The more we think we know about the world around us, the more it continues to surprise us. But perhaps, that’s the beauty of it - there is always something new to discover, learn and explore. In the article below you will find 17 fascinating facts about history, nature, recent affairs, and anything in between. Whatever your interests are, there is something here to spark anyone’s curiosity!
1. The Mississippi River was once five miles wide and whales swam up to it from the Gulf of Mexico. The remains of these whales have been found in Michigan.
2. When the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire in April 2019, the 200,000 bees that lived in the roof were thought to be dead, but in fact, they managed to survive the fire.
3. In 1997 an orange juice production company named Del Oro dumped 12,000 tonnes of orange peel waste on virtually lifeless soil in northern Costa Rica. 16 years later, it turned into a lush forest.
4. In 2018, a cow escaped from a Polish farm and was spotted months later living with a herd of wild bison.
5. Edward Bannister won 1st prize for a painting at the 1876 Philadelphia centennial international exhibition, but after discovering Bannister's identity, the judge wanted to rescind his award because he was African-American. However, this wasn't possible due to protests from the other competitors.
6. Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen is one of the most notorious double agents in US history. In an almost comical turn of events, in 1984 Hanssen was appointed to work in a unit whose job was to identify and capture Soviet spies. But Hanssen himself was the mole, working for the Soviets and then the Russians since 1979. He was caught in 2001 and was sentenced to 15 life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
11. Auto-Tune, introduced in 1997, which uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances was named one of the 50 worst inventions by Time magazine.
12. Curry has a longer history of being served in Britain than fish and chips, with the first Indian restaurant opening in 1809 and fish and chips only served from 1858 at the earliest.
13. The rarest blood type in the world is named SARA. Only 2 families in the world have it and it's officially recognized as an entirely new blood group.
14. Kotatsu is a traditional Japanese table with an attached blanket. You can use it to relax, nap, eat, or hang out with friends, and it even has a built-in heater underneath.
15. In the 1830s two French brothers, François and Joseph Blanc, pulled off the first 'cyber attack' in history. The Blanc brother hacked the optical telegraph system to gain information on the stock market. When they got caught two years later, they walked away as free men because in 1836 there were no laws against hacking.
16. The French revolution gave us the metric system and almost gave us metric clocks, too. They had 10 hours in the day, 10 days in the week, and 30 days each month.
17. The UK Women’s Institute invited Colin Darch, a former hostage of Somali pirates, to give a speech on his experiences. However, due to a mix-up, many elder members of the WI attended the event dressed up as pirates. Darch took it well, ultimately judging a “best pirate costume” competition.
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