Ernest Hemingway was recruited as a spy for the KGB in 1941, code named “Argo”, but he never provided any valuable information and was abandoned by the Soviets by the end of the 1940’s.
The conservationist, John Muir…
The conservationist, John Muir, was an avid inventor. He hooked up an alarm clock to his custom bed that would throw him onto the floor to ensure he got up on time.
Einstein was born missing part…
Einstein was born missing part of the brain that influences speech and did not speak until the age of three. However, his parietal lobe, responsible for math and spatial recognition, was abnormally large.
Scott Carpenter was the only…
Scott Carpenter was the only NASA Mercury astronaut who hadn’t finished college. After his spaceflight, the university granted him his degree because “his subsequent training as an astronaut more than made up for the deficiency in the subject of heat transfer.”
Vomit sink
Apparently vomit sinks are fairly common in German bars, where they go by various names: Kotzbecken, Speibecken, Expektorierbecken, or Pabst.
In the 50’s NASA recruited…
In the 50’s NASA recruited deaf people to research why they didn’t get motion sickness. Tests included flights in ‘Vomit Comet’ and sailing in the rough seas (researchers got violently sick, while deaf people just played cards happily).
In Japan, back when Christianity…
In Japan, back when Christianity was illegal, people were told to step on this plaque with a picture of Mary or Jesus on it to prove that they weren’t Christians.
James Jamerson, regarded as…
James Jamerson, regarded as the greatest electronic bass player ever, recorded Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, while being flat on his back as he was too intoxicated to stand upright. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Hitting a fruit tree can make…
Hitting a fruit tree can make it feel threatened, spurring it to produce more or larger fruit to distribute seeds before dying.
Vitamin D deficiency is linked…
Vitamin D deficiency is linked with many health disorders, including depression. In a survey of almost 8,000 US residents, it was found that those with lower vitamin D levels “are at a significantly higher risk of showing depression”.