Forward Ever Forward

1. Smelling bananas and/or green apples can help you lose weight.
2. Lynyrd Skynard was the name of the gym teacher of the boys who went on to form that band. He once told them, “You boys ain’t never gonna amount to nothin’.”
3. Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
4. Bulls are color blind, therefore will usually charge at a matador’s waving cape no matter what color it is—be it red, yellow or neon pink.
5. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
6. Look at the number four on a clock face that uses Roman numerals. If the clock is made correctly then the Roman numeral four is wrong. The standard and correct way to write the Roman numeral four is “IV,” but the traditional way to show it on a clock face is “IIII.” Legend has it that a clock was made for a British king. When he saw the clock he mis- informedly corrected the clock maker who re-did the clock face to show a “IIII” instead of an “IV” thus not risking offending the king. Other clock makers followed suit so as not to embarrass the king. Now it is the traditional way to make clocks.
7. John Wilkes Booth’s brother once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son.
8. A South African monkey was once awarded a medal and promoted to the rank of corporal during World War I.
9. Circus star, General Tom Thumb, had his growth slow down by the age of six months. At a young age of five, he joined the circus, and at adulthood he was merely a few inches over 3 feet tall.
10. Because they had no proper garbage disposal system, the streets of ancient Mesopotamia became literally knee-deep in trash.
11. The Toltecs, 7th century native Mexicans, went into battle with wooden swords so as not to kill their enemies.
12. China banned the pigtail in 1911 as it was seen as a symbol of feudalism.
13. It’s rumored that sucking on a copper penny will cause a breath-alyzer to read 0.
14. Sliced bread was patented by a jeweller, Otto Rohwedder, in 1928. He had been working on it for 16 years, having started in 1912.
15. Before it was stopped by the British, it was not uncommon for women in some areas of India to choose to be burnt alive on their husband’s funeral pyre.
16. Ivan the terrible claimed to have “deflowered thousands of virgins and butchered a similar number of resulting offspring.”
17. Before the Second World War, it was considered a sacrilege to even touch an Emperor of Japan.
18. An American aircraft in Vietnam shot itself down with one of its own missiles.
19. The Anglo-Saxons believed Friday to be such an unlucky day that they ritually slaughtered any child unfortunate enough to be born on that day.
20. During the 18th century, laws had to be made in order to curb the seemingly insatiable appetite for alcohol amongst the poor. Their annual intake was as much as five million gallons.
21. Ancient drinkers warded off the devil by clinking their cups
22. The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence—he invented dynamite.
23. It was illegal to sell ET dolls in France because there is a law against selling dolls without human faces.
24. Pogonophobia is the fear of beards.
25. Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th.”
26. It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.
27. Coffee is the second largest item of international commerce in the world. The largest is petrol.
28. In the film “Star Trek : First Contact,” when Picard shows Lilly she is orbiting Earth, Australia and Papa New Guinea are clearly visible—but New Zealand is missing.
29. In Ancient Peru, when a woman found an “ugly” potato, it was the custom for her to push it into the face of the nearest man.
30. For Roman Catholics, January 5th is St. Simeon Stylites’ Day. He was a 5th century hermit who showed his devotion to God by spending literally years sitting on top of a huge flagpole.
31. When George I became King of England in 1714, his wife did not become Queen. He placed her under house arrest for 32 years.
32. The richest 10% of the French people are approximately fifty times better off than the poorest 10%.
33. Henry VII was the only British King to be crowned on the field of battle.
34. During WWI, the future Pope John XXIII was a sergeant in the Italian Army.
35. Richard II died at age 33 in 1400 A.D.,. A hole was left in the side of his tomb so people could touch his royal head, but 376 years later some took advantage of this and stole his jawbone.
36. The magic word “Abracadabra” was originally intended for the specific purpose of curing hay fever.
37. The Puritans forbade the singing of Christmas Carols, judging them to be out of keeping with the true spirit of Christmas.
38. Albert Einstein was once offered the Presidency of Israel. He declined saying he had no head for problems.
39. Uri Geller, the professional psychic, alleged that his powers came from the distant planet of Hoova.
40. Ralph and Carolyn Cummins had 5 children between 1952 and 1966, all were born on the 20 February.
41. John D. Rockefeller gave away over $ 500 million USD during his lifetime.
42. Only 1 child in 20 are born on the day predicted by the doctor.
43. In the 1970′s, the Rhode Island Legislature entertained a proposal that there be a $2 tax on every act of sexual intercourse in the state.
44. In the Andes, time is often measured by how long it takes to smoke a cigarette.
45. In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said “Play it again, Sam.” Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson.” Captain Kirk never said “Beam me up, Scotty,” but he did say, “Beam me up, Mr. Scott.”
46. If you can see a rainbow you must have your back to the sun. If you don’t, you can’t see it.
47. If you are locked in a completely sealed room, you will die of carbon dioxide poisoning before you will die of oxygen deprivation.
48. John Glenn, the American who first orbited the Earth, was showered with 7,780,113 pounds of confetti when he got back.
49. Native American Indians used to name their children after the first thing they saw as they left their tepees subsequent to the birth. Hence such strange names as Sitting Bull and Running Water.
50. Catherine the First of Russia, made a rule that no man was allowed to get drunk at one of her parties before nine o’clock.
51. If the population of the Earth continued to increase at its present rate indefinitely, by 3530 A.D. the total mass of human flesh and blood would equal the mass of the Earth. By 6826 A.D. it would equal the mass of the known universe.
52. If a surgeon in Ancient Egypt lost a patient while performing an operation, his hands were cut off.
53. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.
54. Hummingbirds can’t walk.
55. At the age of 12, Martin Luther King Jr. became so depressed he tried committing suicide twice, by jumping out of his bedroom window.
56. It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary.
57. The Turk’s considered it unlucky to step on a piece of bread.
58. The Zambia authorities do not allow tourists to take pictures of Pygmies in their country.
59. The Dutch in general prefer their french fries with mayonnaise.
60. The initial “S” in the middle name of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, doesn’t in fact mean anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with “S,” and so Truman’s mother didn’t want to disappoint either of them.
61. Sir Isaac Newton was obsessed with the occult and the supernatural.
62. One of Queen Victoria’s wedding gifts was a 9 foot in diameter, 1,100 pound roll of cheese.
63. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never phoned his wife or his mother, they were both deaf.
64. It was considered unfashionable for Venetian women, during the Renaissance to have anything but silvery-blonde hair.
65. Hershey’s Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it’s kissing the conveyor belt.
66. Peter the Great had the head of his wife’s lover cut off and put into a jar of preserving alcohol, which he then ordered to be placed by her bed.
67. The car inventory, Henry Ford, was awarded Hitler’s Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. Henry Ford was the inventor of the assembly line, and Hitler used this knowledge of the assembly line to speed up production, and to create better and interchangeable products.
68. Atilla the Hun is thought to have been a dwarf.
69. The warriors tribes of Ethiopia used to hang the testicles of those they killed in battle on the ends of their spears.
70. On April 15, 1912 the SS Titanic sunk on her maiden voyage and over 1,500 people died. Fourteen years earlier a novel was published by Morgan Robertson which seemed to foretell the disaster. The book described a ship the same size as the Titanic which crashes into an iceberg on its maiden voyage on a misty April night. The name of Robertson’s fictional ship was the Titan.
71. There are over 200 religious denominations in the United States.
72. Cologne was originally marketed as a way of protecting yourself against the plague.
73. Gilligan of Gilligan’s Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper’s real name on Gilligan’s Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on the radio newscast about the wreck. The Professor’s real name was Roy Hinkley, Mary Ann’s last name was Summers and Mrs. Howell’s maiden name was Wentworth.
74. Elvis had a twin brother named Jesse Garon, who died at birth, which is why Elvis’ middle name was spelled Aron; in honor of his brother.
75. The women of an African tribe make themselves more attractive by permanently scaring their faces.
76. Augustus II, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland seemed to have a colossal sexual appetite, and fathered hundreds of illegitimate children during his lifetime.
77. Earth is the only planet not named after a God.
78. Hindus don’t like dying in bed, they prefer to die beside a river.
79. While at Havard University, Edward Kennedy was suspended for cheating on a Spanish exam.
80. It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.
81. The Emperor Caligula once decided to go to war with the Roman God of the sea, Poseidon, and ordered his soldiers to throw their spears into the water at random.
82. The Ecuadorian poet, José Olmedo, has a statue in his honour in his home country. Yet, unable to commission a sculptor, due to limited funds, the government bought a second-hand statue of the English poet Lord Byron.
83. Despite the hump, a camel’s spine is straight.
84. Sir Winston Churchill rationed himself to 15 cigars a day.
85. On January 7, 1904 the distress call “CQD” was introduced. “CQ” stood for “Seek You” and “D” for “Danger.” This lasted only until 1906 when it was replaced with “SOS.”
86. Though it is forbidden by the government, many people from India still adhere to the caste system which says that it is a defilement for even the shadow of a person from a lowly caste to fall on a Brahman (a member of the highest priestly caste).
87. In parts of Malaya, the women keep harems of men.
88. Daniel Boone detested coonskin caps.
89. Crickets hear through their knees.
90. During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men’s beards.
91. Chrysler built B-29′s that bombed Japan. Mitsubishi built the Zeros that tried to shoot them down. Both companies now build cars in a joint plant call Diamond Star.
92. Some Eskimos have been known to use refrigerators to keep their food from freezing.
93. It is illegal to play tennis in the streets of Cambridge.
94. Custer was the youngest General in U.S. history, he was promoted at the age of 23.
95. Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
96. Boys who have unusual first names are more likely to have mental problems than boys with conventional names. Girls don’t seem to have this problem.
97. Both Hitler and Napoleon were missing one testicle.
98. Marie Currie, who twice won the Nobel Prize, and discovered radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was a woman.
99. It was quite common for the men of Ancient Greece to exercise in public—naked.
100. Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.
101. Iceland is the world’s oldest functioning democracy.
102. Barbie’s full name is Barbra Millicent Roberts.
103. The national flag of Italy was designed by Napoleon Bonaparte.
104. The Matami Tribe of West Africa play a version of soccer, the only difference being that they use a human skull instead of a more normal ball.
105. John Winthrop introduced the fork to the American dinner table for the first time on June 25, 1630.
106. Albert Brooks’s real name is Albert Einstein.
107. Actor Tommy Lee Jones and vice-president Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.l.
108. The great Russian leader, Lenin died January 21, 1924, suffering from a degenerative brain disorder. At the time of his death his brain was a quarter of its normal size.
109. According to Genesis 1:20-22 the chicken came before the egg.
110. A whale’s penis is called a dork.
111. In 1849, David Atchison became President of the United States for just one day, and he spent most of the day sleeping.
112. Between the two World War’s, France was controlled by forty different governments.
113. The original name for the butterfly was “flutterby.”
114. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
115. The state of Florida is bigger than England.

While all attempts are made to ensure only accurate facts, no guarantee is given for the authenticity or accuracy of this data.

Related Posts:

• FW: 60 More Very Odd Facts
• FW: 115 Very Odd Facts
• FW: Interesting Facts and Trivia
• FW: Confusing Language
• FW: Think You Know Everything?