50 Random Facts List #98

In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt was gifted a letter opener made out of the arm bone of a Japanese soldier but had to return it due to the shock and outrage it caused in Japan and the U.S.

27. Hugh Jackman buys lottery tickets for the entire cast and crew every Friday while filming a movie. It's a tradition he started in an effort to get to know one another and encourage comradery and teamwork among the crew.

28. American bank robber John Wojtowicz used scenes from "The Godfather" as an inspiration of how to pull off his infamous 1972 bank robbery. A movie was made based on the robbery called "Dog Day Afternoon". It starred Al Pacino and John Cazale, both famous for starring in "The Godfather".

29. In 2017, officers from Devon and Cornwall (UK) Police commandeered a double-decker bus, using the top deck to monitor motorists illegally using their mobile phones while driving. In two days, they caught 39 drivers using their phones and 36 not wearing a seatbelt.

30. During the Kangi Famine (1229-1232) in Japan, it was made legal for families to sell their children in hope of raising money to buy food, and also, grant their children a more fortunate household. This had the long-term effect of creating a significant servile class which remained for the next 400 years.

In 1881, the Isle of Man (British Isles island) became the first nation in the world to give women the right to vote.

32. Snoop Dogg once tried to rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for a music video shoot.

33. NASA had detailed plans to get humans to Mars by as early as 1981, but the mission didn't get enough support from the Nixon administration and was shelved.

34. 102-year-old cyclist Robert Marchand held the 100-plus category one-hour record of 24 kilometers and 251 meters. He broke his own record at the age of 102 years by riding 26 kilometers and 927 meters in one hour.

35. Lee Harvey Oswald was not arrested initially for killing John F. Kennedy. He was arrested for murdering American police officer J. D. Tippit.

In winter, dogs with white or light-colored fur will often lose pigment in their noses, leaving a pink or light brown streak in the middle. This is called 'Snow Nose' or 'Winter Nose.'

37. When Candid Camera host Allen Funt's airplane was hijacked by Cubans, the passengers believed they were on a hidden camera tv show. He could not change their minds.

38. A well-mated and well-fed queen bee can lay about 1,500-2,000 eggs per day during the spring build-up. That’s about one egg every 20-30 seconds which is more than her own body weight in eggs every day.

39. During World War 2, the U.S. government urged Americans to save excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the army to produce explosives.

40. Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers. He was a servant that would assist a king during his visit to the toilet. The servants would often be involved in important decisions due to the intimate relationship they had with their employer.

Worcestershire Sauce is made, in part, from 18-month-old fermented anchovies (fish).

42. Russian Arctic explorer Dmitry Shparo, against Soviet Union’s will, skied to the North Pole twice in freezing weather and darkness. He also had a Ph.D. in Mathematics, skied across the Bering Strait, and established an organization that helps disabled athletes go on adventures.

43. Biologist Warwick E. Kerr crossbred European and African honeybees to make a hybrid that would produce more honey in tropical conditions. He accidentally created the killer bee, a deadly variant that has since become one of the most successful biologically invasive species of all time.

44. Bill Murray has eight siblings. Several of them are actors and screenwriters, one is a stockbroker, one of them is polio victim, and one is a nun.

45. The state of Indiana attempted to legally define pi as 3.2 in 1897. It is known as the "Indiana Pi Bill".

When Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968 it was given an afternoon matinee, which meant a large portion of its audience was children.

47. A "mini-Olympics" event is held every 2 years between various tiny non-sovereign island communities known as the "Island Games" or "Natwest Island Games."

48. The crab meat commonly found in the California Rolls is actually made out of fish paste and flavored like a crab.

49. A theologian named Erasmus compiled the first Greek translation of the Christian Bible. He caused an outcry when his version didn't include the Trinity. It turns out the trinity isn't found in the earliest Greek manuscripts and he claimed he could find no source to support it.

50. Every Pixar film since Toy Story has a special list of names titled "Production Babies" in the closing credits. This list acknowledges the names of the babies born to crew members while the movies were being made.