Curious Mind Blowing Facts - 61

From a crock to Mr. Spock, from Lesus instead of Jesus

Apr 28, 2025

In the weeks following the Titanic sinking, over 118,000 people had joined the “just missed it club”, claiming they had missed or canceled their trip at the last moment.

Q: Where’s the largest pyramid in the world by volume?

A: ¡oɔᴉxǝW ul ɐlnloɥƆ ɟo pᴉɯɐɹʎԀ ʇɐǝɹפ ǝɥ┴

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The tallest building in Yukon is Mah's Point, a six-storey condominium in Whitehorse. No completed building currently exceeds Mah's Point's height.

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Paul McCartney is the only artist to have reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in various groupings:

Solo artist: "Pipes of Peace" (1983).
Duo: "Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder (1982).
Trio: "Mull of Kintyre" with Wings (1977).
Quartet: Multiple hits with The Beatles, such as "She Loves You" (1963).
Quintet: "Get Back" with The Beatles and Billy Preston (1969).
Sextet: "Let It Be" with Ferry Aid (1987).

Yo Llama… Llamas can be used as guards against coyote attacks on sheep herds. Studies have proven that just one guard llama is an effective protector and can even kill the attacking coyotes.

Owls can't move their eyes. That's because their eyes aren't round—they're shaped like tubes. These tube-shaped eyes are locked in place by bones called sclerotic rings. Since they can't move their eyes, owls evolved to twist their heads—up to 270 degrees side to side, and 90 degrees up and down.
(Deer vs Human’s visual fields: https://pau1.substack.com/p/curious-mind-blowing-facts-55)

Richie Havens made up the song “Freedom” on the spot at Woodstock in 1969. He had run out of songs, but the next acts weren’t ready, so he had to keep playing. It became his biggest hit. Later, he had to watch the Woodstock movie just to relearn how he played it.

Ringo Starr suggested that the Beatles album that would eventually be titled “Revolver” should be titled “After Geography”, in reference to the recently-released Rolling Stones album “Aftermath”.

In 2013 the Vatican had to pull 6000 papal medals from their gift shop because the inscription said “Lesus“ instead of “Jesus”.

A small part of South Florida, specifically within the Everglades National Park, is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist. The differences between them:

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Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock, invented the Vulcan salute himself. 🖖
It’s based on a Jewish blessing he saw as a child in synagogue.

In 1992, Mike Ilitch, the founder of Little Caesars, bought the Detroit Tigers from Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza. The sale price was reported to be around $82 million.

Ilitch already owned the NHL's Detroit Red Wings at the time. He later helped bring the Tigers back to playoff contention, including two American League pennants in 2006 and 2012.

Monaghan sold the team as part of a personal shift away from material wealth. He had been inspired by a passage from C.S. Lewis and decided to simplify his life, which included selling the Tigers.

Weezer's first gig was opening for Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar (more Keanu: https://pau1.substack.com/p/curious-mind-blowing-facts-30).

Cy Kuckenbaker compressed five hours of landing planes into 30 seconds of video.

THE TOKYO 2020
Olympic medals were made from recycle electronics, including 6.2 million cell-phones.
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“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. The origin of this often quoted saying has been attributed to JIM ROHN an entrepreneur, author, (“7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness”, “The Art of Exceptional Living”) and motivational speaker, in the 1960’s. There are lots of ways this quote does not hold truth. Here are a few quick examples where "you are the average of your friends" doesn't hold up:

1. The Outlier Prodigy
A 16-year-old coding genius hangs out with regular high school friends. They're into sports, video games, and TikTok. He’s building AI apps on weekends. He’s not the average.

2. The Recovering Addict
Someone who used to party hard now stays sober. (Me). Still keeps in touch with their old crowd, but lives by a new set of rules. Not the average anymore.

3. The Leader in the Group
One driven person drags the whole group up—starts a business, hits the gym, eats clean. Everyone else slowly follows. In this case, they set the average, not reflect it.

4. The Family Connection
You might spend time with family members who are nothing like you—different politics, habits, or ambition levels. You're close, but not cut from the same cloth. Or a single mother is surely not the average of her 4 kids.

5. The Mentor-Mentee Relationship
You hang with people who are way ahead of you, or way behind. You're not the average—you’re there to learn or to teach.

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Here are 10 popular books that entered the U.S. public domain in 2024. You can read, share, or adapt them freely: Like I did with Frankenstein.

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Tigger joins Winnie the Pooh in this classic children's tale.
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
A once-banned novel about love across class lines.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
A powerful World War I novel. Note: Only the original German version is public domain.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
A gender-bending, time-traveling satire.
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
Detective Hercule Poirot investigates a murder on a luxury train.
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág
The oldest American picture book still in print.
Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J.M. Barrie
The original play that introduced Peter Pan.
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The jungle hero swings into the public domain.
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
A biting satire of British society.
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
A groundbreaking lesbian novel.

These works are now free to enjoy and adapt. Just Google the book title with free after the name. Project Gutenberg operates primarily in the United States and has affiliated projects in several other countries. These include Project Gutenberg of Australia, Project Gutenberg of Canada, Projekt Gutenberg-DE (Germany), Project Gutenberg Europe (Serbia), Project Gutenberg Luxembourg, Project Lönnrot (Finland), Project Gutenberg of the Philippines, and Project Gutenberg Russia (Rutenberg).

Chuck Norris can parallel park a train. Let us know which was your favorite this week.
Gracias, Merci, Danke, Arigatou (ありがとう), Grazie…and Thanks!