Random Fact Sheet #187 – 40 Facts That Will Feed Your Need to Know

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26Thomas Midgley Jr.

Thomas Midgley Jr.

General Motors chemist Thomas Midgley Jr. invented both chlorofluorocarbons and leaded gasoline, having "more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."


27. Vitamin-D deficiency is linked with many health disorders, including depression. In a survey of almost 8,000 US residents, it was found that those with lower vitamin D levels "are at a significantly higher risk of showing depression."


28. The most successful and feared allied spy of World War 2, Virginia Hall, was an American woman with a prosthetic leg. She escaped France on foot through the Pyrenees mountains, re-entered before D-Day, and organized havoc behind the Nazi lines.


29. French fries contain nicotine. Members of the nightshade family such as tobacco and potatoes contain nicotine as a natural pesticide.


30. In the early days of radio, advertisers were hesitant to invest in radio ads because they feared an ad where you couldn't just "turn the page" if you didn't like it (as you could in print) would come off as pushy and invasive.


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31Illusion of truth effect

Illusion of truth effect

All human are susceptible to the “illusion of truth effect”. Meaning the more we hear something, the more likely we are to believe it is true.


32. As a marketing and publicity stunt, three copies of a John Otway single in 1979 were pressed without a vocal track. Purchasers of the 'instrumental' copies would 'win' live performance of the song by Otway in their own living room, while they played the record on their home stereo.


33. A conservationist named John Muir was an avid inventor. He hooked up an alarm clock to his custom bed that would throw him onto the floor to ensure he got up on time.


34. When Joseph Stalin had a cerebral hemorrhage, he was on the couch in his room. People were so afraid of entering his room that it took until 22:30 for anybody to check on him. He died after three days.


35. When Amiens Cathedral was about to collapse (ca. 1500), a huge iron chain was installed inside the walls while still red hot. It pulled the stone arches back into shape as it contracted and cooled.


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36Catherine of Braganza

Catherine of Braganza

Tea was fashionable in Britain only after Charles II's Portuguese wife, Catherine of Braganza, popularized it. When she arrived in England she asked for a cup of tea but was given ale instead.


37. A funk band named Here Come the Mummies, consisting of 12 members, who are rumored to have several Grammy awards among the members, however, this is difficult to prove, as all the members wear full mummy costumes when performing.


38. A woman named Donna Alexander who opened an anger room in Dallas where people could destroy household items, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend due to assault.


39. Howie Mandel has a full head of hair but chooses to shave it because it makes him feel cleaner.


40. Electrum is the alloy of silver and gold, and humanity's first metal coins were made out of it.

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