22 Fascinating Facts You Probably Don't Know
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.
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.
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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