Random #386 – 50 Jaw-Dropping Facts

The Advertising Standards Authority banned a Land Rover commercial for featuring beeping parking sensors as the vehicle backs up toward a cliff's edge. Two viewers lodged complaints because the SUV's rear parking sensors were incapable of detecting cliff edges.

27. Royal Caribbean's Labadee, a private beach resort in Haiti, effectively isolates itself from the rest of the country with a 30-foot wall and armed guards on each side. Tourists arrive at a port linked to the resort and typically remain within its confines.

28. Michael Jackson composed an entire soundtrack for the 2005 adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but opted not to release it after being denied the role of Willy Wonka.

29. When baseball player Roberto Clemente perished in a plane crash, his teammate Manny Sanguillen was the only one of his teammates who did not attend the memorial service, as he chose to dive into the shark-infested crash site in an attempt to retrieve the body.

30. During the production of the reality show "Teach," Tony Danza refused to allow producers to manufacture fake drama between himself and the students. Consequently, the show was canceled after seven episodes.

Walt Disney fired the creator of Goofy due to his attempt to initiate a union.

32. Phil Collins spontaneously sang the lyrics to "In the Air Tonight." They were entirely improvised, and he did not write them down until after performing them for the first time, on a piece of paper (which he still possesses) from his decorator.

33. Rapper Shyne, renowned for his association with Diddy's Posse as well as his songwriting for numerous famous artists, embraced Orthodox Judaism while in prison. He relocated to Jerusalem to dedicate up to 12 hours a day to Torah study, has since transitioned into politics, and is now the leader of the opposition party (as of March 2024) in Belize.

34. In 2003, two Australian teenagers spent 22 hours on a tree above rising floodwaters after a crocodile killed their friend and flaunted his body to them. Before helicopters rescued them, the 13-foot crocodile stalked them in their tree throughout the night and most of the following morning.

35. Automobile manufacturer Fiat dispatched 50,000 anonymous love letters to women in Spain in 1994 as part of a marketing campaign for the Fiat 500. Upon receiving the letters, some women experienced confusion, anxiety, fear, and/or sought assistance to accompany them to work. Fiat subsequently faced lawsuits and fines.

Peter Mayhew, known for his portrayal of Chewbacca, had dialogue in the original trilogy and would communicate with Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and other cast members on set in English to cue them for their lines. The distinctive Wookiee 'voice' was added during post-editing.

37. Amy Bishop fatally shot three professors during a University of Alabama biology department meeting in 2010. Later, it came to light that she had also shot and killed her brother in 1986, a crime for which she never faced charges.

38. King Charles earns $34 million annually in rental income.

39. The "Shaggy defense" refers to a legal strategy in which a person denies an accusation with the simple defense of "it wasn't me," despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

40. William Lee Bergstrom, a renowned gambler, placed the largest bet in casino gambling history at the time, amounting to $777,000. He won and returned several years later, only to win again. However, on his third bet of a million dollars, he lost. He subsequently committed suicide shortly after.

As the creators of Game of Thrones, David Benioff and Dan Weiss were "contractually guaranteed producer credits" on all GOT spinoffs. However, they declined credits on House of the Dragon and the accompanying "free money" because they were not involved with it and felt the strain wasn't worth it.

42. The youngest person confirmed to have been hanged in England was Michael Hamond, aged just seven. He was hanged in King's Lynn, Norfolk, alongside his 11-year-old sister Ann.

43. When writing the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice' (1967), author Roald Dahl was given a formula for Bond girls: the first is killed by the enemy midway, "preferably in Bond's arms"; the second is an enemy Bond seduces who also dies; and the third survives to the end of the film.

44. It took Lady Gaga only ten minutes each to write "Just Dance," "Poker Face," and "Born This Way."

45. A young man pinched his nose and clamped his mouth shut to hold in a forceful sneeze, which resulted in him barely being able to speak or swallow and experiencing considerable pain. Air bubbles reached into the deep tissue and muscles of his chest, and it took seven days for him to recover in the hospital.

Car window "escape tools" may not work on many modern car windows.

47. In 2012, Adidas withdrew its plans to sell a sneaker featuring affixed rubber shackles after facing significant criticism for invoking the painful image of slavery. In a tweet, the designer of the shoe stated that the sneaker was inspired by a childhood toy called "My Pet Monster."

48. The Hollywood Walk of Fame has never removed a star, with each star placement being deemed a registered historic landmark.

49. Lufthansa was losing approximately 500,000 euros per hour in 2021. In 2022, Lufthansa admitted that it operated over 18,000 empty flights during the pandemic simply to maintain airport slots.

50. In 1976, before going to a show, Keith Richards received news that his three-month-old son had died from SIDS. He chose to perform that night regardless, but was criticized for doing so. He later stated that if he hadn't performed that night, he would probably have shot himself.