1Grizzly Bear Hybrids
Of the 8 known polar bear and grizzly bear hybrids, all of them are descended from the same mother polar bear.
2. Francium is the second-rarest naturally occurring element on earth. Just as little as 20-30 g (1oz) of this element exists at any given time throughout the earth's crust. It's rare because it's unstable. Francium continually gets created as uranium and thorium decay, but its most stable isotope has a half-life of just 22 minutes.
3. Apart from identical and nonidentical, third type of twins also exist. When a single egg is fertilized by two sperms and the egg then splits in two, "Semi-identical" twins are created. If it doesn't split, it can lead to a non-viable triploidy pregnancy where the fetus has 3 sets of chromosomes.
4. Alarm clocks did exist before the snooze function, so there was already a standard gear setup that innovators had to work with. Getting the gear teeth to line up to allow for exactly ten minutes wasn't possible, so they chose to set it at nine minutes and a few seconds.
5. Pliny the Elder was a naturalist and author of the encyclopedia which is considered to be the scientific authority from Roman times through the Middle Ages. Most of his books on Natural History (around 37) were dictated by him in his spare time after work. He died trying to mount a boat to rescue his friends from the Pompeii disaster.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Amobi Okoye
Amobi Okoye moved to the US at the age of 12 from Nigeria with no prior knowledge of American Football. He graduated at the age of 16 with All-state honors, turned down Harvard to play for Louisville, and went on to become the youngest NCAA, and eventually the youngest NFL player in history.
7. The 1986 Buick Riviera was the first car to come with a touch screen. Its display offered automatic climate control, AM/FM radio with optional graphic equalizer, trip calculations, gauges, and even the vehicle's diagnostic info. This included status of the powertrain, brake wear, and electrical system.
8. In 1926, a United States Marine Corps Sergeant named Faustin E. Wirkus stationed in Haiti was proclaimed "King of La Gonâve" by the inhabitants of the island after he saved their Queen from drowning. His reign ended when the USMC transferred him back to the US mainland in 1929.
9. Nickelback originally started as a cover band named 'Village Idiot.'
10. René Just Haüy was a French priest who went on to be known as the "Father of Modern Crystallography". He discovered the science of crystallography after he accidentally broke a piece of calcite and discovered that they cleaved along straight planes that met at constant angles. He broke more pieces to confirm his discovery and developed the theory of crystal structure.
11Parking Car At Dark Spot
Contrary to what everybody thinks, if you park your car in a dark spot at night, the chances of theft are smaller because thieves don't like to use lights.
12. USA's 77th Division was nicknamed the "Lost Battalion" during World War 1 after they launched an attack in the Argonne forest under the idea that they were being supported by the French on the left and more US soldiers on the right. Ally support was stalled and they pushed their attack so far that they were cut off. They held their ground for six days; were surrounded by Germans, shelled by their own artillery, and therefore ran low on rations and ammunition. Only 194 out of approximately 544 men were successfully rescued.
13. On September 01, 1857, New York City held a parade to celebrate the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable. The project took four years to complete and the line failed just a month later. It was not until 1866 that transatlantic communication resumed after a third line was laid (the second line snapped at sea).
14. Before the invention of "hot water bottles," people used other people or animals to keep themselves warm. Families and visitors used to all sleep in the same bed. People also snuggled up against barn animals like cows and pigs, while lap dogs were popular with the wealthy. Many who didn't have animals kept a heated brick under their blanket at the foot of the bed during winters.
15. Ian Anderson who is the frontman for the rock band Jethro Tull, picked up flute after he realized he would never be "as good as Eric Clapton" on the electric guitar. He then improvised a blues rock flute playing technique and recorded Tull's debut album in just a few months.
16Gardiners Island
Gardiners Island in New York is the second largest private island in the USA. It has been owned by the same family since 1639. Located at the east end of Long Island, it's spread over 5 square miles and has 1,000 acres each of old-growth forest and meadows. Captain William Kidd buried his treasure there and first lady Julia Gardiner Tyler was also born there.
17. While filming "The Other Side Of The Wind" in 1970, director Orson Welles couldn't afford to pay his cinematographer Gary Graver for his work. Welles instead gave Graver his Oscar statuette that he had won for Best Original Screenplay for "Citizen Kane" in 1941.
18. The Australian Parliament can't legally operate without a ceremonial mace, representing the monarch's authority, being present. In 1914 a member of parliament hid the mace and it was not found for two hours, and police were called in as it was assumed to have been stolen.
19. Mewing is a form of "orthotropic" where you can supposedly change the shape of your jawline by the placement of your tongue in your mouth. John Mew coined the idea and was recently stripped of his dental license.
20. In the early 1900s, a man named Martin Couney created "Infantoriums", where people would pay 5 cents to view premature babies housed in incubators. Despite the ethics of the time, premature babies were neglected and 4 out of 5 of them died in hospitals. Couney is credited with saving the lives of 6,500 babies.
21Stockholm Bloodbath
After the Danish king, Christian II was coronated in 1520, the aristocracy demanded economic compensation. The trials that ensued became known as the 'Stockholm Bloodbath.' Nearly 100 aristocrats were killed, with blood running in the streets from all the beheadings.
22. For the Voyager space program, engineers computed 10,000 potential trajectories. This was done not only to optimize the journey but to also avoid having Voyager reach a planet around Christmas or Thanksgiving.
23. The first ever residential telephone line was installed in 1877, connecting the house of Charles Williams, Jr. in Massachusetts to his office. Williams was given telephone numbers 1 & 2.
24. Space Shuttle Enterprise's "Computer 2" failed on its first flight test because of bad soldering. The remaining three computers however continued to operate properly, showcasing the importance of redundancy for space missions.
25. For decades, the 'Moment Magnitude Scale' has been the authoritative scale used to measure large earthquakes. Despite the persistence of the name, the Richter Scale has not been used since the MMS was developed in the 1970s.
