50 Random Facts List #65

A stop-motion animator for Robot Chicken uses a modified Nintendo Power Glove for his work.

27. A professor at Indiana University launched a system of gaining experience points through classwork instead of giving out traditional grades.

28. There once was a guild in Germany that entirely controlled the production of gingerbread.

29. Vegetarians were found to be twice as likely to suffer from depression than the general population. Among possible causes, diets low in B-12, too much Omega-6 which is linked to mental health issues, and higher amounts of phytoestrogens due to soy-based diets.

30. When learning new phrases in a foreign language, hearing those phrases sung and then singing them has been shown to lead to better results than hearing them spoken normally and then repeating them the same way.

Rudolph Diesel took his inspiration for inventing the Diesel engine from watching a lecture where there was a demonstration of a Malaysian fire starting technique called the 'fire piston' which creates flames through air compression.

32. Scientists have developed a super strong, flexible Bio-glue for wound healing without causing toxicity. It has been inspired by an adhesive material (glue) secreted by slugs that stick to biological tissues.

33. The Greater Fool Theory states that the price of an object is determined not by its intrinsic value, but rather by irrational beliefs and expectations of market participants.

34. NASA developed a form of concrete that doesn't need water, to be used as a construction material on the Moon.

35. Magnus Carlson played 10 chess games simultaneously with his back turned and won 7 of them.

During the final stages of freezing to death, you may feel very overheated and take off your clothes before "terminal burrowing", which is also known as "hide-and-die syndrome".

37. Home Depot has a monthly do it yourself project for kids that is free at every location.

38. Jadin Bell was a sophomore in high school, where he committed suicide due to excessive bullying. His father planned to walk across the country to spread awareness for bullying, where he was killed by a semi-truck.

39. Eggs from hens raised on pastures "contain twice as much vitamin E and long-chain omega-3 fats, 2.5-fold more omega-3 fatty acids, and less than half the ratio of omega-6 : omega-3 fatty acids" than eggs from commercial hens.

40. Big companies use price announcements as a way of coordinating prices with competitors to avoid antitrust regulations. The Airline, shipping, chemical, pharmaceutical and telecoms firms have all used price announcements as a way to ensure competitors maintain market prices.

The Great British Knot Experiment found that cords have a much smaller chance of tangling when their ends are tied together to form a loop. The result has also been used by pharmacologists to control microscopic loops in DNA and viruses.

42. The manga creator of Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama, met Jackie Chan, who is a fan of Toriyama's previous works, Dr. Slump. Because of the meetup, Toriyama had the inspiration to create Dragon Balls, then incorporated Jackie Chan's stunts as Dragon Ball fighting moves.

43. The T. Rex could have been easily be outrun by a human given their maximum speed was only around 12 mph.

44. The largest living thing on earth is a humongous fungus.

45. Micheal Dorn, Worf from Star Trek, owned and flew an F-86 Sabre fighter jet.

In 1952, students at the University of Washington tricked their teacher by creating a false student named John Rainwater. It has now been used as a pseudonym by multiple renowned mathematicians.

47. William Shakespeare likely smoked weed and described it as the "journey in my head".

48. In 2016, there was an anthrax outbreak in western Siberia. The source was found to be a thawed 75-year-old reindeer carcass containing the spores.

49. In Australia, there is a season known as "Swooping Season" wherein Magpies will attack humans regularly. Steps must be taken to prevent this such as wearing helmets with eyes painted on the spikes, or using broad-brimmed hats.

50. 5% of patients who take the anti-depressant clomipramine experience orgasms every time they yawn.