Random #245 – 50 Random Entertaining Facts

Bees sleep and they like to take naps in flowers. Forager bees sleep for several hours a day and older bees require more sleep than youngsters. This is why sometimes you can find bees napping in flowers with their little heads down, antennae motionless, enjoying a quick snooze.

27. There is a long standing “Vitamin-D Paradox” among black people. Researchers couldn’t understand why black folks had better bone health while 80% were chronically Vitamin D deficient. They discovered that black folks make less of a protein that interferes with Vitamin-D. They have it less overall but use it more efficiently.

28. When America fought for independence during the American Revolution, 40,000 British citizens fled to Canada to remain faithful to the crown.

29. People with high IQ can suffer from dysrationalia, meaning that they are extremely susceptible to cognitive bias and stupid decision making.

30. The Ancient Mongol warriors were said to have worn silk vests, as an arrow hitting silk does not break the silk but ends up embedding the arrow in the flesh wrapped in silk, allowing the arrow to be removed by gently teasing the silk open.

Joaquin Phoenix lived on "lettuce, asparagus, and apples" to slim down for 'Joker' movie. The Oscar-winning actor previously revealed he'd lost over 50lbs (22.6kg) for his lead role in the movie and has admitted he undertook a "horrible diet" involving just one very limited meal a day.

32. Bud Sailors, 6'5", would tease his younger brother, Kenny Sailors, 5'7", playing basketball, "Kenny, this isn't the game for you. It's for big men. Tall men." So Kenny invented what is known today as the Jump Shot.

33. In the United States, a check does not need to be written on a specific bank check paper. A check can be written on anything and can be legally cashed as long as the required information is included in it.

34. Sputnik Monroe was a pro-wrestler who became a major factor in ending segregation in Tennessee. He was often arrested for Anti-Segregation actions and would hire black attorneys to defend him, earning him lots of black fans.

35. Longest ever US presidential inauguration speech was made by William Henry Harrison running 8445 words. the speech was so long, and the weather so terrible, that Harrison caught pneumonia and died on April 4th, making him the shortest reigning US president ever.

Southerners weren’t 'lazy' - just infected with Hookworm, a parasite that caused exhaustion and mental fog. It ravaged the South during the early 20th century, as a result of poor sanitation and a lack of public health programs. The "lazy Southerner" trope dates back to the Postbellum period.

37. "Sushi grade" is basically an unregulated marketing term. It only means at some point the fish was frozen to kill parasites. Some fish species are more prone to parasites, but due to mislabeling, the FDA mandates all fishes be frozen except tuna and shellfish.

38. Diners started using orange handle coffee pots for decaf because the color orange was associated with the orange-colored label on Sanka, a once-popular brand of instant decaf coffee.

39. Huskies need to train to be better distance runners. While the average pet husky can only run between 10 to 20 miles a day, a well-conditioned race husky can run for 11 hours straight making up to 125 miles. They can repeat this distance for up to 10 days in a row.

40. The Steel Drum was created in Trinidad and Tobago after the British banned African percussion music and traditional stick-fighting after the Canboulay Riots in 1890. Steel Drums later emerged made from frying pans, dustbin lids, and, of course, oil drums due to the country's oil resources.

There is a popular resort town in China (Right photo) that is a near-replica of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, complete with its own Teton Village and Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. The town’s Chinese name translates literally to “Hometown, USA.”

42. The longest walkable distance on Earth spans 14,334 miles starting from Cape Town, South Africa to Magadan, Russia. At a normal pace of 12.5 miles per day, it would take 3 years to complete.

43. Lupines can signal to a bee that the pollen rewards are gone or almost gone. After pollination occurs, the petals change color as a way of saying “no more here, try the next flower…” This re-directs the bee to a flower that needs pollination. 

44. Emperor Taizu of Song invited all the general officers to a lavish banquet where he convinced them all to retire as military leaders in favor of a luxurious lifestyle. None of them refused his terms, and thus began a period of relative internal peace within the realm of the Song dynasty.

45. Products made in Japan were ridiculed and thought to be of low quality until 1950 when The New York Times reported the excellence of Nikon cameras during the Korean War with the headline "Japanese camera."

In the midst of anti-Vietnam War protests, President Richard Nixon left the White House to talk to the protesters face-to-face. When the Secret Service grew concerned for his safety, he told them to wait.

47. Samsung tests phone durability in a dedicated testing facility, which has a butt-shaped robot that’s designed to sit on Samsung phones over and over again to test durability and bending.

48. The famous Birkin bag was created following the random encounter of actress Jane Birkin and Hermès creator Dumas on a plane: she complained about the impracticality of her daily bag without knowing who he was and he then made her a brand new black leather bag that became a fashion symbol.

49. Andes Chocolate Mints was founded by George Andrew Kanelos and originally named Andy's Candies. Male customers disliked gifting candy that had another man's name to their wives and/or girlfriends, so Andrew changed the name.

50. When Svetlana Savitskaya, the second woman in space arrived at Mir (first modular space station) in 1982, she was greeted with an apron as a welcome present, and jokingly told to get to work in the kitchen by her fellow cosmonauts.