This article contains another batch of 101 Random Facts. I am pretty sure that you”ll find some useful / interesting info here. Feel free to use these facts to start conversations or to impress your friends… Remember: Knowledge is power!
Here are 101 Random Facts To Expand Your Mind
1. Contrary to popular belief, Led Zeppelin did NOT play at Woodstock in 1969. The band was invited to this festival (which attracted more than 600,000 people), but their manager declined the invitation because they would have been “just another band on the bill.” The band played shows at Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey (just South of Woodstock) instead. In case you did not know: The Beatles, Jethro Tull, The Doors and Bob Dylan didn’t play at Woodstock either.
2. During the summer, the Eiffel Tower may experience a height increase of 15 cm, attributed to thermal expansion. This phenomenon occurs as the iron structure absorbs heat, causing the particles to gain kinetic energy and expand, consequently occupying a larger volume.
3. Greta Van Fleet got their name from an elderly woman in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The guys were talking with their previous drummer and he said his Grandpa had to go cut wood for a Gretna Van Fleet. They took out the “n”, asked Gretna for her blessing and the rest was history! Gretna and her husband came out to a show and stayed for the whole set.
4. Trypophobia refers to the fear of closely-packed holes, or more precisely, “an aversion to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps.” Those with trypophobia might want to avoid crumpets.
5. Death From Above got their name from World War 2 Paratroopers logo. Jesse F. Keeler who plays bass / synth for the band spotted the logo at an army surplus store. They added “1979” for legal reasons as a result of a dispute between DFA records and represents Sebastian Graigner’s (percussion/vocals) birth year, or as he puts it “the last cool year of the last cool decade”. They did drop the “1979” part before they released their new album in September last year. They made this decision Death From Above 1979 “was too long”.
6. Allodoxaphobia is the fear of other people’s opinions. It’s a rare social phobia that’s characterised by an irrational and overwhelming fear of what other people think.
7. Violent Femmes got their big break thanks to The Pretenders. In August 1981, the band decided to try and make a few bucks by busking outside the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee, and after James Honeyman-Scott caught their performance, he trumpeted it to his bandmates, which led to Chrissie Hynde inviting them to play a set after The Pretenders finished up. That definitely put them on the map…
8. Australia surpasses the moon in width, as the moon measures 3400km in diameter, whereas Australia spans nearly 4000 km from East to West.
9. Silverchair were originally known as Innocent Criminals. The band officially changed their name in August 1994 before releasing their award winning “Tomorrow”. In 1995 it became the most played song of the year on modern rock radio in the USA.
10. The sole part of the human body incapable of self-healing is the teeth. Encased in non-living enamel, teeth lack the regenerative properties found in living tissues.
11. “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam is based on Jeremy Delle. He was a teen from Richardson, Texas who shot himself with a .357 Magnum in front of his classmates on January 8, 1991.
12. Creativity tends to peak in the shower, as the warmth of the water prompts an elevated dopamine release, enhancing our creative capabilities.
13. Dave Grohl was on No.1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart for 17 consecutive weeks. This was in 2002. At this time he was part of the three different rock groups: Nirvana (who had released unreleased material), Foo Fighters and Queens of The Stone Age.
14. In Scotland, the national animal is the unicorn, selected for its associations with dominance, chivalry, purity, and innocence in Celtic mythology.
15. Thom Yorke from Radiohead wrote ‘Creep’ after being rejected by a girl. He was infatuated with her while studying at Exeter University in the late ’80s. Yorke says it is about being in love with someone, but not feeling good enough, declaring, “There’s the beautiful people and then there’s the rest of us.”
16. Venus stands out as the sole planet that rotates clockwise. While completing an orbit around the sun every 225 Earth days, its clockwise rotation takes approximately 243 days.
17. Malcolm Young Once Worked in a Bra Factory. The late AC/DC guitarist did this when he was only 15 years. He was a mechanic (not a boob inspector or something like that – you pervert).
18. A chef’s hat typically features 100 pleats, symbolizing the purported 100 ways one can cook an egg.
19. Billboard Magazine started using the term “rock and roll” in 1942. Columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings.
20. In 2014, an unexpected Tinder match occurred in Antarctica, connecting two research scientists in the world’s most remote location. One individual was stationed at the United States Antarctic McMurdo Station, while the other was camping just a 45-minute helicopter ride away.
21. Axl Rose used to earn $8 an hour for smoking cigarettes for a science experiment at UCLA.
22. The Japanese term ‘Kuchi zamishi’ refers to the behavior of eating when not hungry, driven by a sense of loneliness in the mouth.
23. Ten out of the fourteen songs which comprise The Beatles first album Please Please Me were recorded in little over twelve hours.
24. In the names of American states, every letter of the alphabet appears except for ‘Q.’ While Arizona contains a Z and Texas has an X, none of the states feature the letter Q.
25. The rock band Foreigner came up with the idea for their name at the suggestion of Mick Jones. This was because half of the band were British while the other half was American.
26. Queen Elizabeth II received training as a mechanic during her teenage years. At the age of 16, she enrolled in the British employment agency at the Labour Exchange, where she acquired skills in truck repair, including the ability to fix tires and engines.
27. Prior to April 1966, David Bowie had recorded under the name of Davy Jones and The Lower Third.
28. M&Ms derive their name from the initials of the businessmen behind their creation. The M’s stand for Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, although their business relationship wasn’t smooth, with Mars ultimately leveraging Murrie out of his 20% share before M&Ms became the top-selling candy in the United States.
29. Janis Joplin left $1500 in her will for a funeral party. It was held at The Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, California, on October 26, 1971. The Grateful Dead performed.
30. The formal term for a hashtag is an octothorpe. The term ‘octo’ pertains to the eight points in the symbol, while the origin of the ‘thorpe’ element remains a mystery, as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
31. Deep Purple was originally signed to the Tetragrammaton label, a US-based company owned by comedian Bill Cosby.
32. There’s a term for when someone’s blabbering about stuff they have no clue about. It’s called an ‘ultracrepidarian’—basically, someone who loves sharing their thoughts way outside their knowledge zone.
33. The lead singer of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious died from an overdose of heroin that was bought for him by his mother, who was present when he injected it.
34. Did you know that humans are the exclusive blushing beings? Turns out, we’re also the only ones grappling with embarrassment. It all boils down to the intricate nature of this emotion, which hinges on our ability to grasp what others think.
35. In 1976 Bruce Springsteen was ejected by security guards at Elvis Presley’s Graceland home after climbing over the wall to get inside to meet Elvis.
36. In Kim Kardashian’s will, there’s a ‘glam’ clause. It specifies that if she’s ever unable to get ready, communicate, or is unconscious, someone is tasked with ensuring her hair, nails, and makeup are flawlessly on point.
37. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen which contains the famous “mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia let me go” line, was knocked off the No.1 position on the UK chart by ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia'(January 1976). It was one of the pivotal moments in the history of rock music.
38. Did you know that Japan boasts more than 200 flavours of Kit Kats? These exclusive variations are crafted for different regions, cities, and even seasons. Among the tempting options are banana, blueberry cheesecake, and Oreo ice cream, but there are also some rather questionable choices like baked potato, melon and cheese, wasabi, and vegetable juice.
39. While he was in grade school, Chuck Berry went out with a girl who was studying to be a nurse. According to Berry, the girl tricked him into being circumcised.
40. Did you know that a crocodile cannot stick its tongue out? This is because they possess a membrane that secures their tongue on the roof of their mouth, preventing any movement.
41. Stevie Ray Vaughan was the guitarist on David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” album (country meets glam? it turned out just fine).
42. Did you know that people used to say “prunes” instead of “cheese” when getting their pictures taken? Back in the 1840s, a cheesy grin was considered childish. To remedy this, a London photographer instructed people to say “prunes” to keep their mouths tight. Now you have the scoop on why folks rarely smiled in old photos.
43. Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar solo in the middle of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”.
44. Did you know that dolphins have names for one another? As reported by National Geographic, dolphins employ distinct whistles to differentiate between members within their pod.
45. The Sex Pistols were banned almost in every part of the UK, so they started touring under the name SPOT (Sex Pistols On Tour).
46. Giraffes face a 30 times higher risk of being struck by lightning compared to humans. While there were only five well-documented fatal lightning strikes on giraffes between 1996 and 2010, the species’ population was just 140,000 during this period. This translates to approximately 0.003 lightning deaths per thousand giraffes each year, making it 30 times the equivalent fatality rate for humans.
47. Neil Young wrote “Rockin’ In The Free World” after he heard one of the members of Crazy Horse say he liked playing in Europe rather than the Middle East better, because “It’s better to rock in the free world”. The song became sort of an anthem but really refers to the “pride and guilt of being American”.
48. Did you know that identical twins don’t share the same fingerprints? So, you can’t blame your misdeeds on your twin! The reason lies in environmental factors during their development in the womb, such as umbilical cord length, position in the womb, and the rate of finger growth, which all contribute to the uniqueness of fingerprints.
49. The Doors were the first band ever to advertise a new album on a billboard.
50. Did you know that Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing down? On average, the length of a day increases by approximately 1.8 seconds per century. To put it into perspective, 600 million years ago, a day lasted just 21 hours.
51. Lynyrd Skynyrd got their name from a high school teacher, Leonard Skinner, who suspended students for having long hair.
52. Did you know that the largest piece of fossilized dinosaur excrement ever found measures over 30cm in length and holds a volume of over two liters? Thought to be from a Tyrannosaurus rex, this fossilized dung, also known as a ‘coprolite,’ is aiding scientists in gaining insights into the diet of the dinosaur.
53. The Rolling Stones’ tongue logo design was inspired by the Indian Hindu goddess Kali The Destroyer.
54. Did you know that if all the world’s bacteria were stacked, they would extend for 10 billion light-years? The combined length of Earth’s tiny 0.001mm-long microbes could wrap around the Milky Way over 20,000 times.
55. The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah” was written after the banning of rock music in Iran.
56. Did you know that most world maps are inaccurate? Many still rely on the Mercator projection, created in 1569, which distorts the sizes of countries. In this projection, Alaska may seem as large as Brazil, and Greenland appears 14 times larger than its actual size. Achieving complete accuracy in mapping would require a life-size and round representation, not a flat one.
57. Axl Rose is actually an anagram for “oral sex”. The Guns N’ Roses frontman’s real name is William Bailey.
58. Comets emit a distinct odor reminiscent of rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and almonds. The composition of comet 67P/Churyumove-Gerasimenko includes traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide. In 2016, promotional postcards were even created to convey the pungent scent of a comet.
59. Till Lindemann And Flake Lorenz (from Rammstein) were Arrested After A Concert in June 1999. Till Lindemann simulated banging from behind with keyboardist Flake Lorenz using a fake phallus. While though both men remained fully clothed during the act, they were arrested for “lewd and lascivious behavior”. This happened in Worcester, Massachussets in the USA.
60. Laughing really hard can, in some cases, lead to death. This has happened to a few people, usually because the intense laughter triggered a heart attack or suffocation. Some people suggest that comedy shows should have a warning about this.
61. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is officially the world’s richest metal drummer. The lucrative title comes partly as a result of the sales of Metallica’s first three albums, which netted him more than $12 million. Ulrich’s net worth is currently around $300 million.
62. The quietest spot on Earth is Microsoft’s anechoic chamber in Redmond, Washington, USA, measuring at -20.6 decibels. These soundproof rooms are constructed with dense concrete and brick, and they sit on springs to prevent vibrations from entering through the floor.
63. Chad Smith (the current drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) has an instrumental funk-rock side project called Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatballs.
64. Did you know that one in 18 people has a third nipple? This extra nipple, called polythelia, occurs due to a mutation in inactive genes.
65. Blink-182 founder Tom DeLonge is a strong believer in alien life as evidenced by the song “Aliens Exist”.
66. Did you know that bananas are a bit radioactive? Because they’re high in potassium, they contain a natural isotope called potassium-40. Interestingly, your body already has about 16mg of potassium-40, making you around 280 times more radioactive than a banana. Any extra potassium-40 from eating a banana gets rid of itself within a few hours.
67. According to Fieldy, Korn’s 2002 Album Untouchables cost $40 million to produce. Most of the money was supposedly spent on accommodation, not on recording the album.
68, Did you know that hippos can’t swim? Their bones are so big and dense that they’re not very buoyant. Instead of swimming, they do a kind of slow-motion gallop on the riverbed or sea floor. Surprisingly, hippos can even sleep underwater by using a built-in reflex that lets them come up for a breath and sink back down without waking up.
69. System of a down originally had “Suicide” as the title of “Chop Suey!.”. In fact, the words “We’re rolling suicide” can be heard in the song’s opening seconds on select pressings of the album.
70. Did you know that insects, specifically alpine bumblebees, can fly up to 3.25km above sea level? These bees have been observed living at such high altitudes, and in lab conditions mimicking the air density and oxygen levels at 9km, slightly above Mount Everest, they were still able to fly.
71. Most members of Marilyn Manson get their first name from a model actress and last from a famous killer. The first member that broke away from the Model/Serial Killer band name pattern was guitarist Daisy Berkowitz’s replacement, Zim Zum, who in turn was replaced in 1998 by John 5.
72. Did you know that martial artists who smile before a match are more likely to lose? The smile might give off signals of fear or submissiveness, impacting their performance.
73. Chester Bennington didn’t like “In The End.” He thought fans would absolutely hate it. Instead, “In The End” has become one of—if not the most—iconic songs by Linkin Park. The music video has been watched more than 1 billion times on YouTube.
74. Machine-produced sliced bread made its debut in the 1920s when the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri started selling it. It quickly became known as the greatest innovation since… well, unsliced bread!
75. Sum 41 started out as a NOFX cover band named “Kaspir”. The band decided to change their name for a show on September 28, 1996 (which also happened to be the 41st day of summer). That’s how Sum 41 was born.
76. Reportedly, the 18th-century Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, is credited with inventing the sandwich to avoid leaving his gambling table for meals.
77. Shawn Crahan (Slipknot) Wears Gloves to Meet Fans. “The Clown” Crahan started wearing surgical gloves to meets fans after he began noticing how dirty some fans could be. Apparently, the other band members thought that was rude of him, but his gloves would get so dirty that he felt his behavior was justified.
78. Originally named Backrub, the search engine we now know as Google was later renamed after the googol, a number represented by one followed by 100 zeros.
79. STRAB Music Festival officially started in 2004. In that year 120 divers attended the “festival”. Piet Botha was was so moved after this experience that he wrote a song about Mozambique and insisted that this must become a regular event. STRAB was officially born.
80. The green code seen in The Matrix was, in fact, fashioned from symbols found in the sushi cookbook of the code designer’s wife.
81. Tom Petty was 11 years old when he met Presley (who was shooting a movie in Ocala, Florida). After this he started listening obsessively to his records. Petty has been quoted as saying the following about the incident: “That’s what kicked off my love of music. And I’d never thought much about rock ‘n’ roll until that moment.”
82. If you were to line up all the blood vessels in an adult human end to end, they would stretch around 160,000 kilometres (100,000 miles), the equivalent to circling the Earth approximately four times.
83. Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and his wife (Chantal Kreviazuk) have written songs for Pink, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
84. Did you know that the word “sinister” has its roots in a historical bias against left-handed people? It originated from the Latin word for “left,” which was associated with being unlucky or evil.
85. Billie Joe Armstrong had the nickname “Two Dollar Bill” in high school because he sold joints for $2 – this is also linked to the band name Green Day, meaning a day of doing nothing but smoke marijuana. The band’s first name Sweet Children was dropped to avoid confusion with another local band from Berkeley, California, Sweet Baby.
86. Did you know that the tallest building in the US is One World Trade Center in New York? It ranks sixth globally and stands at precisely 541 metres (1,776 feet), a deliberate reference to the date of the Declaration of Independence.
87. Fred Durst was in the US Navy and a tattoo artist before Limp Bizkit was formed. He was medically discharged from the Navy after hurting his wrist in a skateboarding accident.
88. Landing on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune is impossible for humans as these planets are composed of gas without a solid surface.
89. Bowling For Soup‘s name was inspired by the American TV Game Show “Bowling for Dollars”. In the show people could play the sport of bowling to win cash and sometimes prizes based on how well they bowled.
90. The contemporary image of Santa Claus, sporting a red outfit and white beard, is largely influenced by Coca-Cola holiday advertisements that debuted in 1931.
91. Brandon Boyd from Incubus fame’s father, Chuck Boyd, is the Marlboro Man: Chuck Boyd describes himself according to CNN as “one proud father” and it seems that charisma runs in the family.
92. Did you know that Buckingham Palace in London, England, boasts 775 rooms, including 78 bathrooms?
93. Did you know that CNN, established in 1980 by American media magnate Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, is currently owned by the Manhattan-based media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery? CNN holds the distinction of being the first television channel to offer 24-hour news coverage and the initial all-news television channel in the United States.
94. At a certain point, four distinct human species co-existed around 3 million years ago, as revealed by German scientists who meticulously examined hominin fossils from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Chad. The relationships among these species and whether they interacted with each other remain unknown.
95. Did you know that Fox News, catering to a conservative audience, was founded by Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996? Today it’s the most-watched cable news network in the United States.
96. It may be surprising, but cows are responsible for more human fatalities than sharks. While sharks average around 5 human deaths per year, cows cause an average of 22 fatalities annually. Interestingly, humans pose a greater threat to sharks, with approximately 100 million sharks killed by humans each year.
97. Back in the day, there wasn’t any bacteria hanging around to break down trees. The trees from 300 million years ago were nothing like the ones we’ve got today. They could shoot up crazy tall, but their roots were kind of wimpy, making them tip over like it was no big deal. And get this, there weren’t any little microbes at the time that could break down these fallen trees. So, they just piled up on each other, turning into what you might see as either a stroke of luck or a bit of a headache—coal.
98. Next time you snag a delicious pineapple and let it sit around, keep this in mind: Growing pineapples is a bit of a patient game. If you plant it from a sucker, you’re looking at around 18 months for it to start blooming. However, if you decide to go for the top of the pineapple, buckle up because it will take a solid 2 to 2 ½ years before you see that beautiful bloom.
99. Hold on to your hats because here’s a mind-blower: Pluto, the little planet discovered on February 18, 1930, hasn’t completed a full lap around the sun since then. Pluto’s got this snail-paced orbit, taking a whopping 248.09 years to complete just one circle around our sun. Wrap your head around this cosmic timeline – Pluto’s planning to finish its first full orbit since its discovery in 1930 on March 23, 2178.
100. Tigers hold the title for the most vengeful animals on Earth. Studies reveal that these majestic creatures harbor a sense of vengeance towards those who have wronged them. One documented incident tells the tale of a tiger nursing a grudge for more than 48 hours before retaliating against hunters who had attempted to harm it, ultimately leading to their demise.
101. Did you know that a frog’s gender can be identified by its ears? Located just behind their eyes, frog ears, also known as the tympanum, reveal a gender difference. In males, the disk-like organ near their ears is larger compared to females.
Well, there you have it, 101 Random Facts to Expand Your Mind. If you have feedback about one of these facts, feel free to comment below.
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