Random Fact Sheet #307 – Unlocking the Unthinkable: 30 Unbelievable Random Facts

Michael Jackson suffered from severe insomnia and did not get any real sleep for 60 days prior to his death. Instead, his personal doctor had been putting him under general anesthesia every night.

2. Gorillas hum happy songs when they eat and if they are eating their favorite food, they sing even louder.

3. Mexico has a Ley Seca (no alcohol) tradition during elections to promote peace and order. They also hold elections on Sunday, allowing most voters to participate without worry of missing school or work.

4. BACA is a biker gang whose members will defend kids who have been abused or bullied, giving them their own vest, take them the school, and will even guard a house 24/7 to make sure the kids can sleep.

5. Sid Meier (of Sid Meier's Civilization and Sid Meier's Pirates!) began placing his name in the title of his games because of a suggestion made by Robin Williams in the 1980s.

The 1,500 Irish Defence Forces members that played the army in Braveheart were promised weekends off, but the shooting often ran over. One weekend, when Colonel McCorley ordered his men to march off the set, “Mel Gibson’s mouth dropped. He couldn’t say anything.”

7. An expedition to find the Niger River accidentally chose the Niger River as a starting point.

8. The boxer who beat Roy Jones Jr. at the 1988 Olympics in a controversial split decision wishes he had lost. Park Si-Hun was so traumatized by his contentious victory that he retired from boxing after the end of the games.

9. Beer bottles are brown as it blocks out the sun's rays and helps preserve the taste. A shortage of brown glass after the Second World War meant higher quality beer makers chose green to distinguish themselves from the companies using clear glass.

10. In 2005, JetBlue Flight 292 leaving from Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing due faulty landing gear. Before landing, they had to fly for a couple of hours to burn off its fuel in case of a fire when landing. This was broadcasted live on TV and the passengers onboard were able to watch it.

“Dog days of summer” refers to when the sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog.

12. To prevent civil wars, the Ottomans had all heirs to the throne imprisoned in a palace called “the cage.” Due to their isolation, most heirs were unprepared for life and had mental illnesses. Mehmet VI (the last sultan) spent the first 56 years of his life in isolation.

13. Smokers are at a high risk of having sagging skin after weight loss. The reason being, smoking causes reduced collagen synthesis and damages existing collagen.

14. A dog named Owney was adopted as the first unofficial postal mascot by the Albany, New York, post office in 1888 as postal railway clerks considered he brought good luck because no train he rode on was ever involved in a wreck.

15. The first known flexible hose was made of an ox’s intestines. It was used by the Greeks to fight fires. They used the ox’s stomach as a pump to force the water through.

Elle Woods commits a huge ethical violation in the movie “Legally Blonde” and in real life she would've been barred from practicing law. She may also have been subject to fines or prison time because she posed as a lawyer in attempts to get Paulette Bonafonté custody over her dog despite only being a first-year law student.

17. It is a common misconception that graves must be dug to a depth of six feet. Often, graves are just 30-36 inches deep. The six-foot rule was implemented in 1665 during the Great Plague of London when city officials apparently believed this would inhibit the spread of disease.

18. The State of Michigan's anthem, "My Michigan" cannot be played without paying royalties until 2032, because the state government never purchased the rights to the song, and the song is still copyright protected.

19. Hockey player Kris Draper was traded for $1 to the Detroit Red Wings. He would go on to assist the team in winning 4 Stanley Cups and be one of their most reliable players for 17 seasons.

20. There are 23 year-round floating-boat schools in Bangladesh due to constant flooding the country faces. Started back in 2002, these schools ensure year-round education in a country where heavy monsoon rains can submerge 70% of the landmass underwater.

The US is a rice-producing country and is one of the top rice exporters in the world.

22. The famous photo of Nikola Tesla calmly reading a book while his massive Tesla coil sends huge electric arcs across the room was actually a double exposure photograph taken for a publicity campaign.

23. Japanese Beer maker Asahi makes elderly friendly beer cans that are smaller, with braille, a larger fingerhole, and a pressurized can to have the tab elevated from the top. They are also left at shrines to friends and family that have passed.

24. The average human gut naturally produces 3 grams of alcohol a day through fermentation. Over the course of a year, this is the equivalent alcohol of about 2 full bottles of whiskey.

25. The pizza saver is a little plastic tripod that stops pizza toppings from sticking to the box. It was patented in 1974. When its patent wasn’t renewed, it was reinvented in 1985 by Carmela Vitale.