There is a scifi short story called ‘The Man Who Came Early’ where a modern engineering student is sent back in time but his lack of practical know-how and his over-sophisticated ideas lead to none of his suggestions being implemented.
Roughly 70 percent of Sicilian…
Roughly 70 percent of Sicilian businesses pay protection money to the Mafia.
Werner Forssmann, a physician, risked…
Werner Forssmann, a physician, risked his own life to show that cardiac catheterization could work. He cut a hole in his arm and inserted a catheter into a vein, not knowing if the catheter might pierce a vein. He was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
In Las Vegas there were atomic bomb…
In Las Vegas there were atomic bomb parties chamber of commerce advertised detonation times and the best spots for watching. Casinos offered special “atomic cocktails” and “Dawn Bomb Parties,” Women dressed as mushroom clouds for the “Miss Atomic Energy” crown at the Sands.
“Hit Me Baby One More Time” was…
“Hit Me Baby One More Time” was written by a Swede who meant the chorus to mean “hit me up on the phone one more time” but mistranslated it.
A woman named Glenda Blackwell…
A woman named Glenda Blackwell bought a scratch off lottery ticket to prove to her husband that buying lottery tickets was a waster of money and accidentally ended up winning $1 million.
Peanut butter was originally invented…
Peanut butter was originally invented as a substitute for people who couldn’t eat meat because of how bad their teeth were.
In 1931, a man stole an airplane…
In 1931, a man stole an airplane but was acquitted on all charges because airplanes were not considered “vehicles” and there was no law against aircraft theft at the time.
A 1996 federal law allows restaurants…
A 1996 federal law allows restaurants to donate leftover food without getting sued, and nobody has ever filed a lawsuit against a restaurant over donated leftovers.
The American Secret Services…
The American Secret Services tried to spike Hitler’s carrots with female hormones to change him into a woman. “The gambit was favored over an outright poisoning, because estrogen is tasteless and its effects wouldn’t be immediately detected, Metro reported. But the feminizing plan never made it beyond the drawing board.”