Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 601, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Facts
1. The late Majel Barrett, the voice of the Starfleet computer on Star Trek, recorded an entire library of phonetic sounds before she died which allowed her voice to be used as the computer for future generations. – Source
2. It used to be illegal in the United States for actors to wear military uniforms in a production that portrayed the military negatively until the Supreme Court ruled in 1970 that this was a violation of the First Amendment. – Source
3. Noninvasive spinal stimulation enables paralyzed people to regain use of hands. A team of scientists reports that six people with severe spinal cord injuries – three of them completely paralyzed – have regained use of their hands and fingers. – Source
4. Lithuania withdrew from the 1992 Olympics due to the lack of money after the fall of the USSR. The Grateful Dead agreed to fund transportation costs for the basketball team along with Grateful Dead designs for the team’s jerseys and shorts. They went on to win the Bronze. – Source
5. US presidents used to give out special presidential packs of cigarettes to guests boarding Air Force One, they were later changed to packs of presidential M&M’s over health concerns. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is the world’s largest producer of lentils; Canada produces 33% of the world total (and Saskatchewan has over 95% of the national total); the next country is India with 25% of the global production. – Source
7. British MI6 successfully hacked an al-Qaeda newsletter and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes. – Source
8. If you get a doctorate in Finland, you get a special doctoral hat and sword. – Source
9. The martial arts style portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2010 movie “The Book of Eli” is called Kali and is the national martial arts form of the Philippines. It teaches to focus on and react to angles of attack rather than particular strikes/attacks. – Source
10. The release of Rise of the Skywalker on Disney+ was set to Star Wars Day (May 4th) in most places, but it was delayed by one day in the Netherlands. May 4th is the anniversary of the surrender of Nazi forces in their country, and it is their equivalent of Remembrance Day or Memorial Day. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. Originally, the classic banker’s lamp had a green shade to lessen one’s eyestrain due to early incandescent lights. The green eye visor commonly worn by accountants, telegraphers, and copy editors in the late-19th and mid-20th century were worn for similar reasons. – Source
12. Submarines and Space Stations burn special candles as a means to produce oxygen, which can be used as a backup if their electronic oxygen-producing systems fail. – Source
13. Equifax was started by two grocer brothers that used to document the creditworthiness of their customers, make copies of the list, and sell it to other grocery stores in the area so they could know which customers to extend credit to. – Source
14. In 1978, two punk bands, “the cramps” and “the mutants”, were booked to play a live show at a mental institution in Napa, California. At another point, the mutants played at a school for the deaf, with the kids holding balloons in their hand in order to “feel the music”. – Source
15. In 1966, the Spanish army built an enormous cemetery in Burgos for the final scene of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The graveyard now hosts 4,500 graves bearing the names of the living people who each donated €15 towards the 2018 restoration of the cemetery to its original movie set condition. – Source
