Facts of the Day – December 30, 2014

Facts of the Day -that London and NYC have “buildings” which are actually facades hiding subway ventilation/maintenance systems

Facts of the Day – that humans can live unprotected in space for about 30 seconds if they don’t hold their breath.

Facts of the Day – that in Rome, the ancient temple where Julius Caesar was murdered is now a sanctuary for hundreds of cats

Facts of the Day – there is a sport call Archery Tag that is basically like dodgeball, but with foam-tipped arrows.

Facts of the Day -China had plans for the 2008 Olympics to utilize 30 airplanes, 4,000 rocket launchers, and 7,000 anti-aircraft guns with various chemicals in an attempt to stop rain.

Facts of the Day -when Margaret Keane sued her ex-husband, Walter Keane for plagiarizing, The judge asked both of them to paint a painting in front of the courtroom. Walter declined, saying he had a sore shoulder, whereas Margerat completed her painting in 53 minutes.

Facts of the Day -that the Vietnam War is called the “American War” in Vietnam (fully the “War Against the Americans to Save the Nation”).

Facts of the Day -in the Batman films, Michael Caine based Alfred’s voice on that of a Colonel he knew when enlisted in the army at 18 because the loyalty and sense of duty shown by Alfred to Bruce Wayne reminded him of the Colonel.

Facts of the Day -Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Satan and his demons were cast down to earth from heaven after October 1, 1914, at which point the end times began.

Facts of the Day – King Edward VII was too fat to fully button his suit jacket. In order to not offend the king, everyone else followed suit. A trend was born…

Facts of the Day -Cleveland once released 1.5 million helium balloons. The weather kept the balloons from dispersing and the resulting chaos ended up costing the city millions in lawsuits and took weeks to clean up.

Facts of the Day -that the 1905 football season was so dangerous that 18 players died, prompting Teddy Roosevelt to form a committee that ended up legalizing the forward pass.

Facts of the Day -Rene Rancourt, who has been singing both the American and Canadian National Anthem at Boston Bruins games for over 35 years, has never had a contract with the Bruins. According to him, “…I’ve always just shown up and I’ve become associated with the Bruins.”

Facts of the Day -That Tupac’s last words, when asked by the police who shot him, were “Fuck you.”

Facts of the Day -that it would take less than a year for the average person to walk around the earth.

Facts of the Day -There was only one victim to survive the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre when he arrived at the hospital. When asked by police who shot him 22 times, he said “Nobody shot me.”

Facts of the Day -the Hungarians use a pair of jet engines mounted on a tank to extinguish oil fires

Facts of the Day – Isaac Asimov was a long-time member and vice president of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as “brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs”.

Facts of the Day -Evander Holyfield lost 15 pounds during his first title fight and was immediately hospitalized after winning. He required over two gallons of intravenous saline to recover.

Facts of the Day -Emma Watson almost wasn’t Hermione in the Half-Blood Prince. She had considered not returning but decided that she wouldn’t be able to watch someone else play Hermione.

Facts of the Day -a retired Gurkha armed only with his Khukuri singlehandedly fought off 40 bandits, who attacked a train he was travelling on.

Facts of the Day -that American tennis player, Vitas Gerulaitis, after losing to Jimmy Connors in 16 consecutive matches and then winning in 17th, commented: “And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!”

Facts of the Day – that Spider fighting in the Philippines is extremely popular with the youth, its like a form of high stakes pokemon.

Facts of the Day -Nancy Cartwright attempted to disturb the guards at Buckingham Palace yelling, “What’s happening man, I’m Bart Simpson, dude!”, she succeeded.

Facts of the Day -that the CITGO sign in Boston, before its renovation to LED lighting, had over 5 miles of neon tubing

Facts of the Day -that a group of islands in the Pacific called the Pitcairn Islands are some of the most remote islands in the world with a population of ~50 people. The islands have a very interesting history and are accepting applications for new residents!

Facts of the Day -A Chinese man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing and eating the last Indochinese tiger

Facts of the Day – that the name “Big Bang” for the explosive inflational theory was coined accidentally by its greatest opponent, Fred Hoyle, while he was debating against it.

Facts of the Day -Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly once sat on top of a flag pole 225 feet (69 m) high, for 49 days and one hour subsisting mainly on coffee and cigarettes

Facts of the Day -that in 2004, 4 undocumented Mexican-American teenagers submitted a robot in a NASA/ONR sponsored competition that beat entries from places like MIT — only one 1 out of the 4 was allowed to continue education in the US, after the intervention of a senator

Facts of the Day -when speaking about Prince, Sinead O’Connor said “He summoned me to his house and said he didn’t like me saying bad words in interviews so I told him to fuck off.” Sinead alleged the row became physical and she escaped his house at 5am claiming afterwards that “he packed a bigger punch than me”

Facts of the Day -that the city of Troy was rebuilt many times over, Troy VII was the one involved in the Trojan War.

Facts of the Day -the Treaty of New Echota was not approved by the Cherokee National Council nor signed by Principal Chief John Ross, it was still amended and ratified by the U.S. Senate in March 1836, and would go on to become the legal basis for the forcible removal known as the Trail of Tears.

Facts of the Day -After the Indian rebellion against British rule in 1857, Charles Dickens wrote: “I wish I were Commander in Chief in India… I should do my utmost to exterminate the Race upon the stain of the late cruelties rested…to blot it out of mankind and raze it off the face of the Earth.”

Facts of the Day -the first civilian airliner ever shot down was recovered, repaired, and renamed to avoid detering future passengers… it was shot down again shortly afterwards.