Random Fact Sheet #341 – Fascinating Trivia: 45 Engaging Random Facts That Ignite Curiosity

Manuka honey mainly comes from a small area of New Zealand. Due to the cost of honey going up 20-fold in the last few decades, there are now turf wars with thefts, poisoning of hives, and vandalism on the increase.

27. Gene Roddenberry's original script for the first "Star Trek" movie contained a scene in which James T. Kirk has a fistfight with an alien who had assumed the image of Jesus Christ. Certain elements of this script did eventually show up in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" but most did not.

28. Lady Juliana, which was launched in 1777, was a ship which was chartered to transport a load of all-female prisoners to Australia. It quickly developed a reputation as a floating brothel. Its steward John Nicol, recalled that “when we were fairly out to sea, every man on board took a wife from among the convicts, they nothing loath."

29. In 1972, a traveling circus was set up in the village of Uquakwa, Illinois. Their elephant which was tethered to a tree in the park was killed by a lightning strike overnight. The panicked circus owners packed up all of their gear, and scurried out of town, leaving the 6500 pounds dead elephant behind.

30. The tallest building in Yukon, Canada is only 20 meters tall. Whitehorse, the largest city in Yukon, originally had a law that buildings could not exceed 20 meters, and no building has yet surpassed it.

In July 2020, about 10 days before its release, LEGO canceled their upcoming officially licensed Lego Technic V-22 Boeing Osprey model aircraft due to their long-standing policy not to feature real military vehicles.

32. Gastroliths are rocks that are swallowed by some animals to aid in digestion and these remain in their digestion tract throughout their life.

33. Khazar is a Turkic language from Central Asia which became extinct by the 13th century and has the smallest known body of literature of any language. Only one written Khazar word, meaning "I have read", has been found.

34. Indonesia has a cultural stereotype where street vendors selling meatballs are presumed to be undercover cops.

35. Honopu Valley in Hawaii is the most secluded beach on Kauai. Beaching anything on it is a $10000 fine per day. The only way to access it legally is to swim from a boat offshore.

The air quality around the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, California is so bad that schools use green, yellow, and red flags to indicate whether children with asthma can go outside and play with their classmates.

37. The set of the film "Good Burger" frequently stank because the meat they used would spoil.

38. Canadian hero, Isaac Brock defeated American forces by using scam tactics, such as having his forces wear cast-off uniforms to make the Americans believe that they were the feared British redcoats.

39. During the 1896 Olympics, nobody knew how to throw a discus because it was the first international discus competition ever. Greek competitors tried to imitate Myron's ancient Greek discobolus statue, but imitation was not required.

40. A Chinese billionaire named Jon Jiang produced ‘Empires of the Deep,’ a $130 million fantasy film with his girlfriend as the main character. The movie had a chaotic production involving 5 successive directors and 10 writers. It was completed in 2010 but failed to find distribution, and remains unreleased.

The Royal Clipper is a cruise ship that is built on the lines of the Preussen, a five-mast sail ship that was built in the year 1902. At present, the Royal Clipper is regarded to be the world’s largest sailing ship with five masts that are rigged fully.

42. Warthogs don't actually have warts. Their "warts" are just tough protective skin to help cushion blows during fights.

43. Wind turbine designs have recently been inspired by the bumps on a humpback whale’s flippers. These bumps allow a smaller number of blades and a smaller, more energy-efficient motor to move the same amount of air as a larger turbine.

44. Laser tattoo removal also works to remove birthmarks.

45. During World War 2, a 2.5 miles stretch of a newly tunneled London Underground extension was converted into an electronics factory, to replace one that had been bombed in 1940.