22 Fascinating Facts You Probably Don't Know
Mizuka Ishiwatari
Published
01/31/2016
in
wow
Impress your friends with the fun kind of knowledge.
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1.
Melbourne, Australia, used to be called Batmania. It was named after John Batman. -
2.
The pygmy gecko's skin is hydrophobic. This combined with its low weight allows the gecko to literally stand on water. -
3.
The French word for wooden shoe, 'sabot' is the probable root of the word sabotage: and refers to the tactic by early Dutch unionists of throwing sabots into the gears of factory or farm machinery, effectively stopping work until the equipment could be repaired. -
4.
63% of registered American voters believe in at least one political conspiracy theory. -
5.
In medieval parts of what is now Germany, married couples could legally settle their disputes by fighting a Marital Duel. To even the field, the man had to fight from inside a hole with one arm tied behind his back. The woman was free to move and was armed with a sack filled with rocks. -
6.
At its height in the early 00s, Blockbuster Video earned nearly $800 million through late fees alone, making up 16% of its revenue. -
7.
The idea that people used to think that the world was flat is actually a modern misconception and "with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the Earth was flat". -
8.
The only crime to be reported in the small village of Fucking, Austria is the theft of road signs by tourists. -
9.
The entire population of Canada (35 million) is less than that of California (39 million). -
10.
Scientists have found a star emitting strange light patterns. Some have theorized that these could be due to structures built around the star by an advanced alien civilization. -
11.
During her 67-year reign, Queen Victoria survived at least 7 assassination attempts. One attempt was by an 18-year-old hunchbacked dwarf, who was later caught when police rounded up every hunchback and dwarf in London. -
12.
David Boreanaz was given the part of 'Angel' in Buffy after a kind dog walker suggested him for the role. -
13.
There are breeds of chickens, called araucanas, that lay blue eggs and other breeds that lay green and red eggs. -
14.
In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake came up with an equation to estimate how many detectable civilizations might exist within our galaxy. Today's optimistic estimate is 72, 800. -
15.
Former NASCAR Driver Tim Flock had a Monkey Co-pilot named "Jocko Flocko". He is recognized as the only winning Monkey in NASCAR History. -
16.
Surviving an airplane crash is extremely common. A study detailing all airplane crashes between 1983 and 2000 showed 95.7% of all people involved survived. Even in the most devastating cases, the survival rate was 76.6%. -
17.
The Ancient Greeks had a word, akrasia, to describe the lack of will that prevents us from doing something that we know is good for us. -
18.
The wrinkling of fingers and toes when taking a bath is an involuntary reaction of the autonomic nervous system that increases the ability of hands and feet to grip wet environments. -
19.
There was a 37-yo German woman who suffered an accident at the age of 20 that left her blind also had Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personalities). One of her personalities, a teenage boy, can see. -
20.
There are 17 different phases of ice which are created under various temperatures and pressures. -
21.
Eskimos eat the entire polar bear except the liver because the dose of Vitamin A is lethal. -
22.
During production of the film "Snakes on a Plane" the name was changed to "Pacific Air Flight 121". Samuel L. Jackson, successfully requested the title be changed back, saying, "That's the only reason I took the job: I read the title."
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