Factropolis -- A new fun fact every day!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Morphine is highly combustible.


See also:
- Drug information

keywords: science and technology, drug, addiction, fire, chemical, under the influence, illegal, crime, narcotic, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Sunday, August 30, 2009

Richard Nixon lost a Frisbee on the roof of the White House.


See also:
- Aerodynamics in sports equipment

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, government, president, sports, leisure, politics, politician, i am not a crook, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Saturday, August 29, 2009

Professional sumo wrestlers pay income tax based on body weight.


See also:
- Japan guide

keywords: entertainment, culture and places, government, japan, wrestling, obese, sports, athlete, competition, asia, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Friday, August 28, 2009

Boris Karloff survived a lightning strike.


See also:
- Boris Karloff's films

keywords: entertainment, famous people, nature, frankenstein, movie, hollywood, actor, fun fact, fact of the day, trivia


Thursday, August 27, 2009

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


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

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


Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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


Monday, August 24, 2009

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


Sunday, August 23, 2009

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


Saturday, August 22, 2009

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


Friday, August 21, 2009

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


Thursday, August 20, 2009

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


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

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


Monday, August 17, 2009

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


Sunday, August 16, 2009

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


Saturday, August 15, 2009

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


Friday, August 14, 2009

Walt Whitman ate four raw eggs for breakfast every day for the last 20 years of his life.


See also:
- The Walt Whitman Archive

keywords: entertainment, history, food and drink, famous people, culture and places, poet, poetry, walter whitman, walt witman, leaves of grass, free verse, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Among the items listed on the Mayflower's cargo registry during its trip to the New World: twelve canisters of scented anal ointment.


See also:
- Mayflower History

keywords: history, culture and places, nina, pinta, santa maria, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day, pilgrims


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The average Kenyan woman will marry five times during her lifetime.


See also:
- Government of Kenya

keywords: sexuality, culture and places, government, marriage, wedding, wed, propose, engagement, africa, tribal custom, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Tarantulas survive cold temperatures by rubbing their legs together to generate warmth.


See also:
- The British Tarantula Society

keywords: nature, arachnid, spider, heat, cold weather, theraphosidae, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, August 10, 2009

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


Sunday, August 09, 2009

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


Saturday, August 08, 2009

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


Friday, August 07, 2009

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


Thursday, August 06, 2009

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


Wednesday, August 05, 2009

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


Tuesday, August 04, 2009

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


Monday, August 03, 2009

Desi Arnaz lost three toes on his left foot in a bicycle accident when he was 9 years old.


See also:
- Biography of Desi Arnaz

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, cuban-american, musician, actor, i love lucy, lucille ball, latino, desi arnaz orchestra, cuba, desiderio alberto arnaz y de acha iii, desilu, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, August 02, 2009

Whales, dolphins and apes are the only animals, other than humans, known to commit suicide.


See also:
- Suicide Prevention, Awareness and Support

keywords: nature, intelligence, mammals, death, mental capacity, smart animals, trivia, fact of the day, fun fact


Saturday, August 01, 2009

Traditional igloos typically had two levels. The upper level was used as a living/cooking area, and the lower level was used for food storage.


See also:
- Field Manual for U.S. Antarctic Program

keywords: history, food and drink, culture and places, inuit, eskimo, alaska, arctic, cold weather survival, polar, snowhouse, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day