On November 22, 1963, an unidentified woman placed a phone call to a news station, telling them John F Kennedy was about to be killed. The call was placed about 20 minutes before his assassination, from the vicinity of Oxnard, California, about fifty miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Author: Weirdo
There were only two English words that…
There were only two English words that end in “gry”– hungry and angry. In 2018, the Oxford English Dictionary added a third– “hangry” (an irritable state induced by lack of food).
During the early years of the Tour…
During the early years of the Tour de France, guzzling alarming amounts of alcohol was the norm. Beer, wine, and brandy were considered safer to drink than water from questionable roadside wells or springs, and cyclists drank copiously.
Before asbestos was seen as hazardous…
Before asbestos was seen as hazardous, a Han dynasty general had a jacket made from it. He would pretend to spill wine on it at dinners. Then he’d throw it into a fire and pull it out to show it was still intact to impress his guests.
Grafting tomato shoots onto tobacco…
Grafting tomato shoots onto tobacco roots in 2003, Rob Baur claimed to be the first to create tomacco, the addictive tomato tobacco hybrid conceived by the Simpsons in 1999. While the leaves had nicotine, the tomatoes did not.
The Canadian ice hockey team were so…
The Canadian ice hockey team were so dominant that they did not participate in the knock-out tournament of the 1930 World Championships. They were put straight into the gold medal final game, and the tournament was played to determine an opponent. Canada won 6-1 in the final to claim the gold.
Masako Wakamiya is a Japanese woman…
Masako Wakamiya is a Japanese woman who on noticing the lack of fun game apps for senior citizens learnt coding at the age of 81 and created her own app, Hinadan, inspired by a Japanese doll festival. She holds seminars and workshops to educate elderly about the benefits of technology.
When Toyota debuted its Lexus…
When Toyota debuted its Lexus LS400 model, two drivers reported a minor issue. Toyota recalled every one of the 8000 cars sold. They sent a dealer to pick up the car and leave a loaner car free of charge. The car was returned repaired, washed, detailed, with a full tank of gas and a gift.
Long term radiation damages the cameras…
Long term radiation damages the cameras on the ISS. Also, astronauts occasionally see flashes of light as heavy ions or charged particles crash through their skull and fire off photo receptor cells in their eyes despite being closed.
The city of Trier, Germany…
The city of Trier, Germany, sold 0 euro banknotes with Karl Marx’s portrait printed on them in 2018, commemorating Marx’s 200th birthday, having been born in the city.