Weird Facts 14
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- The term "devil's advocate" comes from the Roman Catholic church. When deciding if someone should be sainted, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view.
- The Wemale people have an origin myth about a girl who poops out valuable objects such as coral, knives and gongs. Source
- Before Prohibition, Schlitz Brewery owned more property in Chicago than anyone else, except The Catholic Church.
- It costs $44,563 to incarcerate a prisoner for a year in California—nearly the same price as a year at Harvard University with room and board. Source
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- Real guns are allowed at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, but water guns are banned. Source
- It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is 'shake' and the 46th word from the last word is 'spear'. Source
- In the UK (43%), Denmark (50%), Norway (53%) and Sweden (54%) the surveyed pilots reported falling asleep involuntarily in the cockpit while flying. In the UK, a third of the pilots said to have woken up finding their colleague sleeping as well. Source
- Two men in Cameroon were each sentenced to 5 years in prison for “looking gay“, after entering a bar together and ordering Bailey’s Irish Cream. Source
- One-third of the world’s smokers are Chinese, amounting to a smoking population greater than the entire population of the United States. Source
- The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days.
- There is a real life lightsaber utilized by the Air Force, that can reach up to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit, and you can buy it for $130 bucks. Source
- 99% of women and 95% of men talk to their pets (and 93% of women/87% of men think their pets communicate back). Source
- Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
- One million golden orb-weaver spiders lent their silk to create a shimmering, golden textile. Each spider had to be caught and “milked” by hand. Source
- HitlerHitler’s “Mein Kampf” is a current bestseller in India, and many Indians believe him to be a more respectable role-model than Gandhi. Source
- Japanese women would keep flushing continuously to mask the sound of them urinating and so devices were introduced which would keep producing the sound of flushing after activation in almost all the public restrooms. Source
- American psychologist Harry Harlow put rhesus monkeys into a “Pit of Despair” for up to a year to study depression. Source
- The Bible has been translated into Klingon.
- The SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest plane ever built, would go so fast its outside temperature would reach 572 F (300C). It had to be built with components that could grow as they heated. Because of this, the jet would leak fuel until it got hot. Source
- Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of their hands.
- In 1955, Jonas Salk chose not to patent his polio vaccine for the betterment of humanity. As a result, he missed out on earning an estimated $7 billion. Source
- The dial tone of a normal telephone is in the key of "F".
- The genes that cause breast cancer are patented. The patent holder must be paid every time studies and research are done on these genes. Source
- A fictitious soft drink was created to prove the effectiveness of advertising on buses. So many people started demanding it that the drink actually starting being made by restaurants and soft drink companies. Source
- An experimental program called Mincome existed in Canada in the 1970′s and gave everyone a minimum income just for being a citizen. It resulted in slightly fewer hours worked, but saw overall increases in health, happiness, and educational achievement. Source
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