Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 556, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. The Soviets bugged the US Embassy and Consulate typewriters with one of the world’s first keyloggers. It was a long bit of circuitry inside a supporting bar in the typewriter, capturing text by measuring magnetic disturbance as the print head moved. This was sent by radio bursts to the Soviets. – Source
2. At G.E. in the 1920s, as a joke, newly hired engineers would be told to develop an inside frosted lightbulb, which was believed to be impossible. In 1925, newly hired Marvin Pipkin got the assignment and astonished his peers by succeeding. – Source
3. A 1,500 lb grizzly bear named Bart gave such a moving performance in the 1987 film “The Bear ” that a campaign formed to encourage his Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, the academy refused to nominate an animal actor. – Source
4. 25 percent of Jamaican citizens claim Irish ancestry, the second-largest reported ethnic group in Jamaica after African ancestry. – Source
5. Octopuses have 2/3 of their neurons in their arms. When in captivity they regularly occupy their time with covert raids on other tanks, squirting water at people they don’t like, shorting out bothersome lights, and escaping. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. Saffron crocuses, the flower from which the most expensive spice by weight (saffron) is made, are all genetically identical sterile clones propagated by hand by dividing root corms. They do not occur in the wild. – Source
7. Director/producer Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) worked at Burger King to collect funny stories during a writer’s strike. He was given 1 of 12 known special Burger King Crown Cards that give people like Robert Downey Jr, Hugh Laurie, Jennifer Hudson, and Jay Leno unlimited free food for life. – Source
8. Steve Bartman, a fan who in 2003 infamously but inadvertently interfered with a foul ball contributing to the Chicago Cubs’ loss in playoffs that year, received a World Series ring when the Cubs won in 2016. – Source
9. In 1987, a few guys in Brazil were out collecting scrap metal from an abandoned hospital. They inadvertently collected highly radioactive Caesium-137. About a month later, 4 people had died of radiation poisoning and the incident resulted in one of the worst radiological accidents in history. – Source
10. A free Emergency training session empowered a local reluctant 12-year-old student to give a lifesaving Heimlich Maneuver as his sister was choking on a waffle cone she was eating in the car. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. M&Ms were inspired by soldiers’ rations during the Spanish Civil War. Forrest Mars Sr. of the Mars Company observed British volunteers eating chocolate beads encased in a hard sugar shell (Smarties), which prevented melting. By WWII M&Ms were produced & sold exclusively to the military. – Source
12. In 1920, an amateur golfer named David Mulligan drove his friends to the golf course, but nearly missed their tee time. In his haste, David shanked his first shot, but as a courtesy, David’s playing group granted him a second chance, which for the past 100 years has been known as the “Mulligan”. – Source
13. A stowaway Kiddo the Cat became the first feline to attempt to cross the Atlantic in an airship. His eventual howling led to chief engineer Melvin Vaniman making the first radio message from an aircraft in flight: “Roy, come and get this —damn cat.” – Source
14. In 2015, a Fallout fan sent Bethesda 2000 bottlecaps. They received a free copy of fallout 4. It had taken them 7 years to collect the bottlecaps. The package weighed 11 pounds. – Source
15. At the request of Vanessa Bryant, the Staples Center cataloged all the items at the makeshift memorial fans made for Kobe and Gianna. Among the items were 1,353 basketballs, 14 banners, 25,000 candles, 5,000 letters, 500 stuffed animals. All the flowers were reused as mulch. – Source
