26Susan Sarandon
Actress Susan Sarandon who played a cellist named Jane in the 1987 movie, "The Witches of Eastwick," learned only after being cast that she would have to quickly learn how to play the cello. She was also told that she would be sued if she left the production.
27. The infamous sound German JU-87 dive bombers (Stuka Dive) made while in a dive is due to a siren installed on the plane, and not just the sound of the plane diving on a bomb run.
28. In the 1960s, the US government dug a mile-deep hole in the ground and dropped a 40-kiloton atomic bomb to release natural gas. It worked, but the gas was too radioactive to use, and the project was abandoned.
29. American comedian and actor Tommy Davidson who is popular for his role "In Living Color," was abandoned in a pile of trash when he was just 18 months old. He was rescued and adopted by a white family.
30. In 1986, divers at the wreck of the Titanic discovered there was no large gash in the hull as originally expected. Instead, it is believed that the iceberg simply loosened or buckled seams in the hull of the "unsinkable" ship.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Blockbuster's Failure in Japan
In the early '90s, Blockbuster video's attempt to enter Japan failed due in part to their business strategy of "Wholesome Home Entertainment" not accounting for the popularity in Japan of extreme horror films, or the fact that adult entertainment accounted for 35% of the Japanese video market.
32. In 1940, Hitler decided to change the name of the battle cruiser "Deutschland" to "Lützow" recognizing that the sinking of a warship was a propaganda disaster if it bore the name of its country.
33. M.B. Skaggs, the founder of Safeway Supermarkets was a preacher who felt credit purchases were evil and named his cash-only stores to promote the "safe way to shop."
34. Dr. Seuss's first book "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" was rejected by 27 publishers. He decided to destroy the book but randomly bumped into an old friend who had just become a children's book editor, who asked to look at it and ended up publishing it.
35. There is a thriving population of wild parrots in ‘The Bronx.’ These birds are Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus). They were introduced to the area because of the pet trade, but have since called it their home by creating their nests on the warm lights present on baseball fields. They have since spread across the boroughs, and even Manhattan.
