A Japanese Oil Tanker captain fell into a cactus at a Santa Barbara Oil Field, provoking laughter from the local workers. 5 years later he returned in an Imperial Japanese Navy sub and made the first mainland shelling of the US at that oil field.
people
English writer Charles Foster and his eight year old son…
English writer Charles Foster and his eight year old son lived like badgers in a hole in the ground for several weeks. They ate worms and grasshoppers, and traveled by crawling on their stomachs.
There is a man who has been walking around…
There is a man who has been walking around the world since 1998. He is currently in Russia.
In 1956, for a bet, while drunk, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole…
In 1956, for a bet, while drunk, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a small plane from New Jersey and then landed it perfectly on a narrow Manhattan street in front of the bar he had been drinking at. Then, two years later, he did it again after a man didn’t believe he had done it the first time.
Mike Merrill has modeled his life after the stock market…
Mike Merrill has modeled his life after the stock market. He’s issued 1,000 “shares” of himself and life decisions are made by his shareholders’ votes. Some of the life decisions his investors have made for him are his hair color, the car he drives, his love interests, and even his diet.
The world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, used his long arms reaching…
The world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, used his long arms reaching 1.06m to remove plastic from the stomachs of 2 dolphins, which ultimately saved their lives, after trainers tried numerous other methods.
In 1994 a 74 year old man unable to get a driver’s license drove…
In 1994 a 74 year old man unable to get a driver’s license drove 240 miles on a 1966 John Deere lawnmower to visit his brother who recently had a stroke. At a top speed of 5 mph, the journey took 6 weeks.
Every Sunday night, a 51-year-old software engineer named Bryan Henderson…
Every Sunday night, a 51-year-old software engineer named Bryan Henderson sits down at his computer, searches Wikipedia for the phrase “comprised of” and changes it to either “composed of” or “consists of.” He has done this 47,000 times since 2007. He has also written a 6,000-word essay on why he does this.
Shakuntala Devi, an Indian mental calculator,was asked to give…
Shakuntala Devi, an Indian mental calculator, was asked to give the 23rd root of a 201-digit number; she answered in 50 seconds. Her answer was confirmed by calculations done at the US Bureau of Standards for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation.
Tokyo has a self-declared superhero who calls himself…
Tokyo has a self-declared superhero who calls himself Mangetsu Man. He keeps his identity secret by wearing a purple bodysuit, with a big yellow smiley head; and his self-described job is to keep the city trash free.