16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. The study that was reported in saying “cheese is just as addictive as drugs” actually found no such thing. The dietician who made the questionable claim works for an advocacy group called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which pushes veganism and urges people to shun cheese. – Source
17. The Aztec noble class spoke in parallelisms, repeating a phrase in two different ways, and in difrasismo, words said in a metaphorical sense. Examples are “may we not die, may we not perish” and “The flower, the song” – meaning “poetry”. – Source
18. Beaver colonies can occupy an area for 1000s of years. Lewis Henry Morgan observed and mapped beaver ponds in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the 1800s and 150 years later 75% of the original dams and ponds were still there. – Source
19. A man in Utah was cleaning out the attic of his house when he found $45,000 in wrapped bills and coins. Instead of keeping the money, he returned it to the previous owner’s family. – Source
20. On the day of Korea’s College Admissions Exams (Suneung), the Korean government ground the aircrafts and reroutes flights to prevent students from getting distracted during the exam of their lives. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. In 2004, the computer worm “Slammer” almost took down the entire internet in 15 minutes. The malware was very small (404 bytes) and once it infected a server it would send millions of copies to random IP addresses. It caused over $1 billion in damages and the creator has never been identified. – Source
22. Peter Davison, the fifth doctor from the original Doctor Who TV series is the father-in-law of David Tennant, the tenth doctor. – Source
23. The pig on Pink Floyd’s “Animals” was an actual 40ft balloon. A marksman had been initially hired on the 1st day to shoot it down, should it break loose–but he was absent on the 2nd. That day, it broke free and flew into Heathrow Airport’s airspace, resulting in all flights being cancelled. – Source
24. Mosquitos mostly feed on nectar and plant juices; feeding on blood is typically required only for females when needing produce eggs. – Source
25. Richard Feynman was present at the Rogers Commission, investigating the Challenger Disaster. Feynman was famously critical of NASA, at one point placing an o-ring sample in a glass of cold water as a demonstration. The leader of the investigation commented, “Feynman is becoming a real pain.” – Source
