20 Odd Facts For These Strange Times

The person who coined the term “EGOT” never E-got it.
20 Odd Facts For These Strange Times

Hello, everyone, my name is X, and I enjoy this list of interesting facts as a pastime. I've never had much interest in sports or video games, so I found myself reading this book that contained a list of all the most interesting facts I could think of. I became fascinated by the fact that there are an infinite number of interesting facts, so I decided to write a book about interesting facts to keep from getting bored. The book I'm talking about is called “Stupendous Facts To Entertain Our Brains: A Compendium of Surprising, Shocking, and Curious Things,” and it contains over 800 facts. Some of the facts are serious, while others are not; however, I hope you all find at least one fact that you didn't know before, because that's what this is all about. If you wish to take advantage of this list's true power, then read through it randomly so that you can enjoy the things you already knew as well as the things you didn't know you knew.

A boxer refused to leave the ring after a loss at the Olympics.

A South Korean boxer refused to leave the ring after he lost at the Olympics. Byun Jung-il lost his ban- tam weight match at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and refused to leave the ring for over an hour. Offi- cials eventually turned out the lights in the auditorium until he left. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

NY Times

Some crystals trap liquid inside of them as they form.

Some crystals contain sealed pockets of water from millions of years ago. Microscopic pits develop in the crystal faces when they form, allowing water to per- meate through the hard sur- face. As the crystal grows larger, the next layers of crystal growth can cover these pits, trapping the liq- uid. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

GA Mineral

Man O’ Wars have left or right dominant sails.

Portuguese Man O'Wars can be left or right-handed. The float at the top of the man o' war can be oriented towards the left or the right, and the left-hand- ed ones sail to the right of the wind, while the right-handed ones sail to the left. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Harvard

Some bridges have a service to drive you across if you’re scared.

Some suspension bridges will have a service to drive your car across for you if you have gephyrophobia. The Mackinac Bridge Au- thority, which oversees the Mackinac Bridge connect- ing Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, will drive your car across the bridge for free if you have a fear of bridges and tunnels. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

NY Times

A food corporation owned basketball team has had some delicious names.

A basketball team in the Philippines plays under different brand names of its owner, Purefoods. The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots have previously been known as Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Coney Island Ice Cream Stars, and the Corned Beef Cowboys. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Manila Times

The person who coined the term “EGOT” never E-got it.

The term EGOT was coined by a man who claimed he would achieve the feat in five years. Actor Philip Michael Thom- as claimed in late 1984 that he would accumulate the respective EGOT awards - an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Thomas has yet to be nominated for any. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Vanity Fair

Frankincense and myrrh are made from the resin of desert plants.

The desert plants that can be made into frankincense and myrrh protect themselves with antibacterial chemicals. Frankincense and myrrh are derived from the hard- ened resin of desert dwell- ing plants. The resin gets its aroma from antibacteri- al chemicals meant to pro- tect the plant from infec- tion. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

PopSci

American nuclear energy generates 800 billion kilowatt hours a year.

America has the largest nuclear reactor fleet in the world. Nuclear energy gener- ates nearly 800 billion kilowatt hours of elec- tricity each year and makes up more than half of the nation's clean energy. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Energy.gov

One archeologist’s method of discovery involved blowing things up with TNT.

An amateur archeologist would use dynamite to blow apart a site and sift through the debris. Heinrich Schliemann located the ancient city of Troy in the 1870s, among other feats. Modern archeol- ogists disapprove of his methods. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

The Gold of Troy

A newspaper accidentally had code words in their crossword.

The Daily Telegraph accidentally revealed secretive D-Day beaches and code-names through their crossword puzzle. : I SO . 3 g C 23 5 9 C 18 20 On Saturday, May 27 it was Overlord, codename for the whole operation. On May 30 Mulberry, codename for the floating harbors used in the landings; and finally, on June 1, it was Neptune, codeword for the naval assault phase. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Story Needs

A plane spotter grounded a fighter jet after seeing sparks being produced during takeoff.

A citizen plane spotter alerted the base after seeing sparks coming from an F-15. The British plane spotter saw the sparks and called the base's switchboard to alert the base. The pilot publicly thanked him and gave him his insignia patch. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Airforce Mag

A serial killer in Hong Kong was caught trying to develop film of his victims.

A Hong Kong serial killer was caught when he went to develop photos of his victims in a Kodak shop. One of only two known se- rial killers in HK, Lam Kor-wan was a taxi driver that would pick up female passengers, strangle them, then take them to his fami- ly home to dismember. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

SCMP

The longest place name in the world is Bangkok’s real name.

Bangkok's real name is the world's longest for a placè. The full name reads: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahin- thara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Into Asia

German pubs have special sinks for puke.

Some washrooms in German pubs have basins for vomiting. The Speibecken is often a large ceramic bowl in- stalled at waist height with handles for the user to hold onto and a shower head to flush the unit. Viet- nam has their own version, too. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Bielfeld

Volkswagen made dashboard mounted coffee makers.

Volkswagen made a dashboard-mounted coffee maker in the late 1950s. The Hertella-Auto Kaf- feemaschine could be mounted straight onto the dash of a '59 Beetle, with porcelain cups which could stick to the ma- chine magnetically. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

Drive

Mad cow disease is rampant in the UK.

1 in 2,000 people in the UK carries the mad cow disease. Relatively few people who catch the infectious agent develop symptoms and it's unknown if they can trans- mit it to others. They should still refrain from biting other people, how- ever. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

BBC

Fishermen found ancient artifacts in their nets.

Fishermen uncovered a lost 14th century city when golden artifacts were caught in their nets. Srivijaya ruled Indonesia and much of Southeast Asia for over 600 years but disappeared without a trace, until its location was revealed on the River Musi. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

History

The DSV Alvin has had all of its parts replaced since starting service.

The deep-ocean submersible Alvin has been in service so long that none of its components are original. Like the Ship of Theseus, every part of the DSV Alvin has been replaced over the last 58 years of service, in which it explored hydro- thermal vents, the Titanic, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW

WHOI

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