25 Fascinating Facts You Probably Don't Know

1. Canada has been sued more times through free-trade provisions than any other developed country, mainly by the US and Mexico for implementing environmental legislation.

2. There are two species of flowering plants growing in Antarctica, even though 98% of the continent is covered by ice that averages 1.9 kilometres (1.2 miles) in thickness.

3. The inventor of bikini said that it can only be considered genuine if "it can be pulled through a wedding ring."

4. Colin McGregor, brother of Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor, is a British RAF pilot and goes by the call-sign "Obi Two."

5. Russia didn't consider beer to be an alcoholic beverage until 2011. Before then it was classified as a soft drink.

6. The latin name for the american Plains Bison is "Bison bison bison".

7. From 2005-2010, Prague had a brothel where men paid a one-time $23 fee, and women and couples entered for free. The catch was that their exploits were filmed and streamed online to paying customers.

8. The Battle of Thermopylae wasn't only fought by 300 spartans but also 700 Thespians and about 6000 Greek allies.

9. Not all your nails grow at the same speed, you middle fingernail grows the quickest.

10. There is a psychiatric disorder called Capgras Syndrome where a person holds the delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member or pet has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor.

11. Mel Gibson was mugged before an audition. His bruises and black eyes led to him getting the main role in Mad Max.

12. Carrots are only edible before they mature.

13. Taste test reveals drinkers can’t tell good from cheap vodka.

14. Pacman was created to attract female gamers because... "women like to eat."

15. Dark roast coffee actually has less caffeine than light roasts.

16. In Soviet Russia, people bootlegged forbidden Western music, but due to vinyl being in short supply, they would often use old x-rays, creating eerie-looking, hand-crafted records.

17. Villagers in the India village of Marottichal began playing chess as an alternative to drinking after a ban on alcohol. The village is now known as 'Chess Village' due to its near 100% chess literacy.

18. Sergei Bubka repeatedly and deliberately broke the world pole vault record by the smallest possible height so he could cash in on a Nike bonus with each new record. In a two-year span, he broke his own world record 14 times.

19. There are contact lenses worn during sleep that reshape your cornea. When you wake up, your vision is as good as it would be if you were wearing glasses or contacts during the day. They're also used to treat myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.

20. Rice does not need to grow in water, but since it can survive it, is done so to control weeds and other pests- creating higher yields.

21. Porn is illegal in Ukraine, unless it is for medical use.

22. Prairie dogs have such a complex means of communication that they can embed descriptions of predators within their calls, and even have a specific call to describe a man with a gun.

23. The producer of Nutella, the Ferrero Group, allegedly purchases 25% of the planet's supply of hazelnuts.

24. Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to be elected to Congress, voted in favor of the original House resolution that ultimately gave women the right to vote. She later noted that she was "the only woman who ever voted to give women the right to vote."

25. There are Porn Inspectors in China, whose job is to solely watch porn to verify that it is illegal material.