Random Useless Facts Thread

When the Mormon Pioneers came to what is now Utah, they originally wanted the name “Deseret.” Congress wouldn’t allow it, though.

Men walk slower if they are walking together with someone the have romantic feelings for.

Billie Eilish is the first artist born in the 21st century to have a number one hit in the US.

The viruses that cause the common cold and the more common flus are also coronaviruses.

Sponges have over 100 times more bacteria than a toilet seat

Schooling in America is based on the Prussian model of schooling.

In court, the “Shaggy Defence” refers to incidents when defendant’s deny that they were the ones that committed a crime, despite there being overwhelming proof (notably photos/videos clearly showing them committing the crime) of them committing the crime.
 
The name comes from the 2000’s song “It Wasn’t Me”, by Reggae musician Shaggy, with the song being about Shaggy’s wife catching him having sex with another woman, and Shaggy saying “it wasn’t me” despite her witnessing him in the act.

The portrait of George Washington used on the American one dollar bill comes from an unfinished painting

Robin Williams wanted to play the role of Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, but he was turned down de to the films policy of only casting British/Irish actors for the majority of the cast.

Cows have a method of eating where they chew grass, swallow it, bring the grass back into their mouths and chew it again. This is known as “chewing the cud”.

The word “Lego” comes from the Danish word “Leg Godt” meaning “Play Well”

Bananas are not trees. There is no wood in them. They are giant herbs and banana is actually it’s berry.

“Golden Blood” is a term used to describe the Rh-null blood type.
 
This blood type is highly valued in the medical community, as it can be used for a blood transfusion on anyone, regardless of the other persons blood type.
 
“Golden Blood” is also extremely rare as well, as only 43 people worldwide have been found to have it in the past 50 years.

“Chometophobia” is the fear of money

Over 1,600 revolvers were confiscated from the crowd before the final game in the first ever World Cup in 1930.

“Phobophobia” is the fear of phobias

The interior of the Millennium Falcon is heavily inspired from the cockpit of B-29 Superfortress.
 

The most flexible muscle in the human body is the tongue

The town of Judenburg (“Jewburg”) in Austria was under discussion of name change after the Anschluss, with one suggestion being “Adolfburg”. The issue was left unresolved during WWII and the city kept its name during this time.

 
Will and William West, two entirely unrelated prisoners, were the main reason as to why fingerprinting is used by police to this day. Before that, the Bertillon method was used instead.

There is a division of the Canadian police that disguise themselves as homeless people to help catch street criminals

As of this post, the last Blockbuster Video location is located in Bend, Oregon.