16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. The story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ is over 5000-years-old, making it one of the oldest stories that we know of that is still told today. – Source
17. In July 2014, six sealed glass vials of smallpox dated 1954 were discovered by chance in a storage room in an FDA laboratory at the NIH in Maryland. Upon transfer to the CDC in Atlanta, two of the vials had a virus which proved to be viable in culture. They were destroyed 7 months later. – Source
18. There was an Anti-Mask League, an organization formed to protest the requirement for people in San Francisco to wear masks during the 1918 influenza pandemic. – Source
19. Many higher-end, larger camera lenses are white instead of black due to issues caused by temperature fluctuations. As a lens heats in sunlight, it expands, affecting the focus of the glass elements. This is particularly problematic for larger lenses. The white color helps reflect light/heat. – Source
20. McDonald’s had an offer to give away free big Mac’s, French fries and drinks through scratch cards with every medal that the USA wins during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. They lost millions of dollars because USSR and its allies boycotted the event and the USA unexpectedly topped the table. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. Daryl Hall and John Oates (Hall and Oates) first met in a service elevator, escaping gunfire between two rival gangs, at the venue in which they were both competing in a music competition. – Source
22. Waldo, an African grey parrot, is the lead singer of a death metal band called Hatebeak. It is the first band to feature an avian vocalist, and doesn’t tour/play live because it would be “absolute torture for the bird to experience decibels at those levels.” – Source
23. Hagfish were being transported to South Korea where they are eaten as a delicacy, but instead covered the car and road in slime. Hagfish slime expands by 10,000 times in a fraction of a second. It is 100,000 times softer than Jell-O. Hagfish produce slime when attacked or stressed. – Source
24. The Japanese work philosophy of “kaizen” is where people constantly seek to find ways to improve methods instead of just doing it the same way. – Source
25. Bhagat Singh Thind gained US citizenship in 1918, only to be stripped of it 4 days later for being Indian. His 2nd attempt had the Supreme Court rule against him. He succeeded in his 3rd attempt. He was also the first turbaned (Sikh) member of the US Army, serving during WWI. – Source
