12 A Trucker Purchased a Jackson Pollock for 5 Bucks

In 1991, huge rig trucker Teri Horton purchased the dumpiest piece of artwork she may discover at a thrift retailer, intending to present it as a gag present. Somebody instructed her it seemed a complete lot like a bona fide Jackson Pollock, and he or she later had it confirmed by a forensic artwork professional. She was supplied as a lot as $9 million for it, however held out for one thing nearer to $50 million. Horton handed away in 2019 with out ever placing a deal, however instructed her son: “Promote that rattling portray, however don’t you dare give it away.” (Supply)

11 Relaxation Simple, Elon Musk: Google Had the Lamest Title in Tech Historical past

Again when it was nonetheless just a bit ardour challenge, Larry Web page and Sergey Brin referred to their search engine as, ugh, BackRub. Think about a world the place as a substitute of “googling” stuff, all of us casually announce that we’re gonna “rub one out.” It was a reference to “oneway links,” the depend of hyperlinks to a given web site from different locations on the web, which was the key sauce of their budding search know-how. To their credit score, they determined to alter the title the second they realized they could have a viable product on their palms. (Supply)

10 Attempting to Suck Water from an 11-Meter Tube? Good Luck With That, Buddy

To start with, your puny mouth muscle tissues may by no means type a vacuum tight sufficient to tug off a stunt like that. However say you need to use the pure drive of siphoning: It’s unattainable to siphon water with a tube any longer than 10.3 meters, as a result of the water stress turns into so low that it immediately boils. Now, clearly, degassing the water earlier than siphoning can stop cavitation, however who’s bought the time for that? (Supply)

9 2007 Was a Banner Yr for Webster’s Dictionary

Webster’s pronounces 10 Phrases of the Yr annually, and so they have been actually feeling their oats in 2007, with bangers like:

• #8 Pecksniffian (adjective): Hypocritically benevolent.
• #6 sardoodledom (noun): A play with a very contrived and melodramatic plot.
• #1 w00t (interjection): Expressing pleasure. (Supply)

8 It’s Not Technically Unlawful to Escape Jail in Some International locations

Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria all see the will for freedom as a basic a part of human nature. For those who escape from jail, they’ll clearly, ya know, attempt to get you again. However the justice system tends to see the entire ordeal as egg on their face, and so they gained’t legally penalize you for the escape itself. (Supply)

7 A Huge Spooky Pet Canine Terrorized France for Three Years within the 18th Century

The Beast of Gévaudan was almost definitely an particularly enormous and cruel wolf, however individuals on the time couldn’t resolve whether or not it was a cow-sized canine, a freak hyena, a straight-up werewolf or possibly only a actually sick bear. It attacked a whole bunch of villagers, and when it killed, it did so with outstanding brutality. We’re talkin’ cranium crushing, decapitation, and when it was lastly taken down, an post-mortem reportedly discovered its final sufferer had been swallowed complete, Huge Dangerous Wolf-style. (Supply)

6 Alan Shepard Took a Greenback Invoice to House to Show He Was the Identical Man

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is fairly hung up on with the ability to verify that the one that steps out of a spaceship is identical one who stepped in, for the sake of record-keeping. However in 1961, they didn’t have the know-how to trace it definitively, or the means to journey from the lift-off to the touch-down areas within the quarter-hour the spaceship was flying. They determined to simply give Alan Shepard a greenback invoice, and ensure the serial quantity matched when he climbed out. (Supply)

5 Fish Sperm Is Fireproof

Different publications will lead with a headline like “Your DNA Is Fireproof!” However we need to ensure you know what’s actually occurring. If a scientist ever tells you “DNA could be thought of as a pure flame retardant and suppressant,” what they imply is: They slathered a cotton ball with herring sperm and did not mild it on fireplace. (Supply)

4 You Can’t Odor Water, However Elephants Can

Certain, you’ll be able to scent the ocean, and possibly you’ll be able to inform if there’s a stagnant pond close by. However elephants have a definite sort of scent detection that you simply don’t have, which permits them to detect chemical substances. They will scent H2O from about 12 miles away. (Supply)

3 Snails Have Enamel — Extra Than You Wish to Know About

Sorry to be those who must inform you this, however snails can have as much as 15,000 tooth jangling round of their horrid, mucous-y little orifices. (Supply)

2 A Sewer Employee Did not Meet His Robin Hood Second

In 1836, a man was rooting round within the poop chutes of London when he realized he may entry a gold vault deep within the bowels of the Financial institution of England. As an alternative of single-handedly redistributing England’s wealth, he instructed the financial institution administrators he’d meet them within the vault at a chosen time, and certain sufficient, popped up out of the floorboards and scared the bullion out of them. They rewarded his honesty with a gold bar or two, after which continued hoarding the world’s wealth. Nice work, buddy! (Supply)

1 Paul Bunyan Was Two Canadians in a Trenchcoat

Dangerous information first: Paul Bunyan was one hundred pc Canadian. Sorry, Wisconsin Historic Society, calling him “America’s best-known folks hero” is a little bit of a misnomer. However the excellent news is: He was an actual man! Truly, two actual guys! His top and lumberjack-ness are doubtless primarily based on hulking nineteenth century ax-wielder Fabian Fournier, and his title might be the French-Canadian pronunciation of storied soldier Paul Bon Jean. (Supply)