Random Fact Sheet #9 – 48 Trivial Random Facts

In 2015, a woman named Diana Airoldi only got her internet fixed after six full weeks after complaining to the CEO of Comcast's mother.

27. In the UK if you dial 999 but can't audibly signal the operator you can press '55' to signal that you are in danger

28. The United Kingdom writes, prints and stores all of its laws on goatskin

29. For those who jumped from the WTC on 9/11/2001, the fall lasted 10 seconds. They struck the ground at just under 150 MPH -- not fast enough to lose consciousness while falling, but fast enough to ensure instant death on impact. The deaths of those who jumped were ruled homicide, not suicide.

30. The Ancient Greeks didn't like Ares that much. He represented the violent and untamed parts of War, as opposed to Athena, who was the goddess of Military Strategy.

In galactic years, the Sun is about 20 years old and will die at the age of 54.

32. In 1954 Soviet prisoners overthrew their guards and, for 40 days, established a gulag republic with a democratically elected provisional government, marriages between male and female prisoners, indigenous religious ceremonies and a general flowering of art and culture.

33. Red Sour Patch Kids are the exact same candy as Swedish fish, just with the sour sugar.

34. Pope Fabian who served as Pope from 236-250. During the election, he was not under any serious consideration until a dove landed on his head which signaled to everyone present that the Holy Spirit had marked him as the next Pope

35. In 2010 rapper G. Dep turned himself into police and confessed to a 17-year-old cold case murder, even though he was never suspected. He was "just trying to get things right between himself and God." He was convicted on a second-degree murder charge and sentenced to 15-years to life in prison.

Mary Anning, the first female paleontologist, is the girl referenced in the rhyme "she sells seashells by the seashore" after she discovered the first ichthyosaur at age 12 while collecting shells on the beach.

37. Despite containing a sizable population that despises homosexuality and Western liberal values, Zanzibar's tourism industry thrives because of Queen fans that visit the island to see Freddie Mercury's birthplace.

38. The compliance-gaining technique of adding "but you are free to refuse" after a verbal request has been found to double your chances of getting what you want.

39. Some sources say that Kim Il-Sung, founder of North Korea, could actually be an impostor, as he might have stolen the name of a resistance leader who had died

40. In 1873, a classic adventure novel "Around the World in 80 Days" was published in France. Six years later an American woman journalist by the pen name of Nellie Bly completed the trip with the described itinerary in 72 days with nothing more than a handbag and travel money tied around her neck.

In 1978, Jefferson Starship had to cancel a German concert because Grace Slick was too drunk, causing the crowd to riot. They performed the next day, but she was so drunk that she groped female audience members and taunted the crowd for losing WWII. The following day, she quit the band.

42. Melvin Milligan, who in 2000, used the regular mail to send in his winning jackpot ticket and claim a $46 million prize. He did not use certified or insured mail. When asked to comment on this decision at his news conference, he stated: "I have faith in the postal service."

43. In the 1979 British Columbia election, MLA Frank Calder was defeated by one vote. He later admitted that he and his wife had neglected to vote.

44. There is a whale (52) known as the "world's loneliest whale". It calls out at a frequency not heard by other whales and therefore receives no response. It swims the oceans in search of others and receives no reply.

45. When Julius Caesar landed in Africa, he tripped and fell on his face. This would have been considered a fatal omen by his army, but instead, he shouted: "Africa, I have tight hold of you!". The expedition proved a success.

The synthesizer that Ferris Bueller uses to simulate his realistic-sounding coughs is an E-MU Emulator II, which at the time went for around $8,000. That’s equivalent to over $17,000 in today’s dollars.

47. Australia conducted biological warfare against its invasive rabbit population, reducing the population from 600 million to 100 million.

48. During the rebuild of the World Trade Centre, a 30-min lunch break actually ran much longer as workers had to wait for elevators to ferry them up and down. To accommodate these workers, Subway created a mobile restaurant that moved up the building as they finished each floor.