"A 1999 Russian book named The Last Ringbearer re-tells Lord of The Rings from Sauron’s perspective with Gandalf and the fellowship as the villains."
"The MG-42 (German machinegun) fired so fast that human ears couldn’t discern the sound of individual shots being fired, instead hearing a sound described as like “ripping cloth” or a buzzsaw."
"British tanks are required to have a tea brewing station."
"The real-life Captain Sobel, from Band of Brothers (played by David Scwimmer in TV series) shot himself in the 60s and died of malnutrition in the 80s. No services were held for his death."
"As a knife-wielding assassin jumped out of a crowd of people and lunged toward the President of the Maldives, a quick-thinking Boy Scout who was standing in the crowd in his uniform grabbed the blade and saved the leader’s life. As in the US, the motto of the Maldivian Boy Scouts is: “Be Prepared.”"
"There are more barrels of bourbon in Kentucky (4.7 million) than people (4.3 million)."
"The Clever Hans effect is where a trained animal appears to be performing intellectual tasks, but is in actuality responding to involuntary cues in the body language of human trainers. The effect is named after a horse which was claimed to be able to perform arithmetic. "
"Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” was painted while he was in a mental institution in 1889. Not only that, his painting perfectly captured the scientific phenomenon known as “turbulence” to mathematical precision despite it not being explained via physics until 1940’s. "
"The Nazis forged British pounds at a total value of £134,610,810. The notes are considered to be among the most perfect counterfeits ever produced, being almost impossible to distinguish from the real currency."
"A benign mold is added to the casing on traditionally dried-cured Italian meats to act as a natural preservative and antioxidant so the meat doesn’t become “rancid.” "
"The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was a hoax designed by the University of Connecticut to test 7th graders’ ability to decipher fake news on the internet presented as real. They all failed. Some maintained it was real even after confronted with the hoax, a phenomenon called belief perseverance. "
"Prior to the income tax being enacted in 1913, the U.S. government got up to 40% of its revenue from alcohol taxes. Without the income tax in place, the Prohibition Amendment would likely not have been proposed by the Senate in 1917."
"You cannot be arrested for public intoxication in Las Vegas. Nevada state law expressly prohibits any county, city, or town from making public drunkenness an offense or crime."
"It is possible for well-educated intellectually active individuals to have Alzheimer’s and not show any of the symptoms of cognitive decline, even when the disease has progressed much and their brain is riddled with plaques and tangles. However, they still die of it."
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#10 a lot of stuff has to be censored in Japan.
#26 this phenomenon can be seen a lot these days.