26Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I required 600 horse carts to carry everything she needed for her summer excursions to the countryside. She'd stay with the local nobles, but if their castle was too small, the nobility would get kicked out to make room for her. Of course, no Noble could refuse her or demand payment for her stay.
27. In 1575, Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes and his brother Rodrigo were captured and enslaved by Barbary pirates. After two years, his family could only afford one ransom, so Rodrigo was freed. Cervantes was freed three years later after a religious charity paid his ransom.
28. Willie O'Ree, the first black man to play in the NHL, was blind in one eye. He had a ricocheting puck hit him in the face when he was 18 years old, and he kept it a secret for the entire 21 years of his playing career.
29. In the Middle Ages, seniors could buy a place to live at a monastery for the rest of their lives, complete with food, shelter, and clothing.
30. In England, there are "wavy" brick fences. This shape uses fewer bricks than a straight wall. The waves' arch support allows the wavy wall to stand strong, while a straight wall requires at least two layers of bricks to do the same.
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31New Mexico History
New Mexico is older than regular Mexico by over 250 years. It was not named after the country, but in fact both take their names from the ancient Valley of Mexico, which was the heart of the Aztec civilization.
32. Bountygate was a scandal in the NFL during the 2011 season that involved New Orleans Saints players gambling over the severity of injuries they could inflict on the opposing team's players. The result was that the head coach was suspended for a season as he was found to have condoned the behavior.
33. The French military has a long history of setting up brothels for its soldiers, especially during the Algerian and Vietnamese conflicts, both at bases and close to the front lines. The last brothel at a French base closed down in 2003.
34. Hysterical strength is a display of extreme physical strength by humans beyond what is believed to be normal. Examples include a woman who saved several children by fighting a polar bear and a woman who lifted a car high enough to save a person.
35. In 1941, the USS New York opened fire on an object, believing it to be a Japanese aircraft. Fire commenced until a navigator realized they were shooting at Venus.
