While performing the first…

While performing the first space walk in human history, Alexey Leonov’s spacesuit inflated so much he couldn’t get back inside his space capsule. He had to let air out of his suit while still in the vacuum of space and was barely able to fit back through the airlock.

The scientists who first discovered…

The scientists who first discovered the platypus thought it was fake. Although indigenous Aboriginal people already knew of the creature, European scientists assumed an egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, venomous mammal had to be an elaborate hoax.

The tallest person…

The tallest person in recorded history was Robert Wadlow, who was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) tall and apparently still growing at the time of his death at 22 years of age.

George Lucas was fined $250,000…

George Lucas was fined $250,000 and “The Empire Strikes Back” was nearly pulled from theatres because he put screen credits at the end of the movie (which was rare) to preserve the dramatic opening sequences.

Egypt is building a new capital…

Egypt is building a new capital city as a replacement for Cairo. The city is being developed to have a “smart traffic” system and a green space larger than New York’s Central Park. They haven’t picked a name yet.

You should never wash raw chicken…

You should never wash raw chicken. Doing do increases your risk of food poisoning from campylobacter bacteria by splashing water contaminated with the bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing, and cooking equipment.

In 1508, Autun, France pressed…

In 1508, Autun, France pressed charges on rats for destroying barley crops. The lawyer representing the rats argued that the court’s summons wasn’t specific enough to his clients, and that Autun’s cat population made it unsafe for his clients to come to court. The rats were acquitted.