Random #330 – 50 Interesting Random Facts

The Ancient Greek politician Hyperbolus put forward a motion for ostracism (exile) in an attempt to have one of the two more popular politicians ostracized. Instead, the two factions put aside their differences and voted to ostracize Hyperbolus. He was the last Athenian to be ostracized.

27. Only a quarter of the Sahara desert is sandy. It also has salt flats, gravel plains, plateaus, and mountains that have snow.

28. The world's shortest international bridge is in Esperança, Portugal. Though it measures only 10.4 feet long (3.2 meters), this bridge spans the border river between Portugal and Spain.

29. Dawn, the preferred detergent for cleaning oil spills, ironically derives its grease-fighting power from petroleum-derived chemicals.

30. In 1910, the Brazilian Navy's Black sailors mutinied (Revolt of the Lash) over unequal punishments for Black Sailors (such as lashings). They seized 3 battleships and threatened to level Rio de Janeiro unless egalitarian reforms were made in the navy. The Government even gave amnesty to the mutineers as a compromise.

The substance that forms the outer shell of plant spores and pollen, Sporopollenin is one of the toughest, most stable biopolymers in the world. It's so resistant that it can't be studied using normal enzymes or chemical reagents, and it can stay intact in sediment for more than 500 million years.

32. Simeon Stylites was a Syrian Christian ascetic who achieved notability by climbing a pillar in Syria in 423 A.D. and remaining there until his death 37 years later.

33. David Bowie wrote 'Life on Mars' because he was pissed at Frank Sinatra and the success of 'My Way.'

34. The term log comes from determining the speed of a ship. A log was put into water tied to a rope and they measured “knots” to see how far they traveled. A person who timed this procedure would then write down the ship’s speed in a book which was called a “log” book.

35. In 1898, the United States and Spain fought a mock battle in the Philippines in order to prevent Filipinos from taking the city of Manila. The two countries managed to lose a total of 68 soldiers in the fake battle.

In London, there is a group of 61 nationally recognized and protected trees called "The Great Trees of London.” In the aftermath of the Great Storm of 1987, in which an estimated 15 million British trees were felled, Londoners were asked to nominate their favorite trees. 41 were chosen then and further 20 were added in 2008.

37. There are only about 30 Ancient Egyptian obelisks left standing worldwide and Italy has more than Egypt.

38. Although both the Navy and the Marine Corps are regarded as separate branches of the military, the Marine Corps is technically a part of the U.S. Navy, ever since Congress placed the Marines under the Navy in 1834.

39. The First Battle of Bull Run was watched by a large number of spectators who packed picnic baskets and followed the Union to watch the battle. They ultimately got in the way and hampered the retreat of the Union Army. One congressman was even captured by the Confederates.

40. Eastern Grey Squirrels were purposefully introduced to American city parks in the early 19th century as a form of entertainment and for those who lived in cities to get more exposure to nature.

The Jerrycan was invented in 1937 in Germany. At the start of World War 2, UK used leaky, flimsy tin containers called “flimsies,” but soon started stockpiling any German jerry cans they could lay their hands on. Later in the war, Allies started copying the German design.

42. Hemingway cats carry the polydactyl gene and can produce six-toed kittens.

43. Sham surgeries are fake surgical interventions. It is a placebo surgery where someone is told they have received a surgery, when in fact they only have a small skin incision while being sedated. In one study, those in the placebo group reported the same shoulder pain relief as those getting the actual shoulder surgery.

44. According to Greek Mythology, the Titan Cronus, who, fearing that he would be overthrown by his children, devoured them upon birth. His fear came true when Zeus, his youngest son, took over his throne.

45. During the Romanian Revolution, when dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was captured, he was secretly wearing a clip that was meant to transmit his position to his security force. Unbeknownst to him, the signals were blocked by the armored vehicle he and his wife were in. Help never came, and they were executed.

The woodlouse is a common crustacean that goes back 100 million years and has over 50 different common names used around the world.

47. Tennessee Senator Luke Lea entered the Netherlands with fake passports and firearms in 1919 in an unauthorized attempt to kidnap the recently exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II. Suspicious of the strange men entering his estate, the Kaiser refused to meet them. The Senator fled, stealing a bronze ashtray.

48. The Colditz Cock was a glider built by British POWs imprisoned in Colditz Castle in World War 2. Made mostly of stolen wood and cloth, the glider could fit two men and was constructed in an attic above the chapel. The POWs finished the glider just before being liberated, and it never flew.

49. Marlin Brando popularized wearing T-shirts as an outfit from his role in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ Before then it was commonplace to wear a T-shirt as an undergarment.

50. A zeptosecond is a trillionth of a billionth of a second or a decimal point followed by 20 zeroes and a 1. In 2020, scientists were able to measure the shortest unit of time ever, the time it takes a light particle to cross a hydrogen molecule, which was 247 zeptoseconds.