Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 824, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Fact
1. In 1981, American Airlines offered a “lifetime unlimited AAirpass” for a lifetime of free first-class flights for $250k. You could get an additional lifetime pass for a companion for an extra $150k. Two of their most frequent fliers cost the airline $1m a year and flew over 30m miles. – Source
2. In 2013, a Florida man, Jeff Bush, was sleeping in his bedroom when a large sinkhole opened up directly underneath his bed, swallowing him and his entire bedroom. His brother heard him scream but was unable to see or reach him in time. Bush’s body was never recovered. – Source
3. The future US President Lyndon Johnson taught in an all-Mexican-American school in the 1920s, bought the Spanish-speaking janitor an English language book, and tutored the janitor in English on his own time. – Source
4. The test pilot for the first fighter jet would fly dressed as a gorilla in a hat to allow US Air Force psychologists to gaslight other pilots into believing they hadn’t witnessed a “gorilla, wearing a derby hat, waving a stogie at them” flying a fast-moving plane without a propeller. – Source
5. In 1986, Australian cricketer Dean Jones played a match in India while severely ill. Due to the extreme heat, he urinated and vomited several times. He lost 7 kg during the match and doesn’t remember the game. Jones scored 210 runs, in what is considered one of the best performances ever. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Fact
6. Designers of a 59-story New York skyscraper failed to account for quartering winds and power loss, leaving a 6.25% chance it would fall in any given year. – Source
7. The ancient Egyptians believed that crocodile dung mixed with honey and placed in the vagina would prevent pregnancy. – Source
8. Kowloon, the Walled City was the densest populated area worldwide until it’s demolition in 1993. It was entirely built unplanned. – Source
9. The 1922 film Nosferatu was such a blatant rip-off of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that Bram’s widow won a lawsuit demanding all copies of the film be destroyed. A single copy found its way to America, where Dracula was in the public domain due to copyright error, allowing the film to survive. – Source
10. Druids were exempt from taxes, and military service, and were held in such high esteem they could stop battles between warring armies. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Fact
11. The film Kangaroo Jack (2003) originally had violence, cursing, and sex scenes but producers were unsatisfied with the rough cut and turned it into a family animal comedy after a positive response to the kangaroo on test screens. – Source
12. In 1905, in order to promote her novel, 29-year-old Edith Allonby killed herself. – Source
13. Eugenio Monti, an Italian Winter Olympian, lent a bolt to his rival Tony Nash, allowing Nash to win the bobsled gold medal, while Monti took bronze. In response to criticism from Italian media Monti said, “Nash didn’t win because I gave him the bolt. He won because he had the fastest run.” – Source
14. Natale Olivieri created Yoo-hoo after several failed attempts to bottle chocolate drinks that would spoil shortly thereafter. After Olivieri observed his wife canning fruits and vegetables, Olivieri adopted the same heat processing techniques and began officially bottling Yoo-hoo in 1928. – Source
15. Army ants were used to close open wounds. When grasped just behind the head, the ants will open their mandibles wide. One mandible is placed on each side of the cut and the ant then clamps down. Its head is then snipped off while clamped onto the wound, acting like a staple. – Source
