15 Random Facts That Will Fill Your Life With Purpose

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15 Random Facts That Will Fill Your Life With Purpose

It's easy to go through life without delving too deeply into the vast wealth of knowledge that surrounds us. After all, there's only so much time in the day, and we can't all be experts in everything. However, there are some random facts that are worth taking the time to learn. Not only are they interesting, but they can also fill your life with purpose. For example, did you know that hummingbirds are capable of flying backward? Or that the world's oldest tree is over 5,000 years old? Learning about these things can help you to appreciate the world around you in new and unexpected ways. So next time you come across a random fact, take a moment to learn it. It might just make your day a little bit brighter.

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Some guy fooled the post office into delivering all of UPS's mail to his house. FOX 32 CRACKED.com Using the knowledge he gained from working at UPS when he was 18, Dushaun Henderson-Spruc filed a form at the Post Office stating that UPS had changed the address of their headquarters to his small Chicago apartment. Included with the thousands of pieces of mail he received, Dushaun retrieved checks totalling $60,000, which he deposited into his own bank account. Eventually, the checks alerted the authorities, and he was sentenced to time served.

Millions of ants fall into a nuclear bunker and form a colony. CRACKED.COM Scientists exploring an abandoned nuclear bunker in the village of Templewo discovered a colony of ants deep inside, thriving with seemingly no food source, no queen, and no way out. What they discovered was that as a colony of ants above the bunker grows every year, a bunch of worker ants fall down through a pipe. These new ants then join the subterranean colony, feeding on tiny mites, which in turn feed on the bodies of dead ants.

Dolphins have boy bands that sing together for years. CRACKED.co The male bottlenose dolphins that live in Australia's Shark Bay attract females by synchronized popping, changing their speeds from when they pop alone. This creates a new, stronger type of sound that the lady dolphins love. Males form singing groups and then choose to stay and sing together for decades.

The US just released someone sentenced to 845 years in prison. CRACKED.co Con man Sholam Weiss commited a massive fraud scheme, robbing some 35,000 life insurance customers of $420 million. His 845 year federal sentence in 1999 was the biggest ever handed in the US. Despite going on the run after his trial and being picked up years later in Austria, his sentence was commuted by outgoing president Donald Trump a day before Joe Biden took office.

The longest Olympic marathon took over 54 years. CRACKED.COM It was a long journey for Japanese athletes Yahiko Mishima and Shizo Kanakuri to the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. After 18 days of travel by sea and rail, Shizo spent five days recharging and taking care of an ill-fallen Yahiko, which did not leave him in top condition in time for the marathon. After completing 3/4ths of the race, Shizo collapsed and was taken in by a nearby family, waking up the next day ashamed of his failure. Shizo was officially labeled as missing and wouldn't return to complete the race

Who stole Columbus' letter from the Vatican? CRACKED.com A copy of a letter Christopher Columbus had written aboard the Nina in 1493, detailing his many exaggerations about the bountiful islands he 'discovered in Southeast Asia, was given to the Vatican and sealed away forever. In 2011 it was discovered the letter in the Vatican's possession was a forgery, and the original was unknowingly purchased by some dude in Georgia in 2004. In fact, most 15th-century copies of this letter, stored in libraries across Europe, had also been stolen and replaced with forgeries.

The mail used to arrive 12 times a day. CRACKED.COM In 1889, in London, the postman would pass by your house 12 times every day. This meant it was totally practical to write to someone elsewhere in the city and expect a response within the day, a response you could reply to again before the day was out. A little earlier within the same century, the recipient, not the sender, had to pay the postage due, which was about a day's wages.

France successfully sent a cat to space during the Space Race. CRACKED.COM When France sent the first cat to space in 1964, they referred to the tuxedo kitty as C 341 so astronauts wouldn't get too attached. The media dubbed the cat Felix, but the French space agency clarified she was female, so Felix turned into Felicette. The feline was rocketed to 500,000 feet and came back to earth successfully. Two months later, she was put down so scientists could poke inside her brain.

When Nixon resigned, only his dog stopped him crying. CRACKED.COM When Nixon's crying threatened to ruin his camera makeup before his farewell address in 1974, makeup artist Jillian Brown decided to remind him of a story to lighten the mood. One Christmas, Nixon's dog King Timahoe kept running into the tree, so Brown shuttled the pup into a bathroom, soon followed by Nixon himself. The secret service, for some reason, locked the door from the outside and trapped the three of them. This story got Nixon laughing and ready for the camera.

The Bean Wars of 2011 GOU 149 OYA GOUA 149 Pinto Frijoles Pinto Beans GOV injules Pintos Go Frijates Printer GOV Frijouch GO COVA go a GO FRIME OYA GOYA GOYA GOYA GOVA GO GO GIVA GO GO Pinto Beam Pinto Beams Pinto Beans Prijotes Frijoles Pintes injoles Pintos CRACKED In 2011, a store called Sanders Supermarket was selling baked beans at negative 2 pence per can. If you bought a can, it cost nothing, and they'd actually pay YOU 2 pence. It was the final stage of a crazy battle between different : stores to reduce prices, a battle today

The last time Suez ships got stuck, sailors were trapped for eight years. CRACKED.com The Suez canal was sealed off during the Six-Day War in 1967, to keep Israel from using the canal and attacking Egypt, trapping 15 ships for 8 years. Egypt kept the ships, two from America and 13 from across Europe, stocked with supplies while they were stranded, and the sailors enjoyed the amenities of the various ships which included a swimming pool and movie theater. Finally, in 1974, the US led an effort to clear the mines and the other wreckage and reopen the canal.

Lightning destroyed Touchdown Jesus. CRACKED.co The 62-foot, 4-ton statue of Jesus outside Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio, was nicknamed Touchdown. Jesus based on its goofy, hands-in-the-air pose. In 2010, a bolt of lightning struck the statue and reduced it to cinders. Luckily for Solid Rock Church, they'd insured Jesus and replaced it with a new statue, one designed somewhat less ridiculous, receiving the nicer nickname of Hug Me Jesus.

A California politician resigned after bragging about two affairs into a mic. CRACKED.co California Assemblyman Michael D. Duvall was caught on a hot mic detailing the affairs he was having, one with an energy company lobbyist. The less graphic details he shared included the couple's spanking routine, and enough information on the woman that people were able to figure out her identity. Duvall, who previously received a 100% rating from a pro-family organization, resigned hours after the televised broadcast of the tape.

The worst passenger ever was a vice president at the airline. CRACKED.COM Korean Airlines VP Heather Cho was dissatisfied with her pre-takeoff snack, macadamia nuts, being handed to her in a sealed plastic bag, as opposed to in a glass bowl. Cho jabbed the chief steward in the chest with the safety manual and allegedly made him kneel and apologize. She ordered the taxiing plane to turn around SO they could kick him off. Later, she fired the guy. She was put on trial back in South Korea, found guilty, and spent 4 months in jail. The fired steward received

The guy who hosted Woodstock was as far from a hippie as you can get. CRACKED.COM The land that held Woodstock belonged to dairy farmer Max Yasgur, 49, a Republican who supported the Vietnam War. The organizers paid him $50,000 to use his grounds, telling him 50,000 people would attend, which turned out to be 400,000. He sold food at cost, and when he learned neighbors were selling water for huge prices, he hung a banner on his barn reading FREE WATER. Yasgur said, If the generation gap is to be closed, we older people have to do more than
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