Random Fact Sheet #127 – 40 Did You Know Facts

Pablo Picasso demanded his mistresses to be submissive and shorter than him. He thought women were "either goddesses or doormats". Dora Maar, one of his lovers, called him "an extraordinary artist but morally worthless".

27. The Muslim majority country of Albania saved countless Jewish lives during World War 2. Under the oath of “Besa”, a uniquely Albanian code of honor, a guest in one's home must be protected at all costs, even if it means laying down your life for your guest.

28. Because almost all cheetahs were wiped out by the last ice age, modern cheetahs are all practically genetic clones of each other.

29. The iconic surf motto “Eddie would go” was inspired by Hawaiian legend and lifeguard Eddie Aikau who was famous for surfing and saving people from big waves on the north shore. When no one would Eddie would go.

30. Running a mile only burns 105 net calories (about 7 Doritos.)

The CPU from the original PlayStation guided a space probe (New Horizons) to Pluto.

32. The high opera note in Bohemian Rhapsody was not sung by Freddie Mercury, but drummer Roger Taylor.

33. The Arlington Ladies are a group of volunteers that attend funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery to ensure that no Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Coast Guardsman is buried alone.

34. There is a temple named Karni Mata Temple in India where approximately 25,000 black rats live and are revered. Eating the food that has been nibbled on by the rats is considered to be a 'high honor' and few white rats among the black rats are considered especially holy.

35. Gregor Mendel, the founder of modern genetics, may have falsified data in his famous pea experiment in order to better correspond with his expectations.

Plants can “hear” the sound of running water through pipes in the ground. They will actually grow towards the pipe, eventually bursting through it.

37. The Misericorde or ‘Mercy Knife’ was a long narrow dagger that was used for killing wounded soldiers at the end of a battle. It was considered better than dying in pain from infection or from wounds which were not instantly fatal.

38. In 1993, a 5-year-old set his house on fire, killing his 2-year-old sister. The mother blamed American sitcom Beavis and Butt-head for making fire seem "cool". As a result, MTV removed all references of fire from their past and future episodes (not the 2011 run) and rescheduled it for 10:30pm instead of 7:00pm.

39. The legal reason Champagne is only produced in Champagne, France is due to the Treaty of Versailles, which reaffirmed that rule among the nations that signed it.

40. In some high schools in Japan the students need to hatch and raise chickens before killing and eating them.