41 Wacky Random Facts You Won’t Believe Are True – Part 257

In 2019, an expedition that descended to the Mariana Trench, the deepest area in the world's oceans, found a plastic bag and sweet wrappers at the bottom of the Trench.

2. In a 2008 survey, 58% of British teenagers thought Sherlock Holmes was a real guy, while 23% thought Winston Churchill was not.

3. Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman were in the same acting class and were voted by classmates as “The Least Likely to Succeed.”

4. “Unschooling” is a new form of homeschooling where the child has no curriculum or schedule. Instead, they learn by living their life while following their passions. Proponents say it increases the child’s general well-being and improved attitude towards learning.

5. Octopuses are anti-social towards other octopuses by nature, but when given MDMA or ecstasy they are much more friendly and try to “hug” each other.

Civil rights legend John Lewis once attended Comic-Con dressed as himself during the March on Selma. He led the children in a march around the convention center wearing the same kind of coat and backpack as he did at Selma.

7. The 'Rabbit' temple in Taiwan is the world’s only shrine for homosexuals. It dedicated to a deity who has watched over homosexuals for four centuries. It attracts nearly 9,000 people each year.

8. Simpsons creator Matt Groening said he was the fan of Beavis and Butthead because the show largely took "the heat off Bart Simpson being responsible for the downfall of western civilization."

9. During the Great Depression, members of the Civilian Conservation Corps planted over 3 billion trees in the US in under 10 years.

10. Pirate 'Black Bart' believed Irish people to be some of the worst people to have on your crew due to them being highly mutinous. As a result, many people who Bart tried to force into piracy would often fake an Irish accent so they could get out of it.

Father Byles was a priest aboard the Titanic who refused to board a lifeboat twice. Instead, he stayed behind to hear confessions and give absolution to the people left on the ship.

12. A French surgeon named René Leriche first started wearing blue scrubs during surgery in 1914 because he discovered it reduced eye strain for doctors working endless hours during World War 1. "Ciel Blue" became standard once the surgery was videotaped in the 1970s and white scrubs conflicted with the white lights.

13. There is a mushroom called “Chicken of the Woods.” It tastes like chicken to some but to others, it tastes like crab or lobster.

14. Ole Rømer was a Danish astronomer who demonstrated that light has a speed, invented a precursor to the Fahrenheit scale, and invented the mercury thermometer. He also ran the police force in Copenhagen and once fired all the officers because morale was low.

15. Rosetta Stone was discovered during the Egyptian campaign by Napoleon Bonaparte's French forces in 1799. It became an essential key to the modern understanding of ancient Egyptian literature and civilization.

Archaeologists have found traces of burnt cannabis in the altar of an ancient Jewish shrine, first time it’s been identified in the Ancient Near East. Scientists believe there was sufficient THC to create a mind-altered state in those breathing the fumes.

17. Ancient Sumerian doctors had advanced surgical practices that involved washing their hands and the wounds with antiseptic mixes of honey, alcohol, and myrrh.

18. Safety experts now recommend driving with your hands at 9 and 3 on the steering wheel. The old 10 and 2 positions can break your hands or force your arms into your face if the airbag deploys.

19. The primordial pouch is a skin flap on the stomach area of some cat breeds which appears regardless of weight. It helps to store energy when a cat goes a long period in between meals, and to protect vital organs when involved in fights.

20. Berliners love the "currywurst", a sausage topped with curry ketchup, so much, that there have been commemorative coins, novels, plays, and movies honoring its invention. By tradition, every candidate for mayor must be photographed in front of a currywurst stand.

The domesticated hamsters we now call pets are all descended from one “Adam and Eve” like pair captured in Aleppo, Syria in 1930.

22. Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan were professional acquaintances during the Voyager project in 1977. When Sagan returned a phone call from Druyan it turned into a date and they were engaged by the end of the call. They married in 1981 and were together until Sagan's death in December 1996.

23. Ginkgo biloba is the only member of its genus, which is the only genus in its family, which is the only family in its order, which is the only order in its subclass.

24. In Monsters Inc., when they point at the White Sock and shout “23-19!”, the 23rd and 19th letter of the alphabet are WS (the initials of White Sock).

25. Adolf Galland, one of the top-scoring German aces of World War 2, often flew missions in just his swimming trunks, smoking a cigar, and with a plane emblazoned with Mickey Mouse art. "I've always liked Mickey Mouse," he said when asked about the strange behavior.