50 Random Facts List #97

In the 1930s Soviet Union attempted to domesticate wild moose. They believed that moose might fare better in deep snow than horse cavalry so they began a breeding program. Though they never became cavalry animals, one of the breeding facilities, Kostroma Moose Farm, is still up and running.

27. Before fame, Bruce Springsteen acquired his nickname "The Boss" because he took on the task of collecting the band's nightly pay from their club gigs and distributing it amongst his bandmates. Springsteen is not fond of this nickname, due to his dislike of bosses, but has tacitly accepted it.

28. In the 1850s, baseball had different rules in Massachusetts than it did in New York. Under the Massachusetts rules, you could throw the ball at a runner, and if you hit them, they were out.

29. Contrary to popular belief, canes aren't meant to be used on the same side as your injury. While it seems logical to want to support the injured leg, you are actually meant to walk with the cane opposite your bad leg so as to lean your weight away from the injury, rather than against the bad leg.

30. Orko from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was originally named "Gorpo". The company behind the cartoon, Filmation, wanted to cut corners so they changed his name to "Orko" so that they could flip and reuse his animation cells more efficiently. Originally, he had a big "G" on him that couldn't be reversed like an "O".

The Caterpillar Club consists solely of people who have jumped out of a failing airplane and survived by deploying their parachute. The club was founded by Leslie Irvin, who survived ejecting out of his plane in 1919. Every member is sent a gold caterpillar pin with amethyst eyes.

32. NASA considered using motorcycles on the moon as a simpler alternative to the Lunar Rover.

33. Debbie and Billie were presidential pets of John F. Kennedy. Billie ate his own children, who was then eaten by Debbie, who then died of indigestion.

34. Target created an algorithm to detect which shoppers were in their second trimester of pregnancy. They then sent marketing materials related to newborn babies and mixed them up with other promotional materials like lawn mowers and wine glasses so that people wouldn't suspect them of spying.

35. There is a Mickey Mouse shaped solar farm at Disney World, Florida.

Mauna Kea is a mountain in Hawaii. When measured from its base, which is underwater, it is 33,000 feet tall. This makes it the tallest mountain in the world, 4000 feet taller than Mount Everest.

37. Trees in forests have an underground communication and interaction system driven by fungal networks. “Mother trees” pass on information for best growth patterns and can divert nutrients to trees in need, and they are more likely to pass them on to trees of their own species.

38. 56% of the most highly-cited medical research papers in 2005 had results that were never replicated.

39. In 1979, there was an unexplainable nuclear explosion near the Prince Edward Islands (near South Africa). It was detected by the Vela Hotel Satellite but the explosion still has not been claimed by any country.

40. In 2017, Ubisoft partnered with the British Museum to apply machine learning to speed up the deciphering of ancient hieroglyphics.

Battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz sank 3 times. When it was raised the second time, the guy in charge of raising it wasn't there, so he made them re-sink it so he could get the photo.

42. Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic individual credited with being the first philosopher ever, the first person to accurately predict a solar eclipse, and the first person in history to receive credit for a mathematical discovery.

43. You will never see a bin being emptied in Disneyland because of a series of hidden tunnels.

44. Originally built as only a hunting lodge for King Francois I, Chateau de Chambord contains 440 rooms and 365 fireplaces. It is so large that Loire, the longest river in France, was rumored to have been diverted to make room for it.

45. 80% of businesses in Sicily pay a protection fee to the Mafia.

During Victorian England, kaleidoscopes were in such a craze that people were distracted and obsessed over them like today's smartphones.

47. Sleep Country Canada and Sleep Country USA are unaffiliated but they share the slogan “Why buy a mattress anywhere else?”

48. All three Axis Powers, Germany, Japan, and Italy, were each supposed to host 1936, 1940, and 1944 Winter Olympics respectively. Only Germany got the chance as both Japan and Italy’s Olympic opportunity was canceled due to the World War 2.

49. In 1972, Richard McCoy Jr. was arrested for hijacking an airliner and is suspected of being the infamous DB Cooper.

50. Surveillance refers to watching from above while "Sousveillance" refers to watching from a human level.