Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 615, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Fact
1. Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and hundreds more, started smoking at the age of 9, changed his last name from Blank to Blanc, survived a car accident resulting in a two-week coma, recorded The Flintstones in a full-body cast, and died only a year after recording Who Framed Roger Rabbit. – Source
2. ADHD doesn’t always mean ‘short attention span’. ‘Hyperfocusing’ on a task for hours on end is also a known symptom of ADHD, where the inability to stop is considered to be the problem. – Source
3. Rod Serling, the creator of The Twilight Zone, sold the series as a pure entertainment vehicle due to censorship he experienced with previous projects that would delve into controversial social/political issues. The Twilight Zone tackled the same issues but veiled in science fiction and fantasy. – Source
4. Growing almonds in California takes more than half of the commercial honeybees in the US, meaning they have to be temporarily shipped in from almost every other state. – Source
5. Habsburg Emperor Joseph II tried to reform Austria into an “ideal Enlightened state”. He abolished serfdom, removed restrictions against Jews, gave religious freedom to Protestants and Orthodox, and tried to weaken the power of the Catholic church. But as soon he died all his reforms were abolished. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Facts
6. An ape named Oliver preferred walking upright. He was bald, freckled, showed sexual attraction towards humans, and even liked to pour himself a cup of brandy every night while wearing a smoking jacket. Due to his human-like features and mannerisms, he was once believed to be a “Humanzee”. – Source
7. Evel Knievel (born Robert Craig Knievel) got his nickname after spending a night in jail next to the well-known William ‘Awful’ Knofel. The jailer made a joke about ‘Awful Knofel’ and ‘Evil Knievel’ and Evel decided to keep the name. – Source
8. French astronomer and mathematician Urbain le Verrier used observational data from Uranus to deduce the position of an unknown planet, which German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle used to find Neptune, within one hour of searching and within one degree of Verrier’s prediction (1846). – Source
9. Lois Duncan, the author of I Know What You Did Last Summer, abandoned writing YA horror/thrillers (a genre she is largely responsible for popularising) after her own daughter was murdered in a still-unsolved case. – Source
10. The M*A*S*H theme, ‘Suicide Is Painless,’ was initially intended to be “stupidest song ever written” and was ultimately written by a 14-year-old. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. Courtroom sketches became popular in the earlier 20th century due to a general prohibition of cameras in the courtroom. Artists are able to sketch scenes in just minutes, often from memory. Despite most courtrooms now allowing cameras, sketch art is still in demand today. – Source
12. When Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released on LaserDisc in 1994 it was found that animators had included brief flashes of nudity from Jessica Rabbit. After Variety broke the story, many LaserDisc retailers reported that their entire inventory sold out within minutes. – Source
13. There is a community in Cairo, Egypt that collects the trash of the residents of Cairo and recycles upwards of 80% of it. Nicknamed “Garbage City”, these mostly Christian residents have been collecting and recycling Cairo’s trash for several decades. – Source
14. Snapping shrimps (the family Alpheidae), that grow to only 3-5cm long, compete with sperm whales for the title of loudest animal in the ocean. Their snaps are capable of stunning fish and breaking glass jars. In numbers, the shrimp can interfere with sonar and underwater communication. – Source
15. The American Smarties candy received their namesake “Smarties” because the creator wanted to encourage people to pursue an education. – Source
