Random #367 – 50 Unorthodox Random Facts

Visual snow syndrome entails the constant perception of flickering colored, clear, white, or black dots across an individual's field of vision.

27. Jessica Cox holds the distinction of being the world's first licensed armless pilot and the first armless black belt within the American Taekwondo Association.

28. Actor Kurt Russell was the first person to report the renowned Phoenix Lights UFO sighting, where thousands of Phoenix residents claimed to have seen a UFO.

29. There were no Kings of England named William for a period of nearly 600 years. William II died in 1100, and William III ascended to the throne in 1688.

30. The sinking of the Titanic, lasting about 2 hours and 40 minutes, curiously aligned with the runtime of the 1997 film Titanic."

The largest cavalry charge in history unfolded during the 1683 Battle of Vienna. A combined force of 18,000 Polish and German cavalrymen surged through the thick Turkish ranks under the leadership of the Polish king and his Hussars, decisively defeating the invading Ottoman army and putting an end to the Islamic incursion into Europe.

32. Night Shyamalan was raised Hindu but attended a private Roman Catholic grammar school. A teacher once became upset because he "got the best grade in religion class [even though he] wasn't Catholic".

33. The estimated time to free fall to the Earth's core is currently estimated at 38 minutes and 11 seconds.

34. Streptomycin, the first cure for tuberculosis, emerged from the efforts of a 23-year-old graduate student at Rutgers named Albert Schatz. This groundbreaking antibiotic was effective not only against penicillin-resistant infections but also saved the life of a wounded young lieutenant named Bob Dole, stationed in Italy.

35. The Roughnecks of Sherwood Forest were a group of American oil drillers who traveled from Oklahoma to the UK and supplied over one million barrels of crucial oil to sustain the Allies' war effort against Germany during WWII. Their contribution played a pivotal role in the Allied victory over the Axis powers.

An individual with a name that included 746 letters and 27 words held the record for the longest name in history. Each of his 26 surnames begins with a distinct letter in alphabetical order. The last name narrated the tale of a wolf-slayer whose forebears arrived on Earth aboard a tungsten spaceship 1.2 million years ago.

37. The size of a snus pack coincides precisely with that of an ice hockey puck, as it was designed for ice hockey players to conveniently fit within their puck pockets.

38. Earth gains approximately one pound of mass each second due to its absorption of meteoroids and other debris from space.

39. The 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" originally incurred financial losses at the box office. Only through a re-release in 1949 did the studio finally reap profits from the film.

40. Despite speaking a fictional language, the Minions from "Despicable Me" undergo redubbed speech for each language release of the films to ensure their distinctive speech patterns are recognizable to audiences.

In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, and other nations, legal philosophy holds that the innate human tendency is to evade captivity. Consequently, in these countries, individuals who successfully escape from prison without violating any other laws are not prosecuted, and no additional time is appended to their sentence.

42. Denver's high elevation and resultant low humidity prompted the Colorado Rockies baseball team to introduce a humidor in 2002 for storing baseballs. This adjustment brought about a synchronization of home run rates and other statistics with those of the rest of the league.

43. Intentional jettisoning of toilet waste from aircraft is never practiced. Waste accumulates in tanks and is later discharged into specialized vehicles. Instances of blue ice occur due to inadvertent leakage from the waste tanks.

44. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was offered honorary citizenship in the Republic of San Marino, which he graciously accepted. His response included the sentiment, "Although your dominion is small, your state is nevertheless one of the most honored in all history."

45. The Sydney Opera House's inaugural performance featured Paul Robeson, who sang "Ol' Man River" to construction workers during their lunch break.

In 2009, the prominent Brazilian crime show host Wallace Souza faced charges of hiring hitmen to commit murders in order to be the first on the crime scene and bolster ratings. Souza was linked to five cases and passed away prior to facing trial.

47. Wasps carry the yeast that initiates the primary fermentation process responsible for transforming grapes into wine.

48. Placing a plasma globe lamp in proximity to devices such as laptops or phones generates a radio signal potent enough to interfere with their functionality.

49. There was once a plot to assassinate Winston Churchill with an exploding chocolate bar.

50. Heritage USA is a Christian-themed amusement park that stands as the third most visited theme park in the US with six million annual visitors. It met a sudden demise due to the Bakker scandal.