Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 494, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. Ancient Babylonians did the math in base 60 instead of base 10. That’s why we have 60 seconds in a minute and 360 degrees in a circle. – Source
2. The largest Masonic Temple in the world, the Detroit Masonic Temple, was saved from foreclosure in 2013 by Jack White of the White Stripes. White paid off $142,000 owed in back taxes by the Temple due to the fact that it had given his mother a job as an usher when she was in need. – Source
3. Ulysses S. Grant created the Department of Justice, ratified the Fifteenth Amendment, and asked for Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1871, enabling him to combat and prosecute the Ku Klux Klan. – Source
4. In Russia, there is a day of conception as the birthrate is very low and people get a day off just to bang. If the baby is born exactly 9 months later on June 12, they win a prize. and if they get close, they go into a draw to win stuff. – Source
5. Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts) from Beauty and the Beast (1991) sang “Tale as old as time” in a single take after being initially against it because she thought her “aging singing voice” wasn’t suited for the song. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. The ‘Cowboy Load’ in the Wild West was most common for 6-shot revolvers to only be loaded with 5 rounds. A live bullet in the chamber below the hammer of a 19th-century single-action revolver can be set off with a sharp knock, hence it was not desirable to carry one fully loaded. – Source
7. In the USA, if you receive merchandise that you never ordered, be it unsolicited or in excess of an order, you have the legal right to keep the merchandise as a free gift. Furthermore, you have no legal obligation to notify the seller. – Source
8. Michael Jordan had a clause in his contract called “For the Love of the Game” that allowed him to play basketball anytime, anywhere, for any reason. – Source
9. Some people with anxiety may actively resist relaxation in favor of worrying, with a study suggesting that it’s a way to avoid a large jump in anxiety if something bad really does happen. – Source
10. In 1990, Disney wanted to put Minnie Mouse on the $5 bill of their in house currency and promote it as the first woman on a dollar bill. It was then revealed that Martha Washington on a $1 bill in 1891. In reality, Pocahontas was even earlier, appearing on a $20 bill in 1863. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. A graduate student studying bees at Cornell University was stung on his testicles while wearing loose pants and experienced little pain. This piqued his curiosity, so he stung himself 5 times a day for the next 38 days. As a result, we know the most painful places to be stung on the human body. – Source
12. In Billy Madison, Sandler shot the infamous dodgeball scene using a real ball and by throwing it as hard as he could at the kids. They cut the scene after each kid was hit so we wouldn’t see them crying. – Source
13. The Bhopal Chemical Disaster in India, where a methyl-isocyanate leak (500 times deadlier than hydrogen cyanide) from a factory killed more than 8000 residents in one night. The MIC leak went undetected due to the factory’s earlier removal of the alarm siren in order to not disturb its neighbors. – Source
14. Morgan Freeman converted his 124-acre ranch into a giant sanctuary to protect honey bees. – Source
15. The taste map of the tongue that many people learned in school is nonsense. Taste receptors for salty, sweet, bitter, and sour are found all over the tongue. – Source
