26Church of One Tree
The Church of One Tree in Santa Rosa, California, was built entirely from lumber harvested from a single redwood tree. The tree used was 275 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter, producing 78,000 board feet of lumber.
27. During the production of Superman (1978), Gene Hackman initially refused to shave his mustache, only agreeing to do so when director Richard Donner promised to do the same. After Hackman had his mustache shaved, he approached Donner to fulfill his promise, but Donner just tore off his fake moustache instead.
28. In ancient China, emperor Zheng of Qin once evaded an assassination attempt by running in circles around a pillar.
29. The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals was a short-lived organization, lasting from 1959-1962, with over 50,000 members. It aimed to clothe "indecent" naked animals, but ended after its founder, notorious prankster Alan Abel, was exposed and revealed that the organization was a parody of conservative moralists of the time.
30. Despite variations in what technologies are permitted, nearly all Amish people have adopted the use of motorized washing machines.
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31LBJ's Language Lessons
In the 1920s, future US President Lyndon Johnson taught at an all-Mexican-American school, where he bought an English language book for the Spanish-speaking janitor and tutored him in English during his own time.
32. Sully, the pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson River notified a library about losing the book he borrowed from them about professional ethics, as it had sank with the plane.
33. A female Adactylidium mite is born already carrying fertilized eggs. After a few days, the eggs hatch inside her, and she gives birth to several females and one male. The male mates with all of his sisters inside their mother, and they then consume their mother from the inside out.
34. Brazil discovered that incarcerated populations read nine times as much as the general population. In response, they created a program that allowed prisoners to reduce their sentence by four days for each written book review they submitted.
35. Lanai, Hawaii's sixth-largest island, is 98% owned by the co-founder of Oracle.
