16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. NASA’s longest-serving female employee since January 1958, Sue Finley, has been an engineer and programmer for space missions since Explorer 1, for missions to the Moon, Sun, all the planets and many other solar system bodies, and recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal. – Source
17. A new kind of artificial cornea successfully restored sight in a 78-year-old man. The surgery uses a lens that can more easily replace damaged tissue in a simpler surgery. Immediately after the surgery, the patient was able to recognize family members and read numbers on an eye chart. – Source
18. The world’s rarest tree, Kaikōmako native to New Zealand, has been rescued from extinction after 40 years of trying to get the very last female tree in the world to fruit again. – Source
19. The King’s doctor Johann Struensee seized power for over a year in 18th century Denmark. He managed to abolish slavery, abolish censorship of the press, and have an affair with the Queen before being ousted and executed in 1772. – Source
20. After Salvador Dalí and Harpo Marx met and expressed mutual admiration, Dalí sent Harpo a Christmas present: a harp with barbed wire for strings and spoons for tuning knobs, wrapped in cellophane. Harpo was delighted and sent Dalí a photo of himself sitting at the harp with bandaged fingers. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. The lyrics to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” were inspired by the CPR doll Resusci Anne, a dummy used to teach people how to properly perform CPR. Trainees are taught to ask “Annie, are you OK?” while performing CPR on the dummy. – Source
22. In 1985, Takahashi Meijin (real name Takahashi Toshiyuki) became a celebrity in Japan when he managed the feat of pressing a button on a video game controller 16 times in one second on television. It’s still a world record. – Source
23. Gadaffi invited 500 Italian models to a party, only to give them an hour lecture on Islam and a copy of the Qur’an each. – Source
24. Henry VIII was sometimes called “Old Coppernose.” He issued debased coins to fund wars and one coin was mostly copper with a thin layer of silver on top. The coin had a portrait of Henry and his projecting nose caused the silver to wear off first exposing the copper underneath. – Source
25. More than six billion different knot types have been identified by mathematicians and scientists since the 1800s. – Source
