1Liking Gap
The "Liking Gap" is a psychological illusion which estimates that people you meet like you more than you think. Psychologists found that "people systematically underestimated how much their conversation partners liked them and enjoyed their company."
2. Unilever and Procter & Gamble were fined $456 million for fixing washing powder prices in 8 European countries in 2011. The fines were discounted by 10% after the 2 industry giants admitted to running a cartel. Their rival Henkel, who provided the tip-off, was not fined in return.
3. 'Loving Day' which falls on June 12 celebrates the day that Interracial Marriage became legal in the United States.
4. In 1997, the small Texas community of Kleberg County tried to replace "Hello" with "Heaven-o" citing ‘hell’ being negative and ‘heaven’ having positive influence on people.
5. Almonds and peaches are so genetically similar, they can fertilize each other and produce viable hybrids.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Blessed Villages
Thankful Villages a.k.a. Blessed Villages are those few villages in Britain which suffered no casualties during the First World War. These villages lost no men in the war. All those who left to serve came home again when war ended.
7. Hisako Koyama was a female Japanese astronomer who hand drew sunspots every day for more than 40 years. Her detailed sketches aid researchers in studying solar cycles and the sun's magnetic fields.
8. On onset of 100 years war, blind King John of Bohemia refused to sit it out and ordered his men to tie their horses to his and guide him into the battle. As battle turned sour, he was advised to flee but he replied "Far be it that King of Bohemia should run away." He died fighting.
9. James Jakob Williams was an African-American marine who after fighting in the Second Barbary War (1815), traveled to Greece where slavery had been abolished. There, he fought for the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman empire. He died in 1829, a free man, in a free Greece.
10. A Seattle born athlete named Rebecca Twigg became a popular cyclist in 1980s. She won 6 world championships, 2 Olympics gold medals, appeared in Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, and numerous commercials. In 1996, however, Twigg abruptly dropped out of the sport, re-entered the workforce, had trouble holding down a desk job, became homeless and has been living on the street for years.
11Migraines in Women
Migraines are 3 times more common in women than in men.
12. There is a Polish soup called czernina that's made with duck blood and other ingredients. Traditionally, this soup was served to men who were rejected after asking for permission to wed their significant other.
13. Michael Jackson ordered his music video "Thriller" to be destroyed after being threatened with excommunication from his Jehovah's Witness faith. Michael later apologized and settled for the disclaimer at the start of the video.
14. Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller was an accomplished Olympic swimmer. In 1927, when he and his brother were swimming in Lake Michigan, they saw a boat capsize. They rescued at least 14 people and 11 of those people survived.
15. The Big Ben’s bell has a unique sound because it cracked in 1859, barely two months after its inauguration. The bell has since been oriented in such a way that the hammer doesn’t strike the ‘crack.’
16Joseph Goebbels
During Germany's invasion of Russia, Joseph Goebbels sent a plea to the citizens of Germany to send in their winter clothing for the troops. This resulted in many Nazis on the grim Russian front wearing incongruously festive Christmas outfits.
17. The Tasmanian Devil only appeared in 5 out of the original 1,002 Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoon shorts.
18. Some states in the USA have "Dead Red" laws, according to which if you're on a motorcycle or a moped that is too light or not large enough to trip the sensor that changes the light from red to green, you're legally allowed to run the red light after waiting for a reasonable amount of time.
19. During the French occupation of Vietnam, the city of Hanoi had a huge rat problem. The colonial French government wanted the rats exterminated from the sewer system, so they set a bounty for each dead rat tail. So began the Great Hanoi Rat Massacre of 1902. Thousands of tails were submitted per day by the rat catchers, but the rat problem only grew worse. Investigation found that the hunters were breeding, not hunting, rats for their tails.
20. The 2010 Vancouver luge gold medallist Felix Loch had his medal melted into 2 discs and gave one to the parents of a deceased competitor who died in a practice run on the day of the opening ceremony.
21US-Canada Border
The US-Canada border is the longest international border in the world. Alaska's border alone contributes to 38% of it.
22. In 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', Steven Spielberg wanted gestapo agent Toht to be a cyborg with a metal arm that could transform into a flamethrower and machine gun. George Lucas rejected these ideas as being too far-fetched.
23. In 1997, David Bowie sold asset-backed securities, dubbed "Bowie bonds", which awarded investors a share in his future royalties for 10 years.
24. Cher is often credited as being the first artist to use auto-tune in a song with her 1998 hit "Believe."
25. Paul McCartney is the only artist to have reached the top of the UK charts as a solo artist, duo, trio, quartet, quintet, and musical ensemble.
