42 Awesome Random Facts To Feel Smart About | Random List #148

Jay Leno had nowhere to live when he first got to Los Angeles and would hide in the closets at open houses until the realtor left; allowing him to illegally have a place to stay for up to 3 days sometimes.

2. According to one legend, the funeral escort of Genghis Khan killed anyone and anything that crossed their path in order to conceal where he was finally buried. After the tomb was completed, the slaves who built it were massacred, and then the soldiers who killed them were also killed.

3. Dutch resistance fighter Freddie Oversteegen along with her sister and friend, would flirt with Nazi collaborators and lure them to the woods for a promised makeout session. Once they reached a remote location, the men got a bullet to the head instead of a kiss.

4. A Toronto man built a wooden staircase for safe entry to a park for $550 after he learned that the city-made staircase would cost $65,000 -150,000. Although it was removed by city staffs due to safety concerns, the mayor called and thanked him for his effort, and a new stairway was built for $10,000.

5. Oak Ridge was a city built in the U.S. in 1942. 100,000 people lived and worked there doing very specific tasks, most of whom with no idea of what they were working towards. In 1945, they made the horrific realization that they had been working on making the atomic bombs all along when they saw news reports of the atomic bombings of Japan.

The government of Palau has required all tourists entering to sign a pledge stamped on their passport promising to be environmentally conscious and “tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully.”

7. In 2018, In-N-Out managers make $160,000 per year.

8. Japan and Singapore have the most powerful passports in the world with each granting visa-free access to 189 countries.

9. The town of Rjukan, Norway receives no natural sunlight from September to March due to the steep mountains that surround it. They have installed 3 large mirrors to reflect light into the town's square. The mirrors track the sun's path and move every 10 seconds to create a 600m squared pool of light.

10. The eagle featured on U.S. currency was modeled on a real bald eagle named Peter who used to live on top of the U.S. Mint. After his death in 1836, Peter was stuffed and is still on display inside the very building upon which he once nested.

Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence criticized King George III for enslaving Africans, and for over-ruling Virginia’s attempt to ban Slavery. In it, Jefferson called slavery a “cruel war against human nature.” The draft was struck down by the continental congress.

12. Chipmunks and other small rodents have fast reaction time because they process light faster. They see the world in slow motion.

13. Alcohol consumption in Manhattan in the week after 9/11 increased by 25% compared to the same period the year before. Tobacco consumption rose by 10%, marijuana consumption by 3.2% and church and synagogue attendance by 20%.

14. A veterinarian is often the first to see signs of domestic and child abuse.

15. Dr. Martin Couney, an owner of a freak show in the early 1900's invented an incubator to exhibit premature babies. In doing so, he saved thousands of lives and marked the start of advanced prenatal care for preemies.

Freddie Mercury used a piano as the headboard of his bed and would often play tunes that he had heard in his dreams. This was how Bohemian Rhapsody began.

17. The NFL uses chips embedded in players shoulder pads to record player's every move on the field. They are also located inside footballs to track: velocity, rotation, ball speed, and location.

18. The Esurance insurance company had to stop using their cartoon mascot Erin Esurance because she yielded too much fan-made porn. When searching Esurance online, porn would come up first.

19. The guy who invented the koosh ball, invented it because his child was having trouble catching a ball.

20. Douglas Tompkins, founder of The North Face died of hypothermia.

Before “The fresh prince of bel air” Will Smith was already famous but was so broke that he used the bus as a means of transportation where he was often recognized and asked for autographs.

22. In 2006, the Russian Space Agency decided to turn an old space suit into a satellite and named it Suitsat. The result looked like an astronaut stranded in outer space.

23. There is a growing body of scientific research showing that reliance on GPS erodes our ability to make our own mental maps.

24. Berea College in Kentucky has a $1billion endowment and doesn't charge students for tuition.

25. In Nepal, tigers and people have learned to use the exact same forest trails at different times of day to reduce the chances of fatal encounters.