50 Random Fact List #199

The largest number of graves of any cemetery for U.S. personnel killed during World War 2 is located in Manila, Philippines. It has 17,206 graves. 16,636 of which were U.S. personnel.

27. Golf balls were once smooth. Golfers eventually realized that old, beat up balls flew farther. Modern day golf balls now have dimples around them because they increase turbulence, which allows them to fly farther.

28. The Parliament building in Bucharest is so massive that even though it already contains both lower and upper houses of parliament, three museums, and an international conference center, 70% of the building is still empty. The heating and electrical bill alone amounts to $6 million a year.

29. The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant was much closer to the epicenter of the 2011 Earthquake than the Fukushima Power Plant, yet it sustained only minor damage and even housed tsunami evacuees. Its safety is credited to engineer Hirai Yanosuke who insisted that it have a 14 meter (46 feet) tall sea wall.

30. After the death of Princess Diana, radio station XFM banned certain songs that might upset people. Banned songs included Drive by The Cars, Airbag by Radiohead and anything by the Crash Test Dummies.

Although being a giant box office success, movie theater business was less enthused about the movie "A Quiet Place" because the ambiance of the movie was such that any type of loud eating was shamed leading to people not buying any food. Cinemas normally earn more from food than tickets.

32. The Loyal Wives of Weinsberg were part of the surrender negotiation according to which all women could leave with them whatever they could carry and the defenders (men) would be imprisoned. The women carried their belongings and their husbands on their shoulders, saving them from being imprisoned.

33. At the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack, many people thought it was a drill. One sailor said, "This is the best goddam drill the Army Air Force has ever put on!" 

34. Even before the surgeon general issued his report on the dangers of tobacco, Mad Magazine went on an anti-smoking crusade ridiculing big tobacco, as agencies, and even smokers. Also before it became law, Mad Magazine's offices were smoke-free and none of their content featured smoking.

35. On August 26, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan described a disturbing dream to his bandmates in which he witnessed his own funeral. The next day, he tragically died in a helicopter crash.

When Jimmy Carter was the president, he once accidentally left the nuclear launch codes in the pocket of his suit jacket and sent it to the dry cleaners. They threw it in the bin.

37. The cheese Parmigiano-Reggiano is a large target of organized crime in Italy. From 2013 to 2015, an organized crime gang stole 2039 wheels of it from warehouses in northern and central Italy.

38. Mushroom Death Suit is embroidered with thread infused with mushroom spores that grow from the body after burial. These mushrooms digest the body as it decomposes and neutralizes many of the environmental contaminants found in the body—including pesticides, preservatives, and heavy metals.

39. Comedian Conan O’Brien, the host of the US talk show Conan, is a Harvard graduate and is on the board of directors for the John F. Kennedy presidential library and museum.

40. During pregnancy, the baby growing in its mother’s womb needs plenty of calcium to develop its skeleton. If the mother doesn’t get enough calcium, her baby will draw what it needs from the mother’s bones. Women often lose 3 to 5% of their bone mass during breastfeeding and recover after.

Willie Sutton was a bank robber in the early 1900s who stole an estimated $2 million over a 40-year career. He never robbed a bank with a loaded gun because he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and allegedly never robbed a bank when a woman screamed or a baby cried. He escaped prison 3 times.

42. Cremating a single body requires enough fuel to fill two SUV fuel tanks.

43. In 1993, the experts of Manchester Academy of fine arts liked a painting and included it in their exhibition. Later, they found out that its creator was a 4-year-old girl named Carly Johnson.

44. Due to intense metabolic demands of flight which in turn cause constant high levels of inflammation, bats have evolved ways to dampen their immune response towards the inflammation and this explains their ability to carry and transmit some of the world’s deadliest zoonotic viruses.

45. When Lance Armstrong was asked in an interview what he would do if he could go back in time and return to 1995 (the year he started doping), he said that he would "probably do it again."

When applied directly to the eye, the Bëcchëte medicinal plant is reported by tribes to have the effect of giving the environment greater texture and dimension, making it easier to spot animals during hunting. The effects are reported to be long-term, lasting days or weeks, not just a few hours.

47. The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz series was once a man named Nick Chopper. A witch cursed his ax causing it to dismember him over time. He then had each bit replaced until he was completely metal. Upon encountering his surviving human head, they argue as to which one is the real Nick.

48. Samuel L. Jackson’s famous role in Pulp Fiction was written specifically for him, as Quentin Tarantino wanted to work with him after he auditioned for Reservoir Dogs but didn’t get the part.

49. There is a book called "Shadows from the Walls of Death", a book that's not only extremely rare but also very lethal due to its arsenic content.

50. A California aquarium once apologized for calling an otter 'Thicc,' 'Chonky,' and an 'Absolute Unit.'