1 Boy Flies Without Security Clearance
In 2012, an 11-year-old boy named Liam Corcoran disappeared while shopping with his mother and managed to reach an airport. He passed through five security checks without a passport or boarding pass by blending in with a family. He successfully boarded a flight from Manchester to Rome alone, and no one discovered him until after takeoff.
2. Nickelodeon almost canceled Hey Arnold’s Christmas episode because executives believed kids wouldn’t care about its depiction of the Vietnam War. However, an executive changed her mind when her nine-year-old son watched a rough cut and asked, “Mom, is that what Vietnam was all about?”
3. In 2013, when the Wii U failed miserably, Nintendo’s CEO Satoru Iwata voluntarily cut his own salary in half for six months instead of laying off his employees.
4. In 2009, authorities jailed two college students for refusing to pay a mandatory tip of $16.35 at a Pennsylvania restaurant, citing poor service. After the incident gained national attention, authorities dropped the charges. The case sparked a widespread debate over tipping and whether it should depend on service quality.
5. In 2002, two planes collided over a German town due to erroneous air traffic instructions, killing all passengers and crew members. In 2004, a grieving man who had lost his family in the crash stabbed the responsible air traffic controller to death at his home.
6 Alexander’s Army Drinking Tragedy
Alexander the Great had a Hindu guru who accompanied his army during their return to Persia. After the guru performed self-immolation, the army held a drinking contest in his honor. Tragically, 42 participants died from alcohol poisoning, including the winner, who consumed 13 liters of unmixed wine.
7. In the 1990s, a man named Gonzalo García-Pelayo gained an advantage in a Spanish casino by recording roulette wheel results and analyzing them using a computer. He predicted that certain numbers were more likely to appear and won €600,000. A legal case against him failed, with the court ruling that the casino should fix its faulty wheel.
8. American politician Robert Carter III, between 1791 and 1803, freed all 400-500 of his slaves. He later hired them back as workers and ensured their education. Despite his efforts, his family, neighbors, and the government tried to stop him, even attempting to tar and feather him. They eventually drove him from his home.
9. In 2016, a man stalking iCarly actress Miranda Cosgrove fired shots at a woman in a car near her home, set himself on fire, and fatally shot himself in her yard. Two years earlier, Cosgrove had obtained a restraining order against a different stalker.
10. The red disc on the Japanese flag was located 1% off-center to the left until 1999.
11 Kerry Packer Pays Waitress Mortgages
Media tycoon Kerry Packer once paid off a cocktail waitress’s $130,000 mortgage after he accidentally bumped into her and caused her to spill her drinks. On another occasion, he tipped a cocktail waitress by paying off her $150,000 mortgage for providing excellent service.
12. Between 2008 and 2013, Stanford University rejected 69% of applicants who had achieved perfect SAT scores.
13. Hitler despised modern art so much that he instructed Joseph Goebbels to open a “degenerate art” gallery. This exhibition featured works seized by the SA to demonstrate what he claimed to be “saving” Germany from. However, the concept backfired, and Goebbels had to take significant measures to prevent guests from admiring the pieces.
14. Quebec’s ban on toy and fast food advertisements targeting children under 13 has significantly contributed to reducing childhood obesity rates.
15. Obese drivers face an 80% higher risk of dying in car accidents compared to drivers who are not overweight.
16 South Park’s $935M Digital Deal
In 2007, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone negotiated an ad-sharing deal with Comedy Central, granting them a 50-50 split on all digital revenue. Those digital rights enabled them to reportedly sign a $935 million, six-year deal in 2021, making it one of the largest deals in TV history.
17. Up to half of the current Cherokee Nation can trace their ancestry to a single Scottish fur trader who married into the tribe in the early 1700s.
18. An off-duty nurse named Penny Brown saved Kevin Stephan’s life in a Little League game by performing CPR after a baseball bat struck his chest and stopped his heart. Seven years later, in 2006, Kevin saved Penny’s life in a New York restaurant by performing the Heimlich maneuver when she began choking.
19. In the 1990s, the Sultan of Brunei and his brother purchased so many bespoke Bentleys that their orders saved the company from bankruptcy.
20. FBI agent John O’Neill resigned from his federal position after his warnings about an imminent al-Qaeda attack on U.S. soil in early 2001 were ignored. He became the chief of security at the World Trade Center three weeks before 9/11 and tragically died in the attack.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Broadway Shows Lose Money Consistently
Eighty percent of Broadway’s theatrical productions lose money, a failure rate that has remained consistent for years.
22. In 2013, French authorities sentenced an Italian man, Stefano Ampollini, to two years in jail for cheating at poker in a Cannes casino. He used infrared contact lenses to read cards premarked with invisible ink. Security grew suspicious of his $95,000 winning streak, particularly after he folded twice in hands that indicated he knew the dealer’s cards.
23. Although the location of MI6’s former base from 1964 to 1994 was supposed to be classified, The Daily Telegraph called it “London’s worst-kept secret, known only to every taxi driver, tourist guide, and KGB agent.”
24. Shell cordovan is a rare leather that comes not from animal skin but from the connective tissue of a horse’s buttocks. Shoes made from this material are waterproof, resistant to creasing, require no polishing, and can last indefinitely. Only two major tanneries in the world produce it.
25. Alberta King, the mother of Martin Luther King Jr., was murdered in 1974, six years after her son’s assassination. She was shot and killed while playing the organ at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both her husband and son had preached.
RE: Fact #15 (Obese Drivers Face Higher Risks) – Check out the CDC’s list of top 10 killers. Being overweight ups your chances of getting *all* of them.
Being overweight really strains the healthcare system, what with all the extra health issues young people face—diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, the whole shebang. Sleep apnea’s a biggie too, seriously stressing your heart while you’re sleeping. And the main way to deal with it? Lose weight and change your lifestyle.
Hey, guess what? Lifting weights actually helps you live longer. Crazy, right?
RE: Fact #35 (Hendrix’s Whiskey Funeral Coping Lesson) – Pack it in tight.
RE: Fact #28 (Red Ghost: Camel With Corpse) – That would really tick me off.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of lugging around heavy backpacks, especially something as heavy as Jerry from accounting’s skeleton.
That must’ve been awful for the camel. The smell of rotting meat probably drew in scary animals, like coyotes and vultures, even while it was trying to sleep.
It was probably tortured for ages, and was probably pretty chill before it went wild if it was a riding camel, making it even sadder.
Those are just ideas, but that’s a good point!
The only camel I ever ran into was nicknamed the Vomit Comet, but the folks who looked after him were really fond of him.
RE: Fact #2 (Vietnam War Almost Canceled Arnold) – That episode was awesome, maybe even the best one ever.
Those two episodes were awesome.
Gerald’s dad was in Vietnam, but it turns out he was just a clerk, not a soldier, which really bummed Gerald out.
Then, at the Vietnam Wall, some guy recognized him and told Gerald how his dad saved his life—he was delivering papers and found this guy wounded in a ditch, and patched him up with file folders!
He even introduced Gerald to his family and told his kids that Gerald’s dad was a real hero.
What a great episode.
RE: Fact #42 (Robert De Niro’s Nobu Partnership) – Took my wife to Nobu in SoHo for her birthday, ages ago. The place was brand new, so we had to book months ahead. They messed up our reservation, and wanted us to sit at the bar. We weren’t too happy, but we did it. Then, to make up for it, Nobu himself showed up and offered us the chef’s special. He made our sushi right there in front of us – best meal ever.
RE: Fact #6 (Alexander’s Army Drinking Tragedy) – That funeral was intense. Wow.
Yeah, totally. They were really fond of him and tried to get him to change his mind about burning himself, but he was set on it, so they helped him set everything up and made it a big deal. He was seventy-three, and after all the travel and the Persian heat wore him down, he told Alexander he’d rather die than live like an invalid. He decided to burn himself. Alexander tried to talk him out of it, but Kalanos was firm, so Ptolemy got the job of building the pyre. Other people mentioned him too – Nearchus and Chares. It all happened in Susa in 323 BC. He gave away all his fancy gifts from the king, wore a flower garland, sang some hymns, and gave his horse to one of his students, Lysimachus. He didn’t even flinch as he burned—it really shocked everyone watching. Alexander wasn’t there, but Kalanos’s last words to him were, “See you in Babylon.” It’s said he predicted Alexander’s death in Babylon, even though Alexander wasn’t planning on going there at the time.
He told Alexander he’d see him in Babylon, and weirdly, Alexander kicked the bucket there a year later.
RE: Fact #8 (Politician Frees 500 Slaves Heroically) – So, Robert wanted to free all the slaves right away, but Virginia and county laws wouldn’t let him. He got others to file the paperwork for him to get around that. Some family members fought him tooth and nail, even trying to claim the freed slaves’ kids were still theirs. He and his daughter had to make a risky escape to Baltimore, with tons of people from several counties after them. He was beaten and threatened a lot for what he believed in.
In some states, freeing slaves was super tough—you practically needed a miracle, like a special law or saving your owner’s life. Even people against slavery often couldn’t legally free the slaves they owned.
It’s always a load of crap when people say historical figures were “products of their time.” Lots of folks knew slavery, and stuff, was wrong all along.
People were finally starting to see how awful slavery was. It still took almost a hundred years for the US to actually end it, but some folks were against it from the very beginning. A hundred years earlier, it would have been impossible to even imagine.
RE: Fact #19 (Sultan’s Bentleys Save Company) – phew, that’s a relief!
Crazy, right? I’d own every single Rolls Royce.
It’s good to know there are some industries we’re not destroying.
I get it now, what bespoke means.
It means something made specifically for you, like a bespoke suit – one tailored to fit perfectly, unlike something you’d just buy off the shelf.
RE: Fact #6 (Alexander’s Army Drinking Tragedy) – So I was messing around with a blood alcohol calculator, and even a really big guy (100kg) drinking 13 liters of watered-down wine over 8 hours would have a BAC of 0.66%, which is basically a death sentence.
RE: Fact #25 (MLK Jr.’s Mother Tragically Murdered) – Want to know more about her life? Check out *The Three Mothers* by Dr. Anna Tubbs – it’s a biography about the moms of MLK Jr., James Baldwin, and Malcolm X. It was a real eye-opener!
I really dig this offbeat take on history. Thanks for sharing!
Check out Conan’s wife’s podcast; it’s all about the people behind the famous people you already know. It’s seriously great, you should totally give it a listen.
RE: Fact #2 (Vietnam War Almost Canceled Arnold) – That show really helped kids grow up good.
Kids’ stuff doesn’t have to be boring and simple; I’m glad I grew up with stories that weren’t.
Actually, I think it’s the other way around. Kids’ shows shouldn’t just be dumbed-down fluff to keep them glued to the screen. They should be smart and make kids think about the world differently. They shouldn’t avoid tough topics or be afraid to get kids asking questions. A curious kid is a clever kid, and that’s super important to keep things interesting.
I was in Nashville on a work trip, and my Lyft driver and I spent the whole ride geeking out over that Hey Arnold! banana and strawberry episode. He had no clue how much that scene means to me – it’s my go-to reminder that good things exist. Thanks, DeRon!
That pigeon man episode? Man, I’m so glad I saw it when I was little; it really hit home. It made me realize everyone’s got a story.
Stoop Kid was awesome.
Helga’s home life and Chocolate Boy? Those stories really hit home when I was little.
RE: Fact #24 (Shell Cordovan: Rare Eternal Leather) – Hey, I’m a leatherworker. That stuff goes for over $150 a square foot! And it’s just the rear flanks, not connected pieces. You’d be lucky to get a piece even two feet square. Tanning it takes about six months, start to finish.
I’m curious about the tanning process – what makes it different from regular tanning?
Check out “How It’s Made”—they did episodes on Horween and veg-tanning. They’re on YouTube for free.
Factory tanning of standard calf leather is quick, 3 to 7 days. But the old-fashioned way? That takes 3 to 5 months.
RE: Fact #3 (Nintendo CEO Halves His Salary) – I really loved my Wii U.
RE: Fact #8 (Politician Frees 500 Slaves Heroically) – Lots of folks don’t get how hard it was to free slaves. Many places had laws making it nearly impossible, so stories like this are amazing. Governments really didn’t want freed slaves around, especially if their former owners set them free.
The state could stop you from doing what you want with your stuff.
The Confederacy banned the rebel states from banning slavery, and even from enslaving white people. Talk about states’ rights!
Slavery was a really mixed bag across the states. Many northern states, like those in New England, banned it – Massachusetts did so way back in 1781. The Quakers were early opponents, starting in the 1600s, and were mostly in Pennsylvania before things got tough for them. Even some middle colonies, like Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, outlawed it. But the South? That was a different story. Their economies, based on crops like tobacco, rice, and cotton, totally depended on enslaved people.
There wasn’t a strong central government until 1781 and the Articles of Confederation. States had most of the power, and the federal government was weak. That’s why they had to rewrite the rules with the Constitution – the old system just wasn’t cutting it.
RE: Fact #38 (Vaults: Cell Biology’s Mysterious Structures) – Wow, crazy how something stuck around through all those different kinds of life, but it’s clearly not essential since losing it doesn’t seem to matter.
As a programmer, finding a whole chunk of code I can seemingly delete without breaking anything makes me really suspicious.
Reminds me of something weird in programming. Someone asks, “What does this code do?” and the answer is, “Theoretically, nothing. But if we delete it, the whole thing crashes. So we just leave it in.” It’s like a load-bearing part that doesn’t actually do anything.
RE: Fact #26 (French Waiters Strike For Mustaches) – When I picture that snooty French waiter with the tiny mustache, I’m actually thinking about civil rights.
They wouldn’t sport a pencil mustache; that’s way too fancy. More like a chevron or handlebar.
RE: Fact #22 (Infrared Lens Poker Scam Exposed) – He should’ve had some wins, then some losses, to stay under the radar. Then he could’ve played it cool for a bit.
Near the end of *The Imitation Game*, after cracking the German codes, the Allies faced a problem: if they *always* avoided German troops, the Germans would realize their codes were broken and change them. So, to keep the Germans guessing, they had to send some troops into certain death—a calculated risk to maintain the illusion of ignorance. The guy writing that article clearly isn’t much of a history or movie fan.
RE: Fact #47 (AYDS Diet Pills’ Unfortunate Name) – I’m an IP lawyer, and sometimes a new acronym pops up that’s the same as a client’s name or product. Most of the time it’s just some random slang, and we tell them not to worry, it’ll blow over. Occasionally, though, it means something awful – like Nazis or child abuse – and that’s naturally scary for them. I totally get it.
RE: Fact #48 (Diabetes Affects 31% Pakistanis Aged 20-79) – Pakistan has a really high rate of cousin marriages – way over half in some places, especially in the countryside. This leads to a bigger chance of kids having genetic problems and inherited diseases, like type 1 diabetes.
RE: Fact #33 (Metabolism Stable Until Age Sixty) – I always kinda figured that. The whole “slows down at 35/40” thing is just wishful thinking. After ten years of a 9-to-5 desk job, you finally start seeing the consequences.
Big lifestyle shift, right? College was all walking, biking, no drinking, cheap eats, free gym, tons of stuff to do. Now it’s eight hours at a desk, then happy hour, beers and wings, movies… Even if my metabolism slowed, everything else probably made a bigger difference in gaining weight.
Never works out.
Lots of people are active in high school, then party in college, then sit at a desk all day – no wonder they put on weight.
Gaining three pounds a year seems insignificant, right? But do that for a decade, and suddenly you’ve packed on thirty pounds.
RE: Fact #49 (Lord Nelson’s Seasickness Struggles) – That guy gave his all for his country, only to bite the dust in the end credits.
RE: Fact #49 (Lord Nelson’s Seasickness Struggles) – He was totally devoted to his king and country—that kept him going. Nelson’s a legend.
Great scene from a great movie:
That guy was probably stoked about the cold; it helped his nausea.
RE: Fact #28 (Red Ghost: Camel With Corpse) – Bummer this isn’t a secret in Red Dead. Killing that legendary camel with a corpse on it would’ve been an awesome Red Dead 2 challenge.
RE: Fact #1 (Boy Flies Without Security Clearance) – Seriously, the best part is how many times the airline and airport people said, “He got past security, so he’s clearly not a threat.” Dude, how’d he even get through security? Isn’t that the whole point—to stop people who shouldn’t be there?
RE: Fact #34 (Beethoven’s Hidden Hearing Struggles) – This is the letter translated in english:
Wow, that was a long way of saying “I’m deaf.”
I guess I’m already 28 and suddenly I’m a philosopher. Wow, that’s something.
A common thing 19-year-olds say these days.
Funny, huh? He was actually just two months shy of 32 when he wrote that. His dad had everyone believing he was younger to make his amazing abilities seem even more impressive.
RE: Fact #24 (Shell Cordovan: Rare Eternal Leather) – I got these awesome Oxford boots for fifteen bucks – some lady was selling her dad’s old clothes. My shoe-obsessed friend nearly choked when he saw them; apparently, they’re Aldens, worth eight hundred to twelve hundred dollars! They’re practically brand new.
RE: Fact #18 (Boy Saves Nurse Who Saved Him) – He was always lurking nearby, waiting for his chance to get even.
RE: Fact #20 (Ignored 9/11 Warning Ends Tragically) – He quit the FBI after they didn’t give him a promotion. And honestly, he deserved it. He took his girlfriend to an FBI safe house to “borrow” a car, and then lost his work phone.
RE: Fact #41 (Fraudulent Wine Worth $150M Exposed) – This buddy of mine, a real redneck, wouldn’t shut up about this amazing moonshine he was getting. Said it was super smooth, small batch, the whole deal. Then, a year later, he finds out the guy was just refilling cheap vodka and Everclear bottles and charging a fortune! Hilarious.
Man, that College Game Day stuff is intense! I can practically smell the hype.
Man, I freaked out before I realized it was Everclear. My buddy swore it was pure corn liquor, some homemade stuff.
I told him it reeked of kerosene or rubbing alcohol – and I was right!
Why bother with homemade moonshine if store-bought stuff’s cheaper?
Some folks are pretty easy to fool, and that guy was one of them.
RE: Fact #3 (Nintendo CEO Halves His Salary) – Lots of chatter here about labor laws, yeah?
The more you learn about Satoru Iwata, the more you’ll understand his decisions and why he’s considered one of the greats in the industry.
He was an amazing programmer, famous for coming up with clever and complex solutions to game problems. He rescued Pokémon and the first Smash Bros., for instance.
He’s the reason Nintendo became more open, starting Iwata Asks. It was a huge change for a company that was usually super secretive—really unusual in Japan back then.
He also saved the company, setting it up for success after the Wii U. He was patient and really good at encouraging creativity, which is why we got Breath of the Wild.
Amazing guy. We miss him.
Masahiro Sakurai’s recent video about Iwata was super heartwarming; it really shows how much people still miss him, even all these years later.
Reggie Fils-Aime’s book, *Disrupting the Game*, is awesome. He really opens up about his friendship with Iwata – more than just a boss, he was a true friend. Definitely worth checking out!
That video was awesome! GDC’s tribute was really sweet, too!
RE: Fact #42 (Robert De Niro’s Nobu Partnership) – Back in ’87, De Niro tasted Nobu Matsuhisa’s food and really wanted him to open a fancy restaurant chain together. It was based on Nobu’s awesome Japanese-Peruvian dishes. Nobu wasn’t sure at first, thinking he should stick to one place, but finally agreed in ’94.
Nobu’s amazing! That charbroiled chicken sushi is incredible.
I almost got Nobu takeout in Vegas last time, but went cheap instead. $180 for a bento box? That better be the best darn bento I’ve ever eaten!
I live in LA, and yeah, I’ve been to Nobu Malibu. It’s good, sure, but there are tons of other sushi places in LA that are way better and cheaper. They’re still pricey, but not Nobu pricey. You’re basically paying for the name and, in Malibu, the view.
Bonus tip: If you really want to go but reservations are impossible – try going on Super Bowl Sunday. We got a table right away.
RE: Fact #5 (Grieving Man Kills Air Controller) – He got out of prison in November 2007 after less than four years, because they didn’t properly consider his mental state when they sentenced him. Then, in January 2008, he became deputy construction minister of North Ossetia. He was a hero back home, and didn’t feel bad about what he did – he blamed the guy he killed.
That last bit’s harsh.
RE: Fact #30 (High Wallabies Cause Crop Circles) – They’re just like us.
Nah, when I’m running around crazy and messing up flowers, it’s ’cause I’m wasted.
You’re one of them.
RE: Fact #19 (Sultan’s Bentleys Save Company) – Hey, guess what? The Sultan’s brother—the real car king, by the way—owned a huge yacht named “T*ts,” and it came with two smaller boats called “Nipple 1” and “Nipple 2.”
RE: Fact #46 (Dogs Banned From Antarctica Since 1994) – So, how does this actually work? Is there some kind of agreement between the countries that are always there? Are there even any permanent bases? And seriously, whose rules apply? Like, what court would you go to if you, say, took your dog there?
The Antarctic Treaty says no outside animals are allowed, so the countries that live there probably just don’t take dogs.
RE: Fact #7 (Roulette Cheat Wins €600,000) – Man, it’s crazy how you can’t even win big without getting sued.
600k is decent, but I thought you’d rake in more before they came after you. What a crock.
RE: Fact #32 (Thief Steals $136M Jewelry Suitcase) – If you’re into that kind of thing, check out “Flawless”—it’s about this crew of jewel thieves who totally cleaned out the Antwerp Diamond Exchange. They grabbed a mountain of cash, gold, and diamonds from the safe deposit boxes—a lot of it was black market stuff, so nobody really knows how much they got away with. One guy was a pro jewel cutter, so they could’ve easily recut anything with serial numbers, and another might have even made a crazy-long master key to the vault. It’s a wild story.
Who wrote that book? Or do you have the ISBN or anything? I can’t seem to find it, but I’m curious.
RE: Fact #10 (Japanese Flag Off-Center Until 1999) – Yeah, Kevin, they bumped it over half an inch. I’ll fill you in tonight.
Wow, you’re nuts! How’d you do that?!
Ninety-nine!
Nine Nine!!
RE: Fact #27 (Charlie Cox Fails Han Solo Audition) – Tom Holland needed acting lessons for Uncharted because he was so used to having his face covered that his body movements were, like, way over the top. It’s an acting thing, I guess, but pretty wild.
Reminds me of when Edge retired from wrestling and landed a part on that SyFy show, Haven. He said he had to dial back his facial expressions since he was used to playing to huge crowds.
Dwayne Johnson needs to know.
RE: Fact #39 (Cannibal Warlord Turns Into Preacher) – Did The Book of Mormon mention or make fun of him?
I’d bet my whole life savings that General Butt F. Naked in the Book of Mormon wasn’t a real person’s name.
RE: Fact #24 (Shell Cordovan: Rare Eternal Leather) – Wow, those shoes are amazing! What are they made of?
Horsehide.
RE: Fact #15 (Obese Drivers Face Higher Risks) – Helicopters used for medical emergencies can’t carry super heavy patients. Most can only handle around 350 pounds on a stretcher. You really don’t want to be stuck on the ground waiting for a special ambulance after a bad injury.
Probably harder for people to help you before the ambulance gets there, because it’ll be tough to move you.
RE: Fact #39 (Cannibal Warlord Turns Into Preacher) – People are always trying to off him, even while they were making a documentary about him.
Sounds good, right?
Man, seriously, some awful stuff went down during that war. This guy, Prince Johnson, captured President Doe and there’s video of them cutting off his ears while Johnson watched, drinking a Budweiser and getting fanned. They tortured Doe to death. Johnson died this year. And get this – he also became a pastor! For those who weren’t around, this was huge news, all over the channels.
I’m not sure if it’s the same guy you mean, but as a teen, I saw a Vice doc about him, I think. This dude freaked me out as a kid. Crazy that people like that are real. He was into some seriously weird religious or spiritual stuff, thought eating hearts – of enemies and kids, even – gave him superpowers. I think there was something about fighting naked, too, but that’s just extreme nudity, in my opinion.
I think I saw a Vice documentary about Liberia, and another one about North Korea.
That’s it. Vice used to be awesome. Yeah, he’d charge into battle starkers.
RE: Fact #15 (Obese Drivers Face Higher Risks) – Yeah, it’s tougher for people who are obese to bounce back from illness or injury. Makes sense, right?
The data backs this up. Obese people are way more likely – like 30% more likely – to die from injuries. The studies mentioned in the article already accounted for that and still showed a much higher death risk, meaning the injuries were probably worse.
Car crashes are way more dangerous because of all the energy involved. Your seatbelt (and hopefully your seat) is all that’s really slowing you down. Whether you’re big or small, a sudden stop hits you just as hard. But bigger people need a lot more force to stop, so they often end up hitting the steering wheel, windshield, or dashboard. Plus, it’s a lot harder to get someone out of a wrecked car if they’re big, and they’re more likely to get hurt from the car crushing in on them.
My uncle, a paramedic, responded to a wreck where this hugely overweight couple was in a single-car accident. The husband was thrown back so hard he crushed the babies in the back seat. His wife went through the windshield—she was seriously hurt but still alive when they arrived. He said their size meant the impact was insane; a person of normal weight would’ve been held back by their seatbelt.
I’m surprised all that fat doesn’t offer more protection.
I recall a 2020 factrepublic post about how much harder tracheotomies are on obese people because of all the extra tissue. I’ve read the same thing about CPR. It looks like even in the same emergency, it’s tougher to help someone who’s obese than someone of normal weight. And that’s just the beginning, before you even think about getting them stable and better.
RE: Fact #47 (AYDS Diet Pills’ Unfortunate Name) – That’s how Swastika, Ontario felt when the Nazis came on the scene.
RE: Fact #43 (Spam King Flooded With Junk Mail) – It’s not how much mail he got, but that real mail might be getting mixed up with the junk.
Whoa, is this for real? Do people really get their junk mail sorted out separately? How do I get in on that?
Real mail always gets bumped to the top of my junk pile.
RE: Fact #36 (Eyebrows Crucial For Face Recognition) – That reminds me of something Frank Zappa said: computers can give you all the numbers, but they miss the human element—the feeling, you know?
Emilia Clarke is definitely not like a computer at all.
Those eyebrows totally foreshadowed the Game of Thrones finale.
I recall George Carlin joking about how dogs look so sad; it’s all those eyebrows!
Cats have crazy ears!
Yep, it’s true. My black lab, once he got older and his eyebrows went white, looked totally bummed out. You wouldn’t believe it, considering he used to rule the roost.
Dogs got eyebrows because humans accidentally bred them in.
Wow, those words hit hard. Reminds me of what my Uncle Ben always said.
So, you just toss the rice and water in a pot, get it boiling fast. Add butter and salt if you’re into that. Then turn the heat down a bit, cover it, and let it simmer until most of the water’s gone. Let it sit for five minutes after that to soak up anything left. Fluff it with a fork and you’re good to go.
RE: Fact #9 (Actress Miranda Cosgrove’s Tragic Stalker) – That explains all the weird detail on the iCarly Wiki, then.
Whoa, I thought this was about a person, not a ship!
It’s a relationship, not a boat.
It just went on and on and on.
That person’s probably pretty mad Creddie’s official now.
Seddie was officially a thing, but it didn’t last… you can probably guess why.
That page has every possible short string of words and letters. Everything you could ever think, everyone you’ve ever loved, the answer to everything…it’s all there, you just gotta find it.
They didn’t burn the Library of Alexandria, they just put it online.
So, no Wikipedia page for water? Didn’t think so. Wookiepedia wins!
The video on the Library of Babel says it has every possible combo of 10,000 characters – seriously, everything’s in there.
RE: Fact #22 (Infrared Lens Poker Scam Exposed) – Hey, there’s a Psych episode with the same story.
The TV show’s way craftier, though. She uses a sealed box of new cards and the dealer’s headband to mark them with invisible ink as she deals.
Grab a whole kit
RE: Fact #31 (Girl Sent By Parcel Post) – That would’ve been a wild ride, either way. Probably both!
RE: Fact #41 (Fraudulent Wine Worth $150M Exposed) – He got ten years, and then he started making wine in prison.
RE: Fact #23 (MI6 Headquarters Worst-Kept Secret) – Then James Bond drove a boat out the window – problem solved!
RE: Fact #22 (Infrared Lens Poker Scam Exposed) – Seriously, jail time for this? It seems more like a case for a lawsuit between a private company and someone. Just fine them and ban them. Casinos don’t get locked up for card counting, after all.
Card counting’s totally legal—it’s just using your smarts to figure out your odds. That’s way different from teaming up with casino staff to cheat and steal their money.
Casinos hate it when you win big at card counting, so they’ll just ban you. They’re always going to come out on top, even if it means getting rid of a few players who are too good.
It’s a scam! It’d be just as illegal doing it with playing cards in your buddy’s basement.
Counting cards isn’t illegal. Everyone gets the same info.
That article? It was way more than just a guy in special contacts.
RE: Fact #12 (Perfect SATs Don’t Guarantee Admission) – Looking on the bright side, a perfect SAT score really boosts your chances—we’re talking a huge increase!
Look, if you’re up against some rich kid’s spoiled brat for a single spot, your odds are basically zero. It’s not about test scores; it’s all about daddy’s connections.
I talked to a Harvard professor ages ago. He said Harvard doesn’t just look for the brainiest people; they want students who’ll make a real difference. So, someone like a Bush, Trump, or Clinton kid probably has an easier time getting in—Harvard figures their education will help them do good things later on when they’re in charge.
Seriously, it’s infuriating! A perfect SAT score is insanely tough to get, and they’ll still pick someone less qualified just because they know someone. So much for that “skill-based merit” conservatives are always going on about.
I’m genuinely curious how many people ace the SAT and do nothing else. I figure most applicants with perfect scores are already involved in other stuff, too. And it’s weird how colleges use extracurriculars to judge you, then you ditch them all to focus on your major.
So many people have perfect SAT scores, we can’t take them all. And these schools aren’t just letting in legacy kids with so-so scores. People complaining about this always miss the point: getting in is still the best chance for really smart, poor kids to move up in the world. Even the legacy kids who get in are better than most of the other applicants.
Top schools couldn’t just rely on test scores – they’d lose their whole “elite” thing pretty fast, and no one would want to go there anymore.
RE: Fact #21 (Broadway Shows Lose Money Consistently) – Broadway’s all about the saying, “You can’t make a living, but you can make a killing.” It usually sucks financially, but a big hit? That’s where the serious money is.
RE: Fact #45 (Beatles Snub Marcos, Face Backlash) – Marcos was such a rotten dictator; it’s great the Philippines finally kicked that family out of power.
RE: Fact #45 (Beatles Snub Marcos, Face Backlash) – That woman’s still kicking! Seriously, some people just live forever, huh?
RE: Fact #10 (Japanese Flag Off-Center Until 1999) – They tweaked the red color.
Same shade of red.
What if it was red instead?
Let’s get 25 in goldenrod, 25 canary, 25 saffron, and 25 paella.
100 yellow sounds good.
RE: Fact #43 (Spam King Flooded With Junk Mail) – A Detroit Free Press article from December 6, 2002, quotes him saying he was getting bombarded with ads and junk mail— it was crazy, total harassment. Then, on June 22, 2009, he copped to wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and breaking the CAN-SPAM Act. To get a lighter sentence, he agreed to help nail other spammers. He ended up with four years and three months in jail, plus a $250,000 fine on November 23, 2009.
RE: Fact #32 (Thief Steals $136M Jewelry Suitcase) – That crook’s still out there, never got caught.
RE: Fact #14 (Quebec’s Ad Ban Fights Obesity) – Yeah, I get it. Those ads were probably trying to trick kids into nagging their parents.
Totally! Other countries need this too. It helps with obesity, and it takes some pressure off parents, haha.
Since 2016, Chile’s banned mascots on sugary cereals and other junk food marketed to kids.
RE: Fact #21 (Broadway Shows Lose Money Consistently) – Back in the day, only rich folks went to the theatre. It wasn’t meant to be a business, just a fancy thing for the wealthy to do.
The idea that everything has to make or lose money is pretty new. Think about culture, public services, roads – they don’t “lose money” any more than your dog “loses money” because you feed it. They just cost money, and the good things they do for everyone are hard to put a price on.
Art doesn’t need to make money.
It’s like how a lot of folks get the postal service, roads, and stuff all wrong. It doesn’t have to be a money-making business; it’s just a service we all chip in for.
So, depending on how you look at it, building a road or port could be a huge win or a huge flop. Truth is, there are so many moving parts that the original investors might lose out, but it’s a big plus for everyone else.
RE: Fact #36 (Eyebrows Crucial For Face Recognition) – “A fact I could have used earlier” -Luigi
Should’ve told me this yesterday!
Cool idea for a factrepublic community: Stuff I should’ve known yesterday.
His eyebrows just don’t look right compared to the original picture.
Luigi’s got cute dimples when he smiles—totally different from that hostel picture.
RE: Fact #11 (Kerry Packer Pays Waitress Mortgages) – Kerry Packer loved to gamble. He was playing blackjack in Vegas when some Texan, who clearly had no idea who Packer was, started showing off his money. The Texan bragged, “You know who I am? I’m worth a hundred million dollars!” Packer just pulled out a coin and said, “Let’s flip for it.”
Kerry Packer should’ve realised playing two-up’s illegal except on Anzac Day.
That’s the usual Packers story, huh? Took them long enough.
RE: Fact #47 (AYDS Diet Pills’ Unfortunate Name) – Seriously? Why would I bother? He’s the one who’s terrible.
RE: Fact #28 (Red Ghost: Camel With Corpse) – Picture trying to tell someone in 1800s Arizona their monster was actually a zombie camel – a failed army project gone wrong.
RE: Fact #44 (Crows Investigate Fellow Crow Deaths) – I saw two crow funerals. One was, weirdly enough, at my grandpa’s funeral! This baby crow was dead, and tons of crows were all around it, making a racket. Then, suddenly, total silence. They all just stood there looking kinda awkward for a bit before taking off together. It was really something. I was little, and I figured they were paying respects to my grandpa.
Your grandpa might have been a crow.
One quarter Crow on my mom’s side 😉
RE: Fact #32 (Thief Steals $136M Jewelry Suitcase) – Could be an inside job, haha!
Yeah, he’d get less if he sold it openly. He insured it for that amount.
RE: Fact #6 (Alexander’s Army Drinking Tragedy) – Took over the world, even with a hangover.
Seriously, with the injuries he had—head trauma, a messed-up neck, arrows in his arms and legs, and a collapsed lung—it’s amazing he lived this long. I bet the booze was what kept him alive.
He almost croaked conquering Persia – a huge win, but then he caught a bad cold after a chilly river swim. He was always a bit frail, and kinda short – maybe 5’1″ or 5’2″, which wasn’t typical back then. Oh, and he had one brown eye and one blue eye. Actually, he might’ve been closer to 5’7″; his dad was around 5’11”.
There’s a South Park episode just like it.
Hey everyone,
I seriously can’t stand you guys. We’re pushing north, heading into the wild blue yonder, and one thing’s for sure: I hate your guts. We took Topeka, and I’m driving the troops to Missouri. I won’t stop until we win, and you’ll all be working for me. ‘Cause I hate you. I really, really hate you.
General Cartman Lee
RE: Fact #11 (Kerry Packer Pays Waitress Mortgages) – So, where’s he live? I’d be hanging around him all the time, just hoping to run into him.
He’s been dead for nineteen years, six feet under.
You could easily stumble on his grave.
RE: Fact #31 (Girl Sent By Parcel Post) – It was totally legal to post kids to boarding school in the UK! The postal service rules actually said you could. Imagine, they’d sit right next to the postman. There’s this book, *The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects*, about this guy, W. Reginald Bray, who really pushed those rules to the limit. He tried things like using super vague addresses, multiple addresses, even trying to mail himself to a specific train. Once, he couldn’t find his friend’s house in the fog, so he just went to the post office and mailed himself! Another time, he sent his dog through the mail.
Henry Box Brown, a slave in the US, mailed himself north in a crate to freedom fighters.
Why was I imagining the girl all taped up and boxed in, haha?
It works if it fits!
RE: Fact #13 (Hitler’s Degenerate Art Backfires) – The “degenerate art” show was on at the same time as a “pure art” one. Guess which one was way more popular? The “degenerate” one, of course.
RE: Fact #45 (Beatles Snub Marcos, Face Backlash) – That woman is seriously out of line. She and her family think they’re royalty, treating the national treasury like their own personal piggy bank.
And “hostile send-off” doesn’t even begin to cover it. She sent armed soldiers to bully the band, their manager, and everyone else – even had thugs rough them up! All paid for by us, the taxpayers.
That was way more than just a hostile send-off; she sent armed soldiers to scare everyone – the band, their manager, the whole crew – and even had thugs beat them up. All on the taxpayers’ dime!
One band biography I read mentioned something crazy about their airport “escape”—the escalators stopped working while they were on them! That’s a seriously specific detail that shows just how much they were being harassed leaving the place.
RE: Fact #41 (Fraudulent Wine Worth $150M Exposed) – A wine pro said they found 19,000 fake wine labels at Kurniawan’s place – labels for 27 top wines.
He might have sold around 12,000 fake bottles, and a bunch of those could still be out there.
He had to pay $28.4 million to seven people he ripped off, plus give up $20 million worth of stuff.
Kurniawan was busted for fraud back in 2013 and got out of prison in 2020 after doing seven years of a ten-year sentence. He was sent back to Indonesia in 2021.
Now, he’s apparently faking wines as a party trick in Singapore, showing off his fakes next to the real thing.
I sometimes wonder if those fake ones, especially the really big ones, end up being worth more because of their whole story.
I bet some serious collector has a little stash of fakes.
I doubt it. A fake Monet isn’t worth more just because a famous forger made it.
And if I remember right, from a documentary I saw, some of the imitation flavoring was made in pretty disgusting conditions.
He was seriously skilled at blending wines to perfectly mimic the ones he was copying. I saw an American Greed show about him; they had wine pros on who said his fakes tasted incredibly convincing.
RE: Fact #50 (Powered Flight Evolves Four Times) – Insect evolution is pretty surprising, actually.
Flying was a huge advantage, so the first insects that could do it really thrived and took over. Most insects that couldn’t fly died out as these flying insects spread everywhere. Over millions of years, those flyers evolved into almost all the insects we see today. There are a few exceptions, like millipedes and centipedes, but most insects that can’t fly probably had ancestors that could.
They all grow wings when they’re adults. Some don’t need them anymore, so those parts have grown together. And hey, maybe they’ll lose them and grow new ones later if they need to.
RE: Fact #50 (Powered Flight Evolves Four Times) – It’s interesting that no pterosaurs ever lost the ability to fly. You’d think the energy needed for flight would make them ditch it if they didn’t need it, right? Think about birds – some become flightless by first becoming ground birds like turkeys or pheasants. They still fly, but need stronger legs to jump high enough to get going. Those stronger legs then make them better runners, so they rely less on flight and eventually can’t fly at all. But pterosaurs couldn’t do that. Getting stronger legs to run or jump meant stronger flying muscles too, since they launched themselves into the air using their wings. For them, being better on the ground meant being even better fliers – there was no way for them to become flightless.
Bats walk on their front legs sometimes, so it makes sense they’d do that.
That might work. Bats don’t use their arms to launch themselves; there’s no upward push. Trying that would probably break their arm bones. They take off from the ground like birds, flapping super fast to get enough speed to stay airborne. Most can’t even do *that*, they need to climb first.
They’re also pretty clumsy on the ground, they waddle around terribly. A bat on the ground is like a seal on a beach – it can move, but not well at all.
Pterosaurs, on the other hand, were great on the ground. They walked and galloped upright on all fours.
So, a bat getting better on the ground is unlikely – it’s a huge challenge. They never evolved the special wrist joint pterosaurs had, and pterosaurs only had that because of their different arm structure compared to mammals.
That PBS video makes a good point about why they were so much bigger than flying birds. Since they use their legs for jumping and flying, they don’t have all that extra weight to lug around like birds whose legs just hang there.
Wow, some pterosaurs were seriously huge! A 10-meter wingspan is insane.
Maybe you’re picturing this PBS Eons video.
It’s pretty neat that, as far as we know, no pterosaurs ever lost their ability to fly. If any did exist, they were probably small groups stuck on tiny islands without many land predators, making their fossils hard to find.
Guess what? We found pterosaur fossils on islands! Islands are great for preserving fossils because they’re usually good places for stuff to get buried. Even better, the Western Interior Seaway and all of Europe were basically just a bunch of islands back then.
One example is Hatzegopteryx. It was a top predator, ate sauropods, had a wingspan of about 15 meters, and was probably the biggest flying animal ever.
RE: Fact #44 (Crows Investigate Fellow Crow Deaths) – In crow court, there are two equally important teams: the cops who solve crimes, and the prosecutors who put the bad guys on trial. This is their story.
CAW, CAW
Caw and order.
Crow Bar Association.
RE: Fact #23 (MI6 Headquarters Worst-Kept Secret) – That modern glass building had a gas station downstairs. It probably wasn’t built that strong.
The IRA shot a missile from across the street, busted a window, but the place seemed pretty safe.
They took a shot at the building with an old RPG-22 from way too far — like, 300 meters, much further than it’s supposed to work. Amazing they even connected!
It wasn’t the real IRA, just some people working on their own, kinda like a spin-off group.
RE: Fact #13 (Hitler’s Degenerate Art Backfires) – Bosses sometimes think everyone’s just like them, and that screws up their decisions. It’s pretty common.
It’s a common problem: thinking your way is the only way. That’s why there’s so much hate out there. It’s natural, like how babies first learn about others – they assume everyone’s just like them. Some folks never grow out of that stage, though. Reminds me of something Mark Twain said: getting out and seeing the world really helps you to understand and accept other people’s perspectives, something a lot of people need.
RE: Fact #4 (Jailed Over $16.35 Mandatory Tip) – If it’s required, it’s not a tip, it’s the cost.
Serving food shouldn’t depend on how much someone spends. It’s more work to bring out a steak and a cocktail, but it’s the same effort to carry a sandwich and water. If we’re gonna have tips, maybe just a dollar per plate would be fairer.
My biggest problem with tipping is this: more money used to mean more food, more to carry. But, as you said, that’s not always true. A waiter carrying one expensive dish isn’t working any harder than one carrying a cheap dish.
Extra charge
RE: Fact #33 (Metabolism Stable Until Age Sixty) – So, I gained weight ’cause I got a desk job and slacked off, huh? Damn.
Man, I used to pull 50-60 hour weeks in scorching hot kitchens and restaurants. Now it’s 40 hours at a desk job. Figured that would happen. I was in pretty good shape back then, but it really wore me down. Back problems, knee problems, and I’ve got scars from nearly losing a fingertip twice, and one time I seriously burned my arm… good times, huh?
Seriously? You gained weight because you’ve been eating more than you burn.
It’s a shame they don’t teach kids more about food and healthy eating in school. So many grown-ups don’t even get the basics of nutrition and healthy diets.
The study just says metabolism isn’t the main problem, but it doesn’t look at all the other things we know affect weight and body composition.
They checked for differences in body size and found metabolism stayed the same over time. But that doesn’t mean lifestyle is the *only* thing that changes your size.
Anyone who’s dealt with hormones knows real-life weight gain is way more complicated than this factrepublic thread makes it seem.
RE: Fact #4 (Jailed Over $16.35 Mandatory Tip) – TIPs are optional.
RE: Fact #17 (Cherokee Ancestry Tied To Scot) – This won’t last. Scots and Cherokee? Total opposites! It’s like the English and Scots, the Welsh and Scots, the Japanese and Scots… heck, even Scots and other Scots fight! Those Scots!
Those darn Scots! They messed up Scotland!
Celtic or Rangers?
No football team colors allowed in here!
RE: Fact #38 (Vaults: Cell Biology’s Mysterious Structures) – They seem to be involved in cell signaling, drug resistance, and the immune system, but it depends on the cell type.
This bit of DNA shows if your warranty’s still good.
It’s clearly Midichlorians.
Been trying to reach you about that, but the cell service is awful.
RE: Fact #35 (Hendrix’s Whiskey Funeral Coping Lesson) – Man, that’s not a good way to handle your kid’s problems.
Name one musician who struggled with drugs or alcohol. (/s)
I think drugs have helped us out a lot, seriously. If you disagree, try this: burn all your music. Those musicians who made all that awesome music you love? They were seriously high.
My adopted sister had a really tough childhood. Her stepdad was murdered when she was around ten, and then her biological dad told her something awful about not dealing with problems. Ten years later, she’s in rehab, trying to get better and look after her baby. It’s a messed-up situation.
His mom also struggled with addiction, which sadly led to his early death.
RE: Fact #16 (South Park’s $935M Digital Deal) – That makes their Casa Bonita investment seem a lot less crazy, huh?
They probably had the best deal, a real 50/50 split, everyone was buzzing about it. The whole thing about getting paid for DVDs, streaming, and all that web stuff is what caused the 2007-08 writer’s strike. South Park’s deal was basically the final push before things blew up.
Wow, they really pulled some strings to get that Comedy Central deal. Meanwhile, the Mythbusters crew doesn’t even get paid for reruns on regular cable, let alone online.
Totally. Google threw about 40 million at it. It’s a big chunk of change, but for them, it’s basically a pricey hobby.
Dude, you should’ve seen Trey sweating bullets as the money piled up in that documentary.
Yeah, some rich guys splurge on $40 million yachts. But hey, they also kept a piece of their past alive and saved a bunch of jobs with that same $40 million.
RE: Fact #29 (Michelin Star Restaurants Often Close) – Getting a Michelin star made things tough. Landlords, suppliers, and even employees got greedy, driving up costs. And customers expected so much more, which made it a real struggle to stay afloat.
I’ve been a chef for 25+ years, and though I haven’t worked at Michelin-starred places, I know why fancy restaurants shut down. Landlords and suppliers think they’re raking it in, so they jack up the rent and fees. Plus, customers expect perfection, so even tiny slip-ups get blasted online. That pressure makes it tough to keep good staff, and everyone burns out.
My brother’s restaurant was a big hit, but when the lease came up for renewal, the landlord really hiked the rent. So, they moved across the street – bigger space, way better deal. The old place? Empty and looks kinda creepy now, I haven’t heard what’s going on with it.
RE: Fact #20 (Ignored 9/11 Warning Ends Tragically) – O’Neill started his new job at the World Trade Center on August 23, 2001. Later that month, he chatted with his buddy Chris Isham about it. Chris joked, “At least they won’t bomb it again,” remembering the 1993 bombing. O’Neill replied, “Yeah, they’ll probably try to finish the job.”
I bet his tombstone will say “I told you so.” He deserves it.
He was lucky to be there when it happened, but I didn’t expect it to come from above.
RE: Fact #1 (Boy Flies Without Security Clearance) – Seriously, when I was twelve, I flew solo across the country to visit my grandparents for the summer. My last flight was totally overbooked, and this cute flight attendant asked for volunteers to give up their seats for a free hotel room. I jumped at the chance, and they actually let me!
That’s freaking hilarious!
Let’s keep going.
I watched tons of cable TV – it was awesome at my age!
Looking back, my grandpa was a saint. He drove three hours to get me, only to have to turn around and do it again the next day! I should have thanked him sooner.
My grandparents weren’t mad; they just laughed it off, saying it was kids being kids and the airport’s fault.
I just remembered why I did it! There was some money in it, and I figured my grandparents could use it. I can’t remember how much, it probably wasn’t that much, or they would have mentioned it. Grandpa might not have even gotten it.
RE: Fact #5 (Grieving Man Kills Air Controller) – The air traffic controller wasn’t to blame at all. Everyone followed the rules.
The planes were heading straight for each other, so the controller told the Russian passenger plane to go down and the German cargo plane to go up.
But because the planes were so close, their automatic collision warning systems went off. These systems tell one plane to climb and the other to descend to avoid a crash.
The warning system told the passenger plane to climb, and the cargo plane to descend – the opposite of what the controller had just said.
These warning systems always take priority; there’s no time to argue. The Germans followed the system. But the Russians still used their old rules, which put the controller in charge.
Both planes went down, crashed, and everyone died.
Neither pilot messed up. The controller did nothing wrong. The only thing you could possibly point a finger at is the Russian aviation authorities for not updating their rules after the safety systems were standardized.
It was a terrible accident, a completely pointless loss of life.
RE: Fact #17 (Cherokee Ancestry Tied To Scot) – So that’s how family trees work – it doubles with each generation. Ten generations back, you’ve got a whopping 1024 great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents!
Most people in the same area and background share a common ancestor about ten generations ago.
I was stoked to find out one grandpa fought for the Union, but then BAM! Thirteen others fought for the Confederacy.
Crazy, huh? My family was split right down the middle during the Revolutionary War.
Most people only have four grandfathers, tops. So how did you end up with fourteen?
Were you expecting them all to be from up north?
Is it more than just one really scandalous fur trader?
Nope, he stuck with one wife and had a bunch of kids. He wasn’t exactly a serial womanizer.