Random Facts Generator

In 2004, researchers demonstrated that the organic molecule 9,10-Dithioanthracene (DTA) could "walk" in a straight line on a metal surface by mimicking bipedal motion. During their experiments, the molecule took 10,000 nano-scale steps on a flat copper surface, with its sulfur-bearing linkers acting like feet that alternately lifted and propelled it forward.

When we sleep, our brain cells shrink, encouraging cerebrospinal fluid to flow more freely and flush out toxins that have built up in the brain. Without this nightly washout, those waste products linger, which helps explain why we cannot think clearly after a sleepless night.

There is a hotel (Hotel Arbez) that sits right on the border of Switzerland and France. A set of stairs started in France and ended in Switzerland upstairs. The upper rooms were thus ideal as a hideout for French Resistance members during WWII as the Nazis weren't allowed to cross into the Swiss side.

In 2005, a heavily censored Pentagon document went public in a usable form when a reader simply cut and pasted the blacked-out text from the PDF into Microsoft Word, instantly revealing the hidden sections. The report, released as a declassified document with thick digital blocks over sensitive passages, still contained the underlying text in the file.

During the Bosnian War, a former Danish Special Forces officer named Helge Meyer used his 1979 Camaro to go through the front lines during the Bosnian War to deliver humanitarian aid. The US Air Force helped modify the Camaro by adding kevlar panels, reconnaissance and stealth tech.

Cambridge University was founded after local authorities in Oxford hanged two scholars for the death of a woman. In protest, Oxford University went into suspension and many scholars moved to Cambridge, eventually forming the nucleus of a new university.

Katy Perry’s first album, a gospel album released under her given name, Katy Hudson, was a flop and sold less than 200 copies before her record label shut down.

The daughters of Nicholas II of Russia survived the initial wave of fire from a firing squad because of the diamonds and precious gems are sewn into their clothing. The executioners were forced to rush forward with their bayonets.

During WWI (and briefly WWII), the British would shame men into joining the military by recruiting young women to call them cowards on the streets of their hometowns. These women would also pin a white feather on them to symbolize their cowardice, contributing to the stigma associated with not serving in the military.

The crowds of the pod races in Star Wars Episode I were half a million painted q-tips. With a blowing fan underneath the model stands, the q-tips would move around like a live crowd.