Singapore’s constitution requires the President to have experience as a minister – or as CEO of a large, profitable company.
In 1930, to make way for a new building…
In 1930, to make way for a new building, the Indiana Bell Building, weighing 11,000 tons, was moved 16 meters and rotated 90°. The work took a month to finish and did not disrupt the building’s essential services, nor its gas, water, and electricity supply. No one inside felt the building move.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, considered…
Ludwig Wittgenstein, considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th Century, was asked by his sister to help build a house. He spent a year designing the door handles.
The Great Arkansas Pearl Rush started…
The Great Arkansas Pearl Rush started in 1897 after a 14-grain pink pearl was found in the Black River near Black Rock, Arkansas. It lasted until 1905, but a button-making industry emerged that continued on to the 1940s by using mussel shells that had been discarded.
One of the proposed scientific…
One of the proposed scientific names of Neanderthals was Homo Stupidus.
The Japanese have been producing…
The Japanese have been producing wood for 700 years without cutting down trees. In the 14th century, the extraordinary daisugi technique was born in Japan. Pruning as a rule of art that allows the tree to grow and germinate while using its wood, without ever cutting it down.
One of the first things ever sold….
One of the first things ever sold online was pizza. PizzaNet, owned and operated by Pizza Hut, was created in 1994 and serviced Santa Cruz, California. It was one of the first few thousand on the web. The site is still running today.
Since 2009, the names of planets…
Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn’s moon Titan, like Arrakis Planitia.
The American Hippo Bill was an attempt to introduce…
The American Hippo Bill was an attempt to introduce hippos into the bayous of Lousiana. Lawmaker argued the hippos would eat the invasive water hyacinth that was clogging the rivers and also produce meat to help solve the American meat predicament.
In Hungary in the 1940’s, while…
In Hungary in the 1940’s, while the country was experiencing the worst hyperinflation in recorded history, they issued a bank note with a denomination of 100 quintillion Hungarian pengős, which was worth approximately US $0.20.