1The Single Tax Movement
The single-tax movement, also known as geoism or georgism, advocates that government funding should rely on a tax on land rent rather than taxing labor.
2. In 1941, Allied forces successfully staged a delaying action against the invading Nazis at Thermopylae, the very location where Spartans had previously mounted a successful delaying defense against the invading Persians in 480 B.C.
3. Feng Shui is so deeply ingrained in Hong Kong that when the Bank of China was constructed without adhering to its principles, the nearby HSBC building installed maintenance cranes resembling cannons to counteract its perceived negative energy.
4. In 2022, on what would have been his 200th birthday, Gregor Mendel, often regarded as the father of genetics, had his body exhumed. Scientists examined his skeleton, analyzed his DNA, and even discovered an additional coffin not officially recorded.
5. There is no antivenin available for Blue Ring Octopus venom. Their tiny, often painless bites induce total body paralysis, leaving victims fully conscious as they suffocate, unable to call for help. This is why Australian children are taught to avoid touching anything in a rock pool.
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6Guinness Record: Longest Nose
An 18th-century circus performer named Thomas Wedders holds a Guinness World Record for having the longest recorded nose in history, measuring a remarkable 7.5 inches (19cm).
7. In 1978, when John Carpenter screened the final cut of "Halloween" without sound effects or music for a 20th Century Fox executive, the executive showed no fear. Determined to enhance the film's impact, Carpenter composed the famous score in just three days.
8. In the 8th century, some Anglo-Saxon coins featured the Arabic phrase "Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah" alongside the king's name in English. This was apparently an attempt to mimic the visual style of Caliphate coins without comprehending their meaning.
9. The Hoplitodromos, an ancient Greek Olympic event, required competitors to run a distance of 400 meters while wearing heavy shields and helmets, coinciding with the effective range of a Persian archer's zone of fire.
10. Physicist Walter Jaeger set out to invent a sensor for detecting poison gas, expecting the gas to affect the sensor's electric current. When it didn't, he lit a cigarette and was surprised to find that the smoke did alter the current. This chance discovery led to the development of the modern smoke alarm.
11Great Plains Shelterbelt Project
The U.S. government started the Great Plains Shelterbelt project, which involved planting trees from Canada to Texas to prevent wind erosion. It stands as one of the largest environmental endeavors undertaken by the U.S. government, resulting in the planting of 220 million trees across an 18,600-square-mile area by 1942.
12. Ghost jobs are a form of deceptive advertising that are utilized by many companies without any intention of hiring, often for purposes such as fabricating false industry statistics, spying on competitors' wage structures, or amassing resumes for future use.
13. During the Civil War, the U.S. government began printing fractional-dollar bills instead of coins due to a metal shortage. In response to the bills' designer putting his own face on them rather than a U.S. president's, Congress passed a law forbidding the depiction of living individuals on currency.
14. The world's smallest piloted biplane to achieve flight is the Starr Bumble Bee II, boasting a wingspan of 5 feet 6 inches, a total length of 8 feet 10 inches, and a takeoff weight of 260 kg. Robert Starr set this record in 1988 when he reached 400 feet before an engine failure caused a crash.
15. The Mona Lisa has its own dedicated mailbox, where the painting receives fan mail and even flowers sent in its honor.
16Air-Chilled Chicken Benefits
Air-chilled chicken differs from traditional "water-chilled" chicken, resulting in less water absorption, enhanced flavor, and a reduced risk of cross-contamination. While air-chilled chicken has been available in Europe for many years, it has gained popularity in the USA only relatively recently.
17. Olfactory Aversion Conditioning was found to temporarily reduce overeating in a test group during a study, but the weight-loss effects did not persist once the study concluded and the aversive stimuli were removed.
18. The football huddle was first devised by a deaf college team at Gallaudet University in 1894 to prevent the opposing team, who were also deaf, from deciphering their plays communicated in American Sign Language.
19. Predators that stalk, whether mammals or birds, typically have yellow or light-colored irises. In contrast, predators that chase their prey, as well as the prey species themselves, tend to have dark-colored irises.
20. To circumvent import taxes on goods, a practice known as tariff engineering, creative loopholes are employed. For instance, Ford imported vans to the US with backseats, windows, and seatbelts, later removing them to sell the vans as cargo vehicles. However, such tactics can backfire and lead to fines.
21Finnish Taxi Radio Royalty Fees
In Finland, taxi drivers are legally required to pay royalty fees for songs played on their taxi radios while working and transporting paying passengers. This requirement is based on the notion that cab drivers use music for commercial purposes while generating income, necessitating an annual payment to the Finnish Composers' Copyright Society.
22. The Comic Sans font drew direct inspiration from the comics "Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns." Originally created for a user-friendly version of Microsoft codenamed Bob, the font's creator used these comics on hand as a source of inspiration, aiming to give the font a light-hearted appearance.
23. The warning label "Do not put any person in this washer" on certain commercial washing machines has been prompted by legal action against companies following incidents where small children climbed inside washers and inadvertently activated them.
24. Alexei Nikolaevich, the son of the last Russian tsar and heir to the throne, suffered from a severe case of hemophilia inherited from his mother. She, in turn, had acquired it through her maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
25. Sony's high-end microphones and headphones for professional use are manufactured at a specialized subsidiary where 67% of the employees have disabilities.
