50 Random Facts List #175

Nintendo pushed the term "videogame console" so people would stop calling competing products "Nintendos" and they wouldn't risk losing the valuable trademark.

2. Physicist Heinrich Hertz, upon proving the existence of radio waves, stated that “It’s of no use whatsoever.” When asked about the applications of his discovery he said, “Nothing, I guess.”

3. Disneyland has its own color called "Go Away Green"—a shade that's meant to help things blend in with the landscaping. Go Away Green is a gray-green (and kinda bluish) shade, tested and formulated to blend in well among almost anything: concrete, landscaping, the sky, you name it.

4. In the early 1920s, the KKK was very active in Chicago with 50,000 members in the city, the largest of any metropolitan area in the U.S. The group was driven from the city in 1925, when a Catholic organization, American Unity League, printed names, addresses, and occupations of Chicago Klansmen.

5. John Cena can speak basic Mandarin. WWE taught wrestlers basic phrases in an effort to expand into China, but Cena was fascinated by the language and learned as much as he could, even having a tutor and flashcards.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was allowed to attend Morehouse college at the age of 15 due to a classroom shortage of students brought on by world war 2. He was still required to pass the college entrance exams which he did at only 15 years old.

7. On his 20th birthday, comedian Bill Murray joked about having two bombs in his luggage but instead was caught smuggling 10 pounds of marijuana. He was convicted and sentenced to probation.

8. The reason there are so many Thai restaurants in America, is that the Thai government has been training and exporting chefs, using a tactic known as "gastrodiplomacy."

9. The town of Honiton U.K., has a "Hot Penny Day", a parade where children collect thrown coins. The tradition was purportedly started by wealthy people, who would heat pennies on a stove, throw them into the streets, and laugh at the peasants burning their fingers while picking them up.

10. Tom Hardy was addicted to crack and alcohol in his mid-20s. At one point he said that he was 'out of control' on drink and drugs before he turned his life around, and was lucky that he did not contract HIV while he was at his lowest.

The research shows that cats that are provided with empty boxes are more interactive, friendly and comfortable with the people around them as compared to those cats that do not have a box to snuggle in. So, it can be said that cats derive comfort and security from boxes.

12. Half of the Men of Rohan riders in Lord of the Rings were played by female professional horse riders who the makeup team covered with fake beards.

13. In 1974, a Norwegian student named Per Dagsgard visited Lendbreen ice patch looking for historical artifacts. He discovered a spear from the Viking age. More than 1000 years old, it had been preserved in the ice and remains one of the best examples of these weapons know to date.

14. It’s hypothesized that warm-bloodedness evolved in mammals and birds because it provided defense against fungal infections. Very few fungi can survive the body temperatures of warm-blooded animals. By comparison, insects, reptiles, and amphibians are plagued by fungal infections.

15. Japan is infested with invasive North American Raccoons, due to the popularity of the 1977 Cartoon series "Rascal the Raccoon". Thousands of Japanese adopted Raccoons, only to let them into the wild when they proved to be poor pets.

The first major investor in Facebook, Peter Thiel, made over $1 billion from his original $500,000 investment by selling his shares, a 200,000% return on his investment.

17. Hippos can sleep underwater by using a reflex that allows them to surface, take a breath, and sink back down without waking up.

18. A farmhouse in Gettysburg was used as a field hospital. There was so much blood on the floor, that there is still dried blood between floorboards. When under a blacklight, large bloodstains are still visible.

19. King Richard the Lionheart of England forgave and freed his killer, a young French boy whose father and brothers had been killed by Richard; the boy said he shot Richard with a crossbow as revenge, and Richard was so impressed with his bravery that he sent him off with 100 shillings.

20. Maria Daume, the first female marine to go through the traditional training process was born in a Siberian prison and orphaned at the age of 2.

In 1508, Autun, France pressed charges on rats for destroying barley crops. The lawyer representing the rats argued that the court's summons wasn't specific enough to his clients and that Autun's cat population made it unsafe for his clients to come to court. The rats were acquitted.

22. John Lennon repeatedly denied that the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is about LSD and that he got the inspiration for the song when his son brought home a drawing of his friend Lucy who was in the sky with diamonds.

23. Filming Star Wars in Tunisia was hindered by the first major rainstorm in 50 years, and The Empire Strikes Back filming in Norway was hindered by the worst winter storm in 50 years.

24. After a Hell's Angels member threw a tire iron at Evel Knievel during a stunt show, he and a majority of the spectators fought back, sending 3 of the 15 Hells Angels members to the hospital.

25. To this day, the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony has not been found.