50 Fascinating Facts about Sports, People and Places That Will Blow Your Mind
Sports Trivia: Fun Facts about Your Favorite Games
1. The shortest player in NBA history is Muggsy Bogues who stands at only 5 feet 3 inches tall.
2. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team for being too small.
3. Soccer has the most fans worldwide with an estimated 4 billion people tuning into the World Cup every year.
4. Golf is considered one of the safest sports as there are no recorded fatalities due to injuries sustained during play.
People You Never Knew Existed (Until Now)
1. Chengdu, China is home to a man named Liu Hua who holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest fingernails on record at over 7 meters long.
2. Inventor Thomas Edison had a hearing impairment that caused him to be unable to hear the sound of his own voice.
3. Leonardo da Vinci was ambidextrous and could write backwards with both hands simultaneously.
Places That Will Take Your Breath Away
1. Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, and coldest continent on Earth.
2. The Grand Canyon is up to 6 million years old and can reach depths of over a mile.
3. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is the largest living structure on Earth and can be seen from space.
Strange But True Stories from the World of Sports
1. During a game against the New York Giants, quarterback Frank Filchock used a handkerchief to signal plays to his teammates. This led to the NFL banning the use of any foreign objects during games.
2. In 1981, pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out 21 batters in a single game, setting a Major League Baseball record.
Quirky Records and Achievements in History
1. The first person to run a marathon was Pheidippides, a Greek messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta in 490 BC. He died immediately after completing the race.
2. The smallest country in the world is Vatican City, which covers just under 100 acres and has a population of around 800 people.