Random Facts (17 gifs)

1

"In 1350, when bubonic plague struck England, the Scots took the opportunity to invade the country. But instead, the Scottish army caught the disease, was routed by the English and the fleeing army inadvertently spread the plague across Scotland."

2

"Due to the high intelligence of the octopus, the U.K. has considered it an honorary vertebrate for the sake of animal cruelty laws and it is illegal in many countries to perform surgical procedures on an octopus without anesthesia."

3

"Pringles are technically not potato chips but a slurry of rice, wheat, corn, and some potato flakes."

4

"Nigeria is the second highest consuming nation of champagne, only behind France. Yet 63% of their population lives on a dollar a day."

5

"Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen aka Red Baron was a German fighter pilot who was killed because of a single bullet, which hit him while he was in the air. He managed to land his plane without damaging it before he died."

6

"In 2008, a 480-pound Florida woman died after having spent the last 6 years of her life stuck in a couch and died attached to the couch as well. By the time of her death, her skin had literally become one with the fabric of the sofa."

7

"At the start of WWI, Italy developed the Villar Perosa Double Machine Gun that could fire 1200-1500 rounds per minute, but they were unable to figure out a practical use for it until the end of the war."

8

"There is a fire in a Kyoto temple that has been perpetually burning for over 1200 years. "

"Texas abolished the last meal for death row inmates after a prisoner ordered a ten course meal including 2 chicken fried steaks, a triple cheeseburger and a pound of barbeque meat and then turned it down saying he wasn’t hungry."

9

"Mill workers in Manchester, England refused to touch slave-picked cotton during the U.S. Civil War. Lincoln wrote a letter of thanks, and relief shipments were sent to the workers. Today, a statue of Lincoln stands in Manchester’s Lincoln Square. "

10

"The Boudin Bakery in San Francisco has been making sourdough bread for 166 years and every loaf of sourdough bread they make has a portion of the original “mother dough” from 1849 in it."

11

"David Grohl was the only band member of the Foo Fighters when recording the first album. He wrote and recorded all vocal, guitar, bass, and drum tracks himself."

12

"Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the great depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment."

13

"A benign mold is added to the casing on traditionally dried-cured Italian meats to act as a natural preservative and antioxidant so the meat doesn’t become “rancid.” "

14

"Medical doctor Donald Unger cracked the knuckles of his left hand every day for more than 60 years, but he did not crack the knuckles of his right hand. No arthritis or other ailments formed in either hand, earning him the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine."

15

"Scientists in Berlin asked adults to play Super Mario 64 over a period of 2 months for 30 minutes a day. The group showed increases of grey matter, demonstrating “the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase.”"