71. Kissy Kissy
Parasitic worms and bacteria can be transmitted through saliva when we kiss. Triatoma insects, also known as "kissing bugs," can be transferred this way and, after burrowing into a person's heart, can cause something called Chagas disease, which can be potentially deadly. How about a hug instead...through a plastic bubble?
72. Glutton for Punishment
Currently, more people in the world suffer from obesity than hunger. I think that's a good thing?
73. Auspicious Date
The deaths of both Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden were announced to the public on the date of May 1st, in 1945 and 2011, respectively. Is this some kind of Illuminati conspiracy, or just a really bad horoscope day for evil mass murderers?
74. This Coffee Tastes Like...
The most expensive coffee in the world comes from coffee cherries selected not by discerning humans, but by Asian palm civets. The small cat-like (but non-feline) mammals eat the cherries, then excrete them in their feces, where they are harvested by farmers and processed into coffee. Some say the selection process, as well as the digestion by the civets, gives the beans a superior flavor. A kilogram of civet coffee, also known as kopi luwak, can fetch up to $700 US!
75. When Your Time Is Up
Pizza deliveryman Brian Wells was killed when a time bomb fastened around his neck exploded. Wells had just robbed a bank and contended that he had been forced to and told authorities that the time bomb would explode if he didn’t follow instructions. Police later determined that Wells was actually involved in the robbery plot with two others. The film 30 Minutes or Less involved an extremely similar plot, and Wells' family expressed their disgust upon the movie's release, but Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group denied that the screenwriters were aware of Wells' case before making the film.
76. Biggest Show in Town
A Paris morgue needed help identifying bodies in the 1860s, so they decided to open their doors to the public. They probably underestimated people’s morbid curiosity, though—soon 40,000 visitors a day were coming to look at corpses.
77. Snoring His Way to Freedom
During the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London, hostages had to decide amongst themselves who would be released. Among those chosen? A pregnant woman, and a man whose loud snoring at night annoyed the other hostages and the terrorists. Hey, I'd take it.
78. Write What You Know
In the 1980s, DC Comics created a character called Snowflame, who got his powers from cocaine. His only weakness? Cocaine Addiction. One can only imagine how they got the idea for such a character…
79. We Appreciate It, Bill
The Battle of Hastings, where William the Conqueror took over England, had even more far-reaching consequences than people realize. After the battle, he parceled out England to those who had fought with him. As a result, 70% of the land in England is still owned by 1% of the population, who are largely descended from members of William's army.
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80. Croc-Contraceptive
Ancient Egyptian women used crocodile dung as an early contraceptive. A pessary made of the dung, plus honey and sodium carbonate was inserted inside the vagina. However, since crocodile dung is slightly alkaline, like modern-day spermicides, it's possible it actually could have blocked or killed sperm. Still though...
81. Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
The loneliest creature on earth is a whale that has been calling for a mate for two decades. Researchers identified the whale's abnormally high call over 20 years ago. The unknown whale is called "Lonely" because it communicates at a frequency not used by any other whale in the North Pacific, and so far, it has never received a response.
82. Getting Political
Dustin the Turkey, a hand-puppet from an Irish TV show, has campaigned for president of Ireland in two separate elections—representing the “Poultry Party.” What else?
83. Death by Scarf
Isadora Duncan was a dancer famous for the long, flowing scarves she always wore. Duncan was strangled to death when one of these scarves caught under the wheel of the car she was riding in.
84. What Happens in Vegas
In the 1950s, everyone wanted to go to Las Vegas, not for the casinos, but for the nuclear bomb tests. Before they realized the dangers of fallout, people would flock to Las Vegas—Atomic City, USA—for bomb-viewing parties featuring girls in mushroom cloud bikinis and specially themed cocktails.
85. Bugs for Lunch
FDA regulations allow for a certain amount of insects to be present in the food you eat. In fact, ten insects and 35 fruit fly eggs per eight ounces of raisins is perfectly acceptable. The FDA is also cool with five rodent hairs and 150 bug fragments to remain present in one pound of peanut butter. This totally killed my craving for some Raisin Bran with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ugh, who am I kidding? Pass the peanut butter, please...
86. Hypocritical?
Pepper spray and tear gas are increasingly common crowd-control tactics used by police in times of protest all over the world. But while these weapons continue to be used domestically, but they are technically classified as chemical weapons and thus are forbidden in warfare.
87. It's Naht a Toomah!
There are some tumors that are able to grow hair, teeth, and their own organs—it's like having another person growing inside of you. In 2008, doctors in Colorado Springs in the US took out a tumor from a baby that contained a partially formed foot, a hand, and a thigh. In 2007, doctors removed a lump from a Japanese woman's right ovary that had an eye and internal organs. You may be a huge sci-fi fan, but reality is always stranger than fiction, baby!
88. You Like Politics?
Chances are higher that you become president than win the lottery. In case being struck by lightning didn’t entice you.
89. Side Interests
When he wasn’t busy fighting wars and serving as the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte found the time to write a romance novel, called Clisson et Eugénie. Because why not?
90. Assassination by Umbrella
Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident, was killed when a bullet filled with ricin, fired from a modified umbrella, entered his calf. No one has ever been charged for the crime. However, ten days before the murder, an attempt was made to kill another Bulgarian defector named Vladimir Kostov in the same manner. In this case, however, the coating of the pellet was damaged during the shot or before, which caused the ricin to leak. Only a tiny portion of the poison got into his blood, causing only fever. KGB defectors including Oleg Kalugin and Oleg Gordievsky have claimed that both of these incidents were the work of the KGB.
91. Keep an Eye on This One
In this day and age, no one is shocked by tattoos anymore. Instead, those who really want to rock the boat are getting eyeball tattoos. This toe-curling—and dangerous—procedure involves permanently dying the whites of your eyes a different color—black is especially popular.
92. Neighbors
In 1913, Adolf Hitler, Sigmund Freud (that's the psychology and dreaming guy), Joseph Tito, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky all lived within two square miles of each other in Vienna, Austria. I wonder if they ever had sleepovers?
93. Tongue-Twister
Vulcan Point in the Philippines is the world’s largest island within a lake that is itself on an island in a lake on an island…. Got that? An island (Vulcan Point)… in a lake (Main Crater Lake)… on an island (Taal Island)…. in a lake (Lake Taal)… on an island (Luzon)… in the Philippine Sea. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines, which is an archipelago of over 7,000 islands!
94. Destiny
Your mother was already carrying the egg that became you when she was born. You were late to the party.
95. Oldest Joke in the Book
If anyone thinks that “your mom” jokes are solely within the domain of immature teenagers, internet memes, and wild comedies, think again—a 3,500-year-old one was found on an ancient Babylonian tablet in Iraq back in 1976. Sadly, we don't have the full joke, and even more sadly, we don't have the answer, but we know part of it was "...of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it?" I'm sure it was uproarious.
96. Creature Comforts
Alcatraz, one of America’s most notorious and impenetrable prisons, was for a time the only prison in the United States to provide inmates with hot showers. Alcatraz is on an island in San Francisco Bay, and the hot showers were thought to hinder escape, by making sure inmates didn’t get acclimatized to the freezing cold Bay water they would need to swim through to get to shore.
97. Even Death Shall Never Part You
Becoming widowed in ancient India did not mean that the widow could mourn and move on—or at least not in life. A practice known as Sati was based on the belief that a woman basically had no entitlement to live without her husband, and she would either have to be burned alive in her husband’s funeral fire or be buried alive next to his corpse. Both were pretty gruesome ways to go, so women probably prayed that they died first (of natural causes of course).
98. A Jarring Thing To Wake Up To
Russia's Peter the Great was infamous for his terrifying temper, but when his wife cheated on him, he absolutely lost his mind. He cut off the other man's head and then forced his wife to keep it in a jar by her bedside at all times.
99. Whodunit
In 1886, Ludwig, the Mad King of Bavaria, took a walk along the shore of Lake Starnberg with his doctor. Their bodies were found floating in the lake the next morning. Neither had water in their lungs, but Von Gudden’s body showed signs of strangulation and bludgeoning. The mystery has never been solved, though modern historians suggest that Ludwig and his doctor may have been murdered by Ludwig's enemies while he was attempting to escape captivity.
100. Spiders Pouring From the Walls
Susan and Brian Trost from Missouri bought a home for $450,000, unaware that it was swimming with Brown Recluse spiders. Sadly, they didn't know about the spiders until they started coming out of the walls. Pest control experts claimed that there were close to 5,000 of these spiders in the house. Just one bite can lead to pain, nausea, swelling, itching, and potentially organ failure. Naturally, the couple sued the original homeowners.