Random Facts Sheet #358 – Lesser-Known Universe: 35 Random Facts That Will Expand Your Horizons

Disney World had its own airport with a runway featuring a set of grooves, similar to rumble strips on the side of a highway, that played "When You Wish Upon a Star" when driven over at roughly 45 miles per hour, much to the surprise of airplane passengers.

27. Early drones were developed during the First World War. These radio-controlled planes were primarily for target practice, but by 1942, a drone with a built-in TV camera was capable of delivering a torpedo to a ship 20 miles from the controller.

28. John Langdon Down believed that disorders such as Down syndrome (or "mongolism") made people look like a different race and considered this evidence that humans are a single species.

29. The rumbling sound your stomach makes when hungry is called "borborygmus." It happens when the muscles in your digestive system move food, liquid, and gas through your stomach and small intestine, producing a rumbling sound.

30. The May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack was propagated using EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA), which was stolen and leaked a month prior in April 2017.

William Duell, a criminal who was hanged in 1740, had his body sent for dissection for medical purposes but was revived by the staff when he started breathing. His sentence was then commuted, and he was exiled to North America, where he eventually died at an old age.

32. L'Anse aux Meadows is the oldest known European settlement in North America. Discovered in 1960 in present-day Newfoundland, its origin was confirmed to be Viking from the 11th century based on artifacts and evidence consistent with other known Norse examples in Greenland and Iceland.

33. Mattiedna Johnson was born to Mississippi sharecroppers in 1918. She used techniques she learned on her childhood farm (like making butter, jam, and soap) to capture and preserve molds for research. Her work eventually helped in the development of drugs to fight scarlet fever.

34. The void that forms under certain trees when it snows is called a tree well. The upper branches of the tree prevent snow from falling below them, creating a pocket that is a serious peril for skiers and snowboarders. Several people die every year from falling headfirst into these voids.

35. After the Great Flood of 1862, which killed thousands and devastated the economy, California legislators and state employees worked unpaid for a year and a half.