50 Random Facts List #148

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

27. 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.

28. 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.

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

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

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.

32. In 2009, a Kuwaiti woman named Nasra Yussef Mohammad al Enezi wanted to take revenge on her husband for taking a second wife, so she poured petrol on the tent where women and children were celebrating the wedding. In the ensuing blaze, 57 were killed and 90 others were injured.

33. According to Taika Waititi, 80% of the dialogue in Thor: Ragnarok was improvised, in order to create a "very loose and collaborate mood" among the cast an attempt to replicate the tone and sensibility from his previous films.

34. Coca-Cola sales agents are not allowed to give anyone a better deal on Coke than McDonald's, as a matter of company policy.

35. The Nazis introduced malaria-carrying mosquitos to Italy in World War 2 as revenge after Italy changed sides, causing a 7-year long outbreak in the region.

Scientists have created glow in the dark cats using jellyfish genes in order to research a cure for feline AIDS. The trait is even genetic and can be passed to subsequent generations.

37. Costa Rica is the first country to start a ban on all single-use plastics, scheduled to be complete by 2021.

38. The Survivor Tree, the last living thing to come out of the rubble after 9/11, is still going strong. Seedlings of the tree are sent every year to communities that have suffered great tragedy and loss.

39. Deer can be very destructive to your garden and because they hate the smell of human hair, you can use it as a deterrent.

40. on 9/11, after both towers fell, the cricket-like chirping heard around ground zero each represented the PASS device of a fallen firefighter.

Elephants show a preference for tusk use, just as humans have a dominant hand. Research shows that the majority of elephants are righties.

42. On Sep 11, 1857, a group of Mormon militiamen persuaded a band of passing emigrants to march down a trail in Mountain Meadows, Utah. Under the pretense of protection and following the orders of their local Church leaders, these militiamen proceeded to execute 120 men, women, and children.

43. An ex-Marine named Jason Thomas saved two police officers who were stuck in the rubble of the World Trade Center during 9/11, with the help of another ex-Marine David Karnes. When his mom told him about the attack, Thomas retrieved his Marine uniform and sped to Ground Zero without hesitation.

44. You technically could stop a hurricane by shooting at it, if you had approximately 5000 machine guns firing constantly into the wind for 24 hours straight.

45. The territory of Nevada was rushing to become a state in time for the 1864 presidential election. After writing a state constitution with only days to spare, they sent all 16,543 words of it to Congress via telegram. Transmission took 2 full days and cost $4,303.27 (over $67,000 today.)

In 2008, Phoenix, Arizona reported itself to be the kidnapping capital of the US, with almost one kidnapping every single day. They received millions in federal funds and the report turned out to be a lie.

47. The Powerball drawing on March 30, 2005, produced 110 2nd-prize winners. The total payout was $19.4 million, 89 of them receiving $100,000 each, while the other 21 received $500,000 each. All 110 winners had played numbers from fortune cookies made by Wonton Food Inc.

48. Manta rays have the largest brains of any fish with specially developed areas for learning, problem-solving, and communicating; they might even recognize themselves in mirrors, a sign of self-awareness.

49. Iron Man started filming before the script was finished. As a result, most of the dialogue in the movie is improvised because the director felt that it would make the movie feel more natural.

50. In 1957, actor Cary Grant was diagnosed with "prolonged emotional detachment" and began medical LSD therapy. He had more than 100 acid trips over a 2 year period and believed it helped him cope with the pain from his childhood.