Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 498, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. A sloth’s claws work the opposite way that the human hand does. The default position is a tight strong grip, and sloths must exert effort to open them up. This is why sloths don’t fall out of trees when they’re asleep. – Source
2. In the 1800s, Americans drank, on average, 90 bottles of whiskey per year, or 1.7 bottles per week. This was because, at the time, whiskey was sold at twenty-five cents a gallon, making it cheaper than wine, beer, tea, coffee, and even milk. – Source
3. Those wounded while fighting in the French Foreign Legion can immediately apply to be a French citizen as they are “French by spilled blood”. – Source
4. Jeffrey Skilling, the CEO mastermind of the Enron scandal is now a free man and plans to start another energy company with his former colleagues. – Source
5. “Freddish” – Mr. Rogers’ carefully crafted set of rules for talking to children, designed to keep kids from taking things too literally or becoming unnecessarily scared. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. Monowi, Nebraska is the only incorporated village in the US with a population of 1. The sole resident, Elsie Eiler, is the mayor as well as librarian and bartender. She pays taxes to herself. – Source
7. With Aliens (1986), Sigourney Weaver received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and although she did not win, it was considered a landmark nomination for an actress to be considered for a science-fiction/horror film, a genre which previously was given little recognition. – Source
8. King Leopold of Belgium had between 1-15 million Congolese people murdered while he exploited their area for rubber. –
9. Henry Winkler is an honorary OBE awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth II for services to children with special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK. – Source
10. A gorilla carried a 3-year-old boy to safety after he fell into an enclosure at the Brookfield Zoo. The Gorilla, named Binti Jua, gently carried the child to a safe place to protect him from the other gorillas. The boy suffered a broken hand and cuts to his face. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. When Dakota Meyer was contacted to arrange a time to inform him that his case for the Medal of Honor had been approved, the caller was told that Meyer was working at his construction job and was asked to call again during his lunch break. – Source
12. Tsar Bomba (most powerful explosive ever detonated by mankind; 4000x Hiroshima; 59 mi high mushroom cloud 10x height of Mt. Everest) was dropped with a parachute so the release plane could fly 28 miles away, giving the crew a 50% chance of survival. – Source
13. In-N-Out burgers operate occasional pop-up restaurants in Australia for the sole purpose of protecting their trademark there. – Source
14. Yawning and stretching at the same time is called “pandiculation.” It’s apparently very important in waking up our nervous system. – Source
15. Charles Darwin lost his faith in God after witnessing parasitic wasp larvae devour a caterpillar from the inside out. – Source
