1Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart had such terrible stage fright during his first concert in America that he hid behind the amplifiers while singing. It took a shot of brandy to get him out. Decades later, he set the record for playing at the largest free rock concert in history, in front of 3.5 million people.
2. Vikings served as the personal bodyguard of the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. They were known as the "Varangians, Men of Oath."
3. Dr. Seuss studied English at the University of Oxford, with a plan to eventually become a professor there but dropped out when he realized drawing was his only passion. He then moved back to the US to become a cartoonist.
4. The white stringy stuff on citrus fruit is called 'pith' and it is healthy to eat as it contains as much Vitamin C as the actual fruit.
5. The earliest Sony Walkman models had two separate headphone jacks labeled "guys" and "gals" so you could share your music with others and not come off as being antisocial.
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6Lucian's True Story
"True History" is a short satirical novel which was written in the 2nd century A.D. by Greek author Lucian of Samosata and it is considered by some to be the oldest Sci-fi novel in history. It features Lucian traveling to the moon, getting embroiled in a war between the moon and sun, and meeting the heroes of the Illiad.
7. Andrew Johnson and his wife Eliza were married by Mordecai Lincoln. Mordecai Lincoln was first cousins with Thomas Lincoln, the father of future President Abraham Lincoln. Johnson went on to become Abraham Lincoln's Vice President, succeeding him as President after his assassination.
8. During the Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt started construction of tidal dams in Passamaquoddy and Cobscook bays, on Maine’s border with New Brunswick, to generate electricity using the gigantic tides from the Bay of Fundy called the Quoddy Tidal Power Project. It was supposed to produce enough electricity to power much of Maine. After the initial funding dried up, the project was abandoned.
9. More than 250 houses in England have roofs which have base coats of thatch that were applied over 500 years ago. Almost all of these roofs are thatched with wheat or rye, which produced durable straw for the roof and grain for baking bread.
10. The Lilliput effect refers to the hypothesis that the body size of an animal species decreases after it survives a major extinction.
11Invasion Of Grenada
During the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, soldiers had to rely on tourist maps with grid lines hand-drawn on them, and use copies of 'The Economist' magazine for intelligence as the invasion was ordered on such short notice.
12. Humans have the highest daytime visual acuity of any mammal, and among the highest of any animal (some birds of prey have much better). However, we have relatively poor night vision.
13. In 1934, a German man named Gerhard Zucker attempted to deliver mail by loading it onto a rocket and firing it at a Scottish island. Both times he attempted this, the rocket exploded and much of the mail was destroyed.
14. Toilet paper isn’t bleached to make it white. It is in fact bleached to make it softer and extend its life. The whiteness of toilet paper is just a positive by-product.
15. Manuka honey mainly comes from a small area of New Zealand. Due to the cost of honey going up 20-fold in the last few decades, there are now turf wars with thefts, poisoning of hives, and vandalism on the increase.
16Star Trek's Jesus Scene
Gene Roddenberry's original script for the first "Star Trek" movie contained a scene in which James T. Kirk has a fistfight with an alien who had assumed the image of Jesus Christ. Certain elements of this script did eventually show up in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" but most did not.
17. Lady Juliana, which was launched in 1777, was a ship which was chartered to transport a load of all-female prisoners to Australia. It quickly developed a reputation as a floating brothel. Its steward John Nicol, recalled that “when we were fairly out to sea, every man on board took a wife from among the convicts, they nothing loath."
18. In 1972, a traveling circus was set up in the village of Uquakwa, Illinois. Their elephant which was tethered to a tree in the park was killed by a lightning strike overnight. The panicked circus owners packed up all of their gear, and scurried out of town, leaving the 6500 pounds dead elephant behind.
19. The tallest building in Yukon, Canada is only 20 meters tall. Whitehorse, the largest city in Yukon, originally had a law that buildings could not exceed 20 meters, and no building has yet surpassed it.
20. In July 2020, about 10 days before its release, LEGO canceled their upcoming officially licensed Lego Technic V-22 Boeing Osprey model aircraft due to their long-standing policy not to feature real military vehicles.
21Gastroliths
Gastroliths are rocks that are swallowed by some animals to aid in digestion and these remain in their digestion tract throughout their life.
22. Khazar is a Turkic language from Central Asia which became extinct by the 13th century and has the smallest known body of literature of any language. Only one written Khazar word, meaning "I have read", has been found.
23. Indonesia has a cultural stereotype where street vendors selling meatballs are presumed to be undercover cops.
24. Honopu Valley in Hawaii is the most secluded beach on Kauai. Beaching anything on it is a $10000 fine per day. The only way to access it legally is to swim from a boat offshore.
25. The air quality around the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, California is so bad that schools use green, yellow, and red flags to indicate whether children with asthma can go outside and play with their classmates.
