Random Fact Sheet #148 – Exploring 35 Quirky Random Facts

In 2018, In-N-Out managers make $160,000 per year.

2. Japan and Singapore have the most powerful passports in the world with each granting visa-free access to 189 countries.

3. The town of Rjukan, Norway receives no natural sunlight from September to March due to the steep mountains that surround it. They have installed 3 large mirrors to reflect light into the town's square. The mirrors track the sun's path and move every 10 seconds to create a 600m squared pool of light.

4. The eagle featured on U.S. currency was modeled on a real bald eagle named Peter who used to live on top of the U.S. Mint. After his death in 1836, Peter was stuffed and is still on display inside the very building upon which he once nested.

5. Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence criticized King George III for enslaving Africans, and for over-ruling Virginia’s attempt to ban Slavery. In it, Jefferson called slavery a “cruel war against human nature.” The draft was struck down by the continental congress.

Chipmunks and other small rodents have fast reaction time because they process light faster. They see the world in slow motion.

7. Alcohol consumption in Manhattan in the week after 9/11 increased by 25% compared to the same period the year before. Tobacco consumption rose by 10%, marijuana consumption by 3.2% and church and synagogue attendance by 20%.

8. A veterinarian is often the first to see signs of domestic and child abuse.

9. Dr. Martin Couney, an owner of a freak show in the early 1900's invented an incubator to exhibit premature babies. In doing so, he saved thousands of lives and marked the start of advanced prenatal care for preemies.

10. Freddie Mercury used a piano as the headboard of his bed and would often play tunes that he had heard in his dreams. This was how Bohemian Rhapsody began.

The NFL uses chips embedded in players shoulder pads to record player's every move on the field. They are also located inside footballs to track: velocity, rotation, ball speed, and location.

12. The Esurance insurance company had to stop using their cartoon mascot Erin Esurance because she yielded too much fan-made porn. When searching Esurance online, porn would come up first.

13. The guy who invented the koosh ball, invented it because his child was having trouble catching a ball.

14. Douglas Tompkins, founder of The North Face died of hypothermia.

15. Before “The fresh prince of bel air” Will Smith was already famous but was so broke that he used the bus as a means of transportation where he was often recognized and asked for autographs.

In 2006, the Russian Space Agency decided to turn an old space suit into a satellite and named it Suitsat. The result looked like an astronaut stranded in outer space.

17. There is a growing body of scientific research showing that reliance on GPS erodes our ability to make our own mental maps.

18. Berea College in Kentucky has a $1billion endowment and doesn't charge students for tuition.

19. In Nepal, tigers and people have learned to use the exact same forest trails at different times of day to reduce the chances of fatal encounters.

20. In 2009, a Kuwaiti woman named Nasra Yussef Mohammad al Enezi wanted to take revenge on her husband for taking a second wife, so she poured petrol on the tent where women and children were celebrating the wedding. In the ensuing blaze, 57 were killed and 90 others were injured.

According to Taika Waititi, 80% of the dialogue in Thor: Ragnarok was improvised, in order to create a "very loose and collaborate mood" among the cast an attempt to replicate the tone and sensibility from his previous films.

22. Coca-Cola sales agents are not allowed to give anyone a better deal on Coke than McDonald's, as a matter of company policy.

23. The Nazis introduced malaria-carrying mosquitos to Italy in World War 2 as revenge after Italy changed sides, causing a 7-year long outbreak in the region.

24. Scientists have created glow in the dark cats using jellyfish genes in order to research a cure for feline AIDS. The trait is even genetic and can be passed to subsequent generations.

25. Costa Rica is the first country to start a ban on all single-use plastics, scheduled to be complete by 2021.