25 Kickass Random Facts List #249

Here is 25 Kickass Random Facts List #249.

1-5 Kickass Random Facts

1. New Jersey lifeguards can retire when they’re 45 years old with a lifelong pension of up to $61,000 per year. When they die, the payments continue on to their dependents. – Source

2. The cost of “Prometheus” movie budget would be enough to keep the search for real extraterrestrial life going for 52 years. – Source

3. You have holes in your bottom eyelids. The punctum drains excess tears into your nose, which is why your nose runs when you cry. – Source

4. Banning felons from voting started in the South in the 1870s after the 15th amendment gave black people the right to vote. – Source

5. Some astronauts report losing their fingernails on spacewalks because of bulky gloves that cut off circulation and chafe against their hands. To avoid this inconvenience, a couple of astronauts have taken to ripping off their own fingernails before reaching orbit. – Source

6-10 Kickass Random Facts

6. Those who survived the Pearl Harbor bombings and were crew members of the USS Arizona can still choose to be interred on the ship with their fallen crew mates. – Source

7. President Harding died as one of the most popular presidents. Subsequent revelations caused him to be judged as one of the worst. – Source

8. Quaker Oats promoted their cereal in 1955 by giving away 1 square inch of land in Canada in each box sold. In the end, it totaled up to 19 acres. Neither Quaker Oats nor any of the owners paid taxes on the 19 acres. In 1965, the Canadian government reclaimed it for $37.20. – Source

9. The Japanese justice system has a 99.8% conviction rate, mostly reliant on confessions that are often procured using methods such as detention for days with severe interrogation. – Source

10. The reason the snooze on a mechanical clock is 9 minutes is because in the 1950s they had to make snooze gears fit onto the existing clock mechanics. Unable to use 10, they chose 9 minutes. – Source

11-15 Kickass Random Facts

11. Former president Gerald Ford turned down contract offers from both the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions so he could attend law school at Yale. – Source

12. The first known written record with a name comes from Sumerian accountant over 5000 years ago and states ‘A total of 29,086 measures of barley were received over the course of 37 months. Signed, Kushim.’ – Source

13. A ‘party truck’ owned by Johnny Cash started a brush fire that “roasted, into near extinction, 49 of the 53 endangered California condors”, the largest bird in North America, from their last habitat. When brought to court, Cash said “I don’t care about your damn yellow buzzards.” – Source

14. Dactylolysis spontanea is a medical condition where a person’s toe just randomly falls off in a span of few days and doctors have no idea why it happens. – Source

15. At the outbreak of WWI, the Boy Scouts of America was the largest uniformed body in America. It was twice as large as the Army and four times as large as the Navy. – Source

16-20 Kickass Random Facts

16. In 20-70 million years, Mars’ moon Phobos will get close enough to the surface of the planet that it will be ripped apart by the tidal forces. The resulting debris will most likely give Mars a planetary ring. – Source

17. The terms “right wing” and “left wing” originated during the French Revolution, when in the National Assembly, supporters of the king sat to the president’s right and supporters of the revolution to his left. – Source

18. Despite rising sea levels, Finland’s geographic elevation is actually rising relative to the ocean. Having been compressed under the enormous weight of the glaciers, terrain in Finland is rising due to the post-glacial rebound. The effect is strongest around the Gulf of Bothnia, where land steadily risen about 1 cm (0.4 in) a year. As a result, the old sea bottom turns little by little into dry land. The surface area of the country is expanding by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq. miles) annually. Relatively speaking, Finland is rising from the sea. – Source

19. Elton John sank into a deep depression following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. He rewrote “Candle in the Wind” to be about her, and only played it live once. He has denied all requests to play it again, saying he will only play it if asked by one of Princess Diana’s sons. – Source

20. In Spain employees get 14 monthly paychecks a year (a double pay in Christmas and summer). – Source

21-25 Kickass Random Facts

21. Beneath the streets of LA is a complex network of pedestrian tunnels that stretch several blocks. They’ve been used for secret transportation of mobsters, murderers and more than a billion dollars in cash; designated as fallout shelters and homeless shelters and used as backdrops for movies. – Source

22. In 1947 Steve McQueen joined the United States Marine Corps and his rebellious attitude caused him to be demoted 7 times to Private. – Source

23. The term “meme” was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976. It represents “one unit of cultural transmission.” – Source

24. The first successful surgery to repair an an*l fistula was performed on Louis XIV in 1686. an*l fistula surgery then became highly fashionable, with members of the royal court lining up to undergo the procedure (whether they needed it or not) or faking it by placing bandages on their bums. – Source

25. Ortolan is a traditional French gourmet dish in which a bird is force fed, drowned in brandy, roasted and consumed whole (bones and all) underneath a towel to hide the act from God. – Source