An Italian banker, Gilberto Baschiera, is considered a modern-day Robin Hood. Over 7 years, he secretly diverted 1 million euros to poorer clients from the wealthy ones so they could qualify for loans. He made no profit and avoided jail in 2018 due to a plea bargain.
100 Mind-Blowing Due Facts
Scrappy-Doo, widely considered to be one of the most hated characters in fiction, has not appeared in an animated Scooby-Doo production since 1988 due to audience backlash.
In Svalbard, a remote Norwegian island, it is illegal to die. This is because bodies are unable to be buried safely due to the permafrost on the ground. If you are about to die, they fly you back to mainland Norway to pass on there.
Honey and items immersed in honey can be preserved for centuries. The long shelf life is due to an enzyme found in the stomachs of bees.
A man, Ben Sliney, grounded 4,000 commercial planes across the United States on 9/11 due to the attacks – it was his first day on the job.
Young Tyrannosaurus rex probably had a thin coat of downy feathers to stay warm. They did not need them as they got older due to their size.
Calling “shotgun” when riding in a car comes from the term “shotgun messenger.” This term was used to refer to the guard who sat next to the Stagecoach driver. The guards would use a shotgun to keep robbers and criminals away. It made its way into society due to Hollywood’s love of Western flicks.
In 2005, Frito-Lay launched Cheetos Lip Balm, but it was quickly taken off the market due to its failure.
Due to the paralytics administered, if you wake up during surgery, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.
Pistanthrophobia is a common fear of trusting people due to past experiences with relationships gone bad.
The name Milky Way derives from the Greek “galaxías kýklos” or “milky circle” due to its appearance as a dim milky band in the sky.
In 1986, a soviet Aeroflot pilot tried to land the plane blindly with all the windows curtained due to a bet with the co-pilot. He crashed and killed 70 of the 94 passengers on board.
The British tried to invent a ship made out of wood pulp and ice during World War II. Called Project Habakkuk, it was shelved due to costs.
The letter Z is the least frequently used letter in written English. It is more common in American English than in British English due to spelling differences.
Giraffes are 30 times more likely to get hit by lightning than people. True, there are only five well-documented fatal lightning strikes on giraffes between 1996 and 2010. However, due to the population of the species being just 140,000 during this time, it makes for about 0.003 lightning deaths per thousand giraffes each year. This is 30 times the equivalent fatality rate for humans.
Mount Everest isn’t the tallest mountain on Earth. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the twin volcanoes, are taller than Mount Everest due to 4.2km of their heights being submerged underwater. The twin volcanoes measure a staggering 10.2km in total, compared to Everest’s paltry 4.6km.
You can die laughing. Several people have, typically due to intense laughter causing a heart attack or suffocation. Comedy shows should come with a warning.
Bananas are radioactive. Due to being rich in potassium, every banana is slightly radioactive thanks to containing the natural isotope potassium-40. Interestingly, your body contains around 16mg of potassium-40, meaning you’re around 280 times more radioactive than a banana already. Any excess potassium-40 you gain from a banana is excreted out within a few hours.
Your nails grow faster in hot summer. This is probably due to increased blood supply to the fingertips. It could also be because you’re less stressed while on holiday so less likely to gnaw away at ‘em.
Honey doesn’t “expire” due to a variety of factors, including its moisture content and acidity.
Bananas glow blue under black lights. To the everyday eye under normal conditions, ripe bananas appear yellow due to organic pigments called carotenoids. When bananas ripen, chlorophyll begins to break down. This pigment is the element that makes bananas glow, or fluoresce, under UV lights and appear blue.
The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer, due to thermal expansion meaning the iron heats up, the particles gain kinetic energy and take up more space.
Big Ben’s clock stopped at 10:07 p.m. on 27 May 2005, most likely due to an extremely hot temperature of 31.8 degrees Celsius.
The moon has moonquakes. They happen due to tidal stresses connected to the distance between the moon and the Earth.
Sneezing while travelling at 60 mph makes you close your eyes for 50 feet. In a not-so-fun fun fact, the few milliseconds you spend sneezing can make you lose track of the distance you travel. No matter how amazing that may be, it is very hazardous for the road. About 2,500 road accidents occur in a U.K. winter due to colds and sneezing.
DreamWorks Studios was created by a former Disney employee. Jeffrey Katzenberg produced some of Disney’s biggest hits, namely: The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. With the success of these classics, he requested a promotion. However, due to internal conflicts, he got fired, instead. It was then that he founded DreamWorks Studios with other familiar film personalities, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.
Jack Daniel was believed to have died from kicking a safe. Another morbidly funny fact: Jack Daniel was said to die from kicking a vault. According to the tale, he broke his toe after kicking the safe in anger due to not remembering the combination. It was then that he contracted sepsis. However, this admittedly ridiculous story has since been refuted by some experts.
A raisin dropped in fresh champagne will keep bouncing up and down from the bottom to the top of the glass. When you add raisins to a glass of champagne, they’ll sink to the bottom at first. However, after some time, the raisins will move up and down in the glass dancing. This motion is due to dissolved carbon dioxide in the liquid. The CO2 bubbles cling to the surface of the raisins. Thus, the raisin method is used to “revive” flat champagne, as well.
Only 2 countries don’t sell Coca-Cola. Due to political reasons, North Korea and Cuba do not distribute the world’s most famous drink.
Marie Curie’s belongings still have radioactive residue in the present day. Marie Curie’s contributions to science had her named by many as the mother of modern physics. One of the works she was most known for was her study of radioactive materials and the discovery of elements such as polonium and radium. However, her research took a toll on her health. Radioactive exposure not only led to her death due to aplastic anaemia – but her clothes, furniture, and books remain radioactive to this day. Now, over a century later, her notebooks have to be stored in a lead box, as they will still be radioactive for another 1,500 years.
The foil seals on medicine bottles were placed due to poisoning incidents. The Tylenol poisonings of 1982 were a widespread crisis that involved U.S. consumers dying or falling ill from Tylenol. It was later found that the bottles had been laced with potassium cyanide. To restore the faith of the public in the product and the company, Johnson & Johnson patented the seal to prevent further tampering incidents. This is also the thought behind the “Do not accept if seal is broken.” warnings that we see with other products.
Doritos are flammable. Once the world as we know it meets its end – whether through aliens, zombies, or other causes – you can rely on Doritos for survival. These famous corn chips make a long-lasting fire due to hydrocarbons and oil content. The more powder-flavoring, the longer the fire will last.
The Hulk was supposed to be grey. Creator Stan Lee initially wanted the Hulk to be grey, but due to ink problems, the Hulk turned out green. However, the misprint was explained in canon as the two Hulk personas (Grey vs. Green) fighting in Bruce Banner‘s subconscious.
At the Humane Society of Missouri, kid volunteers comfort anxious shelter dogs by reading to them. Shelter dogs have usually lived through significant trauma. This makes it difficult for some dogs to be adopted due to their changed behaviour. To solve this, the Humane Society of Missouri created the Shelter Buddies Reading Program. It pairs kids aged 6 to 15 with anxious, mistrustful dogs to socialize them for home life.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise has lawsuits that total over $1 billion. There are a lot of controversies that surround the game due to the nature of its gameplay. Rockstar North has faced many legal claims of copyright and influencing young players to commit sexual and illegal acts.
Space partly smells like diesel fuel and barbeque. This is mainly due to the amount of dying stars in our galaxy. The combustion releases a compound called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Crocodiles are one of the planet’s oldest living creatures. These animals have survived for over 200 million years. This may be due to their superb ability to be able to go for long periods without eating.
There was a fifth member of the Beatles. Stuart Sutcliffe was a painter and bassist who was an original member before the band came to fame. He soon later died due to a brain haemorrhage.
You cannot crack your knuckles. The sound it makes is due to the gasses that are released when you put pressure on them. When joints are stretched, the pockets of gas between the joints are released.
A French pig was executed for killing a child. A pig from the Middle Ages was tied to a crime involving murder. The pig was said to have come in contact with a child’s face which caused complications due to the injuries. Ultimately, this led to the death of the 3-month-old child. The pig was sent to jail and eventually publicly executed.
Pineapples are named after pinecones. This is mainly due to the similarity of its spiky outer skin. Pinecones are also the product of the pine tree.
‘OMG’ was first used in a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917. A retired British admiral of the Royal Navy one day became excited due to headlines regarding the mobilising forces of Britain. Excited to share this news with a college, the admiral quickly wrote a small acronym for ‘Oh My God!’ in his letter. Little did he know that he had just invented one of the most popular acronyms in today’s society.
North Korean teachers were required to play the accordion. This musical instrument is also known as the “people’s instrument” due to its convenient size suitable for taking to marches. Students from all schools in the country are required to learn them. This explains why teachers need to pass an accordion exam before they get their teaching licenses during the 1990s.
Melting glaciers make fizzy noises. This is also known as bergy seltzer because of how similar it sounds to fizzing soda. The sound is mainly due to the melting waters that free tiny bubbles trapped in ice.
Flipping a shark will render it temporarily immobile. Certain types of sharks enter a state of tonic immobility due to the shock when flipped over. Some killer whales have been recorded to exploit this weakness and purposely flip them over.
Many pets from the U.S. run away on July 4th. This is highly due to their fear of fireworks during America’s Day of Independence.
The most popular state bird is the Northern Cardinal. Out of the 50 states in the U.S., seven voted for this species as their favourite bird. Perhaps this may be due to the Angry Birds trend from a few years back.
A man once set a record by putting on over 260 t-shirts. After the 20th shirt, Ted Hastings required assistance until the 260th shirt. Around 150 shirts in, his team was concerned about his ability to breathe due to the amount of fabric hugging him. In the end, he was able to beat the previous record of 257 shirts.
Technicoloured squirrels roam the lands of Southern India. They weigh around 4 pounds and measure up to 3 feet from tip to tail. The Malabar giant squirrel also blends better in the forest due to its multi-coloured fur.
Two-thirds of millennials go to sleep naked. According to a 2018 survey from MattressAdvisor, more than 60% of millennials regularly sleep in the nude. This is mostly due to the comforting feeling of skin against sheets. Are you part of this group?
Up to 20% of power outages in the U.S. are due to squirrels. Squirrels tend to chew on the wires that run along the neighbourhood. Luckily, these problems are easy to fix.
The Mayo Clinic made glow-in-the-dark cats while trying to find a cure for AIDS. This was mainly due to the specific protein in their bodies that was fluorescent green. They also used this protein to discover if their tests worked out or not. Glowing was a sign that the tests were successful.
The Antarctic glaciers are made up of 3% penguin urine. Due to the extreme temperatures in this region of the world, the urine cannot evaporate. Hence how they freeze and mould with the glaciers around them.
A Norwegian Island made dying illegal. It is illegal to die in Svalbard because they are unable to safely bury the deceased due to the permafrost ground. When people on this island are about to die, they are brought to mainland Norway to pass away there.
Dr Pepper does not have a period. This is mainly due to the font of the logo that would make it look like ‘Di: Pepper’. Many were confused by this, hence the change.
Mice typically only live for 6 months in the wild. This is mainly due to the number of predators that eat them. However, if they are kept as pets, their life span increases significantly by two years.
The calling shotgun for the front passenger seat comes from a messenger. The original term is the shotgun messenger and it was a term used to call the person who sat next to the driver. These messengers would act as guards and use a shotgun to prevent criminals from getting too close. Due to Hollywood’s influence, this term eventually made its way into our society.
Samsung translates to ‘three stars’ in Korean. This name was chosen by the founder mainly due to its symbolism. He wanted the phone company to be as powerful and everlasting as the stars.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is tilted due to the soil at its base. The soft soil it is built on is also the reason why it was able to survive 4 major Earthquakes. This tower took over 344 years to build and was completed in 1178.
The flashes of light when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes. This phenomenon allows you to see light without any actual light source present. This occurs due to many possible sources like magnetic stimulation, or random firing of cells in the visual system.
Antares is 60,000 times larger than the sun. Antares, often referred to as “the heart of the scorpion” due to its location in the Scorpius constellation, is a red supergiant star. The name “Antares” is derived from the ancient Greek term “Anti-Ares,” which means “rival of Mars” because of its similar reddish hue to the planet Mars.
Coca-Cola was originally green. However, the company itself said that this may be due to the green bottles they once used. New marketing techniques switched to plastic bottles instead of glass later on.
Most of the viruses embedded in our DNA are gone already. Most of these viruses have already gone extinct due to human evolution and changes in environments. Modern medicine also played a role in the extinction of these viruses. If scientists were to revive any of these viruses, it could cause a major outbreak that humans won’t quickly heal from.
Dogs should not be fed pear and apple seeds. This is due to the seeds containing traces of cyanide in them. This substance is highly toxic to dogs in high quantities.
Square watermelons cost more than round ones. A square watermelon can be bought for $85. They are mostly expensive due to the intensive labour that is put into shaping them.
Local legend believes that there is a secret in this chamber due to the gold Egyptian hieroglyphs that are decorated on the door. This has led others to believe that it may be a time machine or a time chamber of some sort.
Fleas can jump 200 times its height. The fleas are claimed to be the best jumpers in the world due to their size and the lengths they can jump. The height of a flea jump is equivalent to a human being jumping to the top of the Empire State Building from the ground.
Our bum crack is medically referred to as the intergluteal cleft. The crena is another formal term used for the cleavage of the buttocks. We have butt cracks mainly due to the preliminary muscles that sit inside the evolved pelvic bones.
Several people residing in Iceland believe in elves. A survey conducted at the University of Iceland found that 62% of residents believe in elves. This is mainly due to the country’s elf history which dates back to the Viking era.
A 10-year-old mattress weighs double its original weight. This is due to the debris it absorbs over time such as mites, mould, dead skin cells, dandruff, etc. It also includes the sweat of the person using the mattress.
Bulls are colour-blind. This means that a bull is not irritated by the colour red, but mostly due to the movement made by matadors. Bulls are unable to see colours within the red-green spectrum.
Research states that the loneliest creature on the planet is a whale. This whale has been observed calling out for a mate for over two decades now. However, due to its calls being at a different pitch than other whales, it is unable to successfully find a partner.
Your belly button grows hair. The hair on your stomach is mainly used to catch lint. These hairs mainly grow due to an excess of hormones. Age also affects the amount of hair that grows around this area.
The man with the longest beard in the world died from his beard. In 5767, the man who held this title was trying to run from a fire at the time. Due to his beard’s length, he tripped over it which caused him to die in the fire.
Mars appears red to the human eye due to the iron oxide particles that suspend its atmosphere. Sometimes it can also appear orange or orange-red colour.
Human blood is red due to the haemoglobin in our bodies. Vertebrates and most animals also have red blood.
Taxi drivers in London are called cabbies. If you find yourself in a taxi cab in London, you can expect that they have memorized all the paths and roads in the city. This is due to the mandatory test that all cabbies are required to take before being offered the job.
The blood of lobsters is colourless. However, when their blood is exposed to oxygen, it becomes a blue colour. This is mainly due to the copper that is found present in the blue hemocyanin molecule in their blood. Now that’s some cool scientific did you know the facts?
Sponges hold more cold water rather than hot. This is mainly due to the effect of heat on water on a molecular level. Cold and hot water will have two different densities, and as such their molecules will react differently when in contact with an object. The water molecules or colder water tend to move slower and do not go in opposite directions from each other.
The human tongue heals the fastest compared to all body parts. This is due to the rich supply of blood that circulates the tongue. It may also be because the mouth is constantly replenishing your taste buds.
An octopus has rectangular pupils. This is mainly due to their exposure to daytime lights. The rectangular pupil protects their eyes from the glare of the sunlight.
Cats can jump a height of 7 times its tail length. This is approximately 8 feet high. This is possible due to the powerful back leg muscles of the cat.
Until it blows against something, the wind makes no sound. Ready for more did you know the facts? The sounds you hear during a windy day are due to the speed of the wind coming into contact with various objects at the same time. The process of friction can also cause sounds at higher pitches depending on the speed of the wind.
Giraffes cannot swim. A giraffe can maintain its balance on land due to its gait. However, research has shown that this balance is ineffective in the water. This makes them one of the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom.
Flamingos eat with their heads turned upside down. Flamingos are unable to eat normally due to the structure of its mouth. Their bills are made to filter food from the mud and water. They feed by coming through the mud with their feet and catching their prey in their beaks.
Andy’s dad from Toy Story was not animated due to budgeting concerns. We may have seen the rest of Andy’s family, but his father remains unseen. Originally, Andy’s dad was supposed to make an appearance in the films. However, it takes a lot to render a 3d character, so it was scrapped in the end.
People once claimed that coconuts kill more people than sharks yearly. In a 1984 study “Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts,” it was claimed that falling coconuts kill 150 per year, which is a lot more than shark-related deaths at 5 per year. However, it was only a misinterpretation of the statistics gathered from Papua New Guinea. However, there have been several documented cases of coconuts killing people. Falling coconuts can cause fatal injuries to the head, neck, shoulders, and back.
Bonnie and Clyde’s gunshot sounds were so loud, that a projectionist kept lowering the volume. Director-star Warren Beatty deliberately made the gunshot sounds in Bonnie and Clyde pop out from the mix. During the film’s British premiere, Beatty noticed the projectionist at the cinema lowering the volume because he thought the loud gunshots were due to poor audio mixing.
About 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year. This includes babies and toddlers falling into the toilet, bruising or pinching due to faulty toilet seats, or toilets collapsing from a person’s weight.
In 2005, Australia banned the word “mate.” Due to complaints, the Australian Parliament once banned the use of “mate” at work. However, it didn’t last too long, and the ruling was withdrawn in 24 hours.
Dead women can still give birth. In a phenomenon called “Coffin Birth,” a pregnant woman may deliver a child spontaneously after her death. Post-mortem birth occurs due to the gases that build up in the abdominal area forcing the baby out of the womb.
The stretchiest skin in the world can stretch over 6 inches. Garry Turner of the U.K. can stretch the skin on his stomach up to 6.25” due to a rare medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The collagen in his skin and muscles becomes defective and loosens his skin and joints.
Mr. Potato Head used to be made of actual potatoes. When Mr. Potato Head was first released in 1952, the toy only included eyes, noses, and mouths. For the potato body, kids were expected to provide their own. However, due to the possible safety hazards of the sharp pieces, the plastic body was provided in 1964.
Alfred Hitchcock didn’t have a belly button. He wasn’t born without a belly button, but Alfred Hitchcock lost his belly button due to multiple gastrointestinal surgeries.
The remote control was invented earlier than the television. 30 years before the first digital television, Nikola Tesla invented a “teleautomaton” that could control certain devices at a distance through radio waves. His first remote-controlled device was a remote-controlled boat in 1898. Since then, people adapted the wired remote for television. However, due to injuries, they developed it further to be a wireless remote.
A chain-smoker voiced E.T. Pat Welsh was an American actress who voiced E.T. The trademark rasp of E.T.’s voice is due to Welsh being a heavy smoker. However, she was uncredited in the film.
He lost his job at a bank in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1971 due to downsizing.
People don’t sneeze in their sleep due to their brains shutting down the reflex.
Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.
The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. People always wonder why Mona Lisa doesn’t have any eyebrows. This mystery has been solved, all thanks to an engineer named Pascal Cotte. When Da Vinci painted Mona Lisa, he indeed painted her eyebrows but over time these eyebrows were eroded due to cleaning over time to the point where it’s no longer visible today.