1Defibrillator Shock Mechanism
Perhaps counterintuitively, defibrillators do not shock the heart to get it to beat normally-the shock actually stops the heart from beating altogether. This allows the natural automatic pacemaker of the heart to operate again and restore the heart's rhythm to normal.
2. Indigenous Indians took over and occupied Alcatraz Island from 1969 to 1971, shortly after its closing, to protest the use of their land for the prison.
3. Happy Days producers intentionally sought a short actor to play Fonzie. They didn't want his character to overshadow the rest of the cast, who were all under 6 feet tall. Despite their intent, Henry Winkler (5'6") still became the breakout star.
4. The US Air Force uses the term "elephant walks" to describe the close formation taxiing of a large number of military aircraft prior to takeoff. These exercises serve a practical purpose-preparing aircrews for conflict operations that require mass take-offs-and also serve as a show of force.
5. Bald eagle nests can weigh around 1 metric ton, and the biggest recorded is 2.7 metric tons.
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6Venomous Blue-Ringed Octopus
All species of octopus are venomous, but only the Blue-Ringed Octopus has venom that can harm humans.
7. In 2004, a brawl broke out at an NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers after Pacer Ron Artest had a beer thrown at him. The game ended prematurely, resulting in the suspension of nine players, including Artest, the charging of five players with assault, and the permanent banning of five fans from the venue.
8. The Battle of the Porpoises was a military blunder during WWI where the Brazilian Navy slaughtered a herd of porpoises after mistaking them for German U-boats.
9. Electronic Arts tried to launch an NBA video game in 2010, but the demo was so glitchy that they canceled the completed game. Experts projected that the failure would result in losses of up to $60 million for Electronic Arts.
10. Before the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was completely constructed, there were concerns among the public that its high-energy experiments would lead to the formation of microblack holes or strangelets, dark-matter-like particles that could convert all matter they touched into strange matter.
11Luftwaffe's Mosaics at Disney
Luftwaffe's Master Interrogator, Hanns Scharaff, hand-created the mosaics at Walt Disney World.
12. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) may have begun when Czech nobles threw two Habsburg regents and their secretary out of the Prague Castle window onto a huge dung heap.
13. Fletcher Jones, an Australian garment manufacturer established in the 1940s, provided a lifelong guarantee on their woolen clothes, offering free alterations for weight gain or dieting. The locals still wear some of their clothes that have survived generations.
14. Sixty-five miles northwest of Las Vegas is a nuclear bomb research and waste site that has detonated over 1000 nuclear bombs between 1951 and 1992. It is one of the most contaminated places in the US. The site offers monthly public tours.
15. Alexander Green was one of the last hangmen of the Australian prison colonies, having executed around 250 people. He married a convict and, towards his last years, became a drunkard and started botching public hangings. The public noticed his behavior, leading to his job loss and subsequent placement in a mental asylum.
16Rosalynn Carter's Active Role
Rosalynn Carter sat in on Jimmy Carter's presidential cabinet meetings and took notes, so she would always know what was going on. She was also the first First Lady to have her own office in the East Wing.
17. For decades, different studios in Hollywood have simultaneously released two films with strikingly similar plots, a phenomenon known as 'Twin Films' (e.g., Madagascar & The Wild, Antz & A Bug's Life).
18. Virtually all of the ice in the earth's biosphere is known as Ice I. At higher pressures, though, there are 19 known different phases of ice.
19. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer remains under copyright protection until 2034. He has the rare distinction of being an iconic Christmas character that is not in the public domain. This is why most Christmas art and decorations do not include him due to licensing fees.
20. The entire population of a village on the Kenyan island of Pate is descended from medieval Chinese sailors. The story is that when Chinese merchants came to the island to trade with the locals, they ended up running aground. They then decided to settle and marry local women.
21Smithsonian's "Little Boy" Display
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., displayed a working "Little Boy" atomic bomb that lacked only uranium until 1986. The Department of Energy removed the bomb's inner components from the museum to prevent it from being stolen and detonated with fissile material.
22. Saint Nicholas' reputation as a secret gift-giver originates from him discreetly funding three poor girls' dowries so that they wouldn't be forced into prostitution.
23. In Austria, Americans can go to any McDonald's to get in touch with the U.S. Embassy if they need help. McDonald's locations in Austria and the U.S. Embassy in Vienna established this under a new partnership.
24. A death row inmate named James Edward Smith requested a lump of dirt for his last meal as part of a voodoo ritual to assist in his reincarnation.
25. During the famous 1959 Kitchen Debate, Khrushchev claimed that Nixon's grandchildren would live under communism. However, Khrushchev's son became a naturalized American citizen, disproving his claim.
