Factropolis -- A Fun Fact Every Day!

Many of the elephants in zoos throughout Europe are direct descendants of the war elephants Hannibal marched across the Alps in the Second Punic War.

2010-02-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Bioparco Zoo of Rome
- Hannibal Barca

keywords: history, famous people, nature, culture and places, animals, war, hannibal barca, carthage, rome, italy, pachyderm, battle of zama, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The character of Optimus Prime on the popular 1980s animated television series "Transformers" was originally written to speak with a Jamaican accent.

2010-02-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Transformers archive

keywords: entertainment, tv, robots, autobots, decepticons, more than meets the eyes, robots in disguise, science fiction, cartoon, anime, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Fable writer Aesop, who married/divorced at least fifty women, was fond of nontraditional unions. He wed his daughter, his sister and his own mother.

2010-02-06T22:16:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Aesop's fables

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, marriage, incest, author, literature, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Two of Easter Island's iconic Moai statues emit dangerously high levels of radiation.

2010-02-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Mysterious Places: Easter Island
- National Atomic Museum

keywords: science and technology, history, nature, culture and places, tourist, x-ray, moai, pacific, art, sculpture, big stone heads, chile, rapa nui, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Because of the rotation of the Earth, a sound wave moving from East to West will travel slightly farther than the same wave moving from West to East.

2010-02-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

See also:
- University of Manitoba: Sound waves

keywords: science and technology, nature, sound, hear, hearing, doppler effect, acoustic, noise, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

In Cambodia, male prostitutes outnumber female prostitutes by a ratio of three to one.

2010-02-03T10:51:00.001-05:00

See also:
- Tourism: Cambodia

keywords: sexuality, culture and places, asia, homosexuality, illegal, crime, sex trade, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

A fistfight broke out during Paul Revere's funeral when his casket was dropped by a drunken pallbearer.

2010-02-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Paul Revere House

keywords: entertainment, famous people, midnight ride, one if by land, two if by sea, revolutionary war, politics, government, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The Olmec Indians of ancient Mesoamerica believed it was bad luck for a mother to raise her own child. They often swapped or sold their newborns.

2010-02-01T10:41:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Olmec Indians

keywords: history, religion, culture and places, custom, south america, central america, mexico, native, birth, baby, mexico, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that applies to homosexuals in the U.S. military has been used for centuries by the Freemasons.

2010-01-31T15:12:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Freemasonry
- U.S. Department of Defense

keywords: history, sexuality, religion, government, masons, freemasonry, military, soldier, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Famously secretive inventor Nikola Tesla devised a binary code based on Pig Latin, with which he encrypted some of his most important work.

2010-01-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Tesla: Master of Lightning

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, language, encryption, secret, scientist, tesla coils, electricity, serbian, physicist, magnetism, industrial revolution, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The pop music duo Hall & Oates originally planned to call themselves "Dreamboat."

2010-01-29T10:36:00.001-05:00

See also:
- Hall & Oates official website

keywords: entertainment, music, rock, daryl hall, john oates, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

There really was an "Old MacDonald." Tragically, the subject of the childrens' song killed his wife and then himself in a 19th century murder/suicide.

2010-01-28T21:30:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The Crime Library
- Old MacDonald lyrics

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, music, folk songs, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, is traditionally credited with the invention of sweet pickle relish.

2010-01-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The tomb of Qin Shi Huang

keywords: history, food and drink, famous people, culture and places, government, asia, cuisine, cucumber, condiment, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The U.S. "Duck and Cover" campaign of the 1950s was conceived by a U.C. Berkeley improv group. They submitted the idea to Civil Defense as a prank.

2010-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Civil Defense: Duck and Cover

keywords: entertainment, history, government, cold war, nuclear bomb, fallout shelter, atomic bomb, thermonuclear, cuban missile crisis, kennedy, california, college, university, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Famed frontiersman Daniel Boone never wore a coonskin cap. He did, however, suffer from a medical condition that caused his breasts to lactate.

2010-01-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The Daniel Boone homestead
- Male lactation

keywords: history, famous people, explorer, old west, alamo, early america, male lactation, mammary, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

"Queen" Latifah can trace her ancestral roots to a real queen - from the 15th century Danish Royal House of Oldenborg.

2010-01-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

Submitted by Scott H.

See also:
- The Danish Monarchy
- Queen Latifah official site
- VH1 artist bio

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, rap, royalty, hip hop music, film, movies, actress, denmark, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The lungs, when removed for transplant, can survive outside the body longer than any other organ.

2010-01-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

See also:
- United Network for Organ Sharing
- Mayo Clinic Lung Transplant Program
- Gray's Anatomy

keywords: nature, medicine, anatomy, transplant, surgery, organ donor, hospital, medical, doctor, surgeon, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The can of Pepsi briefly visible in The Empire Strikes Back (during the attack on Hoth) was deliberately planted on set by a disgruntled technician.

2010-01-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Lucasfilm Ltd.
- Movie Mistakes

keywords: entertainment, food and drink, star wars, movie, cinema, film, blooper, mistake, goof, soft drink, pop, soda, cola, taun taun, pepsico, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The Alamo was prefabricated at a quarry in San Juan Bautista, then taken apart and carried by wagon train to San Antonio for final assembly.

2010-01-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The Alamo

keywords: history, culture and places, government, mission, san antonio, spanish, texas, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Just 48 hours before Charles Lindbergh's historic flight, a rival pilot was caught trying to pour sugar into the fuel tank of Lindbergh's plane.

2010-01-20T16:15:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The TIME 100: Charles Lindbergh

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, aviation, spirit of st. louis, sucrose, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Only 35 percent of the edible beef produced annually in the United States is ever actually consumed – the rest is discarded as waste.

2010-01-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

See also:
- National Cattleman's Beef Association

keywords: food and drink, cattle, cow, meat, food, nutrition, agriculture, farm, farming, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Jazz/rock virtuoso Frank Zappa died before he could complete what he hoped would be his masterwork – an album recorded entirely underwater.

2010-01-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The official Frank Zappa site

keywords: entertainment, famous people, music, dweezil, moon unit, arts, sonic, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

The broken pieces of limestone that once formed the nose of the Great Sphinx are stored in a warehouse in Sicily.

2010-01-17T20:10:00.000-05:00

See also:
- Tour Egypt
- NOVA online adventure: The Great Sphinx of Giza

keywords: history, culture and places, egypt, pyramids, giza plateau, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

In 1994, a fungus killed most of the roses in the White House Rose Garden. The garden was dressed with artificial roses until new blooms grew.

2010-01-16T17:22:00.000-05:00

See also:
- White House gardens

keywords: nature, government, roses, flowers, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day

Hammurabi, king of Babylonia (1792-1750 BC), likely had poor eyesight. He is depicted in ancient murals wearing a primitive version of a monocle.

2010-01-15T17:12:00.000-05:00

See also:
- The Code of Hammurabi

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, culture and places, government, mesopotamia, babylonians, eyesight, corrective lenses, glasses, king, ruler, cradle of civilization, tigris and euphrates, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day