26Robert McCulloch
In 1968, US businessman Robert McCulloch bought London Bridge for $2,460,000 plus shipping costs of around $240,000 and moved it to the Arizona desert. Instead of applying the 11% import tax for granite, US customs declared the 137-year-old bridge to be an "antique" and therefore duty-free.
27. The creator of chiropractic medicine, D.D. Palmer, had claimed that he had received his chiropractic knowledge from the spirit of a deceased physician named Jim Atkinson and believed chiropractic medicine was a moral obligation and a religious duty.
28. A stretch of Route 66, between Albuquerque and Tijeras, will play "America the Beautiful" as you drive over added grooves in the road. If you drive the speed limit of 45 mph for the quarter-mile stretch, you can hear "America the Beautiful" play through the vibrations in your car's wheels.
29. Thai last names are so long because Thai citizens are not legally allowed to have the same last name as anyone they are not related to.
30. The last duel in Canada was fought in 1873 over a woman. Upon turning and firing, one duelist fell to the ground. Both duelists unknowingly had blanks loaded in their guns by their seconds. The one-man who fell had fainted due to fear.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt, the women's suffrage leader of the early 20th century, had a special clause in her 1890 wedding prenuptial. It guaranteed her four months of free time every year, so she could campaign to get women the vote in the US.
32. Hasbro trademarked the smell of Play-Doh, and in order to do so, they had to explicitly define every nuance of the scent.
33. Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of laurel trees and used to be more valuable than gold.
34. Construction workers at the new World Trade Center site in NYC stumbled upon the hull of an 18th century Philadelphia sloop active in colonial-era Caribbean trade. Tree-ring scientists at Columbia University found that the wood used to build the ship were felled in 1773.
35. When people act like Frankenstein's monster, they often stretch their arms out in front of them because of the 1943 movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolf-Man. In the movie, the monster is blinded and has to walk holding his hands in front of him.
