50 Random Facts List #172

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26Triceratops

Triceratops

The Triceratops possessed a ball-and-socket joint at the base of its skull, not found in any dinosaur or any mammal today. This joint would have allowed it to maneuver its head almost 360 degrees, allowing movement to any direction in a fraction of a second.


27. During a hiatus from filming "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" Fred Rogers created a TV series for adults named Old Friends...New Friends that sought to highlight the difference that individuals can make in the lives of others.


28. Despite Power Rangers making Saban around $1 billion in its first year, the original cast was being given non-union pay of only around $2000 a month with no residuals and 12-17 hour days.


29. The Portuguese man o' war isn’t actually a jellyfish, it’s a colonial organism called a siphonophore and is comprised of four different organisms all working as one.


30. The first known instance of the classic “twirly mustached villain tying a woman to the railroad tracks” occurred in 1867 and it was actually a man tied to the train tracks who was saved by a woman.


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31Rhino horn

Rhino horn

Rhino horn is not considered an aphrodisiac in Chinese “medicine”. This is a misinterpretation of Chinese texts. However, due to the repetition of this misinterpretation in the West, people in Vietnam are starting to believe the rumor, and demand there is surging because of it.


32. In April of 2018, Revée Agyepong became one of the first adults to be cured of sickle cell anemia via stem cell transplant. Revée’s donor was her own sister, who turned out to be a 100% match.


33. In Russia, flavored instant-mashed-potatoes in a cup are a popular snack, similar to instant ramen cup noodles in Japan and North America.


34. A restaurant named Sweet Dixie Kitchen in California was secretly serving its customers Popeyes Chicken for months.


35. Malaysia has a unique ceremonial monarchy system where in nine monarchs each take turn being king. Malaysia has nine states with traditional Malay kings. The top throne of the country is rotated amongst them as a power compromise.


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36George Eastman

George Eastman

George Eastman, the Founder of Kodak insisted the company use a 13 months, 28 days per month calendar. This system would be used by Kodak as the official date system from 1928 to 1989.


37. A British explorer named Sir Samuel White Baker owned a gun he named the “Baby.” The 2 bore rifle so absurdly powerful that it was almost unusable. As the largest caliber ever built for a shoulder gun, it fired a half pound shell that would outclass even a .50 BMG in terms of sheer force.


38. Jasmine rice isn't actually scented and flavored with jasmine. It's just a distinct variety of rice that naturally has a fragrant, floral aroma.


39. At about 30 feet underwater, blood appears green, due to red light having been filtered out by the water.


40. A single almond requires a gallon (3.8 liters) of water to produce. California produces 80% of the planet's almonds using more water than Los Angeles and San Francisco combined and generating $11 billion in 2014 to the Californian economy.


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41James Bond

James Bond

James Bond was originally half Scottish half Swiss. Also, Flemming named him after an ornithologist as it was the "simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name".


42. The photo of Pope John Paul II torn to pieces by Sinead O’Connor on SNL in 1992 was not a prop: She said, “The photo itself had been on my mother’s bedroom wall since the day the f*cker was enthroned in 1978.”


43. In the early 20th century, film reels were often destroyed after their theatrical release, either by accident due to the use of flammable silver nitrate or on purpose in order to recover the silver contained in the film. As a result, an estimated 75-90% of all silent films are lost.


44. J.R.R. Tolkien was a supporter of the constructed language ‘Esperanto’, believing it could help unite Europe after World War 1. He also created new languages like Elvish, calling it his “secret vice”, and explained that for him the purpose was aesthetic rather than pragmatic.


45. Elephants have a specific call to warn the herd of the presence of angry bees.


46Mapmakers

Mapmakers

Mapmakers deliberately put slight mistakes in their maps (fake streets, towns) so that they can tell when someone copies them. They are called map traps.


47. Psychosocial dwarfism is a condition where a child can stop growing due to an extremely stressful environment. It can cause the body to completely stop growing but it is generally temporary. Regular growth will resume when the source of stress is removed.


48. In 1899, Denver journalists wrote a fake story that China was tearing down the Great Wall. To their surprise, it was picked up by a major newspaper with "confirmation" from officials and illustrations of the wall being torn down. The hoax spread across the U.S. and Europe without being debunked.


49. In 2016, 'lost songs' and medieval music that hadn't been heard for 1,000 years were reconstructed and performed by experts from Cambridge University.


50. In The Shining, Stanley Kubrick intentionally isolated Shelley Duvall and argued with her often. Duvall was forced to perform the iconic and exhausting baseball bat scene 127 times. Afterward, Duvall presented Kubrick with clumps of hair that had fallen out due to the extreme stress of filming.

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