When the Spanish landed on the Yucatan Peninsula, they asked “where are we?”, to which the indigenous population responded “Yucatan”, meaning “I don’t understand what he just said”.
Former dictator of Equatorial Guinea Francisco…
Former dictator of Equatorial Guinea Francisco Macias Nguema banned the use of lubricants in Malabo city power plant, saying he could run it using magic. The plant exploded.
Hunter S. Thompson pranked Jack Nicholson on his birthday…
Hunter S. Thompson pranked Jack Nicholson on his birthday by shining a spotlight on his house, blasting a recording of a pig being eaten alive by bears, firing his pistol, and leaving an elk’s heart at the front door, while Nicholson and his two daughters hid in the basement.
The first Pastafarian wedding took place in New…
The first Pastafarian wedding took place in New Zealand in April. The guests wore eye patches and it took place on a pirate ship.
Olympic gold medals are only 1% gold and 92.5% silver…
Olympic gold medals are only 1% gold and 92.5% silver. They would be worth over $25k if they were pure gold but instead the medal value is only approximately $600.
A Chinese company, Ninebot Inc., made a knock…
A Chinese company, Ninebot Inc. made a knock off of the Segway. When Segway tried to sue them, Ninebot used the money they made from selling the knock offs to buy the company that originally made the Segway.
The Republic of Texas had its own embassy-like building…
The Republic of Texas had its own embassy-like building in London. When it joined the rest of the United States in 1845, the officials skipped town without paying their rent.
In 1945 the USSR presented the U.S. Ambassador with…
In 1945 the USSR presented the U.S. Ambassador with a carved replica of the U.S. Seal. It hung in his office for 7 years before it was discovered to have a small listening device embedded. It was one of the first “bugs” of the Cold War.
A computer tech forgot to install some new code…
A computer tech forgot to install some new code in a server. This resulted in a high speed stock trading company that did $21 billion in daily trades to go bankrupt in 45 minutes.
A guy made a chicken sandwich literally from scratch…
A guy made a chicken sandwich literally from scratch — he grew a garden, harvested wheat, slaughtered a chicken, traveled to boil ocean water for salt, etc — it took him 6 months and cost him $1,500. He didn’t think it tasted very good.