37 Awesome Random Facts To Blow Your Mind | Random List #48

Massive concrete acoustic mirrors, or “listening ears,” were built in England between the world wars to monitor the skies for the telltale sounds of airborne invasion.

27. Harlon Block was a marine who raised the flag on Iwo Jima but then died soon after. He was misidentified in the famous picture for 2 years but his mother knew it was him. Looking at the photo she exclaimed “I’ve changed so many diapers on that boy’s butt, I know it’s my boy".

28. The oldest company (Kongō-Gumi) in the world was a Buddhist Temple builder that had been in business continually for 1,428 years before succumbing to financial difficulties in 2006.

29. There is no such character as the "Mad Hatter" in Alice In Wonderland, only "The Hatter". He had a mad tea party and the two concepts merged.

30. Whales' closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses.

In 1994, a Boy Scout named David Charles Hahn attempted to make a neutron gun and in the process created a massive irradiation incident in his neighborbood and also irradiated himself. He was arrested. Authorities declared the his shed as a hazardous materials site and sealed it. Crews from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led a Superfund cleanup in 2005 that included dismantling the shed and shipping its remains to be buried at a low-level radioactive waste site in Utah.

32. Little league sports were originally organized to keep poor kids off the streets but the Depression caused leagues to close down so poor children from urban areas lost opportunities for competitive athletics. Fee-based groups filled the void but only upper-class kids could afford them.

33. The reason you can't find canned broccoli, unlike most other vegetables, is because broccoli disintegrates into a pulp when cooked for periods of time above 200°F, and water boils at 212°F. The canning process cooks food once before and once after its canned. Broccoli would turn to mush.

34. Many BPA-free plastics contain BPS, a similar chemical that can affect cells the same way. 81% of Americans have BPS in their urine.

35. In 1900, Casey Jones (American railroader) sacrificed himself in order to slow his train to save his passengers from serious injury or death. He was the only fatality.

Studded and spiked dog collars were originally intended to protect dogs from wolves, coyotes, and other predators.

37. Thomas Jefferson helped to popularize "Mac 'n Cheese" by serving it to dinner guests during his presidency.