1Burger King's Whopper Spa
In 2016, Burger King opened a spa in one of its restaurants in Helsinki, Finland. Customers could enjoy a Whopper while sitting in the 15-seater sauna room, and the spa also featured showers, PlayStation, TVs, and beverages, with the price set at $283 per person.
2. The "feels like" temperature refers to an actual physical difference in how quickly your body loses heat rather than just the psychological perception of temperature.
3. The movie Zoolander was released two weeks after 9/11, with the World Trade Center digitally removed from the background skyline.
4. Luciano Re Cecconi, an Italian football legend, died in 1977 while pulling a prank on a friend's jewelry store, posing as a robber. As the store had actually been robbed, the scared owner shot Cecconi dead. His last words were, "It's just a joke! It's just a joke!"
5. In 1967, a man named Thomas Jolley fled the US to Canada and renounced his citizenship to avoid being drafted in the Vietnam War. A few months later, he returned to the US and was ordered deported, but Canada refused to accept him back. He spent the rest of his life in the US as an illegal alien.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
6Academic Quarter and Punctuality
The Academic Quarter, established in the early 18th century, was designed to accommodate students and professors who didn't own pocket watches. It allowed them extra time to arrive after hearing the church's clock strike the hour. People could arrive at academic gatherings during this quarter-hour grace period without having to adhere to the clock's strict requirements for punctuality.
7. Okinoshima Island in Japan strictly forbids women from arriving there due to local traditions. The entire island is a sacred Shinto kami, and over 80,000 artifacts left as offerings have been recovered. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
8. There was a Nazi concentration camp on British soil in Alderney, known as "The Island of Silence," as not much is known about the exact atrocities that took place.
9. Grizzly bears exhibit a phenomenon called "delayed implantation." The embryo will start gestation only after the mama bear has gained enough weight to avoid death by starvation during hibernation.
10. In 1925, wealthy San Francisco businessman Herbert Fleishhacker built what was then the largest swimming pool in the US. Open to the public, it measured 150 x 1000 feet, held 6.5 million gallons, and could accommodate 10,000 people. The pool was filled with filtered seawater and heated to 72°F. It closed in 1971.
11CPR Doll's Origin Story
The CPR doll is modeled after a real person named L'Inconnue de la Seine, who drowned in a river near Paris. She has come to be known as "the most kissed face in the world."
12. To showcase the strength of their new car's aluminum body, Chinese automaker Chery stacked seven of their eQ7 electric models on top of each other, forming a tower. Volvo had previously attempted a similar gimmick in past demonstrations.
13. The music video for Billy Squier's hit song "Rock Me Tonight" abruptly derailed his career when he was at its peak. Squier believes its homoeroticism alienated a significant portion of his fanbase.
14. Convenience store owners only informally sponsored the redemption of "shooting star" Tootsie Pop wrappers for free candy on a local level. Tootsie Roll Industries never did.
15. The microwave was invented by accident over 70 years ago when Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer was testing a military-grade magnetron and suddenly realized his snack had melted.
16F. Scott Fitzgerald's Football Contribution
Scott Fitzgerald created football's "Two Platoon System," with different offensive and defensive players. Before giving Michigan Coach Fritz Crisler the idea in 1945, the same players played both sides of the ball. As a freshman, the 135-pound Fitzgerald didn't make Princeton's team.
17. Shorts were once considered taboo in America. In 1938, the city of Honesdale, PA, banned the wearing of shorts, stating, "Honesdale is a modest town, not a bathing beach." In May 1959, Plattsburgh, N.Y., banned the wearing of shorts by anyone over 16. Violators received a $25 fine or 25 days in jail.
18. A batman was an individual assigned to a commissioned military officer as a personal servant. An officer's batman was also responsible for the officer's "bat-horse" that carried his kit during campaigns before cars were invented. The term predates Batman's appearance as a superhero.
19. Walt Disney World in Florida was initially not going to have a version of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride. As Florida is part of the Caribbean, Disney felt Floridians would find it redundant.
20. Many of the fundamental elements of modern computers, including windows, hypertext, graphics, video conferencing, the computer mouse, and word processors, were unveiled for the first time in 1968 in a single presentation.
21Candlewick Innovation for Controlled Burning
Candlewicks are crafted with asymmetrical braiding. As the candle burns, the wick curls on one side due to the uneven structure. Before this innovation, candle users had to regularly trim the wick every few hours to prevent excessive smoking. The asymmetrical design of candlewicks allows for a more controlled and efficient burning process.
22. Former Harvard President Lawrence Summers resigned, in part due to a speech where he suggested that the underrepresentation of women in the hard sciences was partially influenced by genetics.
23. Lettuce Clubs are school student groups that organize eating contests where students must consume an entire head of lettuce to be crowned club president. Those unable to do so within 30 minutes face a ban from attending the club the following year.
24. Brazil nuts contain an elevated amount of selenium (68-91 mcg per nut), and consuming too many can cause the body's selenium levels to exceed the acceptable limit. Extremely high levels of Brazil nuts can lead to a condition known as selenosis, characterized by heart attacks.
25. Pop-Tarts are not named because they pop out of the toaster; the name is a pun/reference to pop art, as they were invented in 1964.
