Random #370 – 50 Facts That’ll Defy Your Expectations

There is an IQ floor of 80 points for serving in the US Armed Forces, and this requirement was relaxed during the Vietnam War. These individuals experienced a mortality rate five times higher than that of other Americans in the war.

2. The initial plot for 9/11 involved hijacking ten planes, with additional targets including the FBI and CIA headquarters and nuclear plants. All male passengers on the final plane were intended to be killed before the pilot landed it, where the terrorist leading the operation planned to deliver a speech.

3. Qian Xuesen was an early scientist at the Jet Propulsion Lab who was accused of being a communist later in his life and deported to China. There, he played a pivotal role in launching China's satellite and rocket industries, a move that a US Secretary of the Navy later referred to as "the stupidest thing this country ever did."

4. Douglas Adams wrote "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" after his editor, Sonny Mehta, locked him in a hotel room to force him to finish the book. Mehta had grown frustrated with Adams' chronic procrastination and missed deadlines.

5. In 2016, the CIA accidentally left explosives in the engine of a school bus. The bus remained in operation for two days, transporting children, before mechanics discovered the explosives.

Audrey Hepburn declined Otto Frank's offer to portray his daughter, Anne, in the 1959 film adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Audrey declined the role due to her reluctance to revisit her wartime experiences in German-occupied Holland.

7. Pokémon Red and Blue, released in 1998, was originally intended to feature over 65,000 versions of the game, each with slight variations to make it nearly impossible to encounter someone with the same game.

8. Ern? Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik's Cube, took one month to solve his own invention.

9. Early wireless TV remote controls from 1956, commonly referred to as "clickers," lacked batteries or electronics. When a button was pressed, it emitted an ultrasonic sound upon striking a bar, which the TV picked up to operate.

10. Jane Hawking, Stephen Hawking's wife, offered free room and board in their home to students who would assist in caring for her husband. Stephen required full-time assistance with dressing and bathing and preferred to receive help only from Jane.

The SR-71 Blackbird was constructed using titanium acquired from the Soviet Union through intermediary third-world countries, as they were the only source with the necessary quantity. The SR-71 was then employed for Cold War-era espionage missions over the Soviet Union.

12. Umarell is a term in Bologna that refers to men of retirement age who pass their time observing construction sites, particularly roadworks, often with their hands clasped behind their backs.

13. Frank Zappa instructed Alice Cooper to audition for his record label at 7:00, but Alice Cooper misunderstood and arrived at 7:00 AM. This mistake left a favorable impression on Frank Zappa, leading to a two-to-three album deal.

14. In 2014, the state of Alabama paid $75,000 for the rights to use the phrase "Sweet Home Alabama" on road signs at the state's borders.

15. Luke Helder, who planted pipe bombs in various locations to create a smiley face across America in 2002, remains indefinitely detained at a federal mental health facility after being declared unfit to stand trial.

In the sitcom "The King of Queens," Carrie Heffernan had a sister named Sara who appeared in five of the first six episodes in Season 1 and then disappeared. Although mentioned in Season 3, subsequent plotlines and dialogue suggested that the sister never existed, implying that Carrie is an only child.

17. In 1992, the United States Department of Commerce prohibited the manufacture, sale, and shipping of toy guns unless they featured an orange tip or were entirely brightly colored.

18. The United States FDA once briefly required Cheerios to seek approval to be marketed as a drug due to its claims regarding cholesterol health.

19. If all the salt in the ocean were removed and spread evenly across the Earth's land surface, it would create a layer over 500 feet (166 meters) thick, roughly equivalent to the height of a 40-story office building.

20. Alan Menken, the composer who revitalized Disney's fortunes with hit songs, once aspired to be a singer-songwriter in the Bob Dylan style. He expressed displeasure that his soundtracks were associated with children's cartoons. Nevertheless, his collaborations with Disney ultimately earned him more Oscars than any other living individual.

If you kill an ant infesting your home, they release pheromones that serve as a calling card, attracting more ants to come and recover their fallen comrades while investigating the danger.

22. Due to the superstition surrounding blood types influencing personality traits in Japan and South Korea, some individuals have experienced "bura-hara" - blood type-related harassment that can lead to bullying, reduced job opportunities, and difficulties in romantic relationships.

23. In 1799, William Thornton, a physician and close friend of George Washington, failed to arrive early enough to treat him. Instead, he proposed a plan to reanimate Washington's frozen corpse using blankets, a transfusion with sheep's blood, and a tracheostomy to pump air into his lungs. This proposal was ultimately rejected.

24. Tame Impala is a band only during live performances. All their studio material is written, recorded, produced, and performed by a single individual, Kevin Parker. However, when performing live, there can be up to six members in various roles.

25. If the torsions in the small intestine were untwisted, they would be four times the length of a human being.