50 Random Facts List #121

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26Mary of Exeter

Mary of Exeter

A World War 2 pigeon named Mary of Exeter survived an assassination attempt by a German Warhawk, was shot, hit with shrapnel, and survived a bombing of her loft while delivering messages across the English Channel to France.


27. Zimbabwe's total bank balance was just $217 at the beginning of 2013.


28. In 1847, theoretical physicist Max Planck was told not to get into the field by his physics professor because "in this field, almost everything is already discovered." He did so anyway and originated Quantum Theory which revolutionized the field.


29. Romans may have invented the burger, called Isicia Omentata, over 1,500 years ago which was made with minced meat, pepper, wine, pine nuts and a rich fish-based sauce called garum. The Romans also introduced the first fast food restaurants, called a thermopolium, that sold hot ready-to-eat food.


30. 75% of the world's spices come from only one country i.e., India.


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31Human body

Human body

The human body literally emits light (like fireflies do), but 1/1000 times the sensitivity of naked eyes. The light emission is rhythmic and peaks at 4 pm.


32. President Kennedy's family repurchased the house where he was born in after his assassination. His mother restored the house to her recollection of its 1917 appearance and wanted to restore the home to the hour of his birth. She donated the home to the National Park Service in 1967.


33. Humpty Dumpty was originally a cannon, which fell off its wall during a siege in the English Civil War.


34. Canadian musician Geddy Lee was so inspired by his tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City that he bought at auction over 400 baseballs signed by Negro Leagues players and donated the entire collection to the museum.


35. Sylvester Graham invented graham crackers as part of a radical vegetarian diet meant to curb the desire to masturbate.


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36IKEA products

IKEA products

Some IKEA products have had to be renamed in English speaking countries, due to its original Swedish names having weird and unfortunate connotations. Examples of these include Jerker desk, Faktum kitchen legs, and Fartfull workbench.


37. Grapefruit got its name because they grow in clusters similar to grapes.


38. Everest climber Lincoln Hall was presumed dead and was abandoned at 8700 meters. The next morning a group of climbers found him changing his clothes, alive, awake, and almost naked.


39. Wilhelm II, leader of Germany in World War 1, sent a telegram to Hitler in 1940 congratulating him on invading the Netherlands, and hoping the German monarchy would be restored. Hitler, upon reading the telegram, said to his valet, "What an idiot!"


40. During Eurovision 1978, the Jordanian broadcaster censored the Israeli performance, instead showing pictures of flowers. When it became apparent that Israel would win, the broadcast was cut off and it was announced that Belgium had won instead.


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41Waterloo Teeth

Waterloo Teeth

The demand for human teeth for dentures was so high in the early 1800s that after the battle of Waterloo, looters scavenged teeth from the dead soldiers on the battlefield. The teeth were stolen in such high numbers that sets of these dentures became known as "Waterloo Teeth."


42. Toasters cause nearly 800 deaths annually due to electrocution and fires.


43. Cheese making is ancient and predates recorded history. The earliest evidence of cheese making is 5500 B.C.E., in Kujawy, Poland, where fat molecules were found on ancient strainers.


44. Paul McCartney is credited for chewing celery as percussion in a Beach Boys song.


45. American actress Tippi Hedren was traumatized while filming Hitchcock’s "The Birds". He told her mechanical birds were to be used during the famous bedroom scene. Instead, she endured 5 days of prop men flinging dozens of live gulls, ravens, and crows at her. One of the birds gouged her cheek and just missed her eye.


46Aphids

Aphids

Ants farm and milk insects called aphids. Ants protect the aphids from predators and bring them food, then "milk the aphids to produce a sweet substance known as honeydew" which the ants then store and eat.


47. In Japan, there is a belief that your blood type determines your personality and compatibility similar to Zodiac sign or Astrology.


48. The B-52 Stratofortress is expected to stay in service until the 2050s, and at that point will have been in service for almost a century.


49. In 2017, an off-duty police officer named Officer Damon Cole dressed up as Batman to entertain sick kids at a cancer hospital. Coincidentally, as he left the hospital he caught and arrested a man who was attempting to steal multiple DVDs, including the Lego Batman Movie.


50. The Pentagon has an actual defense strategy for a zombie apocalypse. The document is known as CONPLAN 8888 and is a detailed guide on how to survive and fight against multiple types of zombies.

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