26Rebecca Twigg, Fall of an Olympian
A Seattle born athlete named Rebecca Twigg became a popular cyclist in 1980s. She won 6 world championships, 2 Olympics gold medals, appeared in Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, and numerous commercials. In 1996, however, Twigg abruptly dropped out of the sport, re-entered the workforce, had trouble holding down a desk job, became homeless and has been living on the street for years.
27. James Jakob Williams was an African-American marine who after fighting in the Second Barbary War (1815), traveled to Greece where slavery had been abolished. There, he fought for the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman empire. He died in 1829, a free man, in a free Greece.
28. On onset of 100 years war, blind King John of Bohemia refused to sit it out and ordered his men to tie their horses to his and guide him into the battle. As battle turned sour, he was advised to flee but he replied "Far be it that King of Bohemia should run away." He died fighting.
29. Hisako Koyama was a female Japanese astronomer who hand drew sunspots every day for more than 40 years. Her detailed sketches aid researchers in studying solar cycles and the sun's magnetic fields.
30. Thankful Villages a.k.a. Blessed Villages are those few villages in Britain which suffered no casualties during the First World War. These villages lost no men in the war. All those who left to serve came home again when war ended.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Almonds and Peaches
Almonds and peaches are so genetically similar, they can fertilize each other and produce viable hybrids.
32. In 1997, the small Texas community of Kleberg County tried to replace "Hello" with "Heaven-o" citing ‘hell’ being negative and ‘heaven’ having positive influence on people.
33. 'Loving Day' which falls on June 12 celebrates the day that Interracial Marriage became legal in the United States.
34. Unilever and Procter & Gamble were fined $456 million for fixing washing powder prices in 8 European countries in 2011. The fines were discounted by 10% after the 2 industry giants admitted to running a cartel. Their rival Henkel, who provided the tip-off, was not fined in return.
35. The "Liking Gap" is a psychological illusion which estimates that people you meet like you more than you think. Psychologists found that "people systematically underestimated how much their conversation partners liked them and enjoyed their company."
