39 Saucy Random Facts That Sound Totally Fictitious | Random List #155

Spielberg shot "E.T." in chronological sequence so that kids could mentally deal with the goodbye of a friend.

27. Dr. George Archibald spent 3 years with a highly endangered whooping crane named Tex, acting as a male crane – walking, calling, dancing – to shift her into reproductive condition. Through his dedication and the use of artificial insemination, Tex eventually laid a fertile egg.

28. Urgent Call for Unity was an appeal to defeat the Nazis. It was signed by German scientists, authors, and artists in advance of the German federal election in 1932. The appeal was unsuccessful, Adolf Hitler was appointed the chancellor, and the Nazis were able to consolidate power.

29. At the age of 23, a Norwegian army officer named Joachim Ronneberg led a team of saboteurs on cross country skis on a mission to destroy Hitler’s chance at building an atomic bomb.

30. All border collies can be traced back to one dog named Old Hemp.

Many university athletes read at an 8th-grade level and the NCAA systematically hides this.

32. The company behind the infamous CueCat had a data breach back in 2000 revealing name, email address, age range, gender and zip code. They gave a $10 Radioshack gift card to everyone affected.

33. Even though Mikhail Gorbachev has been offered to have his notable wine stain birthmark removed, he opted against it as he believed it would be perceived as him being more concerned with his appearance than other more important issues.

34. Bolivia became landlocked in 1904 after losing the War of the Pacific. However, the country still observes the Day of the Sea, "where politicians give speeches and people listen to the recorded sound of seagulls."

35. Air Force One has one more takeoff than landing because President Nixon was aboard when his resignation letter was released by Secretary of State Kissinger. The pilot called to change the call sign to SAM 27000 mid-flight over Missouri.

The game Rock Paper Scissors is as old as the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). It was also known in Japan as Slug Frog Snake.

37. Due to the popularity of the song “Hey Ya” by OutKast, specifically the line “shake it like a Polaroid picture,” the Polaroid company had to issue a statement informing consumers that shaking the Polaroid picture will not assist in developing the photo and can actually ruin it.

38. A low-tech medical centrifuge was designed out of paper by a physical biologist named Manu Prakash at Stanford University in California in 2016. He based his invention on spinning toy, whirligig. It can reach 20,000 rotations per minute and can be used to separate plasma from blood and malarial parasites. It can be operated with hands without electricity and just costs 20 cents.

39. In 2017, a casino in U.S.A. was hacked into by exploiting a smart fish tank, which was connected to the internet.