1North Carolina
North Carolina declared independence from Great Britain and seceded from the Union on the same day, May 20th.
2. In the first few presidential elections, only white, male landowners could vote. Less than 5% of the U.S. population voted.
3. Astronomer Johannes Kepler abandoned everything to defend his mother against claims of witchcraft over a period of six years saving her from sure execution at the stake.
4. With over 15,000 hours of playing time on tape, the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia is the most recorded guitarist of all time.
5. Due to an etymological quirk, in Europe "moose" are known as "elk" and they don't actually have what North Americans call "elk".
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6Binary numbers
Polynesian people used binary numbers 600 years ago
7. The world's fastest production car is a hybrid (Koenigsegg Regera).
8. It's estimated around 40 people go over Niagara Falls every year, most of them suicides. Over 5000 bodies were found at the foot of the falls between 1850 and 2011. Most jumps happen on the Canadian side of the falls, and daredevil attempts have approximately a 75% success rate.
9. JRR Tolkien’s great granddaughter, Ruth Tolkien, is the only blind person in the UK to be a competitive fencer. She is currently ranked the 186th best fencer in the country.
10. Woody Allen refused Oscars saying, "The whole concept of awards is silly. I cannot abide by the judgment of other people, because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you don't."
11Ancient Romans
Before toilet paper use came into play, ancient Romans opted for a sponge on the end of a long stick that was shared by everyone in the community. When not in use, that stick stayed in a bucket of heavily salted seawater in the communal bathroom.
12. Gary Kremen, the founder of Match.com had a relationship end because she found another man on Match.com. He said that was when he knew the site was a success
13. Urinals with Flies painted on them were introduced in 2009 and have reduced "spillage" by as much as 80%
14. King Goujian's army was known for scaring its enemies before battle because its front line consisted of criminals sentenced to death who committed suicide by decapitating themselves.
15. Sweden ran a clandestine nuclear weapons program under the guise of civilian defense research between 1945 to 1972
16Abraham Lincoln
There were five failed assassination plots on Lincoln including one where a bullet went through his top hat
17. There is a religion formed around the Coen Brothers' film, "The Big Lebowski," called Dudeism. They have an official "church" and can hold weddings.
18. Aberdeen, Washington, the birthplace of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, changed their town motto in 2005 to "Come As You Are" as a tribute to Cobain
19. On February 9, 1964, almost half (45%) of all US television viewers tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show and The Beatles.
20. A cubic mile of ocean water can contain up to 25lbs of gold
21Michael Phelps
American swimmer Michael Phelps holds the world record for most Olympic medals ever held but also holds the record for the longest putt ever televised.
22. Iceland's navy took on the UK, Germany, and Belgium in three "Cod Wars", and won all three times with only one death
23. The Padmanabhaswamy Temple, which contains over $22 billion in gold and jewels is estimated to contain over $1 Trillion behind a mysterious sealed door.
24. Nintendo tried to buy the rights to the Harry Potter series from JK Rowling
25. During World War 2, Dutch resistance leader Gerrit Kastein was captured, placed in an interrogation room and tied to a chair. Because he feared he would give up names under torture, while left alone he jumped through a closed second-floor window while still attached to the chair.
