Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 798, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Fact
1. Being wealthy makes you much more likely to get to play college sports. Students from families with the highest 20% of income have nearly 3x better chances of getting to play college sports than do students from families with the bottom 20% of income. – Source
2. The U.S. Army once designed an anti-armor grenade that would be the same size and shape as a football so US soldiers knew how to sling it and the prototype was built using a hollowed-out nerf ball. – Source
3. Actor Federico Castelluccio, who played Furio on The Sopranos, is also an art expert who discovered a misidentified Renaissance painting worth perhaps $10 million more than the $140,000 he paid for it. – Source
4. In 2004, Dutch Scientists left a ‘hamster wheel’ in the wild, and all types of forest animals, including frogs and slugs, used it throughout the year. – Source
5. Some people engage in ‘platonic co-parenting’, where they raise children together without ever being in a romantic relationship. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Fact
6. Marquis De Sade, was a famous French writer, politician, and playwright known for his libertine ideas on sexuality. He was so deviant, he was in and out of jail for 32 years of his life. He wrote immoral erotica and advocated for free state-funded brothels claiming it would reduce crime. – Source
7. The IRS (USA) has specific tax codes requiring you to report money earned from selling illegal drugs, taking illegal bribes, and the fair market value of anything you stole as taxable income. – Source
8. A 2004 British reality show selected nine contestants for their suggestibility, tricked them into thinking they were flown to Russia, then had them compete to become space tourists. The “winners” were placed on a simulator and tricked into thinking they were in space for five days. – Source
9. Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong) served a 9-month prison sentence for his role in financing and promoting a brand of bongs. He was a cellmate of “The Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort, who credits Chong for encouraging him to write his memoirs. They have remained friends ever since. – Source
10. There is a rise in Hyundai and Kia car thefts because online videos have revealed that they can be hot-wired using just a USB cable. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Facts
11. Actor Brian Dennehy, who played Sheriff Will Teasle in “Rambo: First Blood”, lied about serving in Vietnam, and being wounded in combat more than once. Though he was a Marine for four years, he was never in combat during the Vietnam War, a fallacy he admitted in 1998. – Source
12. Second-hand incense smoke can be as dangerous, or worst, as cigarette smoke. – Source
13. When a university’s underwater archeology team ran out of funding for researching Captain Morgan’s shipwreck, the rum maker of the same name funded their research. – Source
14. When Canada switched to metric in the 70s, containers had to switch from gallons to liters. Milk producers chose to switch to bags to avoid making cartons/jugs. – Source
15. A scientific study has proven that people who work in well-ventilated offices with below-average levels of pollutants and carbon dioxide have significantly higher (+61%) cognitive functioning scores—in crucial areas than those who work in offices with typical levels. – Source