30 Fascinating Facts About Sports, People and Places
Sports Trivia: Fun Facts About Your Favorite Games
1. The first Olympic games were held in Athens, Greece in 776 BC.
2. Basketball was invented by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith in December 1891.
3. Golf is the only sport played on the moon – astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball with a six-iron club on February 6, 1971.
4. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with an estimated 450 million players.
5. The fastest serve ever recorded in tennis was by Sam Groth of Australia at 163.4 mph (263 km/h) in 2012.
People You Never Knew Existed (Until Now
6. Ching Shih was one of China’s most successful pirates who commanded over 80,000 sailors and controlled much of the South China Sea during the early 19th century.
7. Hedy Lamarr, famous for her beauty and acting career, also co-invented a frequency hopping technology that paved the way for modern Bluetooth and WiFi technology.
8. Theodore Roosevelt’s mother had to be convinced to let him go into politics because she thought he would embarrass the family due to his severe astigmatism.
Places That Will Blow Your Mind With Their Beauty and History
9. Machu Picchu, located high up in the Andes Mountains in Peru, was built as an estate for the Incan emperor Pachacuti in the 15th century but abandoned after the Spanish conquest.
10. The Great Wall of China stretches for over 13,000 miles and took more than 2,000 years to build.
Strange But True Stories From Around the World
11. A man named Zhang Yongsheng from China has been bitten by venomous snakes 21 times and survived each time without any ill effects.
12. During WWII, the US Army created a secret unit called “The Ghost Army” which used inflatable tanks and sound effects to deceive enemy troops.
Unusual Records Set by Ordinary People
13. The longest fingernails belonged to Shridhar Chillal of India, whose left thumbnail measured 9.7 inches long before it was cut off in 2018.
14. The largest collection of Hello Kitty memorabilia belongs to Mary Grace Cuyugan of the Philippines, who has amassed over 10,000 items since starting her collection in 2004.
Quirky Laws and Customs From Different Countries
15. In Japan, it is considered rude to blow your nose in public or while eating. Instead, people will often use handkerchiefs or tissues to cover their noses when they need to sneeze or cough.
16. In Iceland, it is illegal to own a pet lion or tiger. However, you can keep domesticated animals like dogs and cats.
Surprising Connections Between Famous People and Events
17. Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth both attended the same play, “Our American Cousin,” on April 14, 1865, where Booth assassinated Lincoln.
18. Vincent van Gogh sold just one painting during his lifetime, “The Red Vineyard”, for 300 francs to his brother Theo.
Interesting Origins of Common Words and Phrases
19. The word “jazz” originated from African Americans slang term “jasm” meaning energy or vitality.
20. The phrase “rule of thumb” comes from the practice of using one’s thumb as a rough measurement tool instead of relying on precise measurements.
Weird Animals You Didn’t Know Exist
21. The platypus is a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal found only in eastern Australia and Tasmania. It has webbed feet, a duck-like bill, and lays eggs like a bird.
Incredible Feats of Human Endurance and Bravery
22. On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, flying from New York City to Paris in 33 hours.
23. During WWI, British soldier Henry Williamson ran through heavy machine gun fire to rescue two wounded soldiers, earning himself the Victoria Cross medal for bravery.