Factropolis -- A new fun fact every day!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The Hubble telescope has a small Confederate flag decal affixed to the back of its solar array.


See also:
- NASA

keywords: science and technology, history, government, flag, racism, civil war, stars and bars, nasa, space, satellite, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Thursday, October 09, 2008

Although he never received credit, Humphrey Bogart composed much of the music in the film "High Sierra."


See also:
- Official site of Humphrey Bogart
- The films of Humphrey Bogart

keywords: entertainment, famous people, film, movie star, hollywood, african queen, orchestral score, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Shroud of Turin was stored in an empty wine cask for almost 50 years.


See also:
- Shroud of Turin

keywords: history, religion, christianity, jesus christ, religious artifact, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Attila the Hun wore a toupee.


See also:
- Ancient history

keywords: history, famous people, mongolia, mongols, war, invaders, warrior, military, hairpiece, rug, bald, male pattern baldness, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Monday, October 06, 2008

Mother Teresa spent three months in a Turkish prison.


See also:
- Mother Teresa Biography

keywords: history, famous people, religion, culture and places, saint, catholic, catholicism, turkey, jail, christian, christianity, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Sunday, October 05, 2008

The U.S. Constitution contains four sentence fragments.


See also:
- National Archives

keywords: history, government, declaration of independence, document, united states, founding fathers, benjamin franklin, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, October 04, 2008

The fatal Apollo 1 launch pad fire was partly caused by a misprint on an engineer's slide rule.


See also:
- The Apollo program

keywords: science and technology, history, space, nasa, rocket, gus grissom, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, October 03, 2008

Jesus Christ once flipped a shekel when deciding whether or not to heal a leper.


See also:
- Bible Encyclopedia

keywords: history, famous people, religion, culture and places, christianity, israel, jew, jewish, bible, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, October 02, 2008

Liberace coined the word "mantastic."


See also:
- The Liberace Foundation

keywords: entertainment, sexuality, famous people, music, musician, piano,trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Adolf Hitler had a twin brother who died at birth.


See also:
- The rise of Adolph Hitler

keywords: history, famous people, nazi party, germany, world war ii, government, politics, twins, politics, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne survived a car crash, train derailment, sinking ship, house fire and a tornado before perishing in a plane crash.


See also:
- Fighting Irish official site

keywords: entertainment, famous people, sports, coaching, aviation, aircraft, voss, norway, four horsemen, gipper, spirit of notre dame, fighting irish, fokker, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, September 29, 2008

Cary Grant wore Old Spice cologne.


See also:
- Old Spice official site

keywords: entertainment, famous people, fragrance, movie star, hollywood, film, actor, acting, smell, nose, nasal, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, September 28, 2008

The prickly pear cactus secretes an oily fluid during full moons.


See also:
- USDA

keywords: nature, cacti, desert, flora, astronomy, opuntia, chollas, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, September 27, 2008

The interior of the Australian continent is sinking at a rate of 3 cm per year.


See also:
- Australian Government

keywords: science and technology, nature, culture and places, earth, plate tectonics, continental drift, volcanism, australia, g'day, that ain't a knife, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, September 26, 2008

At the first Thanksgiving meal, the pilgrims ate every part of the turkey except for the feathers - the organs, blood, bones, feet and even the beak.


See also:
- Pilgrim Hall Museum

keywords: history, food and drink, nature, culture and places, new world, america, holiday, meal, horn of plenty, fall, native americans, settlers, plymouth rock, mayflower, religion, puritan, harvest festival, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, September 25, 2008

Mikhael Gorbachev's famous birthmark was caused by a severe case of lead poisoning he contracted as a toddler.


See also:
- President Gorbachev official site

keywords: famous people, government, skin, u.s.s.r., ussr, russia, soviet union, cold war, mole, skin disorder, freckle, mikhail sergeyevich gorbachyov, general secretary of the communist party of the soviet union, communism, nobel peace prize, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Ducks can't digest rye bread.


See also:
- Ducks Unlimited

keywords: food and drink, nature, mallard, muscovy, anatidae, anitidae, birds, pumpernickel, pumpernickel, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Singer Janis Joplin was a passionate and dedicated student of Kenpo Karate, earning the rank of Sandan (third-degree black belt).


See also:
- Official Janis Joplin website

keywords: entertainment, famous people, culture and places, big brother and the holding company, monterey pop festival, folk music, kozmiv blues band, full tilt boogie band, martial arts, japanese, yudansha, self defense, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day