26Joseph Pujol
Joseph Pujol was a professional farter and highest paid performer at the Moulin Rouge. For his grand finale, he would play "La Marseillaise" through his anus and then blow out candles from yards away. Corseted women in the audience were known to pass out from laughter.
27. The United States avoided the thalidomide tragedy because FDA inspector Frances Kelsey blocked its approval based on lack of safety data despite pressure from her FDA supervisors and the pharmaceutical company. Meanwhile, 10,000 thalidomide babies were born in Europe, Australia, and Japan
28. In 1973, IBM offered its UPC barcode proposal to the grocery industry for free. The industry accepted a very close standard to their proposal. However, IBM also made the first technology capable of reading the barcodes and made tons of money selling the equipment to grocery stores.
29. Samuel Morse invented the telegraph after he received a letter of his wife's failing health and after she'd died.
30. Some churches are using signal jammers to make the congregation stop using their mobile phones.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Presidential Yacht
From 1933 until 1977 there was a Presidential Yacht, but it was sold off by Jimmy Carter, and today raccoons live in it.
32. Tennis balls were traditionally black or white. They were changed to yellow in 1972 after research showed they were more visible on television.
33. The musical Hamilton has over 20,000 words and would take 4-6 hours to perform if songs were sung at traditional musical paces.
34. In 1493, Columbus mistook manatees for mermaids and wrote: “They are not so beautiful as they are said to be, for their faces had some masculine traits."
35. Jackie Kennedy wore her blood-splattered pink Chanel suit for the rest of the day after JFK's assassination. When asked to change her outfit, she replied: "I want them to see what they have done to Jack."
