Random Fact Sheet #102 – 45 Enchanting Random Facts You Didn’t Know

Acxiom is one of the biggest companies you’ve never heard of. Acxiom gathers information on some 700 million people, with up to 1,500 data points per person, for ultra-targeted marketing, down to the list of people who buy particular brands of cereal in your local supermarket.

2. Ruts leftover from the wagon trains traveling the Oregon Trail are still visible today.

3. Right before launching the two Voyagers, NASA scientists used kitchen-grade aluminum foil to cover critical parts of the probes to protect it from unanticipated radiation at Jupiter. It worked.

4. Although corned beef was originally produced in Ireland, it was mostly consumed by Britain and America as the Irish raising the beef were too poor to afford it.

5. Honey made from poisonous flowers was used to defeat an invading Roman army in 67 B.C.

On May 1, 1969, Fred Rogers appeared before the U.S Senate Commerce Committee requesting funds to help support the growth of a new concept: National Public Television.

7. While at university, Prince William was called "Steve" to avoid any journalists overhearing and discovering his identity.

8. During the American Civil War, banker J.P. Morgan bought 5,000 rifles from an army arsenal at $3.50 each and then resold them to a field general for $22 each.

9. Female hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first through a phenomenon called ‘superfetation.’

10. At the end of the extended edition of Fellowship Of The Ring, every single member of The Lord Of The Rings Official Fan Club that donated to the production of the film is thanked (~15,000 names) adding an additional 20 minutes to the runtime.

The 1982 video game "Ms. Pac-Man" was created as a response to the fact that a majority of Pac-Man players were female.

12. The Secret Service maintains an extensive “ink library” that houses samples of nearly every kind of ink that has ever been manufactured in the past century.

13. The state of Florida does not allow married couples to divorce while one of the partners is pregnant.

14. A pig named Pigasus was nominated for US Presidency in 1968. The anti-war activists responsible demanded that the Pig be treated as candidate, including given security and access to briefings. Pigasus and his team were finally arrested during a “rally” and charged with disturbing the peace and bringing a pig to Chicago.

15. Months after the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixon blamed the media, establishment, partisans and the special prosecutor's staff for trying to take him down, and still had many supporters.

Cajun crayfish have invaded Africa. Not only do they have no natural predators there, but they eat so many native species that they are causing an ecological disaster.

17. The 17th of March is not only Saint Patrick's Day, it’s also Saint Gertrude of Nevilles Day. She’s the patron saint of cats and cat lovers.

18. The dimples on a golf ball allow it to travel up to twice the distance of a smooth ball. The dimples increase lift and decrease drag.

19. Aerosmith’s Joe Perry used to keep a roadie by the side of his stage who was instructed to give him a toot of cocaine through a straw whenever he wandered over pretending to need technical assistance.

20. In Victorian England, it was common to have group family photos with their dead ones and given the long exposure time of the old cameras, the dead were often seen more sharply in the photos than the slightly-blurred living, because of their lack of movement.

When Jim Carrey played Andy Kaufman in 'Man on the Moon' he was method acting. He did such a good job that when Andy Kaufman's sister visited the set, she believed Jim Carrey was a "vessel" which allowed Andy to communicate from beyond the grave and talk to his sister.

22. During his lifetime, Pythagoras was subject to elaborate legends which included and were not limited to having a golden thigh, could fly thanks to a magic arrow, being greeted by name once by a river, and once when bitten by a deadly snake, he bit it back and killed it.

23. If you smell a natural gas leak, then you should not turn off a light switch as it creates a spark.

24. A Teletubby toy named Po was recalled in the late 90s for calling kids "faggot" and telling them to "bite my butt."

25. This is a telephone company named the Jolly Roger Telephone Company, whom you can pay to obnoxiously respond to robocalls. According to them, “Subscribers can choose robot personalities, such as Whiskey Jack, who is frequently distracted by a game he is watching on television, or Salty Sally, a frazzled mother.”