Le Palais Ideal, a castle of stones, was built single handedly over 33 years by postman Ferdinand Cheval. He had no architectural training, but after tripping over an interestingly shaped rock on his mail route he was reminded of a dream he once had of such a palace and made it his life’s work.
The Knights Templar invented…
The Knights Templar invented international banking and payable checks.
Chinese doctor Jiang Yanyong…
Chinese doctor Jiang Yanyong, who exposed the cover-up of China’s SARS outbreak in 2003, was barred from traveling to the United States to collect a human rights award. He spent several months in custody for his efforts.
North Korea has their own basketball…
North Korea has their own basketball rules: slam dunks are worth three points, field goals in the final three minutes of the game are worth eight points, three-pointers are worth four if the ball doesn’t touch the rim, and a point is deducted for missed free throws.
The Irish Elk, an extinct species of deer, stood…
The Irish Elk, an extinct species of deer, stood 7 feet tall at the shoulders and had 12 foot wide antlers. The Irish Elk was the third largest deer to ever live, but had the largest and heaviest antler of any animal in the deer family. It went extinct 7000 years ago.
The US Navy has a tradition…
The US Navy has a tradition that no submarine is ever considered lost at sea. Subs that don’t return, including 52 lost during WWII, are considered “still on patrol.” Every year at Christmastime sailors manning communications hubs send holiday greetings to those listed as still on patrol.
When the Japanese emperor announced…
When the Japanese emperor announced Japan’s surrender in WW2, his speech was too formal and vague for the general populace to understand. Many listeners were left confused and it took some people hours, some days, to understand that Japan had, in fact, surrendered.
Gilberto Baschiera, an Italian banker…
Gilberto Baschiera, an Italian banker, is considered a modern-day Robin Hood. Over the course of 7 years, he secretly diverted 1 million euros to poorer clients from the wealthy ones so they could qualify for loans.
Gilberto Baschiera, an Italian banker…
Gilberto Baschiera, an Italian banker, is considered a modern-day Robin Hood. Over the course of 7 years, he secretly diverted 1 million euros to poorer clients from the wealthy ones so they could qualify for loans.
In 1714, a Norwegian captain…
In 1714, a Norwegian captain and an English captain had a 14-hour long ship fight. Afterwards, both ships were badly damaged and the Norwegian captain was running out of ammo. He sent an envoy to the English ship, asking if he could borrow some of their ammo. They said no.