1Mole Man of Hackney
A London resident known as "The Mole Man of Hackney" spent 40 years excavating tunnels up to 18 meters long and below the water table beneath his home.
2. Steinert Hall, an abandoned music hall dating back 120 years in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, can be found 40 feet below ground level, snaking its way under the foundation of a piano shop.
3. Clare of Assisi, who passed away in 1253, is revered as the patron saint of television. As the story goes, God showed her a video of Mass on her bedroom wall when she was too ill to leave her bed and go to church.
4. After the Gestapo interrogated his daughter Anna for over 12 hours, Sigmund Freud decided to leave Austria. With 31,000 Reichsmarks, he was able to secure a safe exit from Austria in time during the Nazi occupation of that country in 1938.
5. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 1986 that the United States' actions in Nicaragua, which included the placement of mines in the country's ports, were illegal. After not taking part in the proceedings at first, the United States finally decided to take back its consent to the court's compulsory jurisdiction, which it had given 40 years earlier.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Emperor Norton
Emperor Norton was the first and only emperor of the United States. He was a successful businessman in San Francisco who declared himself Emperor of the United States in 1859 after losing his fortune. The people of San Francisco largely enjoyed his presence, accepted his currency, and paid him a "tax" to cover his rent.
7. While writing "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens "took night-time walks of 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) around London" to flesh out the story in his head.
8. When Peter Zhu's parents learned that he was brain dead at the age of 21, they sought permission to have his sperm extracted to ensure male offspring for the family. Despite bioethicists' claims that a spouse never made the request, the Supreme Court agreed with them.
9. A headstone for blues singer Bessie Smith wasn't placed on her grave until 1970, despite the fact that hundreds of people attended her burial. This was because her husband refused to pay for one and instead kept the money when her friends attempted to purchase one for her.
10. During World War II, British soldiers wrote a song called "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" as a diss track against Nazi commanders. All Allied troops soon adopted and began singing the song.
11North Pole 55 MYA
About 55 million years ago, the North Pole resembled modern-day Miami. Temperatures hovered around 74 degrees Fahrenheit, and palm trees and alligators were abundant.
12. Persian limes, the fruit often known as "limes" in the United States and Europe, are actually a cross between lemons and real limes, a type of fruit we now refer to as "Key limes."
13. In 1390, the cookbook "The Forme of Cury" published the first known recipe for macaroni and cheese. It was made with hand-cut pasta that was made fresh and put between layers of melted butter and grated cheese.
14. Black Arrow was a satellite transport rocket program developed by the United Kingdom. Black Arrow, launched in 1971, was the United Kingdom's first and only successful orbital launch. The Ministry of Defense then determined that it would be more cost-effective to switch to using American rockets, and thus the program was retired.
15. In 1988, Charles Schulz attempted his most ambitious Peanuts special with "The Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown." It cost millions, and Schulz regretted it later, saying, "I wanted this to be my Citizen Kane, but it's not." The reception to the special was poor when it first aired.
16Corinthian Leather
There is no such thing as "Corinthian leather." It is only a marketing term. It was first used in 1974 by Chrysler to denote their high-end leather upholstery. Ricardo Montalban, an actor, popularized the term in car commercials for the Cordoba brand, which led to rising sales over time.
17. A coroner made up the term "excited delirium" because he thought that the deaths of nineteen black prostitutes were caused by "sexual excitation" when, in fact, they were all killed by the same serial killer.
18. Professional Fishery Observers monitor the operations of fishing vessels to ensure that regulations are being followed. They do their jobs on their own in remote locations, thousands of kilometers from any port. It's a risky occupation, and they frequently disappear.
19. Red pandas are one of the few creatures that can descend from trees headfirst because of their flexible ankles.
20. Years before he played Dracula, Bela Lugosi had served as a lieutenant in World War 1. At one point, he was helping to keep an area of forest secure and left his post at a tree to help a police officer. He returned to find the tree blown down, and he cried tears of thanks to God.
21Pakistan's PMs & Corruption
None of Pakistan's prime ministers has ever served a full 5-year term since the country gained its independence in 1947.
22. Former US Congressman James Traficant was found guilty of 10 felonies in 2002, including "forcing his congressional staff to undertake chores at his property in Ohio."
23. In the late 1960s, a coalition of 50 countries got together to dismantle and relocate ancient Egyptian structures that would have been lost during the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. This led to the creation of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO to recognize and protect these sites.
24. Expensive "crystal" from prestigious brands like Waterford, Swarovski, and Lalique is basically merely lead oxide-based glass. Depending on the year and manufacturer of your crystal, lead ingestion is a possibility.
25. In the past, when the River Thames froze over, Londoners would hold "Frost Fairs" on its frozen surface, setting up bars, markets, and other festivities (including a parade of elephants) on its surface.
