1. In the original stage version of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s companion isn’t Toto, but a cow named Imogene, the reason being that it was easier to fit a human into a cow costume than a dog one.
2. Ever play Rock Paper Scissors to determine who wins? In 2005, executives from Christie’s and Sotheby’s played a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who’d get to sell a $20 million art collection. Christie’s won, scissors cuts paper.
3. Sweden’s Left Party has campaigned to make men sit when they urinate in public restrooms of government buildings. It isn’t going so well.
4. Ever Joggle? It is a competitive sport where you juggle and jog at the same time.
5. Next time you answer the phone, say ‘Ahoy!’ Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, pushed for this to be the standard greeting. His rival, Thomas Edison is credited with popularizing ‘Hello.’
6. Does a ‘cosmic latte’ sound good to you? It’s not a drink, but the name of the color that scientists have associated with the shade of our universe.
7. 35% of people are said to be born without wisdom teeth. Scientists think that as we continue to evolve, vestigial organs such as this and the appendix will eventually disappear.
8. There’s no question that the marathon is a grueling race. However, Susie Hewer of the U.K. once knit a scarf while running it, and New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann sketched 46 color drawings while racing the New York City Marathon.
9. The baby carrot industry, worth $1 billion a year, was born out of the realization by a California farmer that he was discarding 400 tons of the orange root per day. His billion dollar idea was simply shaving down the carrots that were too bent to be sold into delicious snackables.
10. For winning the Nobel Prize, Niels Bohr was given a house next door to the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, with a perpetual supply of beer piped into his house.
11. The original thought behind having a best man at one’s wedding was giving assistance in kidnapping the bride from her disapproving parents if needed. The bridesmaid was a brainchild of those who thought that dressing everyone in the same clothing would confuse evil spirits.
12. The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-V handbook classifies caffeine withdrawal as a mental disorder.
13. German chocolate cake is named for Sam German, an American baker.
14. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak includes monsters that he drew as caricatures of some of his relatives. The book was originally pitched as Where the Wild Horses Are, which his editor loved, but Sendak had difficulty drawing horses.
15. There is no sound in space, but it does smell of gunpowder, barbecue and diesel exhaust. The scent is produced by dying stars.
16. Arcadia University, a small private school in Pennsylvania, changed its name from Beaver College due to anti-porn filters blocking internet searches for the school.
17. Catnip works on large cats like lions and tigers, as well as house cats.
18. The term ‘Frito Feet’ is an actual term used by veterinarians due to the fact that many dogs’ feet smell like corn chips.
19. Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.
20. In the U.S., candy is the most shoplifted food. In Europe, it’s cheese, and in Latin America, it’s meat.
21. In 2009, a study was released proving that men become ‘cognitively impaired’ when talking to a pretty woman. Further research found that even thinking about talking to an attractive woman increased their likelihood of saying something dumb.
22. A Belgian village once tried to train 37 cats to deliver mail. The project failed.
23. A committee in Iceland named ‘Mannanafnanefnd’ prevents parents from giving babies names that are deemed ‘too weird.’
24. The song ‘Louie Louie’ was once investigated because the FBI thought it contained dirty lyrics. They abandoned this project after three months of trying to figure out what the lyrics actually were.
25. 12% of people dream in black and white.
26. The dance ‘Electric Slide’ was invented in 1976 by Richard Silver. It consisted of 22 steps, and when he learned that wedding guests worldwide were only performing 18 of them, he threatened lawsuits. He never actually sued anyone.
27. There are cats who are allergic to humans.
28. The oldest known star is 13.8 billion years old, and is named ‘Methuselah.’
29. In 2006, a Wisconsin man, hoping to be elected county sheriff, legally changed his name to Andy Griffith. He was sued by Andy Griffith.
30. In Japan, letting a Sumo wrestler make your baby cry is considered good luck.
31. “Nerf: You can’t hurt babies or old people!” was the first sales pitch used by the company.
32. In the cartoon The Simpsons, all the characters on have four-fingered hands – with the exception of God, of course.
33. The cotton candy machine was invented by a dentist.
34. The inventor of the Pringles can, Fredric Baur, had his ashes buried in one when he died.
35. The Nigerian Civil War had a momentary armistice In 1967, when both sides wanted to watch Pelé play an exhibition game.
36. Hydrox cookies were invented in 1908. Oreos came along 4 years later.
37. Sea otters hold hands when they sleep so they don’t drift apart.
38. Swiss designers are working on a milk carton that changes color as its contents nears expiration.
39. In 2008, Carl Mosca Dionisio strung together 18,500 latex condoms and used them to bungee jump from a 100-foot tower.
40. PETA recently asked the Pet Shop Boys to consider changing their name to Rescue Shelter Boys. They politely declined.
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