1Banana
The banana plant is a herb, distantly related to ginger. There are more than 1,000 types of bananas in the world.
2. WWII British Cromwell tank was so overpowered performance-wise that later models had to be governed to a maximum speed of 32 mph in order to prevent damage. This was still fast enough for one group of Cromwells to reportedly jump over a 20-foot canal when surprised by enemy forces.
3. Authors J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) were close friends and in their early writing days were often each other’s first readers.
4. In times of desperation, Mongol armies would slit a minor vein in their horse's neck and drain some blood into a cup. This they would drink either “plain” or mixed with milk or water. This habit of blood-drinking (which applied to camels as well as horses) shocked the Mongols’ enemies.
5. Steak Tartare gets its name from a 13th-century myth that Mongols (called Tartars at the time) would ride with meat under their saddles to tenderize it and then eat it raw. The story was false and the chronicler who popularized it had never even encountered Mongols himself.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Oldest Football Club
The oldest documented club dedicated to football in the world was the Foot-Ball Club of Edinburgh (1824- 1841), and surviving records describe a match involving 39 players and “such kicking of shins.”
7. Though Finland was allied with Germany during World War 2, they refused to expel their native (and immigrant) Jewish population, with those serving in the army taking particular delight in speaking Hebrew around the SS and Wehrmacht in Finland.
8. Baseball great Dizzy Dean boasted he could strike out Vince DiMaggio four times in a game. After three strikeouts, DiMaggio hit a pop foul ball. Dizzy yelled to his catcher to drop it so he could win his boast. He then got the fourth strikeout.
9. In the 1900s, the Austerlitz family in Omaha, Lutheran German emigrants, moved to New York City in hopes of finding fortune through their children's vaudeville talents. The son wore a top hat and studied tango, waltz, and other ballroom dances. He would become Fred Astaire.
10. Acclaimed poet Maya Angelou was the first African-American female to operate a streetcar trolley in San Francisco and she got her license to do so at age 16.
11Army Cake Cutting
The US Army has historical protocols associated with using a sword to cut the cake. Traditionally, the oldest and youngest soldiers are chosen to cut the cake in some ceremonies as a way of linking the past with the future. Swords dating from the Revolutionary War are often used at such events.
12. Diggerland USA is an amusement park that has multiple locations around the world and offers not only standard amusement park fare like rides and food, it also allows young people to actually operate heavy machinery like bulldozers, excavators, and more.
13. A woman named Katherine Rawls dominated women’s swimming in America during the 1930s, winning 33 national titles. During World War II she switched to flying as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). “Katy” ferried B-25 and B-26 bombers across America, as well as P-51 and P-63 fighters.
14. In 1957, a Douglas DC-3 ran out of fuel while flying over Missouri. All onboard bailed out, only to discover later that the plane had gone on to land itself perfectly in a cornfield.
15. Old fire houses had towers constructed to hang the fire hoses up to dry. Canvas hoses had to be dried thoroughly to avoid deterioration.
16Dog Braces
Dogs can wear braces on their teeth. When a 6-month-old Golden Retriever named Wesley wasn’t able to fully close his mouth and chew well, he was fitted with braces by, Dr. James Moore AKA “The Doggie Dentist.” As with people, dental problems for dogs can lead to other, more serious health issues.
17. In May 1942, a South African Air Force squadron got lost and landed in the Libyan Desert. They broke compasses to drink the alcohol but one man shot himself from stomach pain. They sprayed themselves with fire extinguishers but this made their skin erupt in blisters. There was only one survivor.
18. Harry S. Truman was among the poorest U.S. presidents, with a net worth much less than $1 million. His financial situation contributed to the doubling of the presidential salary to $100,000 in 1949. In addition, the presidential pension was created in 1958 when Truman was again having financial hardship.
19. In the 1990s, a group of Mazda engineers created a suitcase “car” from a large Samsonite suitcase and a pocket bike. The suitcase car took just a minute to assemble and had a top speed of 30 km/h (18.46 mph).
20. Stephen Hawking used a single cheek muscle to communicate. A sensor attached to his glasses detected these movements which in turn moved a cursor on a screen that utilized predictive text. Much of this text was personalized to Hawking and was based on phrases he had previously used.
21All Persons Fictitious
The “All persons fictitious” disclaimer that appears in the end credits of films and TV shows is the result of a libel case brought against MGM that had produced a film suggesting that a Russian princess had been seduced by Rasputin.
22. Over half of the psychology studies fail the reproducibility test, i.e., most times different researchers can’t replicate results using the same methodology used in the original study.
23. The human foot is uniquely advantageous for endurance running. Having entirely front-facing and short toe length decreases the amount of mechanical work required to push off the ground, thereby reducing the metabolic cost.
24. Japan holds an annual national pillow fighting tournament. The pillow fighters start by pretending to sleep on futons, but when the whistle sounds, they spring to their feet and race to get a pillow. It’s a mix between dodgeball and chess, teams throw pillows at each other while protecting the ‘King.’
25. In 1816, 147 shipwrecked Frenchman were stuck adrift on a makeshift raft when their captain cut the rope towing them. It took only 3 days for them to resort to cannibalism and only 15 survived to be rescued after 13 days. The aristocrat captain hadn’t sailed in 20 years and the incident was 100% avoidable.
