that Flo Rida tests his upcoming songs at strip clubs first to check if girls are dancing to it before releasing them

in 1999, Danish physicist Lene Hau was able to slow down light to 38 mph (61 kmph), and was later able to stop it completely, manipulate it, even move it to a different location

Scientists at the Parkes radio telescope in Australia spent 17 years trying to identify powerful but extremely short radio bursts that would appear at seemingly random intervals. In 2015 they finally identified the cause: a microwave oven at the facility being opened prematurely

that in the operatic song in The Fifth Element, composer Eric Sierra "purposely wrote un-singable things" so she’d sound like an alien. When opera singer Inva Muls came for the part, "she sang 85% of what [Eric] thought was technically impossible", the rest being assembled in the studio

about Jean Boulet who in 1972 set the world record for the highest altitude reached in a helicopter, 40,280ft. During descent his engines failed, and he landed the helicopter without power, setting another record in the process for the highest unpowered helicopter landing

Bats eat enough insects to save the US over $1 Billion a year in crop damage and pesticide

to collect taxes, Christian IV of Denmark asked captains of ships crossing the Oresund to estimate the value of their cargo, which was applied as the tax base without further audit. But the king also claimed the right to buy the entire cargo at exactly that price

figure skating competitions in the 1800s involved the act of skating pictures into the ice. This required precision and wasn't as fast-paced as modern figure skating

the iconic Einstein-sticking-his-tongue-out photo was his annoyed reaction to paparazzi goading him to smile on his 72nd birthday. It achieved cult status mostly because Einstein himself asked for a cropped version, ordered many prints and proceeded to send them to friends

the 7 year rule for dog aging is incorrect - compared to humans, dogs age faster when young and slower as they age

about Secessio Plebis which was a form of revolt first introduced in ancient Rome. When the ruling class of Rome would become too corrupt or unjust to the commoners, the commoners would band together, evacuate the entire city and leave the elites to fend for themselves

The London Underground has its own subspecies of mosquito that lives exclusively in the stations and tunnels

after the TV show Teletubbies ended, the owner of the land used had to dig out the hill and flood the field it was filmed in, due to the amount of people trespassing to see Teletubbieland

that the Feeling of "impending doom" is an official symptom of a Wrong blood type Transfusion. (ABO incompatibility)

that on the entire 4300 mile length of the Amazon river there are no bridges

that a suicidal teen from the UK used several fake online personas to convince his best mate to kill him, he survived the attack but became the first person in UK history to be charged with inciting their own murder

there's a gene that controls how long you sleep. "Short sleepers" function the same off of 4-6 hours of sleep as a typical individual getting 8

Bach wrote the Brandenburg Concertos in 1721 as part of a job application to the Margrave, which he never received a reply. The concertos were unpublished until 1850 and almost lost again during WWII

that when deaf people experience stroke-related brain damage, they often lose the ability to sign in remarkably similar ways to the different forms of linguistic aphasia (difficulty speaking, forming words, sentences being nonsensical)

that a fire destroyed most of Harvard Library’s collection in 1764. Only a small number of books were spared, including 144 that were checked out at the time. One of these books was found and returned in 1997

There are over 350 recognized pasta types in Italy today, but in the 13th century, there were 4 main types: spaghetti, ravioli, macaroni and gnocchi

that when Vincent Price agreed to do the voice work for Thriller he was given a choice between taking a percentage of the album proceeds or being paid a flat $20K. He chose the $20K

the first McDonalds Drive Thru was made for soldiers, who were unable to leave their vehicle while in uniform

after he was fired from his job as embassador, tortured and banished to his farm estate, N.Machiavelli would return home at night, change the dirty clothes he wore for field work and put on his ambassador outfit, just to study in his office, alone, due to how much he missed his job

of the high % of NASA astronauts that were Boy Scouts. Of the 312 selected as astronauts, at least 207 have been active in scouting. Of the 24 to travel to the moon, 20 were scouts, including 11 of the 12 moonwalkers, and all three members of the crew of Apollo 13

the last king of Egypt, Faud II, is still alive and ascended to the throne when he was just 192 days old. He was deposed a year later after his father was exiled and Egypt declared a republic

that Harambe’s mother, only full brother, and two of his half siblings were killed when a tub of wet chlorine tablets was left by a space heater. The toxic fumes were blown into the gorilla enclosure and killed the four gorillas

in 2000, an art exhibition in Denmark featured ten functional blenders containing live goldfish. Visitors were given the option of pressing the “on” button. At least one visitor did, killing two goldfish. This led to the museum director being charged with and, later, acquitted of animal cruelty

D-Day was originally supposed to happen on 5th June but meteorologist James Stagg persuaded Dwight Eisenhower to postpone by a day right at the last minute. The weather conditions had to be just right for the landings and planners took the tide, wind speed and even the moon cycle into account

that when Abraham Lincoln took off his Stovepipe Hat to give his first Inaugural Address, he awkwardly looked around for a place to put it. The losing Presidential Candidate, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, stepped forward, said “Permit me,” and took the hat to hold on his knee during the address