After being deposed by the Soviet Union in 1940, the President of Estonia was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Russia for “persistent claiming of being the President of Estonia”.
On Japanese island Yakushima, macaque monkeys are known…
On Japanese island Yakushima, macaque monkeys are known to ride deer for transportation, and in return they groom deer and share food with them.
There is a “white man” café in Tokyo, where Japanese..
There is a “white man” café in Tokyo, where Japanese ladies ring a bell to summon tuxedo-wearing caucasians who respond with “yes, princess?” and serve them cake.
“The Most Interesting Man in the World” almost didn’t…
“The Most Interesting Man in the World” almost didn’t get the part. When told they were going with someone younger, his agent wisely said “How can the most interesting man in the world be young”. He got the part.
East Germany created its own cola drink…
East Germany created its own cola drink. Vita-Cola‘s sales almost disappeared after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought Coke and Pepsi into the East. It is still the most popular cola in Thuringia, making the German state one of the few places in the world where Coca-Cola is not the leader.
Frequent making of jokes, including puns…
Frequent making of jokes, including puns, can be a diagnosed disorder, possibly caused by a stroke.
Gen. George S. Patton believed in reincarnation…
Gen. George S. Patton believed in reincarnation, and believed himself to have been a military leader killed in action in Napoleon’s army, or a Roman legionary. He assumed that his past lives had a similar status to his current life, which does fit many models of reincarnation. It is not done randomly but is based […]
Many people who saw the movie Wall Street…
Many people who saw the movie Wall Street were inspired to join the business world and model themselves after Gordon Gekko. This was the complete opposite takeaway that the film’s writers had intended.
US ski jumper Anders Haugen finished 4th at the…
US ski jumper Anders Haugen finished 4th at the 1924 Olympics, when 50 years later a Norwegian historian discovered a scoring error was made and Haugen should have gotten the bronze medal, which was handed to him in Norway in 1974 by the daughter of the original bronze medal winner.
People who read books live an average of almost…
People who read books live an average of almost 2 years longer than those who do not read at all, a Yale research found.