30 Surprising Facts About Sports, People and Places
Sports Trivia: Fun Facts About Your Favorite Games
1. The shortest player in NBA history is Muggsy Bogues who stands at 5 feet 3 inches tall.
2. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team for being too small.
3. Soccer’s World Cup trophy weighs only 4 pounds but it takes a team of experts to lift it off the ground.
People You Never Knew Existed (Until Now)
4. The world’s oldest person ever recorded was Jeanne Calment who lived until she was 122 years old.
5. Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand while drawing with the other.
6. Thomas Edison had dyslexia and only attended three months of formal schooling.
Places That Will Blow Your Mind With Their Beauty and History
7. Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city located in Peru, was built without any mortar or cement.
8. The Great Wall of China is visible from space, although this is actually a myth.
9. The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been leaning since construction began in 1173 due to unstable soil conditions.
Strange But True Stories From Around the World
10. A man named Roy Sullivan survived seven lightning strikes over the course of his life.
11. There are more than 1 million species of insects in the Amazon rainforest alone.
12. During WWII, the U.S. military trained bats to carry bombs on their backs as part of a secret weapon program.
Unusual Records Set by Ordinary People
13. The most number of hot dogs eaten in ten minutes is 73, set by Joey Chestnut during the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
14. The longest fingernails on record were grown by Melvin Boothe, measuring 9.8 meters long.
Famous Quotes That Inspire Us to Achieve Greatness
15. “Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
16. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt
17. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” – Steve Jobs
Surprising Connections Between Different Countries or Cultures
18. The word “kangaroo” comes from the Aboriginal language of Australia meaning “I don’t understand.”
19. The Japanese word for “mother,” haha, also means “belly button.”
20. The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn.
Weird Laws That Still Exist in Some Parts of the World
21. It is illegal to wear a mask in public in Canada unless it is Halloween.
22. In Switzerland, it is against the law to flush a toilet after 10 PM.
Interesting Origins of Common Words or Phrases
23. The phrase “rule of thumb” originated when English law allowed men to beat their wives with sticks no wider than their thumbs.
24. The word “pizza” dates back to ancient Greece where it meant “flatbread.”
Amazing Feats Accomplished by Animals
25. Dolphins have been known to swim up to 20 miles per hour.
26. Crows have been observed using tools and solving multi-step problems.
27. The largest organism on Earth is a fungus that covers nearly 10 square kilometers in Oregon.
28. Elephants are capable of recognizing themselves in mirrors.
29. Camels can go up to two weeks without drinking water.
30. Sloths move so slowly that algae grows on them, providing camouflage from predators.