50 Random Facts List #167

Soviet tank driver and mechanic Mariya Oktyabrskaya, whose husband was killed in 1941, sold her possessions to fund a T34 tank, piloted the said tank, called it ‘The Fighting Girlfriend’ and received Soviet military honors for killing Nazis.

27. There is a grizzly bear in Banff, Canada who is named Boss. He has been hit by a train 3 times, eats smaller black bears and elks, lives in a town and has never caused any harm to people.

28. A Swedish radiologist named Anna Bagenholm survived the lowest body temperature ever recorded at 56.7°F (13.7°C). She had been skiing when she fell through a frozen stream and became stuck for 80 minutes. Despite being clinically dead, she made a full recovery and is now working at the same hospital that saved her life.

29. Henry Ford's intense hatred of Jazz drove him to pump tons of money into promoting country music, which was then called "old-time music" and helped establish country music culture as we know it today.

30. Bhutan, Wales, and Malta are the only countries in the world whose flags have dragons on them.

To avoid traumatic brain injury, woodpecker's tongue wrap around their skulls in a small empty cavity, which helps to cushion the blows.

32. Many African countries are against the importation of second-hand clothes as it's destroying their local textiles industry.

33. Franklin D. Roosevelt made an agreement with the press that they wouldn't take photos of him walking or getting in and out of cars, so as to avoid publicizing his disability due to polio.

34. The infamous Great Seattle Fire of 1889 also killed 1 million rats, which completely eliminated the town's major rodent problem.

35. Americanitis, a condition caused by too much stress, too little sleep, rushed meals and the fast-paced advance of technology - was “cured” by the Great Depression.

Alpaca, llama, and camel "Spit" isn't always just saliva. When very upset, the spit comes from their first stomach, and is green and has a very powerful stench.

37. Sir David Attenborough always wears a blue shirt and khaki pants to help with continuity when filming months and sometimes thousands of miles apart.

38. Paul Robeson, the third black student at Rutgers, was valedictorian, two-time All-American in football, got a law degree from Columbia while playing in the NFL, was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance, an international recording, stage, and film star, and a civil rights activist.

39. While the 2nd Earl of Grey abolished slavery and reformed child labor laws in England during his political leadership, he will be most famously remembered for the beloved tea he helped introduce to the world.

40. Dan White, the killer of American politician Harvey Bernard Milk and the mayor of San Francisco, was charged with Voluntary Manslaughter rather than murder. The defense had argued that White's mental state was impaired by depression, as proven by him recently eating sugary foods. This became known as the "Twinkie Defense."

In 2001, Honda prepared to release a car called the Fit, or in European markets, 'Fitta', unaware that in Swedish, the word translates to a vulgar term for a vagina. The slogan would have been, 'The all-new Fitta, small on the outside, big on the inside.' It was renamed the Jazz before release.

42. Richard Nixon once called in staff to help him open an allergy-pill bottle. It was the childproof type of bottle, with instructions saying “Press down while turning.” The cap had teeth marks on it where Nixon had apparently tried to gnaw it open.

43. During World War 1, the British created a campaign to shame men into enlisting. Women would hand out White Feathers to men, not in uniform and berate them as cowards. It was so successful that the government had to create badges for men in critical occupations so that they would not be harassed.

44. Congressman Leo Ryan is the only US member of Congress to ever be killed in the line of duty. He was assassinated while investigating the Jonestown cult.

45. During the shooting of 'Groundhog Day', a crowd of 500 had gathered to watch. Seeing this Bill Murray said “You know what these people need? Danishes!” He then went into a bakery, bought all the cakes he could find and gave them to the crowd.

Tupac Shakur changed the name of his publishing company from 'Ghetto Gospel Music' to 'Joshua's Dream' after meeting an 11-year-old named Joshua Torress with muscular dystrophy who died 45 minutes after Tupac left the hospital from visiting him.

47. When returning home to Australia, Hugh Jackman has been known to notify the paparazzi as to his whereabouts so that they can get the photos they want and leave him alone the remainder of his stay.

48. A black Labrador named Eclipse in Seattle is a regular solo rider to a nearby dog park with her bus pass attached to her harness. Her owner meets her there.

49. June Foray voiced so many familiar characters in her career- from Tweety/Sylvester's Granny, Cindy Lou Who, Rocky the Squirrel, even Chatty Cathy the first talking doll- that Chuck Jones said, "June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc was the male June Foray."

50. While camels now live in Australia as an invasive species, there are records of aboriginal people first seeing them. One man, Andy Tjilari, recalled following the camels with his family, concluding that "this horse is ignorant".