Interesting Facts (26 pics)
Many birds do not breed very well in small flocks. Zoos use mirrors to help increase reproduction
In the 1950s, a researcher was designing army airplane seats for an 'average' pilot based on measurements from 1000s of airmen, only to discover this theoretical 'average' he'd derived wouldn't fit any of them. This realization led to adjustable seats, foot pedals, helmet straps, and flight suits
Silica gel packets aren't poisonous. They are labeled "do not eat" because they are a choking hazard.
According to the head of MI6, if James Bond was real, he would be unable to work for British intelligence because he lacks the required emotional intelligence, respect for the law and teamwork abilities.
The oldest wheel was discovered in Slovenia and is over 5,000 years old.
Corned beef is named for the large grains of rock salt (also called "corns" of salt) that are used to treat the meat.
In 1992, six visitors to a dinosaur exhibition in the Memphis Zoo demanded a refund after discovering it did not contain living dinosaurs
Jazz guitarist Pat Martino suffered a near-fatal seizure in 1980 which left him with amnesia and no recollection or knowledge of how to play the guitar. He re-learned how to play the instrument, and resumed his performing and recording career in 1987 until his death in 2021.
Arthur Stillwell was a young Kansas City entrepreneur who built over 3000 miles of railroad, and founded over 40 towns, and developed a way to to ship live oysters by train, all because the voices in his head told him to.
An underachieving Princeton student wrote a term paper describing how to make a nuclear bomb. He got an A but his paper was taken away by the FBI.
"No Country For Old Men" had to suspend production because the crew for "There Will Be Blood" was testing pyrotechnics in the same area and created too much smoke.
One town in Scotland celebrates Halloween on the last Friday of October instead of the 31st since there’s no school or work (for most) the next day.
Brussels Sprouts have been selectively bred over the last few decades to taste less bitter, indirectly lessening their anti-cancer properties.
In 1867, an American businessman attended a reading of A Christmas Carol and was so moved by it, that he closed his factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a turkey.
Queen Victoria personally admired Harriet Tubman and gifted her a silk lace & linen shawl in 1897. It is now on display at the national museum of African-American history & Culture
Cinderella isn't a real name. It was a nickname for Ella, who was always covered in cinders and would sleep by the fireplace to keep warm or clean ashes. Most other versions have different variations on a name relating to ashes.
When Dr. Joyce Brothers was a contestant on The $64,000 Question the show’s sponsor Revlon tried to get rid of her because she didn’t wear makeup on air. She was asked increasingly obscure questions but was able to answer them all correctly and became the show’s first woman to win the top prize.
Danish has about 40 different vowel sounds and is so hard to learn that Danish children on average know 30% fewer words at 15 months than Norwegian children and take two years longer to learn the past tense
Astronaut Bruce McCandless floated in space completely unattached to anything, 320 feet away from the space shuttle with only a nitrogen jetpack back in 1984.
In 1999, Microsoft wanted the domain www.Windows2000.com but it happened to be owned by a guy called Bob. Luckily, Microsoft happened to own the domain www.Bob.com. They made a swap, with Bob receiving some "other considerations" as well!
Vikings believed that there was a goat in Valhalla that supplied an endless supply of beer from it's udders
Viking women’s faces were more masculine than today’s women, while Viking men's faces looked more feminine than today's men, with a less prominent jaw and brow ridges. The ambiguous facial features mean that it is difficult to decide upon a Viking skeleton’s sex based on the skull alone
In the Netherlands on May 4th 8 pm, no matter where you are, there is a 2-minute silence for the soldiers that died in WWII
