Random Fact Sheet #13 – 40 Random Facts You Didn’t Knew About

A bug fix in software is called a "patch" because when computers were programmed by punch cards, bugs were fixed by literally placing a patch over one hole and punching another.

2. Bad breath wasn't considered a real problem until Listerine, who said their mouthwash cured "Halitosis", a non-medical term.

3. A photo of a man stealing a wallet in a store was on the bottom of The Lewiston Tribune on December 14, 2007. Above it was an unrelated photo of a man painting a business. Readers noticed both men were wearing the same clothes. They were identified to be the same person leading to his arrest.

4. A 12 year old named Calvin Graham lied about his age and enlisted in the US Navy during World War 2. He became a decorated war hero by 13.

5. In 1979, a woman named Elvita Adams jumped from the 86th floor of the Empire State building, only to be blown back onto a ledge on the 85th floor by a gust of wind.

A business in Texas still uses a 1949 IBM 402 punched card computer. It still runs all of its accounting work (payroll, sales, and inventory) through the IBM 402.

7. A Herculaneum, a neighboring city to Pompeii that suffered the same fate but is better preserved.

8. Eminem is commended in the 2015 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most words in a hit single, 'Rap God', totalling 1,560 words in 6 minutes, 4 seconds.

9. Potatoes are the lowest cost source of dietary potassium, a nutrient lacking in the American diet and important for reducing the risk of high blood pressure

10. T.G.I. Friday's began in Manhattan in 1965 as one of the world's first singles bars. It was very successful, in part because 480 stewardesses lived next door to the first location. The restaurant became family-oriented only after expanding to the suburbs.

Margaret Cho was rejected by a producer on her show All American Girl. Still, heart broken, she looked him up 17 years later to find out that he had bludgeoned his wife to death and put her in his attic where she partially mummified. She wrote a song about him.

12. Puma, Cougar and Mountain Lion are named for the same exact animal.

13. Stephen Colbert exists in the Marvel Universe. After departing from a campaign event, he saw Spider-Man battling Grizzly. He tried to help by pushing a statue off the building. It hit Grizzly on the head, Spider-Man thanked him for his help and gave him a ride home.

14. A sparrow was shot because it knocked over 23,000 domino bricks, just 4 days prior to the Domino Day Event. The shooter was later fined for shooting an endangered species.

15. During the making of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' the Coen brothers had someone on set just to catch snakes using a golf club. When asked what to call somebody with this profession, he said 'an idiot.'

Many famous works of art were defaced with fig leafs under the order of the Catholic Church. The statues and paintings had fig leafs plastered on their genitals to comply with the Church's chastity rules.

17. The trend of increasing audio levels in recorded music since the 90's, which critics believe reduces overall sound quality.

18. Worship of the ancient God Moloch included tossing babies into a heated bronze statue and that the Carthaginians copied this for their God Cronus.

19. The most common password in 2016 was 123456

20. George Michael had no idea why people liked Careless Whisper so much, and it was written while he was bored on a bus at the age of 17

Orthodox Jews are prohibited from walking past a motion sensor that will turn on a light on the Sabbath.

22. Two people have died searching for the Fenn Treasure, an alleged treasure chest buried in the Rocky Mountains by a rich art dealer whose goal was to get people off the couch and outdoors.

23. The word "slut" originally meant a messy or untidy woman

24. Uganda Proposed in the early 1900's that Jews be given a homeland in British East Africa.

25. The Democratic Donkey originated from opponents of Andrew Jackson, who they frequently referred to as a jackass. Jackson rolled with it and used the donkey on his campaign posters and the image has stuck since.