Random Facts Generator

In 2009, Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary banning commercial shark fishing. The sanctuary protects about 230,000 square miles of ocean. Palau received the Future Policy Award from World Future Council, because “Palau is a global leader in protecting marine ecosystems.”

Harry Houdini wanted to prevent people from copying his "Chinese water torture cell" trick but didn't want to patent it, as that would require explaining how it works. So he gave a performance of the trick as a one-act play before an audience of one and then filed for a copyright on the play.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! stopped airing live after just one year, thanks to actor Thomas Jane unleashing an uncensorable storm of F-bombs during a broadcast.

After losing her husband and four children to yellow fever, and her job to the great Chicago fire, Mary "Mother" Jones became a labor organizer. She organized a march of working children from Philadelphia to New York, and her speeches provoked workers to organize during the Coal Wars.

In 2012, a man named Lukis Anderson was charged with the murder of Raveesh Kumra after his DNA was found under the victim’s fingernails. The case looked complete until investigators discovered Anderson had been in a hospital bed at the time of the killing, heavily intoxicated and under police guard. The DNA had been transferred accidentally by paramedics who treated Anderson earlier that night and then responded to Kumra’s home without changing gloves carefully enough to prevent contamination.

The coldest temperature recorded on earth was -144°F in Vostok, Antarctica. Humans can’t inhale air that cold for more than a few breaths. It would cause your lungs to hemorrhage. Russian scientists ducking out to check on the weather station would wear masks that warmed the air before they breathe in.

Right before launching the two Voyagers, NASA scientists used kitchen-grade aluminum foil to cover critical parts of the probes to protect it from unanticipated radiation at Jupiter. It worked.

During the cold war, when navy divers repairing a whale enclosure heard a human-like voice saying "out, out, out," and got out of the water to see nobody, they found out that a beluga whale named "Noc" had learned to mimic human speech and was trying to communicate with them.

Police in the UK can legally break into any person's house under the Bees Act 1980 if they suspect it contains foreign bees.

A Swedish man named Kaj Linna was wrongly imprisoned for murder for 14 years until a true-crime podcast brought out clues that led to his exoneration. Awarded a record sum in damages of 18 million SEK, he now lives in the Canary Islands with his wife who was his Spanish-language teacher in prison.