26Gregor MacGregor's Fake Country
In 1821, Scotsman Gregor MacGregor arrived in London as the "Cazique" (a tribal chieftain) of the Central American nation of Poyais. He secured a £200,000 loan underwritten by Poyais' revenues and convinced 250 people to buy land and settle there. Poyais did not exist.
27. In the Zhou dynasty, it was believed that the ruling class had excess "de" and so needed a large number of female partners, or else the "de" turns into malevolent "gui." They had special court ladies, the "nu shi," to ensure they slept with women in the right order and amount.
28. In 1932, Fritz Gerlich, a German journalist, made fun of Hitler's bigotry by publishing a satire article "proving" that Hitler was Mongolian. Later, the Nazis took Gerlich to Dachau and murdered him.
29. Bernie Madoff was treated as a hero in prison. In a letter to his family, the swindler wrote, "I am quite the celebrity and am treated like a Mafia don. I can't walk anywhere without someone shouting their greetings and encouragement to keep my spirit up."
30. In 1910, English pranksters disguised as Ethiopian diplomats fooled the Royal Navy into giving them a tour of HMS Dreadnought. They spoke gibberish, mostly Greek and Latin, and would shout "Bunga bunga!" to express astonishment. One of them was author Virginia Woolf.
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31Drugs in Treated Water
Sewage treatment plants are not currently designed to remove pharmaceutical drugs from water, nor are the facilities that treat water to make it drinkable. Aquatic life, particularly fish, has shown that estrogen and chemicals that behave like it have a feminizing effect on male fish.
32. U.S. troops using flashcard apps accidentally revealed classified information about nuclear weapons in Europe, such as vault locations, surveillance camera positions, signs and countersigns, and duress words.
33. Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for the movie Hercules in New York (his film debut), and his agent said he had years of "stage" experience, implying theater, when he had only appeared on bodybuilding stages.
34. Only three objects have ever been found inside the Great Pyramid of Giza: pieces of wood, a ball made of diorite, and a copper hook. In 1872, researchers discovered them in a shaft that led from the Queen's Chamber.
35. Only after learning she could attend college part-time did actress Blake Lively accept a role on the CW show 'Gossip Girl'. Lively later said, "This is advice to anyone: when they say, 'We promise, but we can't put it in writing,' there's a reason they can't put it in writing."
