Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 580, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. A field of seagrass converts carbon dioxide to oxygen at over 8x the rate of a forest the same size. – Source
2. After the 2011 earthquake in Japan, members of the yakuza gathered supplies and gave food to the victims. Some even opened their offices to people who couldn’t return home. Some people felt like their response was much quicker and efficient than that of the government. – Source
3. David Bowie was punched in the left eye as a teenager, leaving it permanently dilated. He later thanked his friend, George Underwood, for doing so, saying it gave him “a kind of mystique.” This mystique helped enhance some of Bowie’s most iconic images. – Source
4. “Myst Island” is a proposed theme park at Disney World. A limited number of guests would get ferried to an 11-acre island designed like Myst. They’d spend hours there, exploring areas and discovering clues non-linearly. Theoretically, no 2 guests would have the same adventure. – Source
5. Tim Burton did not direct “Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Henry Selick, director of “James and the Giant Peach” and “Coraline,” carried out the task, due to Burton having prior commitments to “Batman Returns.” – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. Tolkien wrote yearly letters to his children as if they were from Father Christmas. They started off as simple Happy Christmas letters but grew more complex including a polar bear sidekick, the man on the moon, goblins, snow-elves, pictures, and he even developed an Arktik language. – Source
7. In September 1945, Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett defied US restrictions and snuck into Hiroshima by train. Burchett was the first to tell the world about the effects of radiation on the victims of the bombing, which the US denied both before and after his story was published. – Source
8. The first American soldier to land on the beach during the invasion of Normandy was shot twice and not only survived but lived to be 90-years-old. – Source
9. Billy Bob Thornton did get drunk for scenes in Bad Santa. In the escalator fall scene, Thornton actually passed out after drinking 3 glasses of red wine for breakfast followed by vodkas and cranberry juice then a few Bud Lights. – Source
10. In 1935, in a newly built Sydney aquarium, a tiger shark vomited a human arm that belonged to a man that went missing recently, which sparked a murder mystery when it was discovered the arm was severed with a knife instead of being bitten off. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. “Sardines” aren’t a specific fish. The word is used for multiple species of small, oily fish. The definition for what constitutes a sardine varies by government and region with the UN citing 21 different species classified as sardines. – Source
12. The 1947 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” was a box-office flop, and didn’t become popular until the late 70’s when its copyright expired and TV channels could play it for free. – Source
13. The Parental Advisory label was created in part because a mom caught her 11-year-old daughter singing the sexually explicit lyrics to “Darling Nikki” by Prince. The Recording Industry Association of America responded by introducing a content warning label. – Source
14. Australia has the world’s largest herd of wild camels. The population is estimated to be about 3 million, spread across 37% of the Australian mainland. – Source
15. Actor Jim Belushi has taken up cannabis farming in Oregon. – Source
