In medieval times narwhal horns were sold as unicorn horns for loads of money

In Inuit legend, the narwhal's tusk was created when a woman with a harpoon rope tied around her waist was dragged into the ocean after the harpoon had struck a large narwhal. She was transformed into a narwhal herself, and her hair twisted around in the water until it became the characteristic spiral narwhal tusk. ^[15]

Some medieval Europeans believed narwhal tusks to be the horns from the legendary unicorn.^[16] As these horns were considered to have magic powers, such as the ability to cure poison and melancholia^[17], Vikings and other northern traders were able to sell them for many times their weight in gold. The tusks were used to make cups that were thought to negate any poison that may have been slipped into the drink. During the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth received a carved and bejeweled narwhal tusk for £10,000—the cost of a castle (approximately £1.5—2.5 Million in 2007, using the retail price index^[18]). The tusks were staples of the cabinet of curiosities.

The truth of the tusk's origin developed gradually during the Age of Exploration, as explorers and naturalists began to visit Arctic regions themselves. In 1555, Olaus Magnus published a drawing of a fish-like creature with a horn on its forehead.

Herman Melville wrote a section on the narwhal in Moby Dick. In it, he claims that a narwhal tusk hung for "a long period" in Windsor Castle after Sir Martin Frobisher had given it to Queen Elizabeth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwal#In_culture

Giraffes have double the blood pressure of an average mammal

Modifications to the giraffe's structure have evolved, particularly to the circulatory system. A giraffe's heart, which can weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb) and measure about 60 cm (2 ft) long, must generate approximately double the normal blood pressure for an average large mammal to maintain blood flow to the brain. In the upper neck, a complex pressure-regulation system called the rete mirabile prevents excess blood flow to the brain when the giraffe lowers its head to drink. Conversely, the blood vessels in the lower legs are under great pressure (because of the weight of fluid pressing down on them). In other animals such pressure would force the blood out through the capillary walls; giraffes, however, have a very tight sheath of thick skin over their lower limbs which maintains high extravascular pressure in the same way as a pilot's g-suit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffes

Cheese helps against plaque

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain cheese's anticariogenic effect (11,31,32). Cheese may buffer or neutralize plaque acids; stimulate saliva flow which has caries-reducing properties; and reduce demineralization and/or promote remineralization by protein, calcium, and phosphorus. The buffering effect of protein in cheese (e.g., casein phosphopeptides) on acid formation in dental plaque and the promotion of food clearance by cheese-induced saliva flow are the most popularly held explanations for cheese's beneficial effect on dental caries (31). Both experimental animal and human epidemiological studies demonstrate that calcium and phosphate in cheese may be partly responsible for this food's ability to remineralize tooth enamel (11,31,32). When dental plaque samples were obtained from British adults before and 5 minutes after intake of cheese cubes or cheese-containing meals (e.g., pasta with cheese sauce), plaque calcium concentrations were significantly higher in subjects consuming cheese than in those who did not consume this food (41). This finding led the researchers to suggest that consuming cheese either alone or as part of a meal increases plaque calcium, which helps to reduce or prevent decreases in plaque pH levels and promote remineralization of tooth enamel (41).

http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Health/Digest/dcd73-5Page4.htm

The first paper money was used in China during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD)

Jiaozi (Chinese: 交子; pinyin: jiāozǐ) is a form of banknote which appeared in 10th century Sichuan. Most numismatists generally regard it as the first paper money in history, a development of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi_(currency)

Fresh milk may protect children against asthma and hay fever

The results of the European "Parsifal Study", conducted on about 15,000 children, show that regular consumption of fresh milk directly from the farm may protect children against asthma and hay fever. The control sample consisted of children growing up on farms, children from rural and suburban environments, and Waldorf school students. The study, which was led by the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Basel, was published in the journal "Clinical and Experimental Allergy" in May 2007.

https://www.fondsgoetheanum.ch/en/kampagnen/landwirtschaft/der-blick-ueber-den-tellerrand.html

The skin underneath the fur of a tiger is also stripped

. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environment as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and if shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved. Like other big cats, tigers have a white spot on the backs of their ears.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger

The sun was so hot the day Disneyland opened, it made the asphalt of main street melt

On July 17, 1955, when Disneyland finally opened to the public, the image that is conjured when we think of Disneyland is far from opening day. The park was overcrowded as tickets - which were invitational for the first day - were faked and sold on the black market, with all major nearby roads and highways jam packed. The sun was so hot that ladies' high-heels were sinking into the melting asphalt of Main Street. A gas leak in Fantasyland caused Adventureland, Frontierland and Fantasyland to close from the afternoon, and parents where throwing children over the shoulders of crowds to get in queue for rides now world-famous like Dumbo. Vendors ran out of food, and the park got such bad press for opening day that Walt Disney invited members of the press back for a private 'second day' to experience the true Disneyland, whereafter Walt held a party in the Disneyland Hotel. Walt and his executives forever referred to the first day as Black Sunday.

http://www.indopedia.org/Disneyland.html

A blind man (Ralph Teetor) invented the cruisecontrol

Ralph Teetor (1890-1982) was a prolific (and blind) inventor who invented cruise control. He was also the longtime president of the very successful automotive parts manufacturer The Perfect Circle Co. Corporation in Hagerstown, Indiana, a manufacturer of piston rings. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912, which surprised the faculty because they originally thought that he couldn't do the required work.

Teetor's highly developed sense of touch proved its advantage in developing a technique for balancing steam turbine rotors used in torpedo-boat destroyers. Dynamic balancing of large components had puzzled others before Teetor solved the problem.

Teetor was inspired to invent cruise control one day while riding with his lawyer. The lawyer would slow down while talking and speed up while listening. This rocking motion so annoyed Teetor that he was determined to invent a speed control device.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Teetor

Houseflies younger than 3 days arent attracted by light

The responses of the flies to the various lamps appeared to depend on the origin, sex and age of the
houseflies, the spectral composition and irradiance of the test lamps, and on ambient illuminance. Overall, flies younger than 3 days were hardly or not attracted to the test lamps, whereas older flies were positively phototactic.

http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/science/2003/r.c.smallegange/thesis.pdf

Viper venom doesn't contain neurotoxins but its venom makes your blood wont clotter, its victims bleed to death

Viperid venoms typically contain an abundance of protein-degrading enzymes, called proteases, that produce symptoms such as pain, strong local swelling and necrosis, blood loss from cardiovascular damage complicated by coagulopathy, and disruption of the blood clotting system. Death is usually caused by collapse in blood pressure. This is in contrast to elapid venoms that generally contain neurotoxins that disable muscle contraction and cause paralysis. Death from elapid bites usually results from asphyxiation because the diaphragm can no longer contract. However, this rule does not always apply: some elapid bites include proteolytic symptoms typical of viperid bites, while some viperid bites produce neurotoxic symptoms.^[5]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viperidae#Venom}

Komodo dragons have 57 virulent bacteria in their saliva

Komodo dragons also possess virulent bacteria in their saliva, of which more than 28 Gram-negative and 29 Gram-positive strains have been isolated.^[25] These bacteria cause septicemia in their victim; if an initial bite does not kill the prey animal and it escapes, it will commonly succumb within a week to the resulting infection. The most harmful bacterium in Komodo dragon saliva appears to be a deadly strain of Pasteurella multocida, from studies performed with laboratory mice.^[26] There is no specific antidote to the bite of a Komodo dragon, but it can usually be treated by sterilizing the wounded area and giving the patient large doses of antibiotics. If not treated promptly, gangrene can quickly develop around the bite, which may require amputation of the affected area. Because the Komodo dragon appears immune to its own microbes, much research has been done searching for the antibacterial molecule(s) in the hopes of human medicinal usage.^[27]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon}

The first high heels were made for horse riding

Raised heels are stated^{[weasel words]} to have been a response to the problem of the rider's foot slipping forward in stirrups while riding. The "rider's heel," approximately 1-1/2 inch (4 cm) high, appeared around 1500. The leading edge was canted forward to help grip the stirrup, and the trailing edge was canted forward to prevent the elongated heel from catching on underbrush or rock while backing up, such as in on-foot combat. These features are evident today in riding boots, notably cowboy boots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_heel

in most cases swallowed gum digests as little slower as normal food, but it digests

One old wives' tale says that swallowed gum will remain in a person's stomach for up to seven years, as it is not digestable. According to several medical opinions, there seems to be little truth behind the tale. In most cases, swallowed gum will pass through the system as fast as any other food, but can be a little slower.^[6] There have been a few cases where swallowing gum has required medical attention, but these cases are more or less related to chronic gum swallowers. One young boy swallowed several pieces each day and had to be hospitalized,^[7] and another little girl required medical attention when she swallowed her gum and four coins, which got stuck together in her oesophagus.^[8] As long as the mass of gum is small enough to pass out of the stomach, it is unlikely they will experience any problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum

Elm Farm Ollie was the first cow to fly and was also the first cow milked while flying

Elm Farm Ollie (known as "Nellie Jay" and post-flight as "Sky Queen") was the first cow to fly in an airplane, doing so on 18 February 1930, as part of the International Air Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. On the same trip, which covered 72 miles from Bismarck, Missouri, to St. Louis, she also became the first cow milked in flight. This was done ostensibly to allow scientists to observe midair effects on animals, as well as for publicity purposes. A St. Louis newspaper trumpeted her mission as being "to blaze a trail for the transportation of livestock by air."

Elm Farm Ollie was reported to have been an unusually productive Guernsey cow, requiring three milkings a day and producing 24 quarts of milk during the flight itself. Wisconsin native Elsworth W. Bunce milked her, becoming the first man to milk a cow mid-flight. Elm Farm Ollie's milk was sealed into paper cartons which were parachuted to spectators below. Charles Lindbergh reportedly received a glass of the milk.

Although Elm Farm Ollie was born and raised in Bismarck, Missouri, it is largely in the dairy state of Wisconsin where her fame has lived on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm_Farm_Ollie

The paradise tree snake (chrysopelea paradisi) can glide

Paradise Tree Snake or Paradise Flying Snake Chrysopelea paradisi is a species of snake found in Asia. It can glide by stretching the body into a flattened strip using its ribs. It is mostly found in moist forests and can cover a horizontal distance of about 100 metres in a glide from the top of a tree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopelea_paradisi

The largest canon used in combat was named Schwerer Gustav with a caliber of 800mm

Schwerer Gustav (English: Heavy Gustav) and Dora were the names of the German 80 cm K (E) railway guns. They were developed in the 1930s by Krupp in order to destroy large forts. They weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, and could fire shells weighing seven tonnes to a range of 37 kilometers (23 miles). Designed in preparation for World War II, and intended for use against the deep forts of the Maginot Line, they were not ready for action when the Wehrmacht outflanked the line during the Battle of France. Gustav was used in the Soviet Union at the siege of Sevastopol during Operation Barbarossa. They were moved to Leningrad, and may have been intended for Warsaw. Gustav was captured by US troops and cut up. Dora was destroyed near the end of the war to avoid capture by the Red Army.

It was the largest calibre rifled weapon in the history of artillery to see actual combat, and fired the heaviest shells of any artillery piece ^[1]. It is only surpassed in calibre by the American 36-inch Little David mortar and a handful of earlier siege mortars that all fired smaller shells.^[2]

The Nazis envisioned these "super guns" as powerful terror weapons which could smash enemy fortifications and bombard cities from incredible distances.^{[citation needed]} However their massive size and consequent poor mobility made them of little strategic use. In fact, the incredible quantities of materials and manpower required to construct and operate such weapons, both of which might have been put to use elsewhere, meant they likely had a negative overall impact on the Nazi war effort.^{[citation needed]}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_cm_Gustav

The shortest war ever lasted approximately 40 minutes

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted approximately 40 minutes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War

Many famous paintings and building are made using the golden ratio

Some studies of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, conclude that many of its proportions approximate the golden ratio. The Parthenon's facade as well as elements of its facade and elsewhere can be circumscribed by golden rectangles.^[17] To the extent that classical buildings or their elements are proportioned according to the golden ratio, this might indicate that their architects were aware of the golden ratio and consciously employed it in their designs. Alternatively, it is possible that the architects used their own sense of good proportion, and that this led to some proportions that closely approximate the golden ratio. On the other hand, such retrospective analyses can always be questioned on the ground that the investigator chooses the points from which measurements are made or where to superimpose golden rectangles, and that these choices affect the proportions observed.

Some scholars deny that the Greeks had any aesthetic association with golden ratio. For example, Midhat J. Gazalé says, "It was not until Euclid, however, that the golden ratio's mathematical properties were studied. In the Elements (308 B.C.) the Greek mathematician merely regarded that number as an interesting irrational number, in connection with the middle and extreme ratios. Its occurrence in regular pentagons and decagons was duly observed, as well as in the dodecahedron (a regular polyhedron whose twelve faces are regular pentagons). It is indeed exemplary that the great Euclid, contrary to generations of mystics who followed, would soberly treat that number for what it is, without attaching to it other than its factual properties."^[18] And Keith Devlin says, "Certainly, the oft repeated assertion that the Parthenon in Athens is based on the golden ratio is not supported by actual measurements. In fact, the entire story about the Greeks and golden ratio seems to be without foundation. The one thing we know for sure is that Euclid, in his famous textbook Elements, written around 300 B.C., showed how to calculate its value."^[19] Near-contemporary sources like Vitruvius exclusively discuss proportions that can be expressed in whole numbers, i.e. commensurate as opposed to irrational proportions.

A geometrical analysis of the Great Mosque of Kairouan reveals a consistent application of the golden ratio throughout the design, according to Boussora and Mazouz.^[20] It is found in the overall proportion of the plan and in the dimensioning of the prayer space, the court, and the minaret. Boussora and Mazouz also examined earlier archaeological theories about the mosque, and demonstrate the geometric constructions based on the golden ratio by applying these constructions to the plan of the mosque to test their hypothesis.

The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series, which he described as "rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities. They resound in man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the Golden Section by children, old men, savages and the learned."^[21]

Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit. He took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system. Le Corbusier's 1927 Villa Stein in Garches exemplified the Modulor system's application. The villa's rectangular ground plan, elevation, and inner structure closely approximate golden rectangles.^[22]

Another Swiss architect, Mario Botta, bases many of his designs on geometric figures. Several private houses he designed in Switzerland are composed of squares and circles, cubes and cylinders. In a house he designed in Origlio, the golden ratio is the proportion between the central section and the side sections of the house.^[23]

In a recent book, author Jason Elliot speculated that the golden ratio was used by the designers of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the adjacent Lotfollah mosque.^[24]

Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations in De Divina Proportione (On the Divine Proportion) and his views that some bodily proportions exhibit the golden ratio have led some scholars to speculate that he incorporated the golden ratio in his own paintings. Some suggest that his Mona Lisa, for example, employs the golden ratio in its geometric equivalents.^[25] Whether Leonardo proportioned his paintings according to the golden ratio has been the subject of intense debate. The secretive Leonardo seldom disclosed the bases of his art, and retrospective analysis of the proportions in his paintings can never be conclusive^{[citation needed]}.

Salvador Dalí explicitly used the golden ratio in his masterpiece, The Sacrament of the Last Supper. The dimensions of the canvas are a golden rectangle. A huge dodecahedron, with edges in golden ratio to one another, is suspended above and behind Jesus and dominates the composition.^[26][2]

Mondrian used the golden section extensively in his geometrical paintings.^[27]

A statistical study on 565 works of art of different great painters, performed in 1999, found that these artists had not used the golden ratio in the size of their canvases. The study concluded that the average ratio of the two sides of the paintings studied is 1.34, with averages for individual artists ranging from 1.04 (Goya) to 1.46 (Bellini).^[28] On the other hand, Pablo Tosto listed over 350 works by well-known artists, including more than 100 which have canvasses with golden rectangle and root-5 proportions, and others with proportions like root-2, 3, 4, and 6.^[29]

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The russian sattalite Luna 1 missed the moon in 1959 and became the first man made satalite to orbit around the sun

Luna 1 (E-1 series), also known as Mechta (Russian: Мечта, lit.: Dream) was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and the first of the Luna programme of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon.

While traveling through the outer Van Allen radiation belt, the spacecraft's scintillator made observations indicating that there exist a small number of high energy particles in the outer belt. The measurements obtained during this mission provided new data on the Earth's radiation belt and outer space. It was discovered that the Moon had no detectable magnetic field. The first ever direct observations and measurements of the solar wind, a strong flow of ionized plasma emanating from the Sun and streaming through interplanetary space, were performed. That ionized plasma concentration was measured to be some 700 particles per cm³ at altitudes 20-25 thousand km and 300 to 400 particles per cm³ at altitudes 100-150 thousand km.^[1] The spacecraft also marked the first instance of radio communication at the half million kilometres distance.

A malfunction in the ground-based control system caused an error in the rocket's burntime, and the spacecraft missed the target and flew by the Moon at a distance of 5,900 km at the closest point. Luna 1 then became the first man-made object to reach heliocentric orbit and was then dubbed a "new planet" and renamed Mechta. Its orbit lies between those of Earth and Mars. The name "Luna-1" was applied retroactively years later. Luna-1 was originally referred to as the "First Cosmic Rocket", in reference to its achievement of escape velocity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_1