Between 1912 and 1948, art competitions were a part of the Olympics. Medals were awarded for architecture, music, painting, and sculpture.
The first webcam watched a coffee pot. It allowed researchers at Cambridge to monitor the coffee situation without leaving their desks.
The entire state of Wyoming only has two escalators.
The ampersand symbol is formed from the letters in et—the Latin word for "and."
Ravens in captivity can learn to talk better than parrots.
The actor who was inside R2-D2 hated the guy who played C-3PO, calling him "the rudest man I've ever met."
It's a myth that no two snowflakes are exactly the same. In 1988, a scientist found two identical snow crystals. They came from a storm in Wisconsin.
When Disneyland opened in 1955, "Tomorrowland" was designed to look like a year in the distant future: 1986.
Before George W. Bush took office, some Clinton staffers canvassed the White House offices and removed the W key from over 60 keyboards.
When the last official Blockbuster Video closed in November 2013, the final rental was the apocalyptic comedy This Is the End.
The German word kummerspeck means excess weight gained from emotional overeating. Literally, grief bacon.
The collective noun for a group of pugs is a grumble.
In 1939, Hitler's nephew wrote an article called "Why I Hate My Uncle." He came to the U.S., served in the Navy, and settled on Long Island.
According to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, 44 percent of Bob Ross's paintings contain at least one "happy little cloud."
On an April day in 1930, the BBC reported, "There is no news." Instead they played piano music.
Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" was penned by beloved children's author Shel Silverstein.
Ben & Jerry learned how to make ice cream by taking a $5 correspondence course offered by Penn State. (They decided to split one course.)
The word "PEZ" comes from the German word for peppermint—PfeffErminZ.
In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called "Growing Up Skipper." Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.
Before Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, a reporter asked, "Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?"
In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel was spending $2,500 a month on rubber bands just to hold all their cash.
The inventor of the AK-47 has said he wishes he'd invented something to help farmers instead — "for example a lawnmower."
The Vatican Bank is the world's only bank that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.
The duffel bag gets its name from the town of Duffel, Belgium, where the cloth used in the bags was originally sold.
James Avery ("Uncle Phil" on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) was the voice of Shredder on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
At Fatburger, you can order a "Hypocrite"—a veggie burger topped with crispy strips of bacon.
When asked who owned the patent on the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk said, "Well, the people. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"
The Q in Q-tips stands for quality.
Editor Bennett Cerf challenged Dr. Seuss to write a book using no more than 50 different words. The result? Green Eggs and Ham.
The act of stretching and yawning is called pandiculation.
Sea cucumbers eat with their feet.
A murder suspect was convicted after the broken-off leg of a grasshopper in his pants cuff turned out to be a perfect match for an insect found near the victim's body.
After an online vote in 2011, Toyota announced that the official plural of Prius was Prii.
In his book, Dick Cheney says his yellow lab Dave was banned from Camp David for attacking President Bush's dog Barney.
Lyme disease is named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut, where several cases were identified in 1975.
Reno is farther west than Los Angeles.
William Faulkner refused a dinner invitation from JFK's White House. "Why that’s a hundred miles away," he said. "That’s a long way to go just to eat."
In 1907, an ad campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes offered a free box of cereal to any woman who would wink at her grocer.
Why did the FBI call Ted Kaczynski "The Unabomber"? Because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) & airlines (A).
Obsessive nose picking is called rhinotillexomania.
"Silver Bells" was called "Tinkle Bells" until co-composer Jay Livingston’s wife told him "tinkle" had another meaning
Michael Jackson's 1988 autobiography Moonwalk was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
How did Curious George get to America? He was captured in Africa by The Man With the Yellow Hat — with his yellow hat.
In the early stage version of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s faithful companion Toto was replaced by a cow named Imogene.
Tobias Fünke's "nevernude" condition on Arrested Development is real. It's called "gymnophobia" — the fear of nude bodies.
Hawaiian Punch was originally developed as a tropical flavored ice cream topping.
Andy's evil neighbor Sid from Toy Story returns briefly as the garbage man in Toy Story 3.
Jacuzzi is a brand name. You can also buy Jacuzzi toilets and mattresses.
During a 2004 episode of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster said that before he started eating cookies, his name was Sid.
Roger Ebert and Oprah Winfrey went on a couple dates in the mid-1980s. It was Roger who convinced her to syndicate her talk show.
Fredric Baur invented the Pringles can. When he passed away in 2008, his ashes were buried in one.
When he appeared on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, Bill Clinton correctly answered three questions about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
The archerfish knocks its insect prey out of over-hanging branches with a stream of spit.
There really was a Captain Morgan. He was a Welsh pirate who later became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
In 1961, Martha Stewart was selected as one of Glamour magazine;s "Ten Best-Dressed College Girls."
At the 1905 wedding of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, President Teddy Roosevelt gave away the bride
Sorry, parents. According to NASA's FAQ page, "There are no plans at this time to send children into space."
God and Jesus are the only characters on The Simpsons with a full set of fingers and toes.
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