15 Stupendous Facts That Totally Twirled Our Mustaches

We all know about the dangers of accepted candy from strangers on Halloween, but did you know that the poisoned candy scare is rooted in an op-ed from 1970? An article set off a chain reaction of panic that has lasted for years. In totally different news, it's not just toxic relationships with people we're related to that can be harmful -- almost a third of Americans have no contact with at least one family member. In a survey of over 1,300 people, they found that 27% of Americans have cut off contact with a family member. 10%, 8%, and 9% reported being estranged from a parent, child, or sibling respectively, while the rest were extended family. Last but certainly not least interesting -- when Wellington Burt died in 1919, he left behind a strange will: his "golden egg," worth up to $110 million, would remain in its nest (a trust fund) for 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild. 92 years later, in 2011, that time finally came!

15 Michael Jackson's first moonwalk was at Motown 25, but he wasn't happy with it.

CRACKED MICHAEL JACKSON'S FIRST MOONWALK WAS DURING HIS PERFORMANCE OF BILLIE JEAN AT MOTOWN 25. Не later confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he cried after the performance because he was so unhappy with it. — *Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab/Shutterstock*
Opera News

14 A rich man's weird will came to fruition after 92 years.

CRACKED A MICHIGAN TYCOON LEFT AN UNUSUAL WILL WHEN НЕ DIED IN 1919. Wellington Burt's golden egg, worth up to $110 million, would remain in its nest (a trust fund) for 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild. That time finally came in 2011, 92 years later. Will and nacc, fraud, Will, hereby 10 sing mind and memory and by any dures Mare this to be ade by me. — *Ambient Ideas/Shutterstock*
*The Guardian*

13 Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University are teaming up to create the world’s first wooden satellites.

CRACKED JAPAN IS CREATING WOOD SATELLITES. Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University are teaming up to have the wooden satellites ready for launch by 2023. The partnership will begin experimenting with different types of wood in extreme environments. — *Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock*, *Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock*
BBC

12 Volcanic ash stopped all four engines on a British Airways flight in 1982.

CRACKED A VOLCANO STOPPED ALL THE ENGINES OF AN AIRLINER. In 1982, British Airways Boeing 747 flight BA 009 lost thrust from all four engines at 37,000 ft due to volcanic ash. The crew was able to restart the engines after about 15 minutes and safely landed the plane. YGD BRITISHARVALS — *Fasttailwind/Shutterstock*
The Aviation Geek Club

11 Space World received criticism for animal abuse after displaying dead fish in their "Ice Aquarium" skating rink.

CRACKED AN AMUSEMENT PARK IN JAPAN SHOWCASED THOUSANDS OF DEAD FISH. Space World, in Kitakyushu, Japan, closed its Ice Aquarium skating rink after receiving criticism for displaying 5,000 dead fish in the ice. The fish had been arranged to form shapes and spell out, causing many to accuse the park of animal abuse. — *via CBC*
CNBC

10 Netherlands: home to the tallest people on Earth.

CRACKED THE NETHERLANDS IS HOME TO THE TALLEST PEOPLE ON EARTH. The Netherlands is the country with the tallest men in the world, with an average male height of 72.36 inches. — *TravnikovStudio/Shutterstock*
World Population Review

9 Email is the bane of office workers everywhere.

CRACKED Inbox (5376354) Important cont Mail EMAIL IS THE BANE OF OFFICE WORKERS EVERYWHERE. 81% say email is their primary source of internal communication, and 67% feel overwhelmed by their inbox. But the real kicker? 82% of people surveyed said they miss important emails because there's just too much in their inbox. — *AFANASEV IVAN/Shutterstock*
Inbox Intelligence Report

8 The poisoned candy scare is rooted in an op-ed from 1970.

CRACKED THE POISONED CANDY SCARE CAN BE TRACED BACK TO AN OP-ED PUBLISHED IN 1970. The article raised the idea that strangers could use Halloween's trick-or-treat tradition to poison children. This frightened readers who accepted the questions as fact, setting off a chain reaction of panic that would last for years. — *Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock*
CNN

7 It would take you 25,000 years to get from the Sun to the center of the Milky Way traveling at the speed of light.

CRACKED TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT, IT WOULD TAKE YOU 25,000 YEARS TO REACH THE MIDDLE OF THE MILKY WAY. The Sun is located on one of the spiral arms, about 25,000 light-years away from the center of the galaxy. — *Alex Mit/Shutterstock*
American Museum of Natural History

6 Almost a third of Americans have no contact with at least one family member.

CRACKED 27% OF AMERICANS HAVE CUT OFF CONTACT WITH A FAMILY MEMBER. The survey of 1,300 people found that 10%, 8%, and 9% reported being estranged from a parent, child, or sibling respectively, while the rest were extended family. — *fizkes/Shutterstock*
*Cornell Chronicle*

5 In ancient Egypt, artisans staged the first ever recorded labor strike to demand pay.

CRACKED ARTISANS IN ANCIENT EGYPT STAGED THE FIRST RECORDED STRIKE. In the 12th century ВСЕ, artisans went on strike after not receiving their monthly grain ration. They were successful in securing a partial payment. — *Everett Collection/Shutterstock*
Global Nonviolent Action Database

4 All of China runs in just one time zone.

GRACKED THE ENTIRETY OF CHINA USES THE SAME TIME ZONE. This can cause confusion as in different parts of the country, the sun may rise and set with a difference of up to four hours. — *aphotostory/Shutterstock*
China Highlights

3 The screenwriters of 'Casino Royale' changed the game from baccarat to poker.

CRACKED THE ADAPTATION OF CASINO ROYALE CHANGED THE GAME FROM BACCARAT TO POKER. This worried director Martin Campbell, as the movie's centerpiece would be around a quiet poker table - but he managed to crack it. — *MGM, Columbia Pictures*
Polygon

2 State terrorism was rampant in Argentina during the Dirty War.

CRACKED THE DIRTY WAR IN ARGENTINA WAS A TIME OF STATE TERRORISM. People were drugged, stripped naked, and thrown out of airplanes into the ocean. Around 200 of these death flights took place. — *Public Domain*
History Hit

1 Bananas have come a long way in the last 7,000 years.

GRACKED BANANAS WEREN'T ALWAYS THE SWEET, SEEDLESS SNACKS WE KNOW TODAY. 7,000 years ago, bananas had large pits of inedible seeds in their fleshy center. People mostly ate the flowers or underground tubers of the banana tree. — *Mazur Travel/Shutterstock*
*Science*

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