R. Norris Williams survived the Titanic sinking, but spent a such long time in the icy Atlantic ocean that doctors wanted to amputate his legs. He refused, recovered and went on to win his 1st US Tennis Championship that same year.
When the city of Austin Texas asked people online to rename…
When the city of Austin Texas asked people online to rename their Solid Waste Services Department, the winner was “The Fred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts”.
As we age, we perceive time faster because “adulthood…
As we age, we perceive time faster because “adulthood is accompanied by fewer and fewer memorable events” (firsts), our biological clocks slows down along with a few other affecting factors.
A wanted robber known as “Roofman” created a secret hideout…
A wanted robber known as “Roofman” created a secret hideout inside a Toys “R” Us. He played with toys, watched DVDs, ate baby food, and installed a baby video monitor to keep an eye on the store.
The silent horror film “The Unknown” (1927) was missing…
The silent horror film “The Unknown” (1927) was missing for many years in the archives of Cinematheque Francaise because they had hundreds of film cans marked “unknown”.
Prince used the heartbeat of his unborn son as part…
Prince used the heartbeat of his unborn son as part of the percussion in one track on the ‘Emancipation’ album. By the time the album was released, his son had died of a congenital birth defect.
Shakespeare intentionally made grammatical errors to heighten…
Shakespeare intentionally made grammatical errors to heighten the attention of his audiences before key points in his plays – the technique is called ‘functional shift’ and the use of it keeps the brain alive.
The longest filibuster in US history was conducted by…
The longest filibuster in US history was conducted by Strom Thurmond who spoke continuously for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to block the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
The rivalry between the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul…
The rivalry between the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul was so intense that at one point they resorted to kidnapping each others census workers so that one city would not outgrow the other.
During World War II a Dutch minesweeper evaded the Japanese…
During World War II a Dutch minesweeper evaded the Japanese for eight days disguised as an island. The crew covered the decks in cut trees and painted exposed surfaces to look like rocks. They moved only at night and anchored closed to shore by day, eventually escaping to Australia.