1. Pineapples were such a status symbol in 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party.
2. The FBI assigned a team to Sacha Baron Cohen during the filming of Borat due to numerous reports of a “Middle eastern man traveling the Midwest in an ice cream truck.”
3. When you tell someone a goal or a thing you’re planning on doing, it chemically satisfies your brain in a manner that’s similar to having actually completed the goal.
4. A lion, tiger, and bear cub were found in a drug dealer’s basement in 2001. They were moved to Noah’s Ark sanctuary and have lived together as inseparable best friends ever since.
5. Clement Vallandigham, a lawer who, while trying to demonstrate how the victim might have accidentally shot himself, shot himself and died. He then won the case
6. Flounders are so skilled at camouflage, they will attempt a checkered pattern if they rest on top of a checkerboard.
7. Businesses like McDonald’s and Starbucks buy chairs with low ‘butt ratings’ that have a measured time before they become too uncomfortable for patrons to stay.
8. An Australian veterinarian performed a 45 minute surgery on a goldfish named George. His owners were quite attached, so they paid to have a tumor removed for his head.
9. One of the richest men in the world is named Ka-Shing.
10. Tanzania’s alkaline Lake Natron has such a high concentration of natron that its pH level is nearly as high as ammonia, transforming animals into calcified statues.
11. 1835 was the only time in U.S. history when the country was debt free, when Andrew Jackson paid off what he called “the national curse.” It lasted exactly one year.
12. New York’s area code is 212, because it was the fastest number to dial on a rotary phone.
13. 90% of the wildlife in Madagascar is not found anywhere else in the world.
14. The smallest Hawaiian Island, widely known as The Forbidden Isle, is owned by two brothers that inherited it from their great great great grandmother who purchased it from King Kamehameha V for $10,000 in gold. They have turned down all offers to sell it including $1 billion from the U.S. government.
15. Because of a design flaw, when Apple III owners had problems (like garbled data) they were instructed to “lift the machine 3 inches and drop it in order to re-sear the chips on the logic board.”