Random Fact Sheet #54 – 35 Incredible Facts You Won’t Believe Are Real

IKEA screws get stripped so fast because the screw head is not Phillips, and is actually superior with the right tools.

27. In 1958, a man decided to name his son "Winner". Three years later, he had another son who he named "Loser". "Winner" became a hardened criminal and "Loser" became a detective.

28. Hitler and his architect Albert Speer believed in the "Ruin Value" of buildings. He aimed for every building that the Third Reich built to have aesthetically pleasing ruins 1000 years from their completion.

29. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler got a family to assign their 14-year-old daughter (Julia Holcomb) to his care. She got pregnant with him and had an abortion. He then gave her back to her parents when she was 17.

30. Paralympic medals have steel balls inside them which, when shaken, makes a rattling sound that helps notify visually impaired athletes to determine between medals.

The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of writer's block is the shortest academic article ever: it has no words.

32. People can keep their amputated limbs. A woman named Kristi Loyall requested to keep her leg before being amputated due to cancer. Now she and her leg travel the world, posting photos of their adventures on Instagram.

33. In 2007, a 73-year-old man named Sherman Sizemore underwent surgery and suffered "anesthesia awareness". This is a condition where the patient is conscious and feels pain but is paralyzed and cannot alert the surgeon. The man's resulting PTSD led him to suicide, prompting a lawsuit against the anesthesiologists.

34. The papal election of 1268 lasted 3 years and eventually the roof of the building they were locked in was removed to speed up the election. The election lasted so long that 3 cardinal electors died and 1 resigned during it.

35. Two of the greatest composers of their time, Bach and Handel, despite living near each other but never meeting, were both blinded by the same quack traveling eye doctor.