“RMS Titanic” fired 8 emergency flares before sinking. A ship in the area, the “SS Californian”, saw the flares and that the ship appeared uneven in the water. The crew told the captain, who did not believe the rockets were fired in distress. All of Titanic’s passengers could have been rescued.
Czechoslovak runner Emil Zátopek decided to compete…
Czechoslovak runner Emil Zátopek decided to compete in the marathon in the 1952 Olympics, despite never having run that distance in his life. Zátopek asked fellow runner Jim Peters, who he was racing alongside, if the pace was fast enough. When Peters said “no”, Zátopek sped up and won the race.
An Apollo astronaut lost his wedding ring during…
An Apollo astronaut lost his wedding ring during his trip to the moon… and found it again during a spacewalk.
Astronaut John Glenn became the oldest person…
Astronaut John Glenn became the oldest person in space at 77 after “lobbying NASA for two years to fly as a human guinea pig for geriatric studies”.
The airplane which was featured in The Dark Knight Rises…
The airplane which was featured in The Dark Knight Rises’ plane scene actually crashed with no survivors a year after the film was released.
In the 19th century China came extremely close…
In the 19th century China came extremely close to being ruled by the leader of a Christian cult who believed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ. It took the deadliest civil war in history with 30 million dead to defeat him.
The Tokyo subway system employs oshiyas or pushers…
The Tokyo subway system employs oshiyas or pushers, workers who literally push commuters into Tokyo’s overcrowded subways and trains. Sources: Wikipedia, CNN, Art and the Subway: New York Underground, amusingplanet
One of the least-remembered US Presidents…
One of the least-remembered US Presidents, Millard Fillmore, was effectively sold as a child by his destitute father into a kind of indentured servitude (bordering on child slavery). He eventually bought himself from his master for $30 and walked 100 miles to his home at age 14.
When Benjamin Franklin died he left the city of Boston…
When Benjamin Franklin died he left the city of Boston $4000 in a trust to earn interest for 200 years. By 1990 the trust was worth over $5 million and was used to help establish a trade school that became the Franklin Institute of Boston.
A man named Gary Richmond fell into a coma and woke up…
A man named Gary Richmond fell into a coma and woke up with amnesia, he couldn’t remember his wife he had been married to for 26 years. He ended up falling in love with her over again.