Irresistibly Strange Facts To Feed Your Appetite For Weirdness

1.

Hurricanes seldom produce any good results, but Matthew did one good thing at least. When Hurricane Matthew used its destructive force to wreak havoc on land masses, it also had an unexpected side effect. It unearted dozens of Civil War cannonballs on Folly Island in South Carolina.

2.

Can a dog be a mayor? Apparently they can if they're from Minnesota. There also doesn't seem to be an age requirement given that a nine-year-old Great Pyrenees was elected mayor of the Minnesota town of Cormorant, not once, not twice, but three times. They must have some really bad human candidates in Minnesota.

3.

Turtles may be slow but they can sure yap, even before they've hatched. According to researchers at the University of Western Sydney, turtles are able to synchronize their maturation process and hatch at the same time simply by talking to each other. It's apparently a natural form of protection so that they all hatch at the same time before a predator gets them.

4.

If you thought you couldn't swim through syrup as fast as you can swim through water, guess again. Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota filled a 25 meter pool with 300 kilos of guar gum, shampoo, and ice cream. Although it looked like snot, the 16 volunteers who swam across the icky pool only suffered a 4 percent reduction in their speed. Hardly enough to complain about.

5.

Given this year's deeply controversial presidential election, it might surprise you to learn who the first Republican president of the U.S. was. The Republicans didn't come to power from the very beginning. In fact, it wasn't until Abraham Lincoln, became the 16th president of the U.S. that Republicans finally had a voice.

6.

This correctional facility was once an Olympic Athletes Village. Back in 1980, Olympic athletes like U.S. Olympic hockey team captain, Michael Eruzione called this compound his temporary home. Who would have thought that it would have been converted into the Adirondack Correctional Facility seven months after the Olympic games ended that year?

7.

Would you ever want to leave in a town called "Fail"? You might not have a choice if you live here. If you thought you grew up in a boring town, be grateful you didn't grow up in this Portuguese town called "Fail" because that would have been an epic... well you know.

8.

You might not be able to see UV rays but some insects can. There are a lot of species, including bees, along with birds and reptiles that have the ability to see within the UV spectrum and scientists think that this is because UV has shorter wavelengths than conventional light.

9.

Delhi and Mumbai don't have a monopoly on Indian Restaurants, but London sure does. There are 15,000 Indian restaurants in the UK and it's one of the largest industries in the country. Not only does it earn $5 billion collectively but also provides 70,000 people with employment.

10.

Sexual maturity doesn't reach its peak for Female Greenland Sharks until they're way over a hundred. But that's not a problem for the females of these species given that most of them have a life span of at least 4 centuries. So reaching their sexual maturity at 150 must be like 13 in human years.

11.

Most popes lead a very humble life, despite living in the Vatican, but John Paul II's death was a whole lot pricier. In fact, the beloved Pope's entire funeral event ended up accruing a cost of over 8 million dollars.

12.

Tugrul, a sports teacher, made a shocking scientific discovery purely by accident in 2014. A two-headed dolphin washed up on the shores on the west coast of Turkey while he was out for a walk. Unfortunately, it was deceased but biologists determined that its condition was the result of something similar to conjoined human twins.

13.

17 percent of twins are left-handed compared to the 10 percent of siblings who aren't twins. In general, there are more right-handed people than left handed people, unless you're a twin. But the percentages vary depending on whether the twins are identical, fraternal.

14.

Most kings are too busy, but the King of Jordan traveled through space in the 24th century. Well, technically he didn't. Abdullah bin Al-Hussein was offered a role as an extra on Star Trek Voyager in the episode called "Investigations."

15.

Want to know why stores like Walmart are tough on shoplifters? Here's why. On average, it ends up costing Walmart up to $3 billion dollars a year due to shoplifters, and of course employees who have sticky fingers and love to "borrow" things without paying for them.

16.

603 Million women live in countries where human rights don't protect them from domestic violence. While some parts of the world have given women their well-deserved respect politically, socially and economically, some countries in parts of the world like South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have no laws against domestic violence, arranged marriages and female genitalia mutilation.

17.

Even in death, Michael Jackson managed to acrue a large audience. While Lady Di's funeral was viewed by 33.25 million, the beloved pop star's funeral was the second most watched by 31 million people.

18.

Years before the Challenger disaster, astronauts left behind something on the moon to commemorate travelers who lost their lives. During the Apollo 15 mission, the astronauts left a little something behind on the moon in 1971. It was a figure of a fallen astronaut to honor those pioneers who had traveled through space before and died.

19.

Al Capone couldn't very well advertise what he did on a business card. So anyone who he gave a card to was surprised to learn that he was a "furniture businessman." Guess mob boss would have been a little too obvious for Elliott Ness.

20.

There's a reason why Warren Buffet is known as the "Oracle of Omaha." At the tender age of 11, Buffet had already started buying stocks and now he's one of the richest business leaders in the whole wide world.

21.

Seinfeld may have been recorded in front of a live studio audience, but the theme song was a little more complicated. Since the opening monologue kept getting in the way, the studio couldn't just plug in the theme song in every episode. Instead they had to re-record it every single time for all 180 episodes across 9 seasons.

22.

Bob Dylan's tour may not have been never ending but it sure felt that way. The musician began touring in 1988, and continued to do nearly 100 shows per year over a period of 28 years. It's believed that his "Never Ending Tour" had over 2,700 shows worldwide.

23.

In 2008, Cops in the UK did the unthinkable and gave a 7-year-old the right to bear arms. The laws actually allow underage children to own a firearm there. In fact, a spokesperson from West Mercia Force assured the public that the application for the license was considered carefully and approved as long as the boy's dad, who is also certified to have firearms, supervises. Yikes!

24.

Hitler's love for animals was well known, except for cats of course. So why did he give his dog cyanide? Well apparently, while in a bunker, he feared being betrayed, drugged and turned over to the Russians. So he wanted to make sure that if that happened, the cyanide capsules would work. He fed one to Blondi, his German Shepherd, and then killed her pups too.

25.

Octopus can be playful, curious, and smart, but they can also change their skin colors several times per hour. According to studies, they've been known to change color as much as 177 times in 60 minutes, which is probably why the Greeks loved to create myths around them.

26.

Tigers have a heftier appetite than you do. They can eat up to 60 pounds of meat in one night. Can you imagine all the heartburn they must experience when they try to sleep?