16-20 Kickass Random Facts
16. Although born vision impaired, singer Andrea Bocelli was officially made completely blind by a soccer ball at the age of 12 while playing goalie. Doctors even, “resorted to leeches in a last-ditch effort to save his sight, but they were unsuccessful and he remained blind.” – Source
17. During the gold rush these items would cost (in today’s equivalent) you: eggs – $90, butter slice of bread $56, a pick axe $1500. Inflation during the Tech Boom was nothing compared to the Gold Rush. – Source
18. Back in 2010, the White House had to assure people that the President’s upcoming State of the Union address would not conflict with the season premiere of LOST (season 6). – Source
19. Charles Darwin’s Tree of Life sketch was anonymously returned to Cambridge University Library in a pink gift bag – two decades after being stolen. – Source
20. Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) built a speaking machine out of bellows and leather lips that could generate sounds similar to ‘ma’ and ‘pa’ in a failed bid to win a bet with Matthew Boulton that he could build a machine to speak the lord’s prayer. – Source
21-25 Kickass Random Facts
21. The paintings of Washington crossing Delaware were by a German artist, and the original was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1942. – Source
22. On having your 7th child in Germany, you can apply to have the president be their Godfather. – Source
23. Oceanic life benefits from dumping iron into it. Not only in artificial reef habitats but also as a food source for phytoplankton. Phytoplankton can drastically reduce our carbon levels and restore species numbers up the food chain. – Source
24. The Outer Space Treaty and COSPAR require that space exploration does not expose the earth to extraterrestrial contaminations. Additionally, extraterrestrials cannot be exposed to contaminants from the earth, so spacecraft and landers have to be sterilized before going to other planets. – Source
25. Only Kenyan runners have won the Commonwealth Games 3000-meter steeplechase since 1994. – Source
