Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 488, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. Certain ant species commit suicide to protect their territory. As stinging wasn’t effective against some predators, they evolved the ability to self-sacrifice to kill one or more enemies. They wrap themselves around an opponent & explodes, releasing sticky corrosive material killing both. – Source
2. A waitress was tipped a lottery ticket and won $10,000,000. She was then sued by her colleagues for their share. Then she was sued by the man who tipped her the ticket. Then she was kidnapped by her ex-husband, and shot him in the chest. Then she went to court against the IRS. – Source
3. Male platypus venom contains a hormone that promotes insulin release, called GLP-1; it’s found in humans but degrades quickly. Platypuses make a long-lasting form of it, paving the way to new diabetes treatment; the platypus GLP-1 can be made in the lab so no platypuses will be needed for it. – Source
4. The descendants of the Ming Dynasty, whose last Emperor lost power in 1644, are not only alive and well, but still hold vast wealth and power over modern-day China, occupying top positions in the ruling Communist Party and various state corporations, schools, and societies. – Source
5. In 1986, the night before the Challenger shuttle exploded, Allan McDonald, the director of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Project for the engineering contractor Morton Thiokol, refused to sign the launch recommendation over safety concerns. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. American Sign Language and British Sign Language are not mutually intelligible. While English speakers can understand each other across the Anglosphere, deaf people from different English speaking countries are unable to understand each other. – Source
7. A Danish company modified a version of thale cress (plant), that changes from green to red when being near landmines, because of the nitrogen dioxide gas released from landmines. This way you can detect landmines and save lives. – Source
8. Led Zeppelin bought their private jet “The Starship” for part of their 1973 US tour for $30,000. Drummer John Bonham once flew the band from New York to LA even though he didn’t have a pilot’s license. – Source
9. Mamoru Samuragochi is a deaf Japanese composer. He is known as the “digital-age Beethoven” and creator of Onimusha’s OST. But, it later turned out that all of his works in 18 years were actually written by a ghostwriter. And his deafness is all fake. – Source
10. Recently declassified military documents revealed that a solar storm detonated U.S. navy mines during the Vietnam War. Scientists are urging governments to take space weather more seriously as it could have severe consequences on our Earth. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. The Nazis tried to make a sun gun or sonnengewehr. They would launch a 100-meter-wide concave mirror into space and use it to reflect sunlight onto the enemy, burning cities, boiling reservoirs, and (pretty much) melting people. – Source
12. “Titanic” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet funded Titanic’s last known survivor, Millvina Dean’s, nursing home fees. – Source
13. The famous Las Vegas Strip is not actually in the city of Las Vegas. It sits immediately south of the city limits and is technically located in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester, NV. – Source
14. Czech doctors successfully delivered a baby girl 117 days after her mother had suffered a severe stroke and became brain dead. After delivery, they disconnected the mother’s life support. – Source
15. The lifespan of blue whales is estimated by their earwax, which builds up in seasonal cycles somewhat like the rings of a tree. – Source
