50 Random Facts List #90

Before they approached George Foreman as a spokesman, the makers of the "George Foreman Grill" had previously considered Hulk Hogan. He, however, decided to pitch the "Hulkamania Meatball Maker" instead.

2. Due to tension between Pixar and Disney over whose film it really was, Toy Story had two premiers, one hosted by Disney and one hosted by Steve Jobs. Disney invited actors and other Hollywood celebrities, Jobs invited people from the tech industry.

3. Orcas and other marine mammals are given a plethora of drugs to deal with their captivity. These drugs include antacids (to treat ulcers from stress), antibiotics (for injuries and infections), antipsychotics, benzodiazepines (valium, again for stress), and contraceptives.

4. The logo of the popular Japanese rock band, Greeeen is a mouthful of teeth because the members are actual dentists in real life. They have never shown their faces in the public and their identities are still unknown to protect their dentistry careers.

5. String cheese is made by heating mozzarella to 60°C which causes the milk proteins to line up. They can then be peeled off in strings.

In 1961, an 11-year-old girl named Terry Jo Duperrault survived 4 days on a 2-foot by 5-foot raft after her family was murdered and the boat she was on sank. She went years without knowing for sure who killed them.

7. The man who pioneered the use of anesthesia in dentistry, Horace Wells, committed suicide in prison 3 days after throwing sulfuric acid at two prostitutes while under the influence of chloroform.

8. Open plan offices are bad for business were workers are 15% less productive, have trouble concentrating, and are twice as likely to get sick.

9. Corgis are stallions to fairies according to Welsh folklore.

10. While filming ‘Blade: Trinity,’ Wesley Snipes became so fed up with the film’s production being hindered by studio interference that he locked himself in his trailer, smoked weed, choked the director, and only communicated through post-it notes which he would sign “Blade.”

In the 1940s, AT&T sued Harry Tuttle for inventing the Hush-A-Phone, a device that silenced phones from eavesdroppers. AT&T argued that the “device hadn’t been installed by their company” and the FCC voted in AT&T’s favor, but Tuttle continued to fight the case in open court and eventually won.

12. McDonald's Filet-O-Fish was created in 1962 for Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent. According to McDonald's, a quarter of all its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches were sold during Lent of 2017.

13. The family of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not believe that James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King and that the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies were involved. They even urged for Ray to be granted a new trial.

14. Valentine's Day is the day that St. Valentine was beaten with clubs and tortured to death for performing secret marriages against the Emperor's wishes. The Emperor Claudius II banned all marriages because soldiers didn't want to leave their families to fight in wars.

15. The first antivirus was a virus (reaper) designed to scour the net for the first virus (creeper) and destroy it.

There was a hymn dedicated to Ninkasi, the Sumerian Goddess of beer. The hymn not only praised her, but it also provided directions for brewing beer.

17. Venus rotates so slowly, you can keep the sunset in the same place and watch sunset forever just by walking.

18. A Japanese skating rink once put 5,000 dead fishes in their ice to give their customers the enjoyment of skating over a frozen ocean. The attraction was closed immediately after a public uproar.

19. Mirrors didn’t exist until circa 500 B.C. so the only way people knew what they looked like was by looking at their reflection in still water. Thus, water was a symbol of the self and a symbol of death.

20. Ben, from Ben & Jerry's ice cream, has no sense of smell and gets his "food enjoyment" from the texture. This is why the brand puts chunky ingredients in their icecream.

The first mention of a pen with ink reservoir came in 973 A.D. in the region of northwest Africa by Ma'ād al-Mu'izz. He wanted a pen that didn’t get his hand messy. The next mention came in the 17th century by a German inventor, Daniel Schwenter.

22. Scientists have created a transparent aluminum-like material as shown in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It is a hard, glass-like magnesium aluminate that has visible and IR transmission. Military applications include lightweight bulletproof glass, armor, and lasers.

23. Andy was a footless goose born in the 1980s who walked around in baby shoes. He rapidly became a huge star and appeared all over the media, before he was murdered in 1991. His death sparked a nation-wide outrage and a $10,000 reward for information about his killer, but the case was never solved.

24. All diplomas earned by graduates of Gallaudet, university for the deaf, are signed by the presiding President of the United States.

25. The word "moxie", synonymous with "energy" and "spunk" originates from a brand of soft drink. As with many sodas, it was first marketed as an over the counter medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food". Moxie was created in 1876, is flavored with gentian root extract and is still sold in the eastern US.