Nate Armbruster
Fun facts are handy to know in case you want to impress someone you just met. Depending on the fact, it can go good or bad though so you want to choose wisely.
There are cool facts and not-so-cool facts. People are sharing facts that nobody asked for in this AskReddit thread. See how many you already knew!
What’s a “fun fact” that nobody asked for?
#1
On 8 April 1942, a detachment of Polish soldiers, deployed to Iran by the Allies, bought a bear cub from an Iranian boy. In August the bear was given to the 22nd Artillery Supply Company and named Wojtek by the soldiers.
They fed him condensed milk, honey, fruit, and beer, which ended up being his favorite drink. He also picked up smoking, and enjoyed wrestling with his human friends, and bunking in on cold nights.
When the Polish II Corps was redeployed it Italy to fight alongside the British, the Brits wouldn’t transport mere mascots on a troop ship, so Wojtek was formally enrolled in the Polish army as a private.
During the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino, Private Wojtek helped keep the guns firing by hauling boxes of ammo, each containing four 25-pound shells. These crates normally took four men to haul. For his bravery and service in battle, Wojtek was promoted to Corporal, and his visage became the emblem of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.
After the war, the 22nd was sent to Scotland, before being demobilized, at which point Wojtek was given to the Edinburgh Zoo, where he was often visited by Polish soldiers until his death in 1963.
That is the story of Corporal Wojtek, the Polish artillery bear.
#2
On 1939, February 14th a German battleship was launched and was sank with only 118 of the 2,200 crew members surviving. Among them was a black and white cat named Oscar which was found floating on a board and was picked up from the water by a British ship.
On October 27th, 1941, the ship sank to the west of Gibraltar and Oscar was found clinging to a piece of plank and was later brought to the shore establishment in Gibraltar. When British officers learned what happened they named him “Unsinkable Sam”.
After that he was adopted by the crew of the HMS Ark Royal and in 1941, November 14th, a torpedo hit the ship. Sam was AGAIN found clinging to a piece of plank and was described as “angry but unharmed”.
By this time it was enough for the por cat and remained it’a days on land hunting mice in Gibraltar and then being transferred to the UK where he lived his final days.
And this was the story of “Unsinkable Sam”On 1939, February 14th a German battleship was launched and was sank with only 118 of the 2,200 crew members surviving. Among them was a black and white cat named Oscar which was found floating on a board and was picked up from the water by a British ship.
On October 27th, 1941, the ship sank to the west of Gibraltar and Oscar was found clinging to a piece of plank and was later brought to the shore establishment in Gibraltar. When British officers learned what happened they named him “Unsinkable Sam”.
After that, he was adopted by the crew of the HMS Ark Royal and in 1941, on November 14th, a torpedo hit the ship. Sam was AGAIN found clinging to a piece of plank and was described as “angry but unharmed”.
By this time it was enough for the poor cat and remained its days on land hunting mice in Gibraltar and then being transferred to the UK where he lived his final days.
And this was the story of “Unsinkable Sam”
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#8
If you ever see someone using an iPhone in a movie, they are not one of the bad guys. Apple requires as a condition of licensing their products for use in film/TV, that only protagonists are allowed to operate them on camera. So, if a character is using an iPad in a horror movie, they will not end up secretly being the killer.
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#12
Alexander the great, Mussolini, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and Hitler allegedly suffered from ailurophobia, the fear of cats.
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#14
In starship trooper, the actors agreed to do the coed shower scene only if the director got naked with them and he did.
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#16
There was a Finnish soldier named Aimo Koivunen who got separated from his unit. He had no food or weapons, and to avoid dying, took enough methamphetamine for 30 men. During his insane drug binge, he skied about 250 miles, passed over a landmine and survived, and caught and ate a bird raw. That’s just a few details, I recommend actually reading about this absolute legend yourself.
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#21
There’s a surgery called a rotationoplasty where they remove the middle of your leg, then re-attach the foot (backward) to your thigh so that your ankle can be your new knee for a prosthetic leg.
Seems gross but it really improves the quality of life over the other option, which is no knee at all.
#22
“Louie Louie” was a #2 hit in 1963 for The Kingsmen. The vocals were so garbled and slurred, that rumors spread that the lyrics were dirty. The FBI investigated the song on suspicion of violating obscenity laws. After two years, they decided the lyrics were “unintelligible at any speed.”
Somehow, they missed the drummer yelling “F**k!” at 0:54
#24
#25
Michael Jackson owned the original pair of scissorhands from the movie Edward Scissorhands .
