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Starlight

Stars on Brazil flag are arranged as they were on November, 15th. 1889 at 8:30 AM, proclamation of the Republic of Brazil.

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Monster Emblem

The Alfa Romeo logo pictures a giant snake eating a kid.

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Raspoutincrevable!

Rasputin, Russian mystic healer, was killed by cyanide poisoning, beating, execution blank range, and finally thrown into an icy river. His autopsy revealed that it was the river that killed him.

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Eureka

Frank Epperson invented the popsicle in 1905, at the age of 11.

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Kindergate

Kinder Surprises are banned in the USA.

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Better a rhino than an ass!

In 1958, a five-year-old female rhinoceros named Cacareco won Sao Paulo’s council elections.

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Let's twist again

Earth's rotation speed, for something located on the equator, is 1,040 mph.

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Alice in PapuaLand

Baruya people venerate sperm, so much that women have as much intercourse (marital or extramarital) as possible when they're pregnant, in order to give birth to a strong baby.

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Video vs Radio

The first music video ever broadcast on MTV was the Buggles' “Video Killed The Radio Star”.

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Paris Hill Town

The construction of a shadow Paris intended to lure the Germans had been initiated during WWI.

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How I met your mother

Mill Ends Park (Portland, US-OR) is the world-smallest park and covers a total area of 452 sq in (0.292 m2).

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Bite me !

A bite from the banana spider results in hours-long erections.

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Saint Patience bless us !

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris Montmartre has been the host of a continuous prayer since 1885.

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Keyboards

Qwerty keyboards were created to slow down the typing (and to split apart the letters often used consecutively).

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Wind of change

A decrease in atmospheric pressure increases flatulences.

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God is great

In the 19th century, Dr. Faustroll calculated the surface of God!

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Saucers are not welcome

A municipal decree forbids flying saucers to fly over and to park in Chateauneuf-du-Pape (France).

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Horses on ice

Almost a thousand horses died in the Lake Ladoga when the water suddenly froze.

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Living tongue

There is a shellfish which does not only parasite a fish but literally replace its tongue. This is the only known case of complete replacement of an organ.

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Blue Suede Bike

Elvis Presley's first guitar cost 12.95 $.

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Rambo is a care bear

There's only one death in “Rambo: First Blood”.

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Road rage

In Switzerland, if you fail too many times your driving test you might have to consult a psychologist to check your ability to drive.

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Tapestry Shmatestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is not a tapestry (and was not made in Bayeux).

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Like LOST, except it makes sense

Castaways from the ship Utile have survived 15 years on the small Tromelin Island, which is only 200 acres almost without any vegetation.

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Russian Mountains… or not!

The forerunners of roller coasters were called “Russian Mountains”. In Russia, they were and are still called “American Mountains”.

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Best before:

Honey never goes bad!

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Censorship “On Air”

In 1964, the French TV anchorwoman, Noëlle Noblecourt, was fired for showing her knees.

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Bubble gum

In Singapore, the import and the sale of chewing gum are prohibited.

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France – Brazil

The country with which France shares the longest border is… Brazil!

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Egg head

The greek playwright Aeschylus was killed by a tortoise, dropped on his head by an eagle.

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Bare-Foot

In 1950 India wanted to attend the soccer world cup… barefoot !

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Jack says: “I'm not there”

Selling Jack Daniel's is illegal in the county where it is produced.

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The longest night

Teresa of Ávila died in the night of the 4th to the 15th of October, 1582.

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Absent of indicative

Le Train de Nulle Part (The Train from Nowhere) is a French novel written without a single verb by Michel Dansel in 2004.

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Non Nation state

The only state which does not want to join the U.N. is Vatican City.

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Centralia on fire !

In Centralia, Pennsylvania, a fire has been burning since 1962.

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Sargasso Sea

There is a sea which has no coasts and no shores!

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Nickname

The full name of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is : Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

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Cocaine Cola

Cocaine was an ingredient of Coca-Cola until 1929.

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Bros

Hippopotamuses are genetically closer to whales than to pigs.

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Look into the past

While watching at the sun, you will see it as it was 8 minutes ago.

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12 letters for Hawaii

There are only twelve letters in the Hawaiian alphabet.

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Save our souls!

The famous distress signal SOS (· · · — — — · · · in morse code) does not mean anything! For sure, it has no link with Save our souls which is a backronym.

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Widen your circle of friends

Whether a circle is composed of 10, 100 or 1000 people, everyone has to step back 11 inches (28 cm) in order to fit one new person in the circle.

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Nobel is no cuckold

The famous anecdote that explains the absence of a Nobel prize in mathematics by the fact that Alfred Nobel's wife cheated on him with some mathematician is false!

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Uncommon swift

A swift can fly 2 or even 3 years without landing, which makes it the world champion of nonstop flight…

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The red telephone

The famous red telephone booth has been inspired by the dome of a tomb.

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Athletic aquatics

An adult octopus can easily swim through a hole the size of the space between its eyes.

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Asterix the satellite

The first French satellite was called Asterix. It was launched on 11/26/65.

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The longest day

On Venus, a day is longer than a year.

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Are you hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic?

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the number 666.

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Sober as a Koala

Usually, koalas don’t ever drink water during their whole life.

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Chug, chug, chug!

Consumption of beer worldwide is estimated to be around 125 billions liters per year, i.e. not less than 50,000 Olympic pools.

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Jane Cow

A cow with a name produces more milk than one without.

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40-love, not war

For tennis, the English pronunciation for 0 is “love”.

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Big Sun

The Sun alone accounts for 99.86% of the solar system’s known mass.

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Infinite number

0.9999999… (with an infinite amount of 9) equals 1.

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Lonely Pope

Statistically, there are a bit more than two Popes per sq. km in the Vatican City State.

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Blitz-Peace

The famous sign “Peace” (☮) was the insignia of the Wehrmacht 3. Panzer-Division (1941–1945).

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Coincidence

Considering a group of 40 people, there are 89% chances that two of them are born the same day.

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Degree in jerk off ?

According to a 1990 US Study, the more educated a person is (ie. the higher the degree the person obtained), the more he / she masturbates.

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Invaders must die

The success of the arcade game Space Invaders caused a shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan, which forced the government to increase their production subsequently.

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Disaster avoided?

Orson Welles asked Walt Disney to make an adaptation of “The Little Prince” with him. Walt Disney refused.

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Highest peak

The highest point of Maldives is lower than a basket on a basketball court.

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Rabbits are not rodents!

Actually they are lagomorphs, another order of mammals.

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Lego

In 2009, there was an average number of 62 Lego bricks per human being on the planet.

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Bonellia and Clyde

The male Bonellia viridis, or Green Spoonworm, is so small that he lives inside the female!

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English proverb

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

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Kung Free?

In Chinese, Kung Fu means “Freedom” (literally “achievement of the human effort”).

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Auto racing

In 2006, the Audi R10 TDI achieved victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This was the first time ever that a car powered with a diesel engine won that race.

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Friends of apes

In Spain, apes have been granted rights similar to humans since June 2008.

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Hiroo the Hero

Hiroo Onoda was one of the last japanese soldiers to surrender after the defeat of Japan in World War II. He was ordered to lay down his arms on the island of Lubang in 1974 (29 years after the end of WWII).

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“The yes needs the no to win against the no”

Nicolas Sarkozy never graduated from Sciences-Po (French School of Political Science) due to an insufficient command of the English language.

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Downjob

Bats engage in fellatio during pairing.

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Purring therapy

Purring releases endorphins that help cats to ease the pain and reassure themselves.

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Kiss of deaf

A strong kiss can cause an imbalance in the air pressure between the two inner ears and lead to a broken ear drum!

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Mustache and gendarmes

In France, wearing a mustache is finally not mandatory for gendarmes since 1933.

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A folding story

You can’t fold a paper in half more than 7 times.

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Cacophony

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages. It is actually more than any other country.

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Weeny weenie

The erect gorilla penis is less than 2 inches long.

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Origins of Africa?!

The sample “It Began in Afrika” from the title track of the Chemical Brothers released in 2001 has been used by IAM (a french hip hop band) in 1991 for the title “Red, Black and Green”.

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Looking for lost period

A volume of the book A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (Looking for Lost Time) by Marcel Proust contains one of the longest sentence in French literature: 856 words.

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EPO Tour of California

The American pharmaceutic firm Amgen has been sponsoring the cyclist tour of California since 2006. Amgen is the first producer of EPO worldwide.

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Godfather of soul

James Brown has served 3 years in prison (from 1988 to 1991). He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and on drug consuming charges.

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Tabak ist taboo

The first anti-smoking campaigns were launched during the Third Reich.

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Windy enough to take the oxes’ horns off

This French expression has nothing to do with the Beaufort required to make our dear cattle’s horns fly away.

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Virgin?

5 to 7 kg of olives are required to produce one liter of oil.

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Mosquitos

Only females bite!

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Back to the Future

The DeLorean time machine used in the trilogy “Back to the Future” could have been a freezer!

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Sniff

Traces of cocaine can be found on 90% of U.S. bills.

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French Resistance

Every year, the french cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris has as many visitors as Disneyland Paris.

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La la la smurf lala

Smurfette was originally created from clay by Gargamel.

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Megafungus Rex

The largest living organism on earth (and by far) is a mushroom!

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Take cover!!

Between 2000 and 3000 meteorites fall on Earth each year.

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Noble heart

Octopuses have three hearts and their blood is blue.

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English pleasure

King Edward II of England (1284 – 1327) is believed to have been killed by the insertion of a red-hot iron rod in his rectum.

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Symbolic dollar

Since 1997, Steve Jobs has taken home no more than a single dollar for his salary.

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Can you open it?

The can-opener was invented more than 40 years after the can!

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Beetlejuice

Cockroaches are coprophage.

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Porn and children

John B. Root, currently known as a pornographer, used to be a children’s book writer.

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Make love, not…

In 1994, the US army speculated about the creation of a “gay bomb”.

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Hair!

A newborn baby is hairier than you !

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Mad love

Lions can mate up to 50 times a day.

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Baby penis

In Ancient Greece, a man was considered more virile if he had a small penis.

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Lost time…

Movies are shorter on television than in movie theaters. Nothing is cut off, but the speed is slightly increased.

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Rimbaud warrior!

Arthur Rimbaud suddenly abandoned poetry in 1875, and was later known as a weapons merchant in Abyssinia.

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German time

France has been using the German time zone since the German occupation during WWII.

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E.T.

In the USA, a federal law made it illegal to have contact with “extraterrestrials or their vehicles”. Enforcement of the law led to a fine of 5000 dollars or a one year prison term.

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Great Wall from space

It's usually said that the Great Wall of China is “the only human building that can be seen from space”...actually it's false.

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Super Size Mich

The famous Hamburger sandwich comes from Hamburg.
The Hot-Dog comes from Frankfurt (name before americanization: Frankfurter)

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Tsutomu, the survivor

Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only man who survived both atomic bombs (at least the only that was officially recognised)...

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Splash!

Each year, worldwide, more people die from firearms than from drowning.

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Masterpiece

Writing the Faust tragedy took 59 years to Goethe.

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Drug ? No, chocolate !

Dark chocolate has the property to reduce the blood pressure level.

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Contortionism

It is impossible to put a finger in the nose, one in the anus and one in each ear simultaneously.

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Double

Charlie Chaplin secretly took part in a Chaplin look-alike competition in San Francisco. He came in third.

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A VERY long line

As of 2005, one hundred billion Bic pens have been sold all over the world. It represents enough ink to draw a line from here to Pluto and come back… more than 20 times.

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Packed in Paradise

80 billion human beings have been born on the planet since the first humans, and half of them in the last two millennia !

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Cockroach never dies…

A cockroach can live up to several weeks headless before it dies of starvation.

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Changing

Bolivian government changed 188 times in 167 years.

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Crash Test Dummy

The first crash tests were performed with cadavers.

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142 857

142 857 is the only cyclic number.

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“My tailor is French…”

The motto of the former British Empire (England / United Kingdom) is in French, not in English!

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Let it be smurfed !

Peyo invented the word “schtroumpf” (later translated as “smurf” in English) meaning “salt”, as he was asking Franquin to pass it.

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Magnetism

The first magnetic audio recording dates from 1898.

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Peace and World

Mir (Мир) means “peace” and “world” in russian.

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Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower should have been dismantled after the Universal Exposition of 1889 for which it had been built; the Eiffel Tower has especially been saved by telegraphy.

+ Tell me more
 
 
Helwett Packart, HP or PH ?

HP founders tossed a coin to decide whether they would call their company Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

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Your eyes are bigger than…

The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain.

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City of Angels

The full name of the city of Los Angeles is “El pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Rio de Porciuncula”.

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Scavenger

The hippopotamus can, when he has no choice, eat meat.

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Quest for fire

Matches were invented after the lighter.

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Persepenis

Iran comes second in number of gender reassignment surgery (first is Thailand).

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Plague

Plague is not eradicated actually: the WHO took a census of 2118 cases in 2003, among which 182 were fatal.

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Tedededede…

Chiropters (commonly known as bats), are the only mammals capable of flying.

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Vitamins

In a fruit, the highest proportion of vitamins is contained in the peel.

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For pleasure

This is a useless DYK and that is a good reason to like it.

+ Tell me more
 
 
Holy smurf

Papa Smurf is 542 years old.

+ Tell me more
 
 
Lee's Miserables

During the American Civil War, the general Lee's Southern troops called themselves “Lee's Miserables”, as a tribute to Victor Hugo's book, Les Misérables.

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Out of the box

The well-known Pandora's box is actually a jar.

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Coming out

It's only in 1990 that the World Health Organization took the decision to withdraw homosexuality from its list of mental diseases.

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Some ratio

In Alaska it is easier to get around by plane than by car!

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Astro

A day on Jupiter lasts 9 hours and 55 minutes.

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Visa

Homer Simpson's credit card number is 5784 3653 4341 0709.

+ Tell me more
 
 
Peugeot faster than Porsche

The Porsche 901 presented at the Frankfurt exhibition in 1963 was removed from the market at the beginning of its production in may 1964. Indeed, Peugeot company had already registered all car names with 3 digits and a zero in the middle.

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Books

Titles on the spines of books are oriented differently whether the print is French or English.

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Mine is longer…

The record of the longest beard ever is owned since 1927 by a Norwegian, Hans N. Langseth. His beard mesured 5 meters 33 centimeters long (17ft 6”).

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Bond, James Bond

James Bond really existed !

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Madness game

There are no clocks in Las Vegas' Casinos.

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Harry PotTREE

For the american edition of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, 217 475 trees were cut.

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And they lived happily

Mansuetus and Lynx, Spontex administrators, got married in fall 2007.

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Marlbo-bro

Marlboro cigarettes were originally designed for a ladies' use.

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Very very small

The world's smallest book is “Teeny Ted From Turnip Town”, and measures 0.1mm by 0.07mm.

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Night vision !

Most pirates had two eyes in perfect condition, but kept an eye patch on one of them to keep it adjusted to darkness, facilitating night navigation and the passage from the upper deck (in daylight) to lower bridges (very dark).

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

In the Star Wars universe, there are spaceships, laser beams, anti-gravitational modules but the holographic communications sound like a 1920's phone.

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Banzaï !

Before becoming a battle cry in the mouth of kamikaze, “Banzai” was used to express respect for the emperor, wishing him happiness and longevity, and it is still in use today.

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One date, two destinies

Osama Bin Laden and Chuck Norris celebrate their birthdays on the same day!

+ Tell me more
 
 
Never alone

In Switzerland, having only one guinea-pig is against the law.

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Balls forever…

In 2005, a Welsh rugby fan named Geoff Huish had so little faith in his national team's victory against England that he declared : “If Wales win, I'll cut my balls off.”

+ Tell me more
 
 
Lucy in the Sky with expensive Diamonds

LSD is the most expensive material available. When comparing the price per kilo, LSD is 4 times as expensive as diamonds.

+ Tell me more
 
 
CD's (again)

The optic line of a Compact Disc is 3.5 miles long !
Amazing, isn't it ?

+ Tell me more
 
 
Atchoo !

It's impossible to keep your eyes open while sneezing ! Try it !

+ Tell me more
 
 
Jimi Hallyday

Jimi Hendrix played 4 opening acts for… Johnny Hallyday !

+ Tell me more
 
 
In Ze Nayville

The two founding producers of the “Village People” are French.

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Mine is the longest !

The longest swimming pool in the world is located in Algarrobo, Chile, and is 1,013 meters long.

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Sex and Rock n' Roll

According to a survey, young people consider that music is even more important than sex.

+ Tell me more
 
 
Coke!

Coke in a glass bottle tastes better than coke in a can, which, in turn, tastes better than fast-food's one.

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Break a leg !

Almost everybody has a number of feet above the average of the population.

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Evening dress

One woman out of two takes up to 50 pieces of clothing in her luggage for only two weeks of holidays.

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Manholes

Manhole covers are round so that they cannot fall in the opening.

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The Irish flag

The green colour of this flag stands for the Catholics, orange for the Protestants, and white for the harmonious link between both religions.

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Help needed!

As you can see, we have very few DYK in english! But anyone can help!

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BM

Bob Marley drove a BMW in order to see the name of his band written on his car!

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Tilt!

The world most sold pinball is “The Addams Family”, released in 1992.

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CD's…

A CD has a radius of 4.7 in (12 cm) for a playtime of 74 minutes because it is the playtime of Beethoven’s 9th symphony.

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A plague of rats

The eradication of cats, due to superstitions and beliefs about witchcraft, allowed the spread of the plague.

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Chinese are everywhere

Apricots originally came from the northeast of China.

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USA

There is no official language in the United States.

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Kids and grown-ups love it so…

HARIBO comes from “HAns RIegel, BOnn”, creator of the company, followed by the name of the city where he created it.

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There's a life before Apple

Before starting Apple in their garage, Steve Wozniak (and, to some extent, Steve Jobs himself) used to be quite well known in the Phreak/Blue Box community. Wozniak' nickname was… “The Woz”!

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You said Pizza ?

The modern pizza (as we know it nowadays) has been invented in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito.

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I have a dream

A human spends at least 4 years of his life dreaming.

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Fame

The Sex Pistols only recorded one album.

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George, get set for a mind blowing afternoon

Georges Washington used to grow cannabis in his garden.

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Swallow

An adult swallows his saliva 1500 times a day (on average).

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Unbelievable!

Michael Jackson, at some point, used to be black.

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