Weird Facts & Trivia 33
- Violence has steadily declined over the course of human history, and we are currently in the midst of the most peaceful era yet. Source
- Because they had banned nuclear power, New Zealand refused to let US warships dock in their waters. This led to a ban on NZ ships at U.S. defense and coast guard bases around the world, and being considered “a friend, but not an ally” for 26 years. Source
- In 1945, Dwight D. Einsenhower predicted that people would try to dispel the Holocaust as a falsehood, and ordered innumerable pictures to be taken of the Nazi crimes to hinder any such attempts. Source
- Hitler had a Jewish doctor who didn’t charge Hitlers family due to their economic hardships. Hitler labeled his doctor as a “Noble Jew” and made sure the doctor wasn’t harmed during the Holocaust. Source
- Getting annoyed at someone when we listen to them eating or breathing is called Misophonia, and it’s an actual neurological disorder. Source
- The Original Ronald McDonald was fired for being overweight. Source
- Before the English speaking world was exposed to the fruit, the color orange was referred to as “geoluhread” which is Old English for yellow-red. Source
{/googleAds}
- Women were allowed to enter combat roles in the Israel. They performed at a level equal to men but the program was still abolished for two reasons: Islamist fighters refused to surrender to women, and the men in the unit would lose all combat discipline when a woman was injured. Source
- Swedish Navy detected underwater sounds suspected to be hostile Russian submarines in the 80s. The suspicion escalated to a diplomatic conflict between Sweden and Russia. It turned out later that these sounds came from fish farts, a discovery which led to a Nobel Prize. Source
- Back in 1948, Norman Robert Kolreg of Lewiston, Maine, became famous when he was able to walk upright (with some help from his mother) at the tender age of 5 days. Soon Mrs. Kolreg began exhibiting him to any curiosity seeker who showed up at her door. She even took out an ad in the paper, listing his scheduled performances. She didn’t charge an admission fee, but she did accept donations. Which led to criminal charges being brought against her, alleging that being exhibited was injurious to the child’s “life, limb and health.” The charges were dropped, but only after she agreed to stop making him perform. Reportedly, little Norman kept on walking — soon without any help from Mom. Source
- During WWII, Germans tank drivers in Africa would drive tanks over camel poop for luck. Allies responded by planting land mines disguised as camel dung. Germans got wind of this and began riding over dung that was already overrun with tank tracks. In turn, Allies made mines looking like overrun dung. Source
- A Chinese construction company built a 30-story hotel in 15 days. The hotel is energy efficient, has air 20 times cleaner than comparable hotels, and can withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 9. Source
-
Blinking gives your brain a break. Source
- In 2010 a British policeman drove an Ice cream van into the middle of a riot and played “ice-cream van” music in an attempt to calm the youths. The official report was, ‘humor defused the situation and the trouble stopped’. Source
- In Egypt, actors were not allowed to testify in court because they were seen as professional liars. Source
- Australian Bill Morgan was declared dead for 14 minutes and lived unscathed. To celebrate his survival, he bought a scratch card & won a $27k car. The news asked him to re-enact the scratch card moment so he bought another card & won a $250k jackpot. Source
- A homeless woman in Calgary, Alberta found a purse with $10,400 in it and turned it into the police. Source
- Heather Sellers has prosopagnosia, more commonly known as face blindness. She can’t recognize even her own face. “I’ve been in a crowded elevator with mirrors all around, and a woman will move and I’ll go to get out the way and then realise: ‘oh that woman is me’.“ Source
- When you remember a past event, you are actually remembering the last time you remembered it, not the event itself. Source
- Feigned insanity is the simulation of mental illness in order to avoid or lessen the consequences of a confrontation or conviction for an alleged crime. One particularly famous example of someone feigning insanity was the case of Mafia boss Vincent Gigante, who pretended for years to be suffering from dementia, and was often seen wandering aimlessly around his neighborhood in his pajamas muttering to himself. However, testimony from informants and surveillance showed that Gigante was in full control of his faculties the whole time, and ruled over his Mafia family with an iron fist. Source
- During the Siege of Leningrad in WWII, 9 Soviet scientists died of starvation while protecting the world’s largest seed bank, refusing to eat what they saw as their country’s future. Source
- When a woman runs or walks, her breasts don’t just bounce up and down, but in a figure-8 pattern. Source
- In the US, more babies are born on Monday and Tuesday than any other day because doctors don’t like scheduling c-sections and induced labor on the weekend when the necessary support staff are not in the hospital. Source
- In Indian folklore, the Chedipe (which literally means “prostitute”) is a vampire prostitute. She is believed to enter a man’s house naked in the night and suck his blood through his toes. Source
- Women in ancient Rome wore the sweat of Gladiators to improve their beauty and complexion. Source
- A “moment” is a medieval unit of time equal to 90 seconds. Source
Stay tuned for more Fun Facts coming soon!
Weird Facts has been updated daily since 1999.
We read all comments and respond to any requests.
Submit a Fact or Correct a Fact