15 Facts That Feed Our Brains Like An All You Can Learn Buffet

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15 Facts That Feed Our Brains Like An All You Can Learn Buffet

The great god Pan died this week. His body was found at the bottom of a deep well in the woods outside of town. The coroner's report said that it appeared he'd fallen down and drowned himself, but I think that's just an excuse for the local cops who were hoping no one would notice his body. People were all over the papers saying how sad they were, which I guess means they were happy. It was pretty obvious that he was a little off, so I'm sure they're not too broken up about losing him.

I don't know if anyone else will miss Pan, but I certainly did. I mean, he was always hanging around, telling us all these wild stories, and we never really paid attention until he was gone. Shucks, the last thing he told me was just a weird list of fifteen facts that he rattled off for some reason. I still remember every word crystal-clear, even if I don't know why. The list went:

Kuwait athletes at the Olympics do not represent Kuwait.

Kuwait is banned from the Olympics, so their athletes compete as independents. CRACKED.COM The state of Kuwait is banned from the Olympics due to government legislation that permits the state to interfere in elections of sporting organizations. As a result, Kuwaiti athletes compete as independent athletes under the Olympic Flag instead of their own flag.

The Guardian 

Hate to burst your bubble.

Bubbles are the number one cause of damage to ship propellers. CRACKED.COM Collapsing cavitation bubbles release tiny bolts of extremely violent energy, which damage propellers. Cavitation occurs when small air bubbles form against a propeller blade, because the water actually boils.

DMS 

“O’Clock” means “Of the clock.”

The term o'clock used to signify where someone was getting their time from. DENT LONDON CRACKED.COM The phrase o'clock is short for of the clock and comes from a time when people had to specify that their time came from a clock instead of a sundial or other device. It is not, as we previously suspected, the surname of a Time Leprechaun.

Gizmodo 

You could get to Disney via helicopter, until a fatal crash closed the skyway.

The worst civilian helicopter crash in U.S. history ended the Disneyland Skyway. OILMS - - RESCUE . AMS = GRAGKED.COM When Disneyland opened, visitors had the option of arriving by highway or skyway (helicopter). However in 1968, 12 years after Disneyland opened, the skyway ended after a crash took the lives of 23 people.

Disney History Institute

Purple is only used on the flags of two countries.

There are only two countries in the world that use the color purple in their flag. CRACKED.COM The flags of Dominica and Nicaragua are the only flags to sport purple, and are only 41 and 114 years old, respectively. One reason why purple is so rare in flags is that the color dye was too expensive and thus very rare.

World Atlas 

The World’s Smallest Park is two feet wide.

A two foot wide concrete basin with a single shrub is the world's smallest park. CRACKED.COM Mills Ends Park in Portland sits in the middle of an intersection like any concrete barrier, but with a small parcel of soil that supports the occasional flower or perennial. With a total area of 452 square inches, it was recognized as the world's smallest park in 1971.

Portland.gov 

Camels originated in the chillier parts of North America.

Camels originated in North America. GRACKED.COM The moose-sized, and probably wooly, animals are the ancestors of desert-dwelling camels today, which roamed the arctic 45 million years ago. The animals most likely crossed the land bridge from what is today Alaska to eastern Siberia.

Science.org 

“Hands down” comes from horse racing.

Hands down refers to a horse jockey being so ahead, he could loosen the reins. CRACKED.COM The phrase comes from horse racing, referring to a jockey who's so far ahead that he can afford to drop his hands and loosen the reins, which he usually kept tight to encourage a horse to run, and still easily win.

EtymOnline 

A man stole a plane twice just to prove he could.

A man stole a small plane on a bet, and then again to prove he wasn't lying. llyora.com Era N88 CRAGKED.COM Tommy Fitzpatrick stole a small plane in 1956 from New Jersey on a bet and then landed it on the narrow street in front of the bar where he had been drinking in Manhattan. Two years later, he did it again after someone didn't believe he had done it the first time.

NY Times

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