The cruise liner Queen Mary, now at harbour in Los Angeles, was originally meant to be known by a different name. A director of Cunard - the ship's owners - met King George V intending to name the ship Queen Victoria. He asked if the vessel could be named after 'the greatest Queen this country has ever known'. The King replied 'That is the greatest compliment ever paid to my wife. I'll ask her'. Hence, the ship became the Queen Mary.

Benjamin Britten, Bill Shankly, Jesse Owens and Richard Nixon would all have been 100 this year.

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and Great Britain in 1896.  Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

It has been scientifically proven that the less you know,the more you think you know.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

A 500lb (222 Kg) bluefin tuna fish sold for 1.8 million dollars in Japan.

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http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/07/japan-worlds-most-expensive-fish-sold-for-1-8-million/

Contrary to popular belief,Einstein never failed at math in school.In fact.by fifteen he had already
mastered differential and integral calculus.

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http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1936731_1936743_1936758,00.html

Arrichion,a wrestler in the ancient Olympics won a match by using a manoeuvre
which caused his neck to break,killing him instantly.His opponent suffered from a
dislocated foot,and submitted.Arrichion was named the winner.

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http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TP001EN.html

A 27-year-old woman in 2011 was charged with possession of heroin after 54 bags of
the drug was found inside her vagina.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367731/Police-arrest-woman-54-bags-
heroin-hidden-genitals.html

Scientists have developed a beer that has electrolytes,making it more hydrating and
refreshing.

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http://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-boffins-brew-up-a-hydrating-beer-20130816-2s20b.html

In 2005,the Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi,insulted Finnish
cuisine.Later,in 2008.a Finnish pizza won an international pizza contest coming
first with Italy in second and Australia in third position.The name of the first
place pizza was "Pizza Berlusconi".

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotipizza

There is a pirate "stock exchange" in Somalia where locals can invest in pirate
gangs planning hijacking missions.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/12/01/us-somalia-piracy-investors-idUSTRE5B01Z920091201

In Japan when a death order has been issued,the condemned prisoner is informed
on the morning of his/her execution.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Japan

The U.S.has 115,000 janitors,83,000 bartenders,323,000 restaurant servers,and 80,000 heavy-duty
truck drivers with bachelor's degrees.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-17/end-u-s-student-loans-don-t-make-them-cheaper.html

The world's largest virus has a unique genome.93% of it does not seem to match with any other
organism's DNA.This hints at a fourth domain of life.

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http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Pandora_virus_covert_threat_from_space_999.html

During WWII,a German pilot spotted an American pilot's crippled plane in the sky.Trailing it,he
noticed that the gunner was dead,crew injured,and they posed no threat.Instead of destroying the
plane,he led it to safety.40 years later,the two pilots reunited.

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http://www.valorstudios.com/franz-stigler-photos-and-video.htm

In 1946,the electric chair failed to kill Willie Francis,who subsequently filed suit claiming
that he had been executed even though he did not die,and should be a free man based
on "double jeopardy"laws in the 5th amendment.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair

In 1927,William Smith,a college student received two enrolment forms for Georgia Tech,and decided to make
an imaginary student with the second form.Over the years,the imaginary student received multiple degrees
from the college.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P._Burdell

Most of the "facts" about Nostradamus are false,his astrologies were false with lots of errors,he did not
predict his own death correctly as it was his secretary who edited it after his death,etc.

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http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4066

If medical errors were a disease,they would be the sixth leading cause of death in USA.

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http://www.justice.org/cps/rde/justice/hs.xsl/8677.htm

Martin Sheen has been arrested 66 times for protesting and acts of civil disobedience.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen#Protests

Women in ancient Rome wore the sweat of Gladiators to improve their beauty and complexion.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics_in_Ancient_Rome#Containers_.26_Mirrors

A guy built a functional Boeing-737 cockpit in his kids’ bedroom.

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http://www.sudouest.fr/2013/07/18/chez-lui-dans-le-ciel-1117926-2780.php

There was a German pop star who knowingly spread HIV without informing her
partners,and got only a 2 year suspended sentence and 300 hours of community
service.

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http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/19/nadja-benaissa-interview-hiv-positive

Both Stalin and Hitler were nominated for nobel peace prizes.

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http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/facts/peace/

Iran is the only country where mandatory contracetive courses are required for both
males and females before a marriage license can be obtained.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Human_population_control#Iran

Mar' smallest moon,Deimos,has an escape velocity of 5.6 m/s,meaning that if you were
taking a running jump while on it,you will launch off like a slow rocket.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/moons/deimos_(moon)

LSD was legal for decades,was given to undergraduate psychiatry students as part of
their education,and it has the highest success rate in recorded history for treating
alcoholism.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lysergic_acid_diethylamide

Greek scientist Eratosthenes was nicknamed "beta" because he was second-best in
the world in almost every field.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eratosthenes#Eratosthenes.27_measurement_of_the_Earth.27s_circumference

Dolly Parton anonymously entered a "Dolly Parton look-alike contest" but lost to a drag queen.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dolly-parton-gay-rumors-losing-drag-queen-alike/story?id=17812138

The US government can legally destroy wheat on farms that produce in excess in order
to "stabilize the market,"even if the excess is for personal consumption only.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn

The first time a Navajo baby laughs,the family throws a party.The person who makes the
baby laugh provides the food for the party.

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http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/a-laughing-party/

A chocolate artist created a 34-meter-long train replica entirely out of Belgian chocolate.
Made of 2,755 pounds (1250 kilos) of the finest Belgian chocolate, donated by chocolate brand
Belcolade, this 34-meter-long steam train replica took Maltese chocolate artist Andrew Farrugia
a painstaking 784 hours to complete.

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http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20121119_026&pid=1669648

There are 24-hour cupcake vending machines in Los Angeles,California.

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http://laist.com/2012/02/28/sprinkles_announces_24-hour-cupcake.php

When President Kennedy asked the the Mexican anbassador to declare Cuba a threat
to their security he replied that "40 million Mexicans will die laughing."

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Ambitions#Reviews

If a Google Employee dies,their spouce gets half pay for 10 years.

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http://mashable.com/2012/08/09/google-employee-death-benefits/

In 1994 Crayola released scented crayons but had to retire the food scented ones after
a year because parents complained that they "smelled good enough to eat."

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors#Specialty_Crayons

A Japanese pilot named Kohei Asoh landed an airliner in San Francisco Bay.
When asked about it,he replied "Asoh f*** up".

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_2

A Japanese restaurant employs masked monkeys as waiters.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Oew8O9le0


In 2005,Swedish millionaire Johan Eliasch purchased a 400,000-acre area of land in the
heart of the Amazon rainforest from a logging company for the sole purpose of its preservation.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Eliasch

Virginia is home to a foam replica of Stonehenge named "Foamhenge." It is made entirely out of Styrofoam.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foamhenge

Martin Luther King Jr.received a C in public speaking at seminary school.

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http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/04/five-interesting-facts-about-dr-martin-luther-king-jr/

The wheel was invented thousands of years after boats,woven cloth,rope,sewing needles,baskets and even the flute.

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http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Salute-to-the-Wheel.html?wheel=round

The next man to be named James and be King Of England will not be James III

Under a law made many years ago, things will change to stop confusion.

James II of England and James VI of Scotland, were the same person, due to adhering to regnal numbers.

The next King James of England will not be the 3rd, he will be the 7th.

If you plant an apple seed,the resulting tree will not produce the same kinds of apples.
In fact,they will taste significantly different and may be unsuitable for human consumption.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#Breeding

There is a hand sanitizer called "Maybe you touched your genitals."

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http://www.barelyhangingon.com/funny-pictures/an-honest-hand-sanitizer/

Abraham Lincoln grew his famous beard after a 7 year old girl told him "All the ladies like whiskers".

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http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/12/all-ladies-like-whiskers.html