1. Did you know it’s illegal to feed pigeons on the sidewalks and streets of San Francisco?
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Sure, a sprinkle of breadcrumbs to feed hungry birds may seem harmless but in the popular Californian city, you could get into trouble. San Francisco's Public Works Department explains this law is in place because there "are dozens of reasons why" you shouldn't feed your new pigeon friends, "but mainly: feeding pigeons harm our neighborhoods and also harms the birds."
2. Did you know an astronaut was allergic to the moon?
Seems like someone had a tre-moon-dous allergy problem! During the Apollo 17 mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt found out that he had a severe reaction to moon dust.
3. Did you know there’s a toilet museum?
In New Delhi, the Sulabh International Museum Of Toilets features a rare collection that details the historic evolution of toilets from 2500 BC all the way up to the present day. When you browse through the exhibit, you’ll learn about the plumbing system of ancient societies, marvel at the elaborately decorated toilets of 18th and 19th-century Europe, and even get to sit upon one from Austria that is shaped like a lion!
4. Did you know the official bird of Redondo Beach, California, is the Goodyear Blimp?
In 1983, the coastal city made the Goodyear Blimp their official city bird in anticipation of the 1984 summer Olympics. They even presented a plaque to a team from Goodyear Airship Operations to help celebrate the decision!
5. Did you know 3 U.S. Presidents have won Grammys?
Former President Jimmy Carter has won three Grammy Awards in the Best Spoken Word Album category. The first one was for Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis in 2007. Next came, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety in 2016. Finally Faith: A Journey For All in 2019.
In 2004, Bill Clinton won Best Spoken Word Album for My Life. Just a year prior in 2003, he won the Best Spoken Word Album for Children with Prokofiev: Peter And The Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks.
Finally, Barack Obama has won a couple of golden megaphones of his own. He won Best Spoken Word Album in 2006 for the narration of his book, Dreams from My Father audiobook. In 2008, he took home another one when he took home the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for the audiobook version of The Audacity of Hope.
6. Did you know Viking men wore makeup?
It’s no doubt that Vikings were some of the toughest men in history books. However, they cared about their appearance enough that makeup was a part of their everyday routine.
7. Did you know you can get your eyeballs tattooed?
If you’re looking to get your entire body tattooed, you don’t need to stop at your eyeballs! Many hardcore tattoo fans are getting the whites of their eyes injected with ink of all kinds of colors ranging from green to purple. However, there are some risks involved such as pain and prolonged blurred and double vision.
8. Did you know the Eagles' stadium once had a courtroom?
Veterans Stadium, where the Philadelphia Eagles once played, had a stadium courtroom and jail to handle the team's notoriously rowdy fans. However, one of the judges for said courtroom reported that 95% of the “inmates” were actually not from the city itself!
9. Did you know "Q" is the only letter that doesn't appear in any U.S. state name?
Go through the list of the fifty nifty states and we can guarantee you won’t find any state that has the letter Q in its name!
10. Did you know a jockey once won a race after he had died?
Frank Hayes was hailed as the winner at a race at Belmont Park right outside New York City in 1923. However, there was a slight problem. Hayes suffered a heart attack and died in the middle of the race so the celebration wasn’t exactly sweet.
11. Did you know sharks love the taste of the Internet?
If shark attacks give you the heebie-jeebies, you and the people over at Google aren’t alone. In 1987, it was reported by The New York Times that sharks “have shown an inexplicable taste for the new fiber-optic cables that are being strung along the ocean floor linking the United States, Europe, and Japan."
12. Did you know Winston Churchill was hit by a car and nearly killed during a New York visit?
Talk about an all-American welcome! During a lecture tour in the U.S. in Dec. 1931, Winston Churchill was struck by a car while crossing Fifth Avenue and nearly killed. Fortunately, he survived the accident.
13. Did you know it would cost $18.3 million to make a replica Darth Vader suit?
Sure, an exact Darth Vader replica would make an awesome Halloween costume but it’s probably a little over budget. According to Time, it would cost the average person $18.3 million to make a real-life replica of the infamous black suit that features a voice modifier, breathing apparatus, prosthetic limbs, and an augmented reality filter.
14. Did you know Neil Armstrong once threatened to sue his barber for selling his hair?
In 2005, Neil Armstrong once threatened legal action to his former barber who had earned $3,000 for selling a lock of the astronaut’s hair. The barber took no heed of the threat and went on to make over $38,000 in 2016 by selling both the hair and the barber's comb and scissors.
15. Did you know "strengths" is the longest word in the English language with one vowel?
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "strengths" is the longest word in the English language with one vowel. The word contains nine letters, eight of them being consonants.
16. Did you know your liver's size fluctuates significantly throughout the day?
While studying mice, a team of Swiss researchers found that the mice’s liver cells swelled and contracted up to 40% while doing their daily activities. Though research being conducted whether that happens to that extent in humans, one study from 1986 found a person’s liver swells about 20 percent between day and night—presumably related to the fact that the liver is not working as hard when a person is sleeping.
17. Did you know there are actually two Air Force Ones?
When its only job is to transport one of the world’s most influential leaders all over the globe, it’s important that it is maintained in tip-top shape. So when Air Force One's SAM 28000 Boeing 747-200B plane is getting fixed, there's an identical plane standing by!
18. Did you know Liechtenstein has just one jail?
Wedged between Switzerland and Austria, the country of Liechtenstein only has 10-20 people in total at its single prison! Any criminal requiring a sentence of more than two years is sent to prisons in Austria or Switzerland.
19. Did you know actor Daniel Radcliffe went through nearly 70 wands and 160 pairs of glasses during the making of the Harry Potter films?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the production team for the seven films also made 40 versions of Salazar Slytherin's locket, 250 paintings for the Marble Staircase, 900 Memory Vials for the cabinet in Dumbledore's Office, and 210,000 coins for the Gringotts bank scene just for last two films alone. Talk about magic!
20. Did you know the filling in Kit Kats is made from damaged Kit Kats?
The folks at the Kit Kat factory sure know how to recycle! Whenever a Kit Kat bar is somehow made imperfect during production like air bubbles or some other issue, the chocolate bar isn’t thrown out. Instead, they ground up into a fine paste and turned into a filling that's then incorporated back into the production process to create new Kit Kat bars!
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