Lesser-Discussed Facts That Offer Up a New Perspective
Time to put on your thinking caps, because we have a fascinating collection of fun facts that will get you thinking.
Published 1 year ago in Ftw
Time to put on your thinking caps, because we have a fascinating collection of fun facts that will get your brain turning. If you don't leave this one with a different perspective on the world, then we didn't do our jobs.
1
Grant was desperate to finish writing before his death so that his family wouldn't face poverty. He signed a contract stating he would receive 10% of the profits, a deal that was standard for the time. Mark Twain, who was one of Grant's close friends, heard about the deal and thought it was appalling that a former president on the verge of death wasn't given a larger deal. Twain stepped in and offered Grant a new contract, complete with a large advance payment, living expenses, and 70% of the book's profits. Grant reluctantly accepted, and finished the book in July 1885. He died a week later, but his wife Julia earned nearly $11 million (in today's money) thanks to Twain's deal. Talk about a good friend!
2
Point Nemo is the location in the ocean that is farthest from land, coming in at about 2,688 kilometers or 1,450 miles from Ducie Island, which is the nearest land. The location was named after a submarine sailor from Jules Verne's classic novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Point Nemo is known as the space junk graveyard because it's the safest place for space debris to fall. In 2030, the International Space Station will crash into the ocean at Point Nemo. More than 263 pieces of debris have fallen at Point Nemo since 1971.
3
Marcel Petiot was a French doctor who was suspected of killing over 60 people. Petiot served in World War I, but was discharged after he injured his own foot with a grenade. After the war, Petiot turned to medicine, and completed an accelerated medical program designed for war veterans. He moved to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, a commune in Northern France. Petiot quickly gained a reputation of dubious practices after performing illegal abortions and supplying patients with narcotics, which he was also suspected to be abusing himself. Despite this, Petiot became mayor of Yonne, but was soon accused of theft.
4
After this accusation, Petiot fled to Paris, where he opened a new medical practice. He used fake credentials to attract patients and in 1936, was appointed médecin d'état-civil, which meant he was able to write death certificates. During World War II, he provided people fake disability certificates so they could avoid having to serve. Petiot also created a fake escape route under the name Dr. Eugène. He told people he could get them out of France, and lured Jewish people and Resistance fighters to a secret passageway. Petiot told them they needed a certain vaccine before escaping, and then injected them with cyanide and burned their bodies in the basement of his house after stealing their belongings.
5
When developing the game cartridges for the Nintendo Switch, the game company decided to coat them in a foul-tasting film to dissuade babies and animals from putting them in their mouths. They used Denatonium Benzoate, which is known as the most bitter chemical compound. The coating is non-toxic, and designed to be so gross that anyone who puts it in their mouth will want to immediately spit it back out.
6
In 2019, a doghouse in Costa Rica was struck by a meteorite. Shockingly, it's actually incredibly rare for an object to actually be hit by a meteorite, and as a result, the doghouse became one of the most valuable pieces at a space-themed auction. The doghouse ended up selling for $44,000, while a piece of the meteorite itself went for $21,000. And in case you were wondering, the house belonged to a pup named Roky, who was in the house when the meteor struck, but was luckily unharmed.
11
Finches, sparrows, and other species of birds who live in cities will often line their nests with cigarette butts from the streets. Why? The nicotine smells deter predators and parasites. While this tactic keeps out pests, researchers are investigating the potential consequences of this practice. Many compounds in cigarette butts are known carcinogens, while others are pesticides.
12
In the 1930s, Louis Rothschild, the Jewish heir to the Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty, was worth about 2 billion shillings, or $10 billion in today's money. During World War II, Rothschild refused to leave Austria, which prompted the Nazis to capture him, believing they could leverage the businessman's life to gain access to his billions. After being held for 14 months, the Rothschild family gave the Nazis $21 million, which equals about $400 million in today's money in exchange for the safe return of Rothschild. It was the largest ransom for a single individual in history.
13
George Carlin, the comedian who was also the narrator for the first several seasons of Thomas The Tank Engine, was nervous about performing his lines without an audience. Someone suggested a child be brought to the booth where he was recording, so that Carlin could perform to the child. While this request was denied, a producer suggested bringing along a teddy bear. For the next four seasons, Carlin spoke all of his lines to the stuffed animal.
15
While we're all now familiar with the long process of Supreme Court justice hearings, it used to be a much simpler affair. In fact, before 1916, Supreme Court justice nominees were simply voted on by the Senate. The hearing process began when President Woodrow Wilson nominated Louis Brandeis, a successful lawyer who served as one of Wilson's aides, to the court. Brandeis was Jewish, and several members of the Senate were opposed to the nomination of a Jewish man. It took four months of hearings before Brandeis' nomination was confirmed.
16
At least nine fatal military flights were caused by the pilot having to pee during the flight. Military pilots used to have to unzip their flight suits and pee into a bag called a "piddle pad." This was especially difficult for women, who often would refrain from drinking water before a flight, even though dehydration can dramatically affect vision and reaction time. As a result, the US Air Force is developing a new technology that involves a pad for women, and a cup for men attached to a tube through a special pair of underwear, which will pull their pee through the tube to a collection bag.
17
There was once a time when Burger King wasn't quite fast food. From 1992 to 1994, the chain used to offer table service, with waiters delivering patrons their food to promote their new BK Dinner Baskets. They even brought popcorn to every table as an appetizer. The initiative only lasted for two years, and was quietly discontinued.
18
After the Titanic sunk in 1912, over 118,000 people claimed that they were supposed to be on the ship, but missed the inaugural voyage for various reasons. “Up to the present time the count shows that just 118,337 people escaped death because they missed the Titanic or changed their minds a moment before sailing time,” an Ohio newspaper wrote weeks after the tragedy.
19
After leaving office, President Ulysses S. Grant was facing financial failure after a series of bad investments and lavish living. His son had started his own investment firm with a friend named Ferdinand Ward. Grant agreed to let Ward handle his money. What Grant and his son didn't know was that Ward was running a large Ponzi scheme, and was pocketing Grant's money for years. In poor health and close to bankruptcy, Grant decided he would sell his memoirs. He began writing, but was diagnosed with cancer while working on the project.
21
The Dahomey Amazons was a military comprised of women who were trained to protect the kingdom of Dahomey, a West African empire that existed from 1625 to 1894. The Amazons were known for their fearlessness, and were seen as equals to men. They were officially incorporated as official members of the army in the mid-1800s, and went on to fight against French colonizers.
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