Random Fact Sheet #124 – 40 Facts That Will Make You Smarter Today

In 1984, a pipe-fitter named David Bocks who worked for a uranium core processing plant (Fernald Feed Materials Production Center) in Ohio was discovered in a processing furnace. The plant was discovered to be dumping massive amounts of radioactive waste into the atmosphere. Co-workers of the deceased suspected he was a whistleblower and was murdered.

27. The mouse cursor is tilted because in the early days when it was a vertical arrow pointing up, people found it difficult to see a vertical line on the low-resolution screens of the time. Therefore it was tilted to make it easier to find.

28. Clive Wearing, an acclaimed musician developed serious amnesia after contracting herpes. He can't form memories longer than 30 seconds and always thinks he's just awoken from a coma. Despite this, he can recognize his wife and can still conduct an orchestra.

29. Every time an alcoholic, relapses then quits again, the withdrawal symptoms get worse. It's called the kindling effect.

30. In Germany, there's a festival without bands. There is even a stage, but no one is performing. The idea is to enjoy the atmosphere of a festival without the pressure of having to see all the bands you paid for.

In 1996, a Canadian man named Robert Dennis Blair Adams fled Canada feeling that someone was out to get him and kill him. He took his money and drove to Tennessee. He ended up dead in a parking lot with his money around his half-naked body. Police found that he was killed by a blow to the stomach and the case remains unsolved.

32. California produces 82% of the world’s almonds.

33. Viggo Mortensen published a book of poetry called “Ten Last Night” before he became famous. He also speaks fluent Spanish, Danish, and French and is also proficient in Catalan, Swedish, Italian, and Norwegian.

34. Albert Einstein was still working on his Theory of Everything while laying on his deathbed, in the last hours of his life, while fading in and out of consciousness.

35. In 1967, the Nigerian Civil War was halted for 48 hours so that both sides could watch Pelé play in Lagos.

In Doctor Strange, a dancer called Jayfunk choreographed all the magic incantation movements used by the characters in the film, using finger tutting.

37. On May 25, 2000, Philippines Airlines flight 812 was hijacked by a man who robbed the passengers of their valuables and then asked the pilot to depressurize the plane so that he could jump out. He was pushed by a flight attendant out from the plane and his body was found 3 days later.

38. Rian Johnson wanted to show extreme violence in The Last Jedi's final battle, but couldn't do so in a PG-13 movie. To solve this, the planet Crait was covered in a layer of salt which, when displaced by the fighting, revealed a red landscape and made the battlefield appear drenched in blood.

39. Cards Against Humanity created a knock-off of Pringles called Prongles.

40. Potato chip packets are made noisy to make you think the chips are crunchier. There is no reason in terms of product preservation for the noisy packets.