Useless Facts

[01dragonslayer]

Queen Elizabeth II is a trained mechanic.​

Ministry of Information
During World War II, then 18-year-old Princess Elizabeth was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, making her the only woman in the British royal family to have served in the armed forces and the only living head of state to serve in the Second World War.

Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, as she was called during her service, trained as a mechanic and military truck driver, according to Time. Interestingly, Her Majesty is also the only person in Britain who doesn't need a driver's license to get behind the wheel!

 

[01dragonslayer]

The average American produces 4.5 pounds of trash per day.​

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According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in 2017, Americans produced an average of 4.51 pounds of trash per person per day. Paper and cardboard products were the biggest culprits, with yard trimmings, plastic products, and consumer electronics also making up a bulk of the trash. And while that may seem like a lot of trash, it was actually one of the lowest estimates since 1990. So we're certainly improving when it comes to taking care of the Earth!

 

[01dragonslayer]

One man set a world record by putting on 260 T-shirts at once.​

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When Ted Hastings' son asked him whether he could set an official Guinness World Record, he decided to give it a try. And on Feb. 17, 2019, he reached his goal by wearing 260 T-shirts at one time. Hastings was able to get 20 shirts on by himself, but after that, he required assistance from a team to help him into sizes ranging from medium to 20X. Around the 150-shirt mark, there were concerns about Hastings' ability to breathe due to the weight of the fabric, but he was determined to keep going and beat the previous record of 257 shirts.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Dolphins give each other names.​

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According to a 2013 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, bottlenose dolphins each have their own special whistles, which are just like human names. "Bottlenose dolphins develop their own unique identity signal, the signature whistle," the researchers reported. "This whistle encodes individual identity independently of voice features. The copying of signature whistles may therefore allow animals to label or address one another."

 

[01dragonslayer]

And sloths can hold their breath for longer than dolphins.​

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You likely picture a sloth lounging around in a tree or slowly making its way from one branch to another. But it could also be in the water. In fact, the animal's arms, which are both long and strong, make them great swimmers. And you don't have to worry about their slow-moving ways being an issue: According to the ZSL London Zoo, sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes, which is 30 minutes longer than a dolphin.

 

[01dragonslayer]

"Schoolmaster" is an anagram of "the classroom."​

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"Schoolmaster" is an old-school word for a male teacher. It also happens to be an anagram (meaning it uses the exact same letters) as "the classroom."

 

[01dragonslayer]

There is only one walled city in North America.​

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The next time you're planning a trip and want to head somewhere that's both breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly unique, check out Quebec City in Canada. In the capital of the province of Quebec, the Old Town (Vieux-Québec) area is the only fortified walled city in North America. It was founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Ravens know when someone is spying on them.​

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Ravens are notoriously clever creatures—so much so that they're aware of when they're being watched. A 2016 study published in the journal Nature Communications found that the super smart birds display what's called "theory of mind," which is the ability to attribute mental states to others. That means that ravens can tell when someone (or something) else can see them. In the 2016 study, researchers put this idea to the test and found that ravens acted as if they knew they were being watched when there was an open peephole available for other birds to spy on them.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Frank Sinatra was offered the starring role in Die Hard when he was in his 70s.​

20th Century Fox
Bruce Willis played the legendary John McClane in the Die Hard film franchise. But before Willis landed the role in the action-packed movies, the part was offered to singer Frank Sinatra, who was in his 70s at the time. While that may sound strange, it all has to do with a legal obligation.

The movie was based on the 1979 Roderick Thorp novel Nothing Lasts Forever, which was a follow-up to 1966's The Detective. In 1968, that novel had been made into a film starring Sinatra (not as John McClane, but as Joe Leland, a former New York cop who becomes a private investigator). When Sinatra signed on for The Detective, it was in his contract that the studio had to offer him the main part in the sequel. However, when that eventually happened, Ol' Blue Eyes refused the role.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Sleeping through summer is called "estivation."​

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You surely know that when bears and other animals sleep through the colder winter weather it's called "hibernation." But did you know that there's a name for sleeping through the summer? If you were to snooze the sun-soaked months away, then you would be indulging in "estivation." Snails, tortoises, salamanders, and crocodiles all estivate, as do the Malagasy fat-tailed dwarf lemur and East African hedgehogs.

 

[01dragonslayer]

You produce about six pounds of stool per week.​

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Some of us eat more than others, but according to Kim Barrett, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, on average, men and women both produce around 14 ounces of feces every day. That equals a little over six pounds per week!

 

[GoPro]

You produce about six pounds of stool per week.​

View attachment 34382Shutterstock
Some of us eat more than others, but according to Kim Barrett, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, on average, men and women both produce around 14 ounces of feces every day. That equals a little over six pounds per week!

Bodybuilder probably more. I shit twice a day cause of all the food I smash!!

 

[01dragonslayer]

Around 16 million people alive today are direct descendants of Genghis Khan.​

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Genghis Khan wasn't only known for being the leader of the Mongol Empire from 1206 to 1227—he also fathered a lot of children. In fact, he sired so many offspring that a 2003 historical genetics paper found that around 16 million people alive today are his direct descendants.

 

[01dragonslayer]

The cheesiest pizza ever was topped with 154 varieties of cheese.​

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Johnny Di Francesco of 400 Gradi restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, set the Guinness World Record for the cheesiest pizza by creating a pie using 154 different kinds of cheese. Di Francesco said he was inspired by the 2014 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in which the Donatello character claims that a 99-cheese pizza was a "culinary impossibility."


As a direct response to the movie, Di Francesco first came up with a pizza topped with 99 kinds of cheese. And it was such a success, he wanted to outdo himself. "We had an overwhelming response from our customers, so much so that they petitioned to have it a permanent menu item," he told Guinness World Records. "Since then we decided to up the ante and create a 154-cheese pizza. So my apologies Donatello, culinary impossibility debunked!"

 

[01dragonslayer]

Pope John Paul II was an honorary Harlem Globetrotter.​

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When you think of the pope, you probably envision a holy man in robes, not an athlete. But Pope John Paul II was, in fact, a member of one of the most famous basketball teams in the world.

In 2000, the Harlem Globetrotters made the head of the Catholic church an honorary member of their squad. The CBC reported that the team's owner and chairman, Mannie Jackson, and some players met with the pope during a visit to the Vatican City where the pontiff was given an autographed basketball and his very own jersey.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Basenji dogs are the only breed that doesn't bark.​

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Some smaller dogs have high-pitched yappy barks while larger dogs tend to have deep howls and low growls. But the Basenji is a breed of dog that doesn't bark at all—although that doesn't mean they're silent. Instead, according to the American Kennel Club, "they make their feelings known with an odd sound described as something between a chortle and a yodel."

 

[01dragonslayer]

The most common password is "123456."​

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Hopefully, the passwords you choose are unexpected and cryptic, unlike the vast majority of people who still use incredibly common ones. According to an analysis by SplashData, the most popular passwords of 2018 was "123456." That was followed by "password," "123456789," "12345678," "12345678," "12345," "111111," "1234567," and then, delightfully, "sunshine," and "iloveyou."

 

[01dragonslayer]

The largest bill to go into circulation in the U.S. was a $10,000 note.​

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While your wallet may be filled with $5, $10, $20, $50, or even $100 bills, the government once decided that it might be handy to have some higher denominations available. That's why there were once banknotes of $500, $1,000, and even $5,000 value.

But the largest note ever issued for public circulation was the $10,000 bill, which featured a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury from 1861 to 1864. The bills were first printed in 1945, and on July 14, 1969, the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury announced that the larger bills would be discontinued due to lack of use.

 

[GoPro]

The most common password is "123456."​

View attachment 34392Shutterstock
Hopefully, the passwords you choose are unexpected and cryptic, unlike the vast majority of people who still use incredibly common ones. According to an analysis by SplashData, the most popular passwords of 2018 was "123456." That was followed by "password," "123456789," "12345678," "12345678," "12345," "111111," "1234567," and then, delightfully, "sunshine," and "iloveyou."

I make mine super long and completely random.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Messages from your brain travel along your nerves at up to 200 miles per hour.​

Shutterstock
The human body is capable of amazing things. For instance, when your brain sends messages via your nerves, the signals travel along billions of nerve cells (neurons), synapses, and neurotransmitters in a process that can be as speedy as 200 miles an hour, according to National Geographic.