that even though Henry Heimlich demonstrated his signature maneuver thousands of times throughout his life he never got the chance to use it in an actual emergency until he was 96 when he saved a woman in his nursing home from choking on a burger

Agatha Christie has outsold Stephen King and J.K Rowling combined by about 2 billion books.

138 songs of Taylor Swift have entered the Billboard Hot 100, the all-time record for a female artist.

James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther the barista on “Friends” was originally meant to only appear as an extra; he remained on the show as he was the only actor there who knew how to operate an espresso machine.

A duet sung by Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson remained unfinished because Mercury walked out of the recording. He couldn’t tolerate Jackson bringing his pet llama into the studio

the ancient Egyptians developed the first recorded early pregnancy test, whereby a woman would urinate on a bag of wheat or barley and, if the bag started sprouting, it indicated a pregnancy. In 1963, researchers measured the test as being 70% accurate.

The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has a reverse osmosis system capable of producing more than 500 tonnes of fresh, drinkable water from sea water per day.

alpacas are being used as bodyguards in some turkey farms, since they instinctively accept the birds into their herd and scare off foxes.

In 2019, a potato chip factory in Hong Kong found a World War I grenade in a shipment of French-grown potatoes, just as the potatoes were going through their processing machines.

of an Australian diver who befriended a baby shark. For years afterwards, whenever the shark would see him, she would swim up to him and demand cuddles

Mice do not have a special appetite for cheese, and will eat it only for lack of better options; they actually favor sweet, sugary foods. It is unclear where the myth came from.

Italy, France, and Brazil are not even in the top ten highest consumers of coffee. The Nordic countries dominate coffee consumption and are all within the top ten countries worldwide. Further, Finland (the highest consumer in the world) more than doubles the annual consumption of Italy.

Hippos sleep underwater even though they breathe air. They automatically close their nostrils and surface to breathe every 3-5 minutes. This all happens unconsciously, even in their sleep.

Desert sand is effectively useless for construction. Saudi Arabia imports sand from Australia.

David Bowie considered becoming a Buddhist monk, & studied for a few months in 1967 before a Lama told him he should follow music instead. His ashes were scattered in Bali in accordance with Buddhist rituals

Switzerland has 7 simultaneous "presidents", each with equal power. Every year they rotate control of 7 federal depts & who acts as "head of state" (e.g. when dealing with other countries). They come from various parties — right now it's 2 conservatives, 2 liberals, 2 socialists, and a centrist

inventor of the Murphy-Bed, William Lawrence Murphy (1856-1957), created his first hide-away bed as means to convert his one-room apartment into a parlour, specifically to host the company of his future wife. It was considered inappropriate at the time to for a woman to enter a man's bedroom.

When Assyrian priests saw a bad omen aimed at the King they used a ritual called The Substitute King. A commoner was found to replace the king while he went in hiding. The man lived as the king absorbing the evil spirits. When the omen passed the commoner was killed and the king returned.

in 1950 airlines didn’t serve alcohol when flying over dry states.

that the Luna Moth only survives 6-7 days once reaching adulthood because it has no mouth and dies of starvation.

Gordon Ramsay has 16 Michelin Stars. Only two chefs have ever earned more.

that in 1997, a 50-pound pumpkin was speared atop a tower at Cornell University, 173 feet in the air. It stayed in place for months. Alumni are still trying to figure out who did it without being noticed -- and how.

That most of the fake snow used in the 1980 Movie "The Shining" was repurposed from the ice planet Hoth scenes in "The Empire Strikes Back".

that Confederate soldier Willis Meadows survived a shot to the eye at the battle of Vicksburg. 58 years later, he randomly almost choked to death in his own home until he coughed up a 1 ounce bullet. It was the same one that lodged into his head years earlier.

researchers were able to predict whether or not a couple will stay together with extreme accuracy based on one partner’s reaction to things that excited the other. For example, if a wife says “look at that beautiful bird” and the husband blows it off, that’s a strong indication they’ll divorce.

the International Space Station is the most expensive thing ever built by humanity at over 150 billion dollars over the course of its construction

that Velociraptors were the size of a turkey in real life, not 2m (6 1⁄2 ft) tall as they were portrayed in Jurassic Park movie.

that drinking Coca-Cola is prescribed as an effective treatment for certain types of bowel obstructions

Swedes have a national weekly eating plan. Thursdays are traditionally pancakes and split pea soup.

there is an abandoned McDonald’s floating on a barge in Canada. The Mcbarge has been closed for over 30 years

Genesis isn't the oldest book of the bible. It was written later than at least a dozen other books.

Ariana Grande had the words 'small charcoal grill' tattooed on her hand in Japanese instead of her song 7 Rings due to missing characters.