Frank Bourassa is a confident man. “I can do anything I want. I can go to the moon. I’m good at figuring out stuff. I could do a heart transplant if I wanted to.” He’s not cocky, he’s confident with good reason. He made more than $200 million in fake currency that was so good it fooled the Secret Service and he walked away from the whole thing a free and wealthy man.
In 1986, when a five year old boy fell into a gorilla…
In 1986, when a five year old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness, a large male gorilla named Jambo stood between the boy and the other gorillas in a protective gesture, even stroking the boy’s back. The incident helped create a positive public perception of gorillas.
In order to discover that penguins sleep more deeply…
In order to discover that penguins sleep more deeply in the afternoon, scientists crept up on sleeping king penguins at different times of the day and poked them with a stick until they woke up. It took around nine pokes to rouse a bird from an afternoon nap – five to wake one sleeping in the morning.
Guards at New Mexico State Penitentiary had…
Guards at New Mexico State Penitentiary had a “snitch game”. They would label inmates as snitches, let them be abused, and wait for them to turn into informants to escape their tormentors.
In 1849 New York, a man would walk up to strangers…
In 1849 New York, a man would walk up to strangers and begin a conversation. Gaining their trust, he would ask “Have you the confidence to trust me with your watch until tomorrow?” He would never return. When finally caught, he was labeled a “confidence man”, later shortened to simply “con man”. The man, William Thompson, would reportedly gain the confidence of his upper-class “mark” by dressing very nicely and pretending to be an old, forgotten friend. He was eventually arrested when one of his former victims recognized him on the street.
If pigs are not castrated the meat…
If pigs are not castrated the meat will have an unpleasant odor when cooked; referred to as “Boar Taint.” With the feral pig explosion across many parts of North American hunters have developed the practice of “Twice hunting”. Hunters trap the male boars, take their testicles off (yikes), and then release the pigs for several months or up to a year before hunting them a second time and killing them. When the pigs are spayed the tend to graze a lot more and spend less time getting into fights. Their hormones obviously change as well which affect the muscle tissue of the sterile pigs.
On Halloween 1992 the UK show ‘Ghostwatch’ purported…
On Halloween 1992 the UK show ‘Ghostwatch’ purported to show a real haunting which was spreading around the country. Banned for a decade and never re-aired, it was blamed for several traumas, including a suicide.
Since the 12th century, Judaism believes that if…
Since the 12th century, Judaism believes that if the truths derived through science or philosophy contradict religious beliefs, the religious beliefs are incorrect.
In 1991 a woman was kept “alive” although…
In 1991 a braindead woman was kept “alive” because she was pregnant. The baby was born alive.
In 2010, when Google replaced their logo with playable…
In 2010, when Google replaced their logo with playable Pacman, users spent an extra 36 seconds on the page. Assuming this time was wasted, it resulted in a $120M loss in man hours.