In an April 1953 newspaper article in the Tacoma News Tribune, Mark Sullivan made an uncannily accurate prediction about the future of the telephone. via kottke.org
Glenn K. Tripp, a D.B Cooper copycat…
Glenn K. Tripp, a D.B Cooper copycat, hijacked a plane for a $600k ransom. He had his drink spiked with Valium by a flight attendant, and after a 10 hour standoff, lowered his ransom to 3 cheeseburgers and a head start on a getaway.
Brad Pitt tried to buy himself…
Brad Pitt tried to buy himself out of a movie, ‘Interview with the Vampire’. Upon hearing about the 40M$ exit clause he was forced to shoot the movie. It went on to launch Kirsten Dunst’s career and received 2 Oscar nominations.
Roman soldiers were given one…
Roman soldiers were given one pound of meat daily. For an army 120 sheep were killed a day just for the meat ration. Or 60 hogs. Huge flocks of livestock were herded and grazing alongside an army. Roman soldiers were a mule more than anything else. They carried very heavy gear, on bad roads.
In a case of mistaken identity…
In a case of mistaken identity, an inmate spent 17 years in prison until they found his doppelganger who has the same cornrows, facial hair, and first name.
Ray’s Pizza was started…
Ray’s Pizza was started by a Mob as a front for Drugs and Money laundering, But ended up making almost the same money as their drug buisness.
The craze for collecting toy…
The craze for collecting toy soldiers began with the French in the 18th century. When Napoleon Bonaparte planned his military campaigns, he used models made by Lucotte, a toy soldier maker, to show the positions of his armies. One day he handed a few of the figures over to his son to play with.
Davy and Daryl, twin 10 year olds…
Davy and Daryl, twin 10 year olds, spent 3 years biking from Alaska to Argentina to set a Guinness World Record – only to be denied the title, once completed.
The actor who played Furio…
The actor who played Furio on the Sopranos once discovered a painting in a museum had been mislabeled. He bought it for $70k and it ended up being worth $10 million.
“Libations,” the practice of pouring…
“Libations,” the practice of pouring out alcohol in memory of those who have “passed on” was common in Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. “Pouring one out for the homies” is a custom over 3,000 years old and is mentioned in the Bible, the The Iliad, and The Odyssey.