Liang Shi’s 27 Failed Attempts
26. Liang Shi, 56, has failed his college entrance exam 27 times in a row. He started in 1983 and kept trying over the years.
27. Many people believed Abraham Lincoln was ugly, including Lincoln himself. Once, when he was accused of being “two-faced” during a debate, he replied, “If I had two faces, would I be showing you this one?”
28. An orangutan at the San Diego Zoo kept escaping its enclosure so it could walk around the zoo, look at the other animals, and throw faeces at its ex-enclosure mate, which it did not like.
29. A cat named Oscar, also known as Unsinkable Sam, survived 3 shipwrecks in WW2. At one point, he was found clinging to a piece of wood floating in the water and was described as “angry but quite unharmed” when he was found.
30. The Vikings brought Native American wives to Iceland, and their DNA is still present on the island.
31. Monkeys with smaller testicles tend to scream louder to compensate. The pattern suggests that they rely on louder vocalizations when they have less to gain from physical competition.
32. A white American became a Japanese citizen and successfully sued a business that refused entry to non-Japanese for racial discrimination, winning $25,000 in damages. The case marked a notable challenge to exclusionary treatment based on nationality.
33. During the Siege of Suiyang, General Zhang Xun killed his own concubine as food for the hungry soldiers defending the city to convince them that such extreme sacrifices were worth it. His brutal decision underscored how desperate the defense had become.
34. Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected by twenty publishers before Chilton finally accepted it. Chilton was primarily known for car repair manuals, making the novel’s eventual publisher an unlikely match.
35. In 1991, Paul Reubens, known as Pee Wee Herman, was arrested by undercover detectives in Sarisota Florida for indecent exposure at a porn theater. Later, Pee Wee appeared at the 1991 MTV VMAs and received a standing ovation after asking the audience, “Heard any good jokes lately?”
Lacrosse’s Ancient Native American Roots
36. Lacrosse descends from a version played by Native Americans in the 17th century. Games could last several days, with as many as 1,000 players per team, on a field with goals up to 6 miles apart. Sticks were so treasured that players were often buried with them upon death.
37. A dive watch bezel only turns counterclockwise as a life-saving measure. If it is accidentally bumped, it will subtract time from the dive and prompt the diver to surface early rather than stay under for too long.
38. The hit song “You’re Beautiful” (2004) by James Blunt was voted the most irritating track ever in a survey and appeared on various lists of the worst songs ever. Blunt himself issued a public apology for the record’s overexposure, which he blamed on the record company’s promotion techniques.
39. Hundreds of mummified seals have been found as far as 41 miles inland in Antarctica. One tested specimen had been sitting out in the open for 1,500 years. Researchers theorize that 1-2 seals annually get lost during white-out events and accidentally travel inland, where they eventually die.
40. In 2017, Ford Motor Company sued John Cena for selling his all-new Ford GT supercar too soon.
41. A researcher in Antarctica matched with a woman on Tinder who was stationed at a field camp 45 minutes away. Even in one of the most remote places on Earth, the app still connected them.
42. Conrad Veidt was a top German actor in the 1920s, and his wife was Jewish. He refused to renounce her and even claimed to be Jewish in solidarity, while his Hollywood contract required him to play a villain if he portrayed a Nazi, as he did in “Casablanca.” He also gave his life savings to the war effort.
43. “The Office” production crew was ready to film “The Dinner Party” when the 2008 Writer’s Guild of America strike began. Although any complete script was allowed to be filmed, Steve Carell was also a member of the WGA and refused to cross the picket line in support of the writers.
44. When Brendan Shanahan was 14 years old, he asked hockey star Rick Vaive for an autograph, but Vaive brushed him away rudely. Four years later, Shanahan was in the NHL and fought and beat up Vaive the first time they played against each other.
45. In-N-Out burgers operates occasional pop-up restaurants in Australia for the sole purpose of protecting their trademark there. The temporary openings help them defend the brand in that market.
Taming Is Not the Same as Domestication
46. You can tame many wild animals so they will not try to kill you, but domestication requires a change at the genetic level. The difference means an animal may become manageable without ever becoming truly domesticated.
47. The elite schools of the Aztec Empire, where students studied subjects such as medicine, astronomy, engineering, theology, and law, were called “Houses of Tears” because of their incredibly high standards and the chores placed on students. The demanding environment gave the schools a fearsome reputation.
48. American Cheese is cheese that has been treated to allow it to melt without breaking apart or becoming greasy like traditional cheese. That processing gives it the smooth, even melt it is known for.
49. According to the Bible, King Solomon had 700 wives, as well as 300 concubines. The scale of his household remains one of the most striking details in the biblical account.
50. The CIA used the song “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem to psychologically torture inmates at a secret US prison. After 20 days of playing the song on repeat, one inmate described others as “screaming and smashing their heads against the walls.”
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