The first “Made in …” label was created in 1887 in England to discourage foreign goods and to encourage consumption of domestic-made goods; this ultimately backfired when Britons bought more goods made in Germany than domestic made ones.
In 2010, Philadelphia school…
In 2010, Philadelphia school authorities surreptitiously and remotely activated webcams embedded in school issued laptops the students were using at home in order to spy on the students. They even disciplined a student for his “improper” behavior at home.
There’s an island in Scotland…
There’s an island in Scotland owned by Tibetan Buddhists because the previous owner had a dream in which the Virgin Mary told her to give it to them.
While writing the popular 1990s…
While writing the popular 1990s song Friday I’m in Love, The Cure frontman Robert Smith became convinced that he stole the tune from somewhere, and was so paranoid that he called every person he knew and played the song for them, asking if they recognized it. It was, indeed, unique.
D’oh!
The actor James Finlayson’s catchphrase “dohhhhhhh!” inspired Homer Simpson’s catchphrase. Dan Castellaneta was to utter an “annoyed grunt” while recording for the Tracey Ullman Show, so he said “dohhhhhhh”. Matt Groening felt that faster would be better and Castellaneta shortened it to “D’oh!”
Hershey’s designed a customized chocolate…
Hershey’s designed a customized chocolate bar for the troops during WW2 called “D ration bar”. It was so thick that soldiers had to shave slices off with a knife before chewing on it. By the end of the war, more than 3 billion ration bars had been produced. Also, M&Ms were originally made with Hershey’s chocolate, who had control of the rationed chocolate at the time, and were sold exclusively to the US military. They were designed based on a British made candy which was observed by the Mars Company founders son in the 1930s during the Spanish civil war. Regular chocolate was susceptible to heat and the candy coating helped to allow it to “melt in your mouth, not your hand”.
Despite having a PHD in statistics…
Despite having a PHD in statistics, Carl Gugasian, the most prolific bank robber in American history AKA the Friday Bank Robber, chose a life of crime because he feared that he would never find a job due to spending 2 years in prison as a teenager for robbing a candy store.
A study found that wearing…
A study found that wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain. Men wearing ties and men without ties were scanned using MRI to measure the blood flow to the head; brains of tie-wearers on average received 7.5% less cerebral blood flow than brains of those with no ties.
There was an entire horror movie…
There was an entire horror movie filmed inside the US Disney parks, without permission. Actors and crew dressed up as tourists and filmed over 2 weeks in each park. Disney chose to ignore the movie, most likely to avoid giving it further attention. It premiered at Sundance.
Gabe Sonnier, started off as a janitor…
Gabe Sonnier, started off as a janitor in a Louisiana elementary school until one day in 1985, when he was inspired by the then-principal to take up teaching. Gabe was 39 years old when he started studying for a teaching degree. He’s now the principal of that elementary school.