Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 794, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Fact
1. The creator of Vaseline, Robert Chesebrough, claimed to have eaten a spoonful of it every day. – Source
2. David Bowie used to travel around New York carrying a Greek newspaper in the belief that people would assume he was just a Greek man who looked like David Bowie and leaves him alone. – Source
3. Steven Spielberg asked all the extras doing a Nazi salute in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ to also cross their fingers behind their backs. – Source
4. Salisbury steak was invented as a result of a doctor, James Salisbury, wanting to cure diseases like diarrhea, which killed Civil War soldiers more than combat. He believed vegetables produced toxins and suggested the steak be eaten 3 times a day, with water to cleanse one’s digestive system. – Source
5. Astronauts eat steak and eggs before a flight because it’s filling and low on dietary fiber so they won’t have to poop during the mission. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Fact
6. At the end of World War 1 Philippe Pétain was considered one of France’s greatest war hero’s. At the end of World War 2 he was sentenced to death for conspiring with Hitler. – Source
7. The U.S. Department of Defense spent $41.6 million on Viagra and $84.24 million total on drugs for erectile dysfunction in 2014. Less than 10% of prescriptions were for troops, the rest went to retirees or family members covered by military health plans. – Source
8. Japanese Yakuza used to implant glass “pearls” in their penis for every year they served in prison. – Source
9. In 1957, dentist Charles Kremer in New York voiced his suspicion that a high-ranking church official, Archbishop Valerian Trifa, was actually the Nazi war criminal Viorel Trifa. 20 years later, investigators found Trifa’s fingerprint on a postcard to Heinrich Himmler in a German archive. – Source
10. The MPAA, the organization that rates movies in the U.S., is not a government entity. It’s a private organization that lobbies on behalf of the big 6 Hollywood studios and has very shady ethical practices regarding movie ratings. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. Frank Sinatra was originally offered the role of John McClane in Die Hard at age 70. The film is based on the book “Nothing Lasts Forever”, a sequel to “The Detective” which was adapted in 1968 into a film starring Sinatra. His contract required them to offer him the lead role in any sequels. – Source
12. The British Royal family takes part in a live firing exercise within the SAS’s “Killing House” in case they are ever held, hostage. King Charles wrote a letter to the squadron excusing them of any crimes should he accidentally be killed during the exercise. – Source
13. A brutal sleep experiment aired on Channel 4 in the UK in the early 2000s where contestants had to stay awake for a whole week in order to win £100k. – Source
14. In addition to names like “Hope”, “Felicity”, and “Prudence”, Puritans also named their children things like “Jesus-Christ-came-into-the-world- to-save”, “Damned”, and “Fly-fornication”. – Source
15. Sloths can hold their breath for 40 minutes, which is longer than many marine mammals including dolphins. – Source
