Factropolis -- A new fun fact every 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


Monday, September 22, 2008

Instead of wearing traditional pajamas, William Randolph Hearst preferred to sleep in a starched white dress shirt and necktie.


See also:
- Hearst Castle

keywords: entertainment, famous people, hearst castle, sleep, sleeping, pyjamas, wealthy american, newspaper magnate, san simeon, national historic landmark, la custa encantada, the enchanted hill, george hearst, hollywood, patty hearst, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, September 21, 2008

In 1981, a waterspout on the Mediterranean Sea picked up a 75-foot schooner and carried it 400 yards. Everyone aboard was killed.


See also:
- Mediterranean Yachting

keywords: leisure, nature, storm, tornado, wreck, yacht, sail, boat, boating, maritime, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, September 20, 2008

General George Patton was an accomplished taxidermist who contributed a variety of specimens to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.


See also:
- National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
- General George S. Patton Jr. Biography

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, nature, government, war, world war i, world war ii, warfare, virginia military institute, west point, mammals, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, September 19, 2008

The factory where the Model T Ford was produced had no restroom facilities.


See also:
- Ford Motor Company
- The Model T

keywords: science and technology, history, auto, automobile production, industrial revolution, assembly line, car, henry ford, ford motor company, tin lizzie, flivver, piquette plant, antique, vintage, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, September 18, 2008

During the early part of her career, chef Julia Child kept her kitchen strictly kosher.


See also:
- Kosher kitchen rules

keywords: entertainment, food and drink, famous people, religion, cook, cooking, chef, food preparation, rabbinical law, kashrut, keeping kosher, halakha, kashér, torah, hebrew dietary laws, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Violent inmates in Colombia's largest prison undergo hourly body cavity searches.


See also:
- CIA World Factbook: Colombia

keywords: government, crime, criminal, jail, handcuffs, prison bitch, cell, rectum, smuggle, weapon, shiv, shank, cartel, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

An ancient Greek manuscript found in a burial mound in Antioch contains technical diagrams for a rudimentary rocket powered by olive oil.


See also:
- International Olive Oil Council

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, greece, culture and places, war, weapon, military, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, September 15, 2008

American inventor Eli Whitney once tipped a bartender the modern equivalent of $10,000 for a glass of water.


See also:
- Eli Whitney Museum

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, famous people, cotton gin, musket, manufacturer, manufacturing, invention, phineas miller, henry ogden holmes, mass production, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Among the primitive paintings at Lascaux Cave, archaeologists have identified a series of marks believed to be a precurser to the game of tic-tac-toe.


See also:
- The Cave of Lascaux

keywords: entertainment, history, france, cavern, caverns, spelunking, spelunker, archaeology, art, upper paleoloithic cave paintings, great hall of the bulls, lateral passage, shaft of the dead man, chamber of engravings, painted gallery, chamber of felines, auroch, fossil, human handprints, noughts and crosses, hugs and kisses, dots and boxes, cat's game, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, September 13, 2008

English crime fiction writer Agatha Christie wore size 44 (EU) shoes. That converts to a U.K. size 9.5/U.S. size 12.


See also:
- Official Agatha Christie website

keywords: entertainment, famous people, literature, arts, agatha mary clarissa miller, lady mallowan, dame agatha christie, agatha christy, mary westmacott, queen of crime, edgar award, grand master award, jane marple, murder on the orient express, big feet, big shoes, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, September 12, 2008

Each year, more divers are injured by giant clams than by sharks.


See also:
- Giant Clams of the Great Barrier Reef

keywords: tridacna gigas, pa'ua, bivalve mollusc, mollusk, coral reef, diving, diver, scuba, fish, great white, food and drink, nature, sea, ocean, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, September 11, 2008

In 1982, a gorilla in a Syrian zoo held a zookeeper captive for eight days. The victim, who was not physically harmed, developed Stockholm syndrome.


See also:
- The Gorilla Foundation

keywords: nature, culture and places, middle east, syria, zoo, animals, monkey, hostage, gorillas, koko, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, wore sweaters to conceal extensive forearm tattoos commemorating his short stint as a Merchant Marine.


See also:
- PBS: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

keywords: entertainment, reverend frederick mcfeely rogers, military, famous people, religion, sailing, ship, trolley, king friday, learning, education, mr. rogers, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, September 09, 2008

When resources are plentiful, army ants capture members of smaller ant species and keep them as pets.


See also:
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Ants

keywords: nature, ant, extermination, ants marching, insect, pest, aenictinae, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, September 08, 2008

Gas chromatograph analysis of sediment cores from the bottom of Loch Ness supports the theory that a population of large creatures could live there.


See also:
- NOVA: The Beast of Loch Ness

keywords: science and technology, nature, culture and places, nessie, cryptozoology, loch ness monster, scotland, cryptid, plesiosaur


Sunday, September 07, 2008

The space shuttle Challenger's "black box" was found on a Florida beach by a Norwegian dentist.


See also:
- NASA.gov

keywords: science and technology, history, government, nasa, space shuttle disaster, space flight, christa mcauliffe, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, September 06, 2008

In 1949, a Maine lobsterman slipped into a diabetic coma and was eaten by his catch.


See also:
- American Diabetes Association

keywords: nature, crustacean, diabetes mellitus, insulin, claw, buoy, lobster pot, animal rights, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, September 05, 2008

Lee Harvey Oswald was a homing pigeon enthusiast.


See also:
- PBS: Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?

keywords: history, famous people, government, president, assassination, assassin, dallas, jfk, john f. kennedy, jack ruby, lee harvy oswald, texas school book depository, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, September 04, 2008

Most bank robberies occur on Tuesdays.


See also:
- What to do in a bank robbery

keywords: crime, criminal, robber, heist, vault, money, currency, theft, holdup, stick up, dye pack, getaway, police, jail, prison, arrest, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Confusion was so rampant on the set of Lawrence of Arabia, whole sets were built and then dismantled before they were even filmed.


See also:
- Lawrence of Arabia

keywords: entertainment, film, hollywood, history, movie, peter o'toole, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Benjamin Franklin was challenged to more than a dozen duels in the course of his lifetime. He never accepted a single one.


See also:
- PBS: Benjamin Franklin

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, government, author, politician, printer, scientist, philosopher, publisher, inventor, civic activist, diplomat, enlightenment, poor richard's almanac, american revolution, declaration of independence, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, September 01, 2008

The supply ship Isabella, laden with beer, accompanied the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria during the first 53 days of Columbus' historic voyage.


See also:
- Christopher Columbus

keywords: history, food and drink, famous people, culture and places, government, spain, spanish, sail, sailing, voyage, america, queen isabella, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers were paid with wooden coins.


See also:
- British Museum: Mesopotamia

keywords: science and technology, history, culture and places, government, currency, war, warrior, battle, military, archaeology, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day