26 Couple Buys Washington Town Cheap
In 2010, a couple named Neal and Maddie Love purchased the town of Wauconda, Washington, for just $360,000. It is an unincorporated community, so there is no municipal or town government.
27. Before Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, died in 1193, he had given away all his wealth to his poor subjects. His estate by then only consisted of one piece of gold and 40 pieces of silver, which was not even enough to pay for his funeral.
28. During the Chinese Islamic insurgency in the 1860s and 1870s under the Qing dynasty, over 20 million people lost their lives. The rebels, primarily Hui Muslims from the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, rose up against the Qing government in what became known as the Dungan Revolt. The conflict led to massive casualties, with one province losing 14 million people and the neighboring province losing 6 million.
29. In 2017, Harvard scientists were able to store a GIF animation of a galloping horse in bacteria’s DNA. A GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a type of image file that supports animated sequences. This particular GIF was not just any animation; it was the first movie ever made, titled “The Horse in Motion,” which was shot in 1878.
30. Because of their naturally amiable personalities, the Samoyed breed of dogs makes poor security dogs. They don’t attack dangers; they simply smile and growl at them.
31 Captain Cook’s Maps Used Until 20th Century
Some of the maps created by British explorer Captain James Cook, known for his extensive voyages during the 18th century, remained in use until the mid-20th century due to their remarkable accuracy and continued relevance, even after 200 years.
32. Before the American Civil War, the United States had 8,000 different kinds of money in circulation. The value of the same banknote varied depending on its location.
33. Approximately 2,600 years ago in China, a prophet predicted that an ill king named Duke Jing of Jin would not live to eat the next harvest. When the new harvest was ready, the king remembered the prophecy as he was about to eat. He killed the seer, experienced a stomachache before eating, went to the restroom, fell in, and died.
34. The UK Bill of Rights of 1688 forbids a standing army without Parliament’s approval, necessitating the reauthorization of the armed forces every five years.
35. In women’s Olympic gymnastics, under the ‘perfect 10’ scoring system, seven female gymnasts have achieved a perfect 10. However, no one has received a perfect score since the scoring system changed in 2006.
36 Teddy Roosevelt’s Accidental Presidency
Teddy Roosevelt became Vice President because of his support for anti-trust reform, as conservatives believed the VP had little power. However, six months into the term, President McKinley was assassinated, and Roosevelt became President, ushering in an unprecedented era of anti-trust and labor reforms. He implemented regulations and government oversight that would eventually become the FDA.
37. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, at least one-third of the U.S. Cycling Team engaged in a practice known as “blood doping,” where athletes increase their red blood cell count by transfusing their own stored blood or using someone else’s. This practice enhances endurance and performance. The American cycling team went on to win nine medals.
38. Scientists at the Allen Telescope Array always keep champagne in their fridge in case they discover signs of extraterrestrial life.
39. In 1184, 60 noblemen died after a wooden floor collapsed at the Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt, Germany, causing them to fall into a “latrine cesspit” filled with liquid waste that hadn’t been emptied for some time. Their deaths were caused by drowning. King Henry VI was present, but he miraculously survived because he sat on a stone section of the wall rather than on the wooden floor.
40. Douglas Adams came up with the idea for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy while lying drunk in a field, holding a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe.
41 Canadian Native Boy Lynched by Mob
In 1884, a 14-year-old Canadian Native boy named Louie Sam was accused of a murder and was subsequently lynched by an American mob led by two men who were likely the real murderers.
42. In 1976, a plane carrying 6,000 pounds of marijuana crashed in Yosemite National Park. Climbers in Yosemite Valley heard the news, and it sparked a miniature gold rush, with up to 20 people searching the frozen crash site. Much of the weed was salvaged, smoked, or sold before park rangers caught on.
43. Macaques possess the right vocal anatomy to perform human speech; however, they lack the intelligence to do so.
44. Some bodybuilders purchase breast milk on the internet, believing it helps them bulk up due to its perceived nutrient density and trace amounts of human growth hormone. However, while breast milk is indeed nutrient-dense for a baby, it is not a significant source of nutrition for an adult. It primarily consists of sugar, some lipids, and a small amount of protein.
45. Burger King launched an advertising campaign in 2020 that featured a picture of a moldy Whopper to showcase their burgers’ lack of preservatives. This unconventional advertising method proved successful, increasing sales by 14%, according to multiple sources.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
46 Hatley Castle’s Expensive Upkeep Issues
Coal baron James Dunsmuir envisioned a medieval castle for his retirement and built Hatley Castle on Vancouver Island in 1911. It was like a small city with over 100 residents and servants. However, none of his children could afford the $1,500 monthly upkeep, leading to its sale for $260,000. Numerous TV shows and movies have since featured this iconic castle.
47. Regardless of their size, submarines typically refer to themselves as “boats” rather than “ships” due to naval tradition.
48. Albert Kahn, an industrial architect based in Detroit, designed 19% of all factories built in 1937. He also opened an architectural school in Russia and, in 1941, received the eighth highest salary in the USA, amounting to $486,936. The Willow Run bomber plant was the last building he designed.
49. A popular French slang for having your period is “Les Anglais ont débarqué,” which translates to “The English have landed.”
50. Obesity results in more chronic health issues overall than smoking, drinking, or poverty. All of these issues negatively impact health, but obesity is associated with a broader range of chronic health issues.
RE: Fact #7 (Punjabi-Mexican Marriages in California) – That food looks so good!
RE: Fact #24 (Olympic Rules for Women Spectators) – Women caught sneaking into the games while married were in big trouble – they could even be thrown off Mount Typaeum!
Was this part of the event?
RE: Fact #32 (8,000 Different Kinds of Money Pre-Civil War) – It’s wild that banks can still print their own money in some places, like Hong Kong.
RE: Fact #32 (8,000 Different Kinds of Money Pre-Civil War) – Back then, the ferry was just a nickel. And those nickels had bumblebees on them, remember? You’d say, “Give me five bees for a quarter.”
RE: Fact #24 (Olympic Rules for Women Spectators) – Where else would a single girl look for a good guy?
RE: Fact #48 (Albert Kahn’s Prolific Architectural Legacy) – That’s a pretty impressive number for 1937. He designed almost one in five factories that year!
I wonder how many factories were in the works back in 1937. It’s a pretty good indicator of how fast the industry was growing, or maybe just how busy things were.
RE: Fact #44 (Bodybuilders Buying Breast Milk Online) – This friend of ours was making a ton of breast milk, way more than her baby could drink. She figured she might as well sell it, but it turned out most of the buyers were bodybuilders or had… weird interests. After a bit, she just started giving it away to moms who couldn’t make enough on their own.
My wife, she was a machine! We were freezing almost a gallon of milk a day. She pumped like it was her full-time job. She’s tiny, but she was eating huge meals, like six times a day, and still losing weight.
We heard people were selling it for crazy money online, so I checked it out.
Turns out, most of the buyers were guys.
We didn’t end up selling it though. My wife got mastitis and sepsis, almost died, so she had to stop breastfeeding and pumping.
She made enough milk in five weeks to last almost six months.
My hometown got a milk bank a while back. They give milk to the local baby hospitals, because apparently a lot of moms with babies in those hospitals can’t breastfeed or don’t start making milk right away. It’s all super official, they even do blood tests, the whole thing.
There’s another group, I can’t remember the name, but they do donation drives for when there’s a disaster. Pretty cool that these things exist, because I guess it’s not something most people think about.
RE: Fact #47 (Submarines Referred to as Boats) – For pilots in the Navy, an aircraft carrier is just called “The Boat.” It’s kinda a way to mess with the guys who work on the ship itself, you know?
RE: Fact #41 (Canadian Native Boy Lynched by Mob) – It was all the kid’s fault, even though one guy wanted his wife and the other wanted his business.
RE: Fact #22 (NYC Introduces Trash Bins in 2023) – I moved across the country from New York a while back, and the place I landed has this really organized way of handling trash and recycling. People don’t believe me when I tell them that we just toss our trash on the sidewalk.
RE: Fact #21 (Michelangelo’s Revenge in Last Judgement) – Biagio didn’t like the naked people in the fresco, so Michelangelo made sure to cover up the MC’s bits. He also snuck in a self-portrait as the skin of Saint Bartholomew, which is kind of funny.
Another thing Michelangelo did was be a bit of a jerk with his color choices. He painted the Sistine Chapel in two parts. First the ceiling, with that famous Adam and God scene, and then later the wall with The Last Judgement.
The wall is mostly blue, while the ceiling barely has any blue at all. This is because Michelangelo had to buy his own paint for the ceiling. But when it came to the wall, the Vatican paid for everything.
Back then, the only good blue paint came from lapis lazuli, which is a fancy rock mined in Afghanistan. It was really expensive, like as expensive as gold. So you could say Michelangelo was kind of a spendthrift with the Pope’s money.
That’s awesome trivia! Here’s the Last Judgement color scheme compared to the creation:
Both together
Last Judgement alone
Michelangelo as the flayed skin of Bartholomew
Here’s something else interesting from the wiki:
Turns out, people have been abusing company credit cards for ages.
RE: Fact #2 (Michael Phelps’ Unmatched Olympic Legacy) – There’s also 3 silver and 2 bronze.
RE: Fact #42 (Plane Crash Sparks Yosemite Gold Rush) – The rest got smoked after the rangers caught on.
RE: Fact #50 (Obesity’s Broad Health Impact) – Some people say it’s all about genes or money, but Ozempic is working for people who have those things too. Why? Because it makes you less hungry. So, basically, eat less, lose weight. The results speak for themselves!
RE: Fact #49 (French Slang for Menstruation Period) – I’m French and I’ve never heard that saying before, haha. Maybe it was a thing way back when.
RE: Fact #34 (UK Bill of Rights Military Clause) – Yeah, but the story gets even weirder. Back in the day, the king was personally on the hook for defending the country. No standing army in peacetime, because everyone would rather be at a fancy dinner than in a boring barracks. But when Charles II took over, he was a little worried about getting his head chopped off, so he started his own army that swore loyalty directly to him. The sneaky guy made Parliament pay for it. This new bill is trying to even things out a bit, making it illegal to have an army without Parliament’s permission. Basically, the soldiers can stay, but Parliament gets to say “go home” if they want. The army still swears loyalty to the king, but it’s kind of like saying “we’re in control” without actually having to do anything.
It was also about the new army getting a bit too powerful for Parliament and the fear of a permanent army, which is something America inherited and why we still have to approve the military budget every year.
RE: Fact #29 (GIF Stored in Bacteria’s DNA) – People back in the day thought everyone would be driving flying cars by now. Guess what? We’re still stuck with regular cars.
RE: Fact #31 (Captain Cook’s Maps Used Until 20th Century) – I swear I heard somewhere that Captain Bligh, the guy from the Bounty mutiny, was one of Cook’s mapmakers before he became a captain.
Bligh was a seriously skilled navigator who didn’t get the credit he deserved. After the whole Bounty mutiny thing, he steered a tiny boat with 18 guys across 4,000 miles without any maps!
RE: Fact #18 (World’s Only Surviving Nonuplets Born) – Seriously, what was in that water?
RE: Fact #30 (Samoyeds: Poor Security Dogs) – I’ve only met a handful of Samoyeds in my life, but every single one was the chillest dog ever. They’re also good for people with allergies, which is pretty cool.
RE: Fact #22 (NYC Introduces Trash Bins in 2023) – It’s crazy that the city gave millions to a consulting firm, just to be told that trash bins are a good idea.
The city hired some experts to figure out how to use these new trash cans. It’s not easy to change how a whole city collects garbage, especially in NYC, since it’s the biggest city in the country. They need to figure out what kind of bins everyone will use, if the trucks can handle them, and how to change the garbage routes.
RE: Fact #26 (Couple Buys Washington Town Cheap) – Didn’t know that towns in the US can actually be bought and sold?
Never watched Schitt’s Creek?
They basically bought up all the businesses in one big deal from the old owner who had everything. The whole “town for sale” thing was just a fancy way of selling it. They don’t own the houses or the government that runs the place.
That’s gotta give them some influence around here, right?
RE: Fact #37 (Blood Doping Scandal in 1984 Olympics) – Turns out, in 1988, most of the guys in the 100m final were juicing. Even Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson! The only guy who was clean finished fourth.
Those old records from the ’80s are still pretty impressive, maybe because of, you know, doping.
That’s rough, coming in 8th after doping. What a loser.
RE: Fact #12 (Billy the Kid’s Deadly Sabotage) – A fair fight means you’re doing something wrong.
I’ll fight fair, but if I think someone’s gonna start something, I’ll take them down.
Otherwise, if he’s bugging me, or if there’s a woman around, or if I’m getting paid – I mostly only do it when I’m getting paid.
RE: Fact #47 (Submarines Referred to as Boats) – Das Boot is a great movie. You gotta see it if you haven’t already. I haven’t seen the remake though.
RE: Fact #15 (Alyssa Milano Supports Ryan White) – It’s like Princess Diana shaking hands with people with AIDS on TV, trying to show that you wouldn’t catch it just by touching them.
Elvis got his polio vaccine live on The Ed Sullivan Show before he performed, hoping to convince more people to get vaccinated.
RE: Fact #21 (Michelangelo’s Revenge in Last Judgement) – When Biagio complained to Pope Paul III about the portrait, the pope joked that his jurisdiction didn’t extend to hell, so it had to stay. That’s when you know you’re in over your head.
RE: Fact #13 (Pleasure Control Experiments in 1950s) – It’s kinda hilarious that this factrepublic post links to an old article from 2014, which itself mentions another reddit post about a super old article from 2001.
Since that original article is from way back then, it’s probably safe to say that the Orgasmatron never really took off.
Maybe someone read it. Our entertainment has gotten way more instant, you know? Like, if Elon Musk is selling brain chips, how far is it until the Orgasmatron 2.0 update?
RE: Fact #49 (French Slang for Menstruation Period) – Because of their red coats?
RE: Fact #11 (Snowpiercer’s Fish Scene Deception) – From the source:
So the guy who wanted it cut was Harvey Weinstein.
RE: Fact #21 (Michelangelo’s Revenge in Last Judgement) – That’s been going on for like, five hundred years!😂
RE: Fact #38 (Champagne Ready for Alien Discovery) – I always have a joint handy, just in case the world goes to hell.
RE: Fact #17 (40% Never Experience Nosebleeds) – They’re lucky
RE: Fact #11 (Snowpiercer’s Fish Scene Deception) – Weinstein also messed with the release of Snowpiercer, giving it a limited release because he didn’t like the final cut that Bong made. Bong was allowed to show his longer cut in Los Angeles, and it tested way better. Weinstein then let Bong keep his cut, but he moved Snowpiercer from the main company to a smaller division and didn’t give it a wide release. Bong said he thought Weinstein was punishing him for not doing what he wanted, but Bong was happy to have his director’s cut.
RE: Fact #3 (Machine Reveals New Color Spectrum) – What happened to that machine, anyway? And why doesn’t anyone else make more stuff like it? Seeing colors you’ve never seen before would be awesome!
Color machines, gotta have ’em!
RE: Fact #17 (40% Never Experience Nosebleeds) – I used to get them all the time when I was a kid. Once, I even had to go to the hospital because one wouldn’t stop for hours. It’s kind of annoying that 40% of people don’t get them though.
RE: Fact #17 (40% Never Experience Nosebleeds) – I’ve had enough, I guess. I have a blood vessel in a weird spot. If I sneeze too hard…
RE: Fact #2 (Michael Phelps’ Unmatched Olympic Legacy) – It always seemed kinda unfair how medals are given out in different sports. Basketball players, for example, have to play a ton of long games, sometimes for hours, just for a chance at one medal during the Olympics.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It’s always the swimmers who are super good at getting medals.
RE: Fact #41 (Canadian Native Boy Lynched by Mob) – There’s a book about this, the only lynching in Canada, called “The Lynching of Louie Sam.” I used it in my English 9 class this year in BC.
The only known lynching in Canada.
RE: Fact #6 (Cigarette Smoke in Old Sports Photos) – Remember being asked about smoking sections? Like it actually made a difference.
RE: Fact #43 (Macaques Lack Intelligence for Speech) – Imagine if we could make monkeys smart enough to talk – wouldn’t that be wild? We could even tax them, haha!
How are we supposed to tax people who live in the woods?
RE: Fact #14 (North Korea’s Fake Coal Tunnels) – The whole Korean situation is nuts, right? I remember reading that the South Korean soldiers at the DMZ are basically just there to buy time for their jets to level the whole place, even if it means taking them out too.
RE: Fact #22 (NYC Introduces Trash Bins in 2023) – Baltimore tried something, and their rat calls went way down – like 85%!
RE: Fact #39 (Noblemen Drown in Latrine Cesspit) – The ibis I stayed in was right near where this happened. I triple-checked the bathroom, just to be safe.
RE: Fact #8 (Hugh Laurie’s Unusual Audition Location) – The most House thing he could do, for real
RE: Fact #32 (8,000 Different Kinds of Money Pre-Civil War) – Basically, anyone with enough cash could just start their own bank and print their own money. You could have bills for whatever crazy amounts you wanted, like a three dollar bill or even a $6.66 bill, no problem.
The common trick was to show up in a town with five grand, set up your own bank like “The People’s Bank of West Town Pennsylvania,” pay a company to print your own money, and then start handing out more than ten grand in your own notes. After a few months, you’d have passed out all your fake money, then you’d take everyone else’s real gold and silver, and then vanish in the night. You could just repeat the whole thing in a new town.
It wasn’t until 1929 that the government stepped in and made it harder to open a bank and issue currency. They made the rules stricter so you had to have a lot more real money in the bank before you could print your own. But even before that, they were making changes to the rules about banks and money. And in 1866 they banned private companies from printing their own money.
RE: Fact #10 (Klaus Barbie Exposed by Fake Interview) – I mean, why didn’t he just say he spoke French, even when he was hiding? Isn’t that like the basic rule of false identities? You keep your past and what you know pretty similar to your real life but tweak it just enough so you don’t get busted right away. It feels like a pretty big mistake to leave something like that out!
The Wikipedia article doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s not just about the French part, there’s more to it. Someone he tortured actually recognized him.
In the video, even though they were speaking Spanish, Ladislas de Hoyos threw a curveball and asked about Barbie’s trips to Lyon in French. That’s a language Barbie shouldn’t have understood, but he answered right away in German, saying no. De Hoyos also showed him pictures of people from the Resistance he’d tortured, asking if he knew them. Barbie denied it, but his fingerprints gave him away. That interview, which was later shown on French TV, is where Simone Lagrange, a French resistance member who’d been tortured by Barbie in 1944, recognized him.
He even wore white gloves while torturing people, then sat down at the piano with those bloody gloves still on and just played.
RE: Fact #43 (Macaques Lack Intelligence for Speech) – Are they just dumb, or do they actually get that talking is the first step on the road to being forced to make small talk at one of those team-building things with people you can’t stand?
I actually laughed out loud, then I got a little sad because it hit so close to home.
RE: Fact #19 (Chile’s Misspelled Peso Coin Mistake) – It’s really hard to read the writing on coins, though.
RE: Fact #18 (World’s Only Surviving Nonuplets Born) – That’s really sad.
RE: Fact #17 (40% Never Experience Nosebleeds) – I’m in the minority, for now.
RE: Fact #18 (World’s Only Surviving Nonuplets Born) – Nine kids? That’s just crazy! One thing is having a surprise twin, but nine? That’s a whole other level.
RE: Fact #20 (RC Cola Born from Price Dispute) – RC Cola is surprisingly big in Tajikistan.
RE: Fact #49 (French Slang for Menstruation Period) – Condoms, they used to call them French Letters in England, but that was like, way back in the 80s.
RE: Fact #41 (Canadian Native Boy Lynched by Mob) – It’s crazy how some people say, “If someone’s accused of something terrible, I’m gonna take care of them myself.” That’s not how things work. Taking the law into your own hands, even against someone who’s been accused of horrible things, doesn’t make you a hero.
RE: Fact #13 (Pleasure Control Experiments in 1950s) – One patient took a whopping 1,500 doses in just three hours! But surprisingly, they didn’t go completely crazy.
RE: Fact #1 (Canadian Teen Discovers Spy Parents) – The Canadians? They totally inspired The Americans, I think.
Seriously, it’s a classic.
RE: Fact #30 (Samoyeds: Poor Security Dogs) – They’re like, super fluffy clouds.
RE: Fact #47 (Submarines Referred to as Boats) – Ships usually have a full-time crew and captain, but boats don’t. Boats are usually smaller than ships. Submarines started out as boats, so even though they got bigger and have permanent crews, they kept the name.
RE: Fact #26 (Couple Buys Washington Town Cheap) – Wauconda forever!
RE: Fact #6 (Cigarette Smoke in Old Sports Photos) – I was at a museum the other day and saw a short film about the history of movie theaters. One part showed an older guy going to the movies for the first time in ages, and he was totally amazed that you can’t see the projector beam anymore.