12 Dorky Bits of Trivia That, Wait a Minute, Now That They’ve Taken Off Their Glasses and Pushed Their Hair Behind Their Ears, Are Actually Kind of Beautiful
They’ve been in our lives forever; we just never noticed them for whatever reason. We must’ve run in different circles, you know? All we knew about these trivia tidbits is that they were Nerdy with a capital N.
But something about them caught our attention all of a sudden. Without those big thick glasses, and with their auburn hair framing their face just so… It sounds crazy, but we think we’re in love. We wonder if, no, we’re sure they already have a date to prom. But maybe we’ll work up the courage to ask anyway.
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A Pod of Killer Whales Helped Humans Hunt Other Whales (in Exchange for Whale Tongues)
“The Killers of Eden” were a gang of Australian killer whales in the 1800s and 1900s who would herd baleen whales to make it easier for humans to hunt them. Human and whale alike honored “the Rule of Tongue” — carcasses would be anchored to the sea floor so the killer whales could eat the tongues (and genitals), before the humans harvested the blubber. They were led by a whale named Old Tom, who died at the age of 90, after narcing on whales for three human generations of whalers.
Bob Ross Permed His Hair to Save Money
Ross wanted to try being a traveling art teacher for a year, and promised his wife he’d call it quits if he didn’t make money. His penny-pinching strategy included perming his naturally straight hair so he’d never have to get a haircut.
Pink Floyd Shut Down Heathrow (and Scared a Bunch of Cows)
To shoot the photo for their Animals album cover, Pink Floyd commissioned a huge pig balloon to float up above that power station. They hired a marksman to stand by and shoot it down if it came untethered, but they didn’t hire him back when the shoot unexpectedly went an extra day. Sure enough, the pig got loose, crossed into flight paths around Heathrow Airport, and eventually landed in a field of cows, startling the hell out of them.
Irish Police Quelled a Riot With Ice Cream Truck Music
Some kids started throwing bottles at a cop car during a protest, so the officer played a familiar ice cream truck song over his loudspeaker. It actually had the desired effect of defusing the situation, but the officer was reprimanded for having a little too much fun on the job.
Egyptian Leaders Keep Trying to Dismantle the Great Pyramids
Twelfth-century sultan Al-Aziz Uthman didn’t know or care much about the pyramids, so he ordered them to be taken down either to build a wall, or to see if there was any cool treasure hiding underneath — historians aren’t entirely sure which. In the 19th century, Muhammad Ali Pasha wanted to use the stones to dam the Nile. Both times it proved too expensive and labor-intensive to pull off.
Disgruntled Singles Tried to Ruin Valentine’s Day
In 2014, a bunch of salty Shanghai singles pooled their money and bought out all the even-numbered seats in a movie theater; the idea being that couples wouldn’t be able to sit together. I’m sure they’ve all become better adjusted, less vindictive and more laid in the last decade.
Astronaut Charlie Duke Gave Aliens a Sidequest
During the Apollo 16 mission, Duke left a photograph of his family on the moon, with a handwritten note on the back: “This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth, who landed on the Moon on the twentieth of April 1972.” If I were an alien and I stumbled upon that thing? I would absolutely take it as a prompt to track down the Dukes and return their precious heirloom.
Switzerland’s Nation-Wide Suicide Pact
In 1880, Switzerland came up with a plan to basically blow its own entire ass up if it ever got invaded. The concept is called the Swiss National Redoubt, and while it’s been tweaked to be more defensive and less suicidal in recent years, they still haven’t removed 100 percent of the explosives they planted. One village is set to be evacuated from 2030 to 2040 so they can safely dispose of the last batch of bombs.
The Sociopathic Dog Who Imperiled Children for Profit
In 1908, a Parisian man’s dog rescued a kid who had fallen into a river, and was rewarded with a slab of beefsteak. He quickly started saving more and more kids, to the extent that people thought there was a serial river-shover in their community. The New York Times headline perfectly sums up the big twist: “DOG A FAKE HERO. Pushes Children Into the Seine to Rescue Them and Win Beefsteaks.”
Barcelona Paid Messi to Get Tall
Lionel Messi has a growth hormone disorder, which caused him to max out below 5-feet tall. When he signed with FC Barcelona, the team agreed to pay for his HGH treatment – as much as $900 per month – and he’s now 5-foot-7.
Guinness Swears That Men Scientifically Need Two Guys’ Nights Per Week
Guinness commissioned a study that – surprise, surprise – concluded you need at least a couple nights a week with the boys to stay healthy and happy. Couldn’t hurt to knock back a couple ol’ brewskis while you’re at it! Scientifically speaking.
A Hacker on the FBI’s Most Wanted List Was Caught Because His Password Was His Cat’s Name
Hacktivist Jeremy Hammond was caught in 2014, because, he believes, “my password was really weak.” He thinks the feds were able to guess a key password, “Chewy123,” to collect damning evidence of his crimes.
