After the release of Gayla Peevey’s “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” (1953) a campaign was launched to give her a hippopotamus for Christmas. The campaign succeeded & she was presented with an actual hippopotamus, which she donated to the city zoo. The hippopotamus lived for nearly 50 years.
In Japan, your blood type is treated like your Zodiac sign is…
In Japan, your blood type is treated like your Zodiac sign is in the West, but they’re even more serious about it. “What’s your blood type?” is a common question to be asked, and there are even blood type horoscopes, etc.
The word “legend” originally meant “things to be read…
The word “legend” originally meant “things to be read”. In the pre-Medieval period, reading and writing were very rare, and so anything worthy of being written down was something very noteworthy, and thus “legendary”$$ worthy of being written down and read.
Before filming LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson made…
Before filming LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, Jackson made the principal actors train for 6 weeks in sword fighting, riding and boating to allow the cast to bond. Later, most of the actors portraying the Fellowship got a tattoo with the Elvish symbol for the number 9.
While attending Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien once stole…
While attending Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien once stole a city bus and took his friends on a joy ride.
Happier cows really do produce more milk, and simply…
Happier cows really do produce more milk, and simply calling cows by individual names ups production by 3.5%.
Elephants know to come to humans for help..
Elephants know to come to humans for help (like if they’ve been poisoned) and can find us even over long distances.
In 1958, Dr. David Briggs claimed that hypnotizing…
In 1958, Dr. David Briggs claimed that hypnotizing his students increased their academic performance by up to 15 percent.
In 1965, 25% of all black families in the U.S. were headed….
In 1965, 25% of all black families in the U.S. were headed by women. By 2010, that number reached 72%.
A Swedish astronaut was not allowed to bring reindeer jerky with…
A Swedish astronaut was not allowed to bring reindeer jerky with him on board a shuttle mission close to Christmas because the American astronauts thought it was weird. He had to go with moose jerky instead.