16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. The 1983 Talking Heads song “Burning Down The House” originated from the drummer seeing a Parliament-Funkadelic concert and getting amped on the audience chanting “burn down the house!” It was added to a jam session. – Source
17. The BBC once forbade employees from illuminating any workspace solely with an Anglepoise (the spring-tensioned balance-arm lamp) because Variety Dept. head Michael Standing feared low-wattage lights led creators to furtive ideas, smut innuendo, and degenerate program material. – Source
18. Aparon is a Filipino snack made from unconsecrated communion wafers and caramel. They were first manufactured by a religious order who needed a way to make use of extra wafers. – Source
19. Commodus once held a grand 14-day gladiatorial event with himself as the centerpiece. The “highlights” include him killing 100 bears in a day. The crowd was hesitant to attend the arena due to a rumor that he would start shooting random spectators in a reenactment of the stymphalian birds myth. – Source
20. An Australian research organization took Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Asus, Toshiba, and others to court for infringing on its Wi-Fi patents and got them to pay a huge settlement. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. “Goodbye My Lover,” James Blunt’s Top 10 UK single from 2005, was recorded in actress Carrie Fisher’s bathroom. He later said, “Everyone sings in the shower and everyone in Los Angeles seems to have a piano in the bathroom.” – Source
22. During WWII, Chinese forces opened the dikes on the Yellow River to slow the Japanese army. This resulted in an estimated 400,000 to 800,000 drownings and displaced millions. The course of the Yellow River moved several hundred kilometers. – Source
23. Randy Bachman’s original orange Gretsch guitar, stolen in Toronto in 1976, was rediscovered in 2021 in Tokyo by a fan who found it solely through photos on the Internet. – Source
24. The Voyager Golden Records contain an hour-long recording of the brainwaves of Ann Druyan. “During the recording of the brainwaves, Druyan thought of many topics, including Earth’s history, civilizations and the problems they face, and what it was like to fall in love.” – Source
25. Dipendra of Nepal was King of Nepal for 3 days, between June 1st and 4th 2001, after he gunned down his father the King, 8 other members of the royal family, and then turned the gun on himself. He was in a coma for his entire reign. – Source
