Here are 25 kickass random facts. For part 840, click here
1-5 Kickass Random Fact
1. Many haunted houses have been investigated and found to contain high levels of carbon monoxide or other poisons, which can cause hallucinations. The carbon monoxide theory explains why haunted houses are mostly older houses, which are more likely to contain aging and defective appliances. – Source
2. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS West Virginia battleship was salvaged six months later. During the salvage operation, a calendar was discovered in an airtight room indicating three sailors survived for another 16 days after the event. – Source
3. There is a German man named Marc Wubbenhorst who must drink 20 liters of water every day in order to not die from dehydration. He suffers an extreme case of diabetes insipidus. – Source
4. Daniel Suhr, who was responding to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, was the first firefighter killed in the attacks. He was hit by a falling body. – Source
5. In 2013, a couple walking their dog in California found 8 coffee cans containing over 1,427 gold coins worth over $10 million. The original source of the hoard is still unknown. – Source
6-10 Kickass Random Fact
6. Antilia is one of the most expensive private residences in the world, costing over $1 billion. The billionaire had his entire family live in the 27 story home which requires 600 servants and has 168 car garage, 9 elevators, a theatre, pool, ballroom, and snow room. It was built on an orphanage. – Source
7. 200,000 to 600,000 pets were estimated to have been left behind in the evacuations from hurricane Katrina, as people were not allowed to take pets with them and pets were not allowed in sheltering places. – Source
8. A former prostitute in Vietnam has adopted over 350 orphans who all use her surname. – Source
9. Hitler’s nephew tried to blackmail Hitler for a high-ranking government job. When that failed, he wrote a magazine article called “Why I Hate My Uncle” and joined the US Navy. The naval recruiter thought he was joking about his name. – Source
10. “OK” is said to be the most widely spoken word in the world, having been adopted as a loanword in Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and others. However, the etymology of the word is uncertain. – Source
11-15 Kickass Random Fact
11. In the original German ending of the fairy tale Snow White, the evil queen is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead. – Source
12. 48-year-old King Henry VIII announced his disappointment that his 4th wife, 24 year old Anne of Cleves was so ugly. Henry’s displeasure along with his impotence led to four difficult honeymoon nights without consummation. Henry eventually gave up and had the marriage annulled. – Source
13. The informal foot paths people create are called “desire paths”. In Finland, planners wait until first snowfall and then plan their paved paths around where people’s tracks appear. – Source
14. China uses cloud seeding for weather manipulation to create everything from blue skies during the 2008 Olympic games to rain intense during droughts. – Source
15. The United States considered using 520 nuclear bombs to blast away an alternative to the Suez Canal through Israel in the 1960s. – Source
