In 1604, King James I wrote ‘A Counterblaste to Tobacco’, in which he described smoking as a ‘custome lothesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.
Facts
On 1st April 1996, Taco Bell…
On 1st April 1996, Taco Bell spent $300k on ads saying that they had purchased the Liberty Bell and named it the Taco Liberty Bell. The White House Press Secretary responded, joking that the Lincoln Memorial was bought by Ford and would be named the Lincoln-Mercury Memorial.
The village of Waterproof…
The village of Waterproof, Louisiana sits two and a half miles from it’s original 1830’s location having been moved three times due to flood waters.
The elderly couple seen hugging…
The elderly couple seen hugging on the bed in Titanic (1997) while water floods their room were the owners of Macy’s department store, Rosalie Ida Straus and Isidor Straus. Ida refused a seat on a lifeboat, stating “Where you go, I go” which inspired Rose’s line in the film.
Isidor was offered a place on the lifeboat with Ida when an officer recognized him and saw that Ida refused to board without her husband. Isidor refused to be made an exception when there were other women and children on board.
Instead, Ida gave her seat on the lifeboat to her newly hired maid, Ellen Bird, along with her fur coat. Bird is the one who would tell the story to reporters after she was rescued by the Carpathia. Ellen Bird tracked down the Straus’ eldest daughter, Sara, and offered her the fur coat. Sara refused to accept it, saying it had been a gift from her mother.
In 2000, fundamentalist Mormon…
In 2000, fundamentalist Mormon leader Warren Jeffs ordered his followers to pull their children out of public schools, leading one school district to drop from 1,200 students, to less than 250.
There were ticket scalpers…
There were ticket scalpers for gladiator fights in Ancient Rome. Gladiators like Hermes were known to draw the largest crowds and brought in high profits for scalpers due to demand.
The night before Iraq invaded…
The night before Iraq invaded Kuwait there was a soar in pizza orders made by the CIA.
The term ‘patient 0’ is based…
The term ‘patient 0’ is based on a misunderstanding. An early HIV patients was named ‘patient O’, standing for ‘patient OUT of California’. People misinterpreted this letter as the numeral 0, leading to its wide usage today.
Leonardo da Vinci designed a robotic…
Leonardo da Vinci designed a robotic knight operated by cables. When modern engineers built a replica based on the designs, it was functional.
Soup Nazi
Actor Larry Thomas was paid $2,610.00 for playing the “Soup Nazi” on Seinfeld but since then has earned his living from autograph shows, personal appearances and Cameo.