Random #331 – 50 Fascinating Random Facts

During World War 1, Canadians soldiers exploited the trust of Germans soldiers who had become accustomed to fraternizing with allied units. First they threw tins of corned beef into a neighboring German trench and when the Germans shouted “More! Give us more!” the Canadians used to toss grenades over.

2. In the 1990s, actor Marlon Brando used to often spend time in AOL chat rooms getting into political arguments with unsuspecting strangers. His account was frequently suspended for ending arguments by telling others to “F*ck Off.”

3. On average, half of all service dogs fail their training. Due to this poor-rate, South Korea experimented with cloning service dogs that had already passed their training. The resulting clones passed at rates much higher than average.

4. When ascending to the throne, royals may pick their regnal name from any of their Christian or middle names. Charles Philip Arthur George could also be King Philip, King Arthur, or King George if he wanted to.

5. For ‘The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.’, Bruce Campbell auditioned by grabbing himself by the collar, then performing a forward-flip, a trick he and Raimi had taught themselves back in high school.

The crawfish farming industry in Louisiana grew after rice farmers began breeding them in their rice fields. They realized that they could farm crawfish throughout the year without it affecting their rice. It also served as an extra source of income for them.

7. A samurai named Yanagizawa Yoshisato helped his samurai clan pay off their debts by selling goldfish. He took his best goldfish breeders over to the town of Koriyama, so that they could use its plentiful waters for this. His clan made goldfish more available to the general public and not just the rich.

8. The 2005 film ‘Hostel’ damaged Slovakia’s reputation and its tourism industry so badly that the movie’s director, Eli Roth, was invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to the country to clear the false allegations the movie had made about the country. The movie showed Slovakia as being a crime riddled, corrupt, lawless, poor and dangerous place.

9. The U.S. Air Force assigns some aircrafts to be “Wild Weasels.” These aircrafts act as bait to draw anti-aircraft fire, allowing the squad to locate and destroy the anti-aircraft batteries. Their motto is “You Gotta Be Sh*ttin’ Me.”

10. In 1969, Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young hotwired a pickup and stole it to get to Woodstock to play their sets.

The US Navy had the largest naval fleet in history with 6768 ships at the end of World War 2.

12. Chinese checkers was invented in Germany in 1892, but was called ‘Chinese’ as part of a marketing scheme.

13. A proposed 1896 Pennsylvania law required motorists who encountered livestock to: stop their vehicle, disassemble it, and conceal the parts until the livestock were sufficiently pacified.

14. Freshwater snails are one of the world's most deadly animals because they transmit the organism that causes schistosomiasis (aka bilharzia), which is, in and of itself, one of the most deadly parasites on the planet. Nearly 230 million people were infected in 2014 and there are approximately 200,000 deaths annually.

15. Eurypterid was an order of arthropod which was completely wiped out during the world’s biggest mass extinction. They were scorpion-like giants that could reach almost ten feet in length.

The wolves/dogs used to film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)” had to have CGI butts/tails because they were too happy to appear menacing.

17. In 2016, archaeologists discovered the first incidence of cannabis being used as a “shroud” covering in a human burial. The 2,400-year-old tomb also contained 13 complete cannabis plants, suggesting that it was locally grown along the Silk Road.

18. Frieda Caplan who is a pioneer in the world of produce, built a successful business in the 1960s, by promoting items that, at the time, were relatively unheard of in the U.S. such as mangoes, shallots, and a New Zealand fruit originally called “Chinese gooseberry,” which she dubbed the kiwi.

19. Rio de Janeiro was once the capital of Portugal. Following the conquest of Portugal by Napoleon, the Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil (1808-1821). They then established the capital of Portugal in Rio de Janeiro.

20. The Death Camas plant is so toxic that it has only one known pollinator. Only a specialist mining bee, can tolerate its toxins. Every other kind of bee is fatally poisoned.

During World War 2, the Royal Air Force used to issue uniforms in which two of its buttons could be put together to make a mini compass that pointed to north.

22. The transition of the Ming to Qing dynasty in China took 65 years and cost approximately 25 million lives.

23. In 2021, researchers from the University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland calculated the value of pi to over 62 trillion digits. It took over 108 days to complete the calculation.

24. The Michigan Bounty Law otherwise known as the Scanner Law ensures that if the displayed price of a product is different than the price at the register, you are entitled to receive the difference plus additional compensation (“bonus”) that’s 10 times the difference. The bonus must be at least $1.00, but it may not be more than $5.00.

25. Mozart was actually in the top 5% of wage earners for his time. He squandered most of his money by the time of his death and was buried in a pauper's grave.