26Emilie du Châtelet
A scientist named Emilie du Châtelet in 1749 feared that bearing a child at the age of 42 would be the last thing she did. She worked furiously on a magnum opus that would eventually change the world of physics. Within days of completing her work, she gave birth to a daughter and died soon after.
27. The "Holbrook Holiday" is a creative punishment invented by an Ohio judge. Instead of a standard jail term, he takes a holiday away from the criminal for the next several years by making them report to jail for the holiday.
28. Botanical Sexism is a process by which urban landscapers, in an effort to keep streets clear of seeds and flowers, plant only male trees. The male trees lack the seeds of their female counterparts and as the trees get bigger, their pollen counts increase which can worsen seasonal allergies.
29. The Berlin Wall came down by mistake. When the East Germans planned to slowly open the border they announced it at a press conference without including a plan. When a reporter asked when it would be opened, the party official mistakenly said "Immediately, without delay" causing a run on the wall.
30. In 2008, a bear was sued for stealing honey by a Macedonian beekeeper. The bear was found guilty, and the beekeeper received 1,700 euros from the state for the damages.
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31Mary-Claire King
In 1990, Dr. Mary-Claire King discovered the human gene BRCA1 which is linked to breast cancer. Soon after, Myriad Genetics cloned and patented it. She was sent a cease-and-desist letter to stop researching it. Finally, in 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented.
32. A cat in New Zealand tricked two different women into owning him. Neither knew they had the same cat until after he went to the vet for stitches. The cat got to keep both names as well as both owners through a shared custody agreement.
33. A 9-year-old Pakistani girl named Arfa Karim was the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) until 2008. When she suffered cardiac arrest in 2011, Bill Gates assembled an international panel of doctors to advise the local physicians treating her and offered to pay for treatment in the U.S.
34. TBS sped up Seinfeld by 7.5% so they could add 2 more minutes of commercials.
35. Matt Groening named his show The Simpsons because he thought it was funny to have the word simp (short for simpleton) in their name.
