Factropolis -- A new fun fact every day!

Friday, July 31, 2009

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


Thursday, July 30, 2009

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


Wednesday, July 29, 2009

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


See also:
- Kosher kitchen rules

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

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


Monday, July 27, 2009

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


Sunday, July 26, 2009

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


Saturday, July 25, 2009

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


Friday, July 24, 2009

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


Thursday, July 23, 2009

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


Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

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


Monday, July 20, 2009

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


Sunday, July 19, 2009

One of the eyewitnesses of the 1908 Tunguska Event reported hearing three loud, sustained musical tones of unknown origin just prior to the explosion.


See also:
- NASA: Tunguska Event

keywords: science and technology, history, nature, culture and places, government, tunguska explosion, podkamennaya tunguska river, atseroid, ufo, comet, meteoroid, meteorite, russia, siberia, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, July 18, 2009

Nazi Germany's first working prototype Horton Ho 229 flying wing aircraft crashed during a test flight when it flew through a swarm of locusts.


See also:
- Military Factory

keywords: science and technology, history, nature, government, war, hitler, ho ix, reimar horten, walter horten, adolf hitler, wwii, luftwaffe, stealth technology, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, July 17, 2009

Classic pinup model Bettie Page spoke fluent Swahili.


See also:
- BettiePage.com

keywords: entertainment, sexuality, famous people, culture and places, model, photography, comorian, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, July 16, 2009

During WWII, the Japanese stationed three spies in a self-contained submersible listening post on the ocean floor two miles off Los Angeles.


See also:
- The History Place

keywords: science and technology, history, culture and places, government, war, navy, codebreaking, codebreaker, intelligence, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover nearly suffocated when he became locked inside an airtight vault while touring Fort Knox.


See also:
- U.S. Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, government, military, gold depository, united states army post, bullion depository, goldfinger, safe, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

In 2006, The United States Senate spent 12 hours debating legislation to protect the alligator gar.


See also:
- National Geographic: Alligator Gar

keywords: nature, government, law, endangered species, fish, aquatic, marine life, atractosteus spatula, waste, wasteful spending, taxes, tax dollars, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, July 13, 2009

The Manhattan Project was not named for Manhattan. The name was based on an obscure radio code: Man=Einstein; Hat=God; Tan=Strike


See also:
- The Manhattan Project

keywords: nuclear, science and technology, history, bomb, new york, famous people, atomic bomb, nazi germany, oppenheimer, government, manhattan engineer district, oak ridge, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, July 12, 2009

George Gershwin suffered partial hearing loss after a poppy seed became lodged in his ear canal. By the time it was removed, it had begun to sprout.


See also:
- George & Ira Gershwin

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Michael Jackson developed his signature move, the "moonwalk," while playing in his brother Tito's swimming pool.


See also:
- MichaelJackson.com

keywords: entertainment, famous people, culture and places, thriller, billie jean, motown, the jackson 5, recording artist, music, legend, trivia, fact of the day, fun fact


Friday, July 10, 2009

Charlie Chaplin was an accomplished scrimshaw artist. He was self-taught, and preferred carving ham bones, not ivory.


See also:
- The Internet Movie Database

keywords: entertainment, sir charles spencer chaplin, history, food and drink, famous people, culture and places, arts and crafts, actor, acting, silent film, cinema, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, July 09, 2009

One of the eagles on the Chrysler Building's northeast side has withstood more than 40 lightning strikes. None of the others have ever been struck.


See also:
- Great Buildings Online

keywords: science and technology, history, nature, culture and places, architecture, weather, electricity, trivia, fact of the day, fun fact


Wednesday, July 08, 2009

One of the first casinos in Las Vegas secretly used powerful x-ray devices hidden within the blackjack tables to scan patrons suspected of cheating.


See also:
- Las Vegas

keywords: entertainment, science and technology, history, cancer, tumor, gambling, 21, marie curie, pontoon, trivia, fact of the day, fun fact, poker


Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Karl Marx had delicate toes due to an inability to grow toenails. He formed the principles of communism as a student while sidelined during recess.


See also:
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

keywords: history, famous people, government, karl heinrich mark, philosophy, the communist manifesto, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, July 06, 2009

The larva of the tsetse fly excretes a powerful toxin through pores in its skin. A single drop is potent enough to kill a human.


See also:
- Encyclopedia Britannica

keywords: nature, poison, fly, insect, bug, nagana, sleeping sickness, africa, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, July 05, 2009

Marlon Brando occasionally cleaned his 'On the Waterfront' Academy Award statue by running it through the rinse cycle in his dishwasher.


See also:
- Oscar.com

keywords: entertainment, actor, history, famous people, culture and places, film, acting, terry malloy, i could have been a contender, elia kazan, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, July 04, 2009

Famed frontiersman Davy Crockett's arms were so unusually short that he had trouble putting on his own boots.


See also:
- American West: Davy Crockett

keywords: history, famous people, alamo, daniel boone, american pioneer, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, July 03, 2009

In 1952, Nancy Reagan was bitten on the ankle by a small shark while surfing at Pismo Beach, California.


See also:
- The White House: First Ladies

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, nature, government, ronald reagan, first lady, teflon president, surf board, hang ten


Thursday, July 02, 2009

Thomas Edison generated a burst of electric power equivalent to that produced by a modern car battery from a pumpkin filled with a vinegar mixture.


See also:
- Edison's Home Page

keywords: entertainment, science and technology, history, famous people, inventor, light bulb, scientist, patent, famous people, science and technology, alva, wizard of menlo park, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Archaeologists in Mexico have unearthed a cache of pre-Columbian clay jars that contain a strain of brewer's yeast from China.


See also:
- Archaeology: Archaeological Headlines

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