16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. The Mars 2020 rover will have a solar-powered helicopter rover buddy. – Source
17. The 30-second ad on television was created after tobacco companies could no longer advertise (1971), that the 15-second ad was inspired by MTV (1984), and that the “unskippable” 5-second ad was created by Geico after research showed 94 percent of YouTube viewers skipped prerolled ads (2015). – Source
18. Children’s YouTube celebrity Blippi was once a self-proclaimed shock comedian who made a “Harlem Shake” video where he explosively defecated on his friend’s face. He has used DMCA takedowns to try and erase it from the internet. – Source
19. The cinematographer for the music video of REM’s “The One I Love” was chef, Alton Brown. Reportedly, between takes, he would watch cooking shows and thought he could do better. – Source
20. A Texas man was once sentenced to sleep outside in a doghouse for 30 nights, as a punishment for child abuse. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. Former stage magician and skeptic of pseudoscience James Randi offered $1,000,000 to anyone who could prove their paranormal abilities under agreed-upon testing criteria. Over 1,000 people tried, and 0 were successful. It was discontinued in 2015. – Source
22. A bird named the Loggerhead Shrike impales its’ prey on thorns or barbed wire due to lack of adequate talons of its own. It is also known as the Butcherbird due to its carnivorous behaviors and the fact that it sometimes leaves its’ prey on display. – Source
23. Since its inception in 1970, Amtrak has never turned a profit. – Source
24. Truman Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play the film lead role as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, but producers instead cast Audrey Hepburn because they feared Monroe would complicate the production. Capote later said the producers “double-crossed me in every way and cast Audrey”. – Source
25. Danica McKellar, the actress who played Winnie Cooper on the Wonder Years, went on to write six books on mathematics, including “Hot X: Algebra Exposed,” “Kiss My Math,” and “Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape.” – Source
