40 Obscure Random Facts You Never Knew You Wanted to Know – Part 33

Top Gear staged breakdowns of the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster, making electric cars seem unviable. Show defenders said that it was all in fun.

27. The US still hasn't used up all of the Purple Hearts minted in anticipation of a bloody landing of Japan in World War 2.

28. The hard blue end of an eraser wasn't designed for erasing ink. It is meant for erasing pencil from a heavier paper that would otherwise wear down the softer, pink side.

29. Apple in the 80s paid gaming magazines to downplay Mac's gaming abilities, which was better than the PC's, to project them as professional tools.

30. In the Victorian era, people used rocking bathtubs, tubs of water that could be sloshed back and forth to recreate the feel of the ocean in their homes.

The government of Nazi Germany memorialized the victims of European witch trials of the 16th to 18th centuries, as they thought witchcraft represented the remnant of an indigenous "Aryan" religion untainted by the Judaic influence of Christianity.

32. Eazy-E, former rapper, and N.W.A member was not buried in a suit and tie, but instead a flannel shirt, jeans and a Compton cap, reminiscent of what he wore.

33. Bowhead whales have an average lifespan of over 200 years. That means there are whales alive today who personally witnessed humanity go from three master schooners to the modern ships we have today.

34. The Treaty of Watertown was the first foreign treaty signed by the United States, establishing a military alliance with Wabanaki First Nations. To this day, Wabanaki citizens of Canada are allowed to join the U.S. military.

35. Flamingos can sleep in ponds that freeze around their legs at night, drink boiling water, and survive conditions that expose them to arsenic and poisonous gases.

Cocaine is an ideal treatment for nosebleeds, being a good local anesthetic while simultaneously lowering bleeding by means of vasoconstriction.

37. In the 17th century, an old man on trial openly confessed to being a werewolf but claimed to be good-natured, stating that he regularly went to hell with other werewolves to battle the witches and wizards of Satan to ensure a bountiful harvest.

38. In 1938, China's Nationalist government ordered the opening of dikes on the Yellow River to create a flood and slow the Japanese advance to Wuhan. While the advance was delayed, the flood also caused around 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese civilian deaths.

39. The samurai scene in Kill Bill where The Bride fights against the Crazy 88 was so bloody that the MPAA wanted director Quentin Tarantino to cut it in order to maintain an R rating. To get around it, he altered the colors in the scene to black and white.

40. Eliot Ness, the man famous for bringing down Al Capone's bootlegging empire during Prohibition, eventually became a raging alcoholic and often told glorified stories of his exploits while drinking in taverns.