199398500a, the currywusrt has been available for 45 years now.
13. Oily rags can spontaneously self-ignite because the oil reacts with oxygen in a reaction to produce heat, and a bunched up cloth can trap the heat enough to reach ignition temperatures.
14. Insects don't have lungs. They just kinda absorb oxygen and it is related to their size, i.e. why bugs got so big when the Earth had more oxygen.
15. The Battle of Hayes Pond was an armed confrontation between Lumbee Native Americans and the KKK in which the Lumbee were successful in disrupting the klan rally and ending significant KKK activity in the southern region of North Carolina.
16Chemo Pregnancy
Men who are receiving chemo should avoid causing pregnancy during and for some time after treatment because chemo may damage the DNA in sperm cells. This could lead to birth defects.
17. Giraffes sleep using their own butts as pillows
18. Marie Curie was involved in a sex scandal when a newspaper published love letters between her and a former student of her deceased husband. Her lover later challenged the newspaper’s editors to a dual to defend Marie’s honor.
19. Sweden has a forest of oak trees planted 200 years ago because their Navy at the time needed them for ships.
20. A charity in the UK is ‘adopting’ red phone boxes, removing the phone and installing lifesaving defibrillators instead.
21Dandelions
Dandelions are not only completely edible raw and cooked but also packed with nutrients and may have many other benefits to their consumption.
22. The word ‘bus’ is actually short for 'omnibus' meaning “To contain many things” and didn't originate until the early 19th century.
23. In 2002 paramedics in Poland were arrested for killing patients and selling their information to funeral homes who would contact their relatives to make funeral arrangements. The funeral homes then added the cost of the bribes they paid the killers to the funeral bills of the victims' families.
24. The human body, if eaten, would be 81,500 calories. Based on the recommend daily intake of 2,500 calories, one average human body would feed one person for about one month.
25. Led Zeppelin had become so frustrated with reporters and interviewers that officials had to put down strict rules for anyone who went backstage. One of those rules stated "Do not make any sort of eye contact with John Bonham. This is for your own safety."
