Random Fact Sheet #289 – Curiosities Unveiled: 35 Peculiar Facts

Calcium deficiency can contribute to mood problems such as irritability, anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping.

27. Marlon Brando was expelled from high school for driving a motorcycle in the hallways.

28. The largest native ethnic minority in Japan are the Ryukyuan People, who are the native inhabitants of Okinawa. They number around 1.25 million people.

29. There is a traditional "postpartum confinement" period of about 1 month for women to recover after giving birth, and in Asia, there are now specialized luxury resort centers that charge thousands of dollars to take care of both the mom and baby for the entire period.

30. People who grew up with black and white tv dreamed in black and white about a quarter of the time. People who were under 25 at the time only dreamt in black and white about 4.4% of the time.

American writer Kurt Vonnegut had a cameo appearance in the movie; ‘Back to School.’ When the protagonist (Rodney Dangerfield) is asked how he is going to write a paper on ‘Vonnegut’ for a literature class if he hasn’t read any of the books? ...the actual Kurt Vonnegut shows up at his dorm room.

32. Twitter originally launched with the name Twttr. Later the company decided to change the name to Twitter but that domain name was already in use by someone else so the company paid $7,500 to purchase the name.

33. Manto Mavrogenous was a rich, aristocratic woman from Mykonos, Greece. She equipped, manned, and privateered fleets and armies at her own expense to fight the Ottoman Turks in 1822. When the war was over, she was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General by Greece.

34. Thomas Edison designed the factory that first produced Kingsford charcoal briquettes. Kingsford made charcoal briquettes to use up the scrap wood left over from Henry Ford's production of the Model T.

35. Chocolate Blooms: When your chocolate is covered in white/grey powder, it means it has either had a sugar bloom or fat bloom. Though it is still safe to eat, it means the chocolate was stored incorrectly.