There was a Roman priesthood whose job was to perform a specific dance and chant around sacred shields. Since this ritual was unchanged for centuries, later Romans had no idea what the ritual actually meant while still continuing the tradition. 10
A Swedish sailor shipwrecked on an island inhabited…
A Swedish sailor shipwrecked on an island inhabited by cannibals. He was captured and taken to a local king, whose daughter fell in love with him. He married, had nine children with her, and became the king after his father-in-law. 00
In 1977 the Chicago Sun-Times bought a bar…
In 1977 the Chicago Sun-Times bought a bar and ran it with undercover reporters to investigate widespread corruption. 00
In 2011, Laura Dekker, the Dutch girl, became the youngest…
In 2011, Laura Dekker, the Dutch girl, became the youngest person to sail around the world solo. She did it in a year and celebrated her 16th birthday on the trip. 00
The idiom “Turning a blind eye” is attributed…
The idiom “Turning a blind eye” is attributed to Admiral Horatio Nelson who, in the midst of battle and given the permission to retreat by his superior, lifted the telescope to his eye (blinded from an earlier injury) and said “I really do not see the signal” and pressed on with the attack. 00
In 2011, when Jeopardy!’s 74-game champion Ken Jennings…
In 2011, when Jeopardy!’s 74-game champion Ken Jennings lost in an exhibition match against IBM’s Watson AI program, he wrote under his final response “I for one welcome our new computer overlords”. 00
There is a 1982 Barbie commercial…
There is a 1982 Barbie commercial that ends with the line “Better make Ken a sandwich!” 00
In much of the US it is illegal to buy a new car…
In much of the US it is illegal to buy a new car from the manufacturer. You are required by law to go through the middleman of a car dealer, so they can tac on an extra ~30℅. 00
During the Austro-Prussian War, Liechtenstein…
During the Austro-Prussian War, Liechtenstein had an army of 80 men. During the conflict no men were injured or killed and they returned home with 81 men because they’d made an Italian friend along the way. The army was then disbanded and Liechtenstein hasn’t had a military since. 00
At the Starbucks located inside of the Central Intelligence…
At the Starbucks located inside of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia, customer names cannot be called out or written on cups due to security concerns. 00