Name Inspired by a Book
26. When Nichelle Nichols auditioned for the role of a communications officer in “Star Trek,” she brought a copy of Robert Ruark’s “Uhuru” with her. “Uhuru” means “freedom” in Swahili, and after Gene Roddenberry learned the word’s meaning, he changed the character’s name to “Uhura.”
27. Albert Einstein worked as an electrician during the Oktoberfest 1896.
28. Modern Africa is linked with large mammals such as elephants, lions, and rhinos, but large mammals once had a worldwide range until a mass extinction about 11,700 years ago, and Africa is only the continent that kept many of them.
29. The night before Iraq invaded Kuwait, there was a surge in pizza orders placed by the CIA.
30. One of the most inaccurately named men in history was Charles Coward. While held by the Germans, he exchanged clothing with a Jewish inmate so he could tell the British what was happening in Auschwitz, and he later gave testimony in Nuremberg.
31. The “Made in [Country]” mark was first created by the UK in 1887 to promote domestic buying, but it had the opposite effect because consumers specifically purchased goods made in Germany, since they were seen as dependable and inexpensive.
32. Located in Florida and the Caribbean, the Manchineel is among the world’s most dangerous trees. Its sap causes severe skin blistering and blindness, and because its toxins dissolve in water, standing under it during rain is dangerous. Even its smoke can blind, and every part of the tree is lethally poisonous. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was reportedly killed by an arrow poisoned with its sap. Its nickname? “Little Apple of Death.”
33. In 1989, American artist Joe Coleman performed at the Boston Film/Video Foundation as his Professor Mombooze-o character. He broke through a screen with fireworks strapped to his chest, then bit the heads off two live white mice during the performance. Police and firefighters came afterward, and Coleman was charged with “possession of an infernal machine.” The court fined him and ordered him not to eat any mice for one year.
34. Until 1973, Texas law allowed a husband to kill a person found having sex with his wife, “provided that the killing takes place before the parties to the act have separated.”
35. The studio behind The Hangover reduced director Todd Phillips’ $6.5 million fee by half because no major actor had been signed to the film. In return, Phillips asked for a share of the profits, which earned him nearly $70 million.
Witzelsucht Humor Disorder
36. A rare neurological disorder known as Witzelsucht is marked by a habit of making puns or telling inappropriate jokes or pointless stories in socially inappropriate situations.
37. In Soviet Russia, surplus jet engines were used to remove ice from railroads.
38. In 1998, a US Navy pilot flew too low in violation of regulations and severed a gondola’s cable, killing 20 people. He and his crew were tried and found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide.
39. In 69 AD in Rome, soldiers killed Emperor Galba as Otho took power. After the assassination, about 120 men said they had assisted in killing Galba, hoping Otho would reward them. Soon afterward, Vitellius removed Otho from power and seized control. Vitellius ordered all of the claimants to be executed.
40. From 1933 to 1941, the Chinese city of Shanghai accepted more than 18,000 Jewish people fleeing Europe during World War 2 without conditions. This exceeded the combined total taken by Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and British India.
41. General Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War I, said of the Treaty of Versailles, “This is not a peace treaty. This is an armistice for twenty years.” The Second World War began 20 years and 64 days later.
42. In April 1989, Chinese leader Hu Yaobang died, and his funeral became the beginning of the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. As General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, he had supported investigations into party nepotism and corruption, favored better relations with Japan, and backed greater autonomy for Tibetans and Uyghurs. Party hardliners made him resign in 1987 because he would not crack down on student demonstrations. After his death, students came into Tiananmen Square to mourn him and quickly turned their sorrow into a wider political movement.
43. When researchers used infrared cameras on ancient Egyptian mummies, they found tattoo art on them, something they had not known about before.
44. Sinus arrhythmia in dogs is normal. A dog’s heart rate rises as they breathe in and falls as they breathe out.
45. In 2011, Dutch football club VVV-Venlo signed an 18-month-old toddler named Baerke van der Meij to a symbolic ten-year contract after his father posted a video showing him kicking a ball into his toy chest three times in a row. Club officials jokingly called him a promising talent and asked him to attend a signing ceremony. Baerke celebrated the occasion by writing his signature on the contract. After finishing the deal, the toddler celebrated with a glass of orange juice.
Florida Middle School Incident
46. Christopher Freeman, a man from Florida, took an AK-47 to a middle school in 2019 after he got a phone call from his son, who was crying.
47. Vince Clarke partly quit Depeche Mode because he disliked the fame side of the group, so he left to create a small band named Yaz, which became famous, and then Erasure, which also became famous.
48. Under the United States Flag Code, the flag “should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.” This includes paper napkins or plates printed with the design.
49. Crocodiles and alligators are the only surviving members of an ancient evolutionary branch of Archosaurs that ruled the planet in the late Triassic, before an extinction event caused them to be replaced by Dinosaurs.
50. In 1997, researchers at a Swedish zoo saw a chimpanzee calmly gathering stones into piles of three to eight. When the chimp later became upset, it threw them at visitors, showing clear foresight. It was the first recorded instance of a non-human animal planning for a future event.
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