Random Fact Sheet #238 – 40 Surprising Revelations

There was a Ugandan doomsday cult whose followers surrendered all their wealth to the church. After the prophesied date passed, many disgruntled followers demanded their money back. The cult leaders responded by massacring over 900 of them. The leaders were never caught.

27. The Golden Fantasy is a secret expectation that all of one’s problems can be solved by interaction with a perfect and all-caring relationship figure. The fantasy can be found both in psychotherapy and in ordinary life.

28. If you visit Luxembourg in late February, you may see burning crosses all over the country. This is an ancient Celtic tradition that has been kept to this day, which is meant to chase away winter and welcome spring.

29. Skunk spray can’t be removed with tomato juice because they are both acids. Rather you need to combine baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap to create a base that neutralizes and removes the smell.

30. Bees can’t see red. What we perceive as the color red is seen as black by bees. However, they can see ultraviolet. UV allows them to see vein-like patterns in a flower, like a map that allows them to locate the nectar treasure.

In 2017, a fitness tracking app named Strava unknowingly revealed locations of secret US army bases. They released a map with over 3 million data points, showing popular running routes. Data shared by soldiers on the app was detailed enough to reveal sensitive information of users on active military service.

32. The colored beads in Silica Gel packets are a humidity indicator. If the beads are blue or orange, the silica gel can still adsorb more moisture. If the beads are pink or green, then the silica gel is spent and can adsorb no more moisture.

33. Coca-Cola has a medical application. It is sometimes used for the treatment of gastric phytobezoars (trapped mass in the gastrointestinal system). In about 50% of studied cases, Coca-Cola alone was found to be effective in gastric phytobezoar dissolution.

34. Marilyn Manson’s 2015 album was printed on the same discs used for PlayStation 1 videogames. The famous black discs were used for their high contrast against a white thermal paint that would appear when heated by a disc reader, changing the image on the disc when played.

35. TMZ gets its name from the ‘Thirty Mile Zone’ around Hollywood which is considered ‘local’ and is all about union rules and money.

In France, there is a law that movies cannot appear on streaming services until 3 years after they have been shown in cinemas.

37. Rabbits move their jaws more than 120 times a minute when eating. In order to cope with this constant wear, their teeth are open-rooted, allowing them to grow continuously.

38. A condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia causes severe facial pain. It is one of the most painful conditions known to medicine and has been nicknamed “the suicide disease.”

39. When a clothing company called ‘The South Butt’ was asked to cease and desist by ‘The North Face’, they complied, then turned around and created “Why Climb Mountains,” featuring The Butt Face.

40. According to a Kyoto University team, dogs can recognize a bad person and negatively evaluate people who refuse to help their owners.