25 Quirky And Ridiculous Stories About Inventors And Their Inventions

Where would we be if it weren’t for inventors? They are the ones that move us forward. Their genius and novel ways of looking at the world create new technologies and generate easier ways of doing things. Usually, however, inventors are some of the most eccentric people you will ever meet. They don’t think like the rest of us. Instead of living in the here and now, they are usually daydreaming about ways to improve existing technologies or thinking up new ways to do things. This eccentricity, while good for the purpose of inventing and being creative, can also lead to some interesting side effects. Well, in some cases those side effects can be downright hilarious…and in other cases they can be quite terrifying. You are about to read about some of the strangest, craziest, and most intelligent people to ever have walked the Earth. Many of the things, including the computer, tablet, or phone you are using right now were made possible by great minds such as these. Every generation would build on the discoveries and findings of the generation before it which managed to create the world in which we live today. These are 25 quirky and ridiculous stories about inventors and their inventions!

• Robert Chesebrough, the inventor of Vaseline, ate one spoonful every day.
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• Nobody knows who invented the fire hydrant because the patent was lost in a fire.
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• Clara Lazen, a 10 year old from Kansas City, accidentally discovered a new molecule during science class (tetranitratoxycarbon).
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• Modern credit cards were invented by Frank X McNamara when he was supposed to pay for a dinner but forgot to bring cash.
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• Charles Richter, the man who invented the Richter scale for measuring earthquakes, was a nudist.
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• Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Thomas Edison have something surprising in common – none of them have a college degree!
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• Adolf Hitler considered Henry Ford an inspiration and even kept a photo of him on his desk.
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• In 1903, Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant to show that Tesla's AC current was dangerous.
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• Leo Fender, the man who invented two of the most famous guitar models in history (Stratocaster and Telecaster) never learned to play guitar.
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• The man who invented diesel engines, Rudolph Diesel, killed himself in 1913 because he thought his invention had failed.
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• Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 recently quoted, "I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists". The former Soviet officer later said that he wished he had invented something more benign, like a lawnmower.
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• Kalashnikov's comment is reminiscent of Einstein's statement after seeing the destruction of the nuclear bomb ("If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker").
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• Tea bags were invented by accident. In 1904, Thomas Sullivan thought it would be better to send tea samples to customers in small silk bags rather than in boxes. Customers thought they were meant to be dunked in water and soon Thomas was inundated with requests for his "dunking bags".
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• Richard Gatling, a doctor during the American Civil War noticed that most soldiers died of disease and not bullets. He is famous for saying "if I could invent a machine – a gun – which could by its rapidity of fire, enable one man to do as much battle duty as a hundred, that it would, to a large extent supersede the necessity of large armies, and consequently, exposure to battle and disease would be greatly diminished". He went on to develop the Gatling Gun, which was the world's first machine gun.
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• When Peter M. Roberts invented the quick-release ratchet as a teenager, he came to Sears and the company offered him $10,000 for the patent saying it had no value. Sears went on to make nearly $50 million off of quick-release wrenches.
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• Edwin Armstrong, inventor of FM radio, was bullied by numerous powerful AM radio supporters (NBC and AT&T) until he committed suicide in 1954 thinking that FM radio was a failure.
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• Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of chocolate chip cookies, sold her invention to Nestle in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate.
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• When Anders Celsius proposed the Celsius temperature scale, he initially put the freezing point at 100 degrees and the boiling point at 0 degrees. One of his colleagues, Carl Linnaeus, waited until Anders's death to switch the scale around which facilitated more practical measurements.
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• James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, is the only coach in University of Kansas history to have a losing career.
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• The upside down ketchup bottle earned its inventor, Paul Brown, $13 million.
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• After Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair, he sat on one while writing the Declaration of Independence.
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• B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist, once invented a temperature controlled crib. He called it the "heir conditioner".
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• Gunpei Yokoi, the inventor of GameBoy, was working as a maintenance man at a Nintendo factory when he impressed the CEO with a toy he had created while the CEO happened to be passing by one day. His career quickly changed directions.
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• When Volvo introduced the three point seat belt, it gave all other car manufacturers a free license to use it. Today, the company can proudly say that "there is a little bit of Volvo in every car".
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• Whoopee cushions were first invented by Elagabalus, a 14 year old Roman Emperor and he would often use his invention on guests. He was assassinated at the age of 18.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 Fascinating Facts About Zeus: King Of Olympus

When we talk about religion in antiquity, very few gods came close to Zeus in terms of popularity and worship. Zeus was the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; he was god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, and justice. He was first worshiped by the Greeks, then by the Romans (who referred to him as Jupiter), and then by the peoples of many other parts of the world. As the father of the gods, Zeus ensured that each deity performed their individual duty, punished their misdeeds, settled their disputes, and acted as their all-knowing counselor and mighty friend.

Zeus also loved to frequently interfere in human lives. He often took a paternal interest in the actions and well-being of mortals. He watched over them with tender solicitude, rewarding truth, charity, and fairness, while severely punishing perjury and cruelty. Even though he’s mostly remembered for his wild love affairs with numerous mortal women, Zeus was also the protector of the poorest and demanded that the wealthy inhabitants of the earth be attentive to the needs of their less fortunate fellow citizens. Take a look at these 25 Fascinating Facts About Zeus.

• Zeus was the child of Kronos and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings, though sometimes he is reckoned the oldest, as the others required disgorging from Kronos’s stomach.
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• Zeus avoided being swallowed by his father, who had been told one of his children would overthrow him, when Rhea hid him in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete and sought help from Gaia.
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• According to another legend, Zeus was raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of soldiers danced, shouted, and clashed their spears against their shields every night so that Kronos would not hear the baby’s cries.
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• Zeus vanquished his father and released his siblings, who were still living in Kronos’s stomach.
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• Thanks to this action and after the revolt against his father, Zeus became the ruler of heaven and earth. Along with Hades (god of the underworld) and Poseidon (god of the sea), Zeus shared the rule of the world and became king of Olympus.
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• Even though he’s known for causing thunder and lightning, Zeus was once a rain god. One way or another, he was always associated with the weather.
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• Maybe that explains why the legendary Greek poet Homer believed heaven was located on the summit of Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and the logical home for a weather god.
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• Physically, Zeus is often described or depicted in art as a strong, tall, muscular man, with a black or gray beard and long curly hair.
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• His wife, Hera, was also his sister. However, Zeus was not very faithful to her and he’s widely known for his many erotic escapades. These relationships resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Minos, the Muses, and the great Heracles.
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• Zeus fathered Heracles, the most famous mythical hero of all time, by deception. He disguised himself as Amphitryon, Alcmene’s husband, in order to have sex with her.
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• Very few are aware that before Zeus married Hera, he had already been married twice. After the victorious war against his father, Zeus married Metis, the Titaness of wisdom and daughter of Okeanos and Tethys. After his marriage to Metis, Zeus married Themis, the Titaness of justice. With her he had the Moirae (the Fates), the Horae (the Hours), and Astraea.
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• According to Works and Days by Hesiod, Zeus was a carefree god who loved to laugh out loud. He was regarded as wise, fair, merciful, and prudent. He was also unpredictable—nobody was able to guess the decisions he would make.
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• Zeus was also known for his bad temper; he was easily angered, which could be very destructive. When angry he would hurl lightning bolts and cause violent storms that wreaked havoc on Earth.
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• Maybe that explains why his servants were named Force and Violence.
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• Zeus’s punishments could be really severe. For example, when Prometheus stole fire from him and gave it to humans, he condemned Prometheus to having his liver eaten daily by a giant eagle.
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• Athena was said to have sprung from Zeus’s head. She was his favorite child, with whom he shared the thunderbolt and aegis (his shield).
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• The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a colossal ruined temple in the center of Athens that was dedicated to Zeus. Construction began in the sixth century BCE during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world. When it was completed under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century CE, it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.
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• Depictions of Zeus as a bull, the form he took when raping Europa, are found on the Greek two-euro coin and on the UK identity card for visa holders. Mary Beard, professor of Classics at Cambridge University, has criticized this for its seeming glorification of rape.
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• The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes erected a statue of Zeus Olympios in the Judean Temple in Jerusalem. Hellenized Jews referred to this statue as Ba’al Shamen, which means “lord of heaven.”
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• Zeus was identified with the Roman god Jupiter and associated in the syncretic classical imagination with various other deities, such as the Egyptian Ammon and the Etruscan Tinia.
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• Although most oracle sites were usually dedicated to Apollo, heroes, or various goddesses like Themis, a few sites were dedicated to Zeus. In addition, some foreign oracles, such as Ba’al’s at Heliopolis (Lebanon), were associated with Zeus in Greek or Jupiter in Latin.
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• The major center where all Greeks converged to pay homage to their chief god was Olympia. Their quadrennial festival featured the famous Olympic Games, which were held each year to honor Zeus.
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• Zeus believed in the importance of keeping one’s word and would punish anyone who lied or deceived others in business.
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• His sacred bird was the golden eagle, which he kept by his side at all times. Like him, the eagle was a symbol of strength, courage, and justice. It later became a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion.
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• Well before Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other global religions, Zeus was the first god to enjoy worldwide fame and acceptance. Thanks to the ancient Greek kingdoms and empires, with Alexander the Great’s being the greatest example, Zeus and ancient Greek religion traveled to most parts of the then known world. With the rise of the Roman Empire, which had adopted the Greek religion, Zeus became the first god of antiquity to enjoy worship in many different regions of the world.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 Crazy Stories And Anecdotes About Pilots

Being a pilot is probably the dream of every little kid. Who wouldn’t want to wear one of those awesome uniforms and look cool as you stroll through the airport. But there is more to being a pilot than just looking cool. It’s a lot of hard work. And even more than that, it’s a lot of responsibility. You have the lives of everyone in the plane in your hands. You have to be able and ready to react in numerous situations and take control of a huge machine that is barreling through the air going hundreds of miles per hour. Of course, being a pilot has a lot of perks. Typically it is a well payed job. Along with doctors, lawyers, and engineers it also tends to receive respect and prestige. Besides that, being a pilot allows you to travel around the world and see places that you otherwise would never see. One week you might be in Tokyo and the next week you’ll be in New York City. It doesn’t sound too bad right? Well, everything has its pros and cons. It just depends on who you ask about them. These are 25 crazy stories and anecdotes about pilots!

• Nobuo Fujita was one of the only Japanese pilots to attack the mainland United States during World War II when he dropped a couple bombs over Oregon. He returned years later to present his family's sword as an apology and was even made an honorary citizen of the city of Brookings.
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• In 2012, the pilot of an Air Canada plane mistook the planet Venus for another aircraft and initiated a steep dive. 16 people were injured because they bounced off the ceiling and the pilot almost hit another plane.
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• Hugh Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot saved hundreds of Vietnamese villagers when he landed his helicopter between a village and his own fellow soldiers. He then threatened to open fire if the soldiers didn't leave the villagers alone.
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• Phil Rasmussen was one of the few American pilots to shoot down a Japanese plane during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was flying an obsolete plane in his pajamas.
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• In 1997, Craig Button, pilot of an A-10 Thunderbolt II turned off his radio during training and flew hundreds of miles off course until he crashed into a Colorado mountainside. Nobody knows why.
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• Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, served in WWII with a pilot named Kim Noonien Singh. Gene lost contact with Kim but named the villain in the Star Trek after Kim hoping that he would notice and get in touch.
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• In 1956, Thomas W. Attridge's jet was shot down during a test flight. It was later found that he had run into his own bullets that he had just fired.
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• In 1953, No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot defected to South Korea with his MiG-15. He received a $100,000 reward from the US military thanks to Operation Moolah. This operation was an American led effort to acquire a MiG aircraft.
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• During the Cold War, SR-71 blackbirds were tasked with flying over foreign ceremonies to create sonic booms when heads of state were greeting each other.
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• Art Scholl, the pilot who did camera work for Top Gun died while filming when his plane couldn't recover from a flat spin.
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• In 1994, the pilot of an Aeroflot flight (593) let his son sit at the controls while it was flying from Moscow to Hong Kong. The boy turned off autopilot and sent the plane crashing into the side of a mountain.
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• In 1958, a pilot ejected from his F-106 when it entered a flat spin. He was surprised to see it come out of the spin and land itself in a cornfield. Today, the plane is known as the "cornfield bomber".
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• Scott O'Grady, the real pilot on which the movie Behind Enemy Lines was based ended up suing Fox because they depicted him as a soldier who "disobeys orders and swears".
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• 12 cyanide pills were located in the cockpit of the Enola Gay. The crew was instructed to take these pills in case the bombing of Hiroshima went wrong.
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• In 2001, Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) was in a plane with his family when the pilot passed out. Rowan took the controls and slapped the pilot until the pilot woke up.
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• In 2009, two Northwest pilots lost their licenses when they overshot their destination by nearly 200 miles. They only realized their mistake when the flight attendant asked them about landing. Apparently they were both on their laptops.
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• Tex Johnson, a pilot who was demonstrating a Boeing 707 over Washington during the 1955 airshow, did a barrel roll. When the Boeing executive asked him "what the heck he was doing", he replied that he was "selling airplanes". He went on to do another barrel roll.
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• In 1994, a FedEx jet was hijacked by a disgruntled employee. In spite of the crew receiving multiple hammer blows the pilot managed to fly the plane in such a way as to keep the hijacker off balance. He even flew it upside down. Eventually the crew managed to stop the hijacker and land the plane.
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• Alexey Maresyev was a Russian pilot who was shot down by Germans in 1942. He crawled back to friendly territory for nearly 20 days through the snow. In spite of the fact that his legs had to be amputated. He then went on to fly over 80 more combat missions.
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• US pilot James Risner managed to nudge his friends ailing aircraft to friendly territory during the Korean War. He used the nose of his own plane, something that had never been tried before.
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• In 1959, a pilot ejected from his plane at 45,000 feet but flew straight into a thundercloud. The wind kept him airborne for 40 minutes and he had to even hold his breath so that he wouldn't drown.
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• On 9/11, some fighter jets took off without any ammunition. The pilots knew that they may have to ram their jets into the hijacked airplanes and eject at the last minute.
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• During World War II, Franz Stigler, a German pilot, refused to shoot down a damaged Allied bomber. Instead, he escorted it back to the English Channel and saluted the American pilot. Following the war, the two pilots developed a lasting friendship.
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• During World War II, German pilots in Africa would attach coke bottles to the bottoms of their planes so that the coke would cool down and be ready to drink when they landed.
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• In 1978, Frederick Valentich disappeared off the coast of Australia after describing a strange aircraft hovering over him. To this day no one is sure what happened.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 Insane Trivia About Genetics And The Human Genome

Genetics is one of the fastest growing fields of science out there. It wasn’t until the 19th century that genetics even began. The field was started by Gregor Mendel. Mendel was a scientist and a friar who studied trait inheritance, that is the way that traits are passed down from their parents to their offspring. His observations led him to conclude that organisms inherit traits by way of “discrete units of inheritance”. In this way he basically came up with the idea of genes. These days the field has advanced almost unbelievably. Geneticists now study the function of genes across a wide array of disciplines. In fact, thanks to genetic engineering, millions of lives around the world have been saved. By creating higher yield crops by way of selective breeding, farmers in developing countries have actually managed to feed populations that would otherwise have starved. With all of these incredible advances as well as the mapping of the human genome, we now know more about the blueprint for human beings than ever before. Genes define the way your cells act and your cells define the way you act. Get ready because these are 25 insane trivia about genetics and the human genome!

• One group of 55 chimps in Africa has two times the genetic variability as all of humanity put together.
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• Europeans aren't the only people with blond hair. South Pacific islanders also evolved a gene for blond hair.
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• Our bodies may not be "allowed" to live very far beyond 120 years due to genetic caps regarding how many times our cells can divide.
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• Bananas are actually genetic hybrids. Thousands of years ago, humans crossed two strains to come up with today's tasty and sweet fruit.
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• Scientists have recently discovered huge viruses called Pandoraviruses. A vast majority of their genes cannot be traced back to anything so some scientists have suggested creating another domain of life.
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• Elizabeth Taylor's dark eyes were due to a genetic mutation that gave her double lashes.
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• When two sets of identical twins procreate with each other, their children are all siblings (genetically speaking).
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• In Vitro Fertilization allows you to choose the sex of your child.
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• Researchers at Liverpool found that the plagues of the Middle Ages made roughly 10% of Europeans genetically resistant to HIV.
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• When scientists kept fruit flies in total darkness for 57 years, their descendants showed genetic adaptations that were useful for survival in such conditions.
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• Roughly half of the DNA in our GI tract has no correlation to anything (animal, plant, bacteria, etc). Scientists have labeled it "biological dark matter".
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• One in every 4 million lobsters is born blue. They typically don't survive very long though.
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• Sickle cell anemia is a genetic mutation that is actually advantageous to people living in malaria infested regions.
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• There is a genetic mutation that makes your bones extremely dense. One man had bones that were more than 8 times as dense as a normal human. Needless to say, he would sink like a stone whenever he tried to swim.
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• Blue eyed people share a common ancestor who lived about 10,000 years ago around the Black Sea.
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• Cheetahs were nearly wiped out in the last ice age but a small population interbred and survived. For this reason, most cheetahs on Earth today are very, very close genetically.
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• Some women have a genetic condition that makes them tetrachromatic. This means they can see 100 million colors. Most people can only see 1 million.
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• All people share a common genetic line that can be traced back to one woman who lived nearly 200,000 years ago. She has been dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve".
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• A genetic disease known as Laron syndrome makes you shorter, gives you a longer life expectancy, and makes you all but immune to cancer or diabetes.
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• Monsanto Company has been producing seeds that become sterile after the first generation so that farmers can't replant them (yes, this has caused some outrage).
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• Only about 10% of cancers are due to genetics. The other 90% are typically caused by environmental factors.
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• A condition known as methemoglobinemia caused by inbreeding resulted in the Fugates, a blue skinned family from Kentucky.
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• Although we mentioned earlier that the "lifespan cap" is around 120 years, the longest living human was Jeanne Calment of France. She died at 122 years old.
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• We still don't know the function of more than 80% of our DNA.
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• Your genes will determine whether you find the chemical phenylthiocarbamide to be tasteless or bitter. This is the chemical that gives brocolli and cabbage its taste.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 Gory And Bloody Facts About the Real Dracula

Vlad III, also known as Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), or just Dracula, was a three-time Voivode (ruler) of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. He is considered a folklore hero in many parts of Eastern Europe for his bloody battles to protect Orthodox Christianity from the invading Ottomans. As the cognomen “the Impaler” suggests, his practice of impaling his Turkish enemies is part of his reputation, while his lust for blood would make him, hundreds of years after his death, one of the most popular figures in pop culture history. Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s famous 1897 novel was inspired by Vlad’s patronymic and reputation, while every film, TV show, literary work, comic book, or video game that has portrayed vampires has been inspired by him in one way or another. Of course, Dracula didn’t go out only at night to find innocent victims to drain of their blood as movies usually depict a vampire doing, but historical sources show us that Vlad did indeed have a taste for blood. After he impaled his enemies, he would dip bread into buckets of their blood and eat it. But if that’s the only thing you know about Dracula—the real man behind the myth—then get ready, because you are about to learn 25 Gory And Bloody Facts About the Real Dracula.

• The real historical Dracula was Vlad III (AKA Vlad the impaler). He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania, in 1431. A restaurant sits at the site of his birthplace today and receives thousands of tourists annually from all over the world.
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• Dracula’s father was called Dracul, meaning “dragon” according to some sources, and “devil” according to others, because he belonged to the Order of the Dragon, which fought the Ottoman Empire.
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• However, Dracula’s mother is unknown, though at the time, his father was believed to have been married to Princess Cneajna of Moldavia. Because he had a number of mistresses at all times, nobody can be sure which was Dracula’s real mother.
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• Dracula lived in a time of constant war. Transylvania was at the frontier of two great empires: the Ottoman and the Austrian Habsburgs. He was imprisoned at a young age, first by the Turks, who hauled him away in chains, and later by the Hungarians. Dracula’s father was murdered, while his older brother, Mircea, was blinded with red-hot iron stakes and buried alive, two facts that contributed a lot to him becoming so vile and vicious later in life.
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• It is believed that a young Dracula spent some time in Constantinople in 1443 in the court of Constantine XI Palaiologos, a legendary figure of Greek folklore and the final emperor of the Byzantine Empire. It is suggested by some historians that it was there that he developed his hate toward the Ottomans.
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• It is believed Dracula was married twice. His first wife’s identity is unknown, though she may have been a Transylvanian noblewoman. She bore his son and heir, Mihnea cel Rau. He married a second time after his period of imprisonment in Hungary. Ilona Szilagyi was the daughter of a Hungarian noble, and she bore him two sons, neither of whom became rulers.
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• The name Tepes is Romanian for “the Impaler.” It was a title given to him posthumously.
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• Vlad III earned his “Impaler” moniker by killing thousands of Turks and others by the grisly method that he learned during his teens, when he was a political hostage of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople.
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• It’s estimated that Dracula was responsible for the death of more than one hundred thousand people (most of them Turks), making him the single most vicious enemy the Ottoman Empire ever faced.
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• In 1462, while the war between the Ottoman Empire and Dracula’s Wallachia was being waged, Sultan Mehmed II fled with his army, intimidated at the sight of twenty thousand Turkish impaled corpses rotting on the outskirts of Vlad’s capital city of Targoviste.
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• During one battle Dracula retreated to nearby mountains, impaling people as he went. This forced the Turkish forces to stop going after him because the sultan could not bear the stench from the decaying corpses.
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• Impaled corpses were displayed as a warning to others, while their white, blood-drained appearance with a visible neck wound perpetuated the notion that Vlad Tepes was a vampire.
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• During the times he had to retreat so he wouldn’t be captured by his enemies, he would burn down his own villages and murder hundreds of local people along the way so that the Ottoman army would have nowhere to rest or find women to rape.
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• In an attempt to clean up the streets of the capital of Wallachia (Targoviste), Dracula invited all the sick, vagrants, and beggars over to one of his homes under the pretext of a feast. After they all had a delicious (last) meal, Dracula left, locked them all in, and burned the building to the ground.
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• When he was older, Vlad was eventually captured and decapitated during a Turkish invasion and his head was given to the sultan, who impaled it outside his palace so everybody could see it.
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• It is believed that archaeologists who were searching for Snagov (commune outside Bucharest) in 1931 found Dracula’s remains. The contents were transferred to the History Museum in Bucharest, but they later disappeared without a trace, leaving the mysteries of the real Prince Dracula unanswered.
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• Despite his cruelty, Dracula was very religious and surrounded himself with priests and monks throughout his life. He founded five monasteries, while it is estimated that during a period of 150 years, his family established over fifty monasteries.
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• That’s probably why the Vatican originally praised him for defending Christianity and being so religious, but it would later disapprove of his cruel methods and cut its ties with him.
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• In Turkey Dracula is regarded as a monstrous and vile leader who took gratuitous pleasure in the painful execution of his enemies. However, Russian sources describe his deeds as justified.
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• Dracula enjoyed enormous popularity during the second half of the twentieth century. More than two hundred films were made featuring Count Dracula, more than any other historical figure (directly or indirectly). At the center of this subculture is the legend of Transylvania, which has become almost synonymous with vampires.
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• Former Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist ruler of the country from 1965 to 1989, promoted Vlad’s patriotism to further his nationalistic agenda, which targeted Hungarians and other ethnic minorities in Transylvania.
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• Contrary to popular belief, the vampire is not part of Romanian folklore, and the word is not from the Romanian language. The word derives from the Serbian “vampyr.”
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• A contemporary portrait of Vlad III, rediscovered by Romanian historians in the late nineteenth century, had been featured in the gallery of horrors at Innsbruck’s Ambras Castle. The original has been lost to history, but a larger copy, painted anonymously in the first half of the sixteenth century, now hangs in the same gallery. This copy, unlike the crypto-portraits contemporary with Vlad III, seems to have given him a Habsburg lip.
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• According to the book In Search of Dracula, Vlad had a sense of humor in his own strange way. The book describes how his victims would often twitch around “like frogs” as they were impaled. Vlad found this amusing and according to the book, he once stated about his victims, “Oh, what great gracefulness they exhibit.”
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• It looks like Dracula was into social experiments way before they became cool. To prove how much his citizens feared him, he placed a gold cup in the middle of the town square in Targoviste. He allowed people to drink from it, but the golden cup had to remain at its position at all times. Amazingly, during his entire reign, the golden cup was never touched, even though the city was inhabited by sixty thousand citizens, most of them living in extreme poverty.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 Strangest Guinness World Records

Created in 1955, the Guinness World Records is no stranger to strange things. For more than six decades, people have been looking for all sorts of creative manners to be “the most” at something. From the largest pillow fight to fitting the most amount of straws in someone’s mouth, there’s just no end to the bizarre records people have created and broken. Every year, the Guinness World Records receives about 50,000 applications out of which about 6,000 get approved…that’s a lot of records! Can you imagine if all of them got approved? From the “few” that get approved, we get things like farthest eyeball pop, fastest marathon dressed as a vegetable (can you guess which one before reading it?), fastest time to crush three watermelons with the thighs, and so much more. These are 25 strangest Guinness world records. Bonus fact: Did you know that the book itself is also a world record holder? That’s right – The Guinness World records is the best-selling copyrighted book of all time.

Fastest time to crush three watermelons with the thighs

The fastest time to crush three watermelons between the thighs is 14.65 seconds and was achieved by Olga Liashchuk at the Mediaset Studios in Milan, Italy, on June 26, 2014.

Most straws stuffed in the mouth

The most straws stuffed in a mouth (with hands off) is 400, achieved by Simon Elmore, who held them there for 10 seconds at the Mark ‘n’ Simon Show, Sollhuben, Bavaria, Germany, on August 6, 2009.

Largest pillow fight

The largest pillow fight had 6,261 participants and was organized by My Pillow in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, on July 21, 2015.

Most people at a virtual funeral

On October 2005, an avid computer gamer known only as Snowly indulged in a three-day non-stop marathon of the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) World of Warcraft and died of fatigue. Over 100 gamers visited a virtual cathedral inside the game, where a service was held for her.

Farthest arrow shot using feet

The farthest arrow shot using feet is 6.09 m (20 ft) and was achieved by Nancy Siefker on the set of ‘Guinness World Records Unleashed’ in Los Angeles, California, USA, on June 20, 2013.

Farthest marshmallow nose-blow

The farthest marshmallow blown out of a nostril and into the mouth of a catcher is 5.46 m (17 ft 11 in) and was achieved by launcher Paul Prado and catcher Sophia Rojas on the set of ‘Guinness World Records Gone Wild!’ in Los Angeles, California, USA, on July 2, 2012.

Wealthiest cat

When Ben Rea died in May 1988, he bequeathed his £7-million ($12.5-million) fortune to Blackie, the last surviving of the 15 cats he shared his mansion with. The millionaire antiques dealer and recluse refused to recognize his family in his will and split the majority of his wealth between three cat charities, with the instruction to look after his beloved pet.

Most toilet seats broken using the head in one minute

The record for the most wooden toilet seats broken with the head in a minute is 46 achieved by Kevin Shelley on the set of Guinness World Records – Die größten Weltrekorde in Cologne, Germany, on September 1, 2007.

Most clothes pegs clipped to the face in one minute

The most clothes pegs clipped to the face in one minute is 51 pegs, achieved by Silvio Sabba, in Pioltello, Italy, on December 27, 2012.

The longest fingernails on a single hand

The longest fingernails on a single hand measured an aggregate length of 909.6 cm (358.1 in) and was achieved by Shridhar Chillal on his left hand as measured in Pune city, Maharashtra, India, on November 17, 2014.

Fastest marathon dressed as a vegetable

The fastest marathon completed while dressed as a vegetable is 2 hr 59 min 33 sec and was achieved by Edward Lumley dressed as a carrot at the 2012 Virgin London Marathon, London, UK, on April 22, 2012.

Most people tossing pancakes

The most people tossing pancakes is 890 and was achieved at an event organized by the University of Sheffield, in Sheffield, UK, on February 15, 2012. Although over 1,500 signed up for the event online a total of 930 participants attended, 40 participants had to be discounted due to either dropping their pancake or not managing to toss their pancake within the allotted time.

The largest collection of toothpaste tubes

The largest collection of toothpaste tubes is 2,037 and belongs to Val Kolpakov (USA), in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA, on June 15, 2012. The collection consists of 2,037 different tubes of toothpaste from all over the world, including items from Japan, Korea, China, India and Russia.

Most spoons balanced on the face

The most spoons balanced on a face is 31 and was achieved by Dalibor Jablanovic in Stubica, Serbia, on September 28, 2013.

Most beer bottles opened with a helicopter in 3 minutes

The most beer bottles opened with a helicopter in three minutes is 6 and was achieved by Zhao Yang on the set of CCTV-Guinness World Records Special in Wencheng, Zhejiang, China on December 10, 2015.

Fastest time to complete the World Bog Snorkeling Triathlon

The fastest time to complete the World Bog Snorkeling Triathlon is 2 hr 23 min 24 sec and was achieved by Daniel Bent, at the 2010 World Bog Snorkeling Triathlon, Llanwrtyd Wells, United Kingdom, on July 11, 2010.

Largest bubble gum bubble

Chad Fell blew a bubblegum bubble with a diameter of 50.8 cm (20 in) without using his hands at the Double Springs High School, Winston County, Alabama, USA on April 24, 2004.

Largest gathering of people dressed as penguins

The largest gathering of people dressed as penguins is 624 and was achieved by Richard House Children’s Hospice (UK) at The Scoop, More London, London, UK, for Guinness World Records Day, on November 12, 2015.

Most consecutive stairs climbed on the head

The most consecutive stairs climbed on the head is 36 and was achieved by Li Longlong on the set of CCTV – Guinness World Records Special in Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China on January 5, 2015.

The heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears

The heaviest weight lifted by pierced ears is 14.9 kg (32 lb 13.5 oz) by Johnny Strange at the Doncaster Tattoo Jam held at Doncaster Racecourse in South Yorkshire, UK, on October 12, 2013.

Farthest eyeball pop

Kim Goodman can pop her eyeballs to a protrusion of 12 mm (0.47 in) beyond her eye sockets. Her eyes were measured in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 2, 2007. Measuring the “pop” is an exact science that has to be done by an optometrist using a device known as a proptometer; an average of three measurements gives the final, eye‑watering result.

Heaviest weight lifted by human beard

The heaviest weight lifted by human beard is 63.80 kg (140 lb 16 oz) and was achieved by Antanas Kontrimas on the set of ‘Rekorlar Dunyasi’ in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 26, 2013.

Most socks put on one foot in one minute

The most socks put on one foot in one minute is 48 and was achieved by Pavol Durdik, in Puchov, Slovakia on July 14, 2015.

Farthest distance to blow a pea

The farthest distance to blow a pea is 7.51 m (24 ft 7.66 in) and was achieved by Andre Ortolf in the Bodyfeeling fitness gym in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany on July 12, 2014.

Most rotations hanging from a power drill in one minute

The most rotations hanging from a power drill in a minute is 148 achieved by The Huy Giang on the set of ‘Guinness World Records’, in Madrid, Spain, on December 23, 2008.

Article published on http://list25.com/

25 World´s Most Colorful Cities To Brighten Up Your Day

It has been scientifically proven that colors have a huge influence on our mood and the way we feel. Vibrant colors are stimulators, capable of things such as increasing your heart rate. The red color is a good example – the origin of its stimulating properties goes back to the caveman period when this color was linked with fire, danger and alarm. As being surrounded by vibrant pastel colors can positively influence our psyche and mood, many people paint their walls, ceilings and furniture with these colors. But the colorful mania does not have to stop here. In fact, some streets, neighborhoods and even entire cities have been painted with bright colors to cheer up their residents. Unsurprisingly, many of these cities can be found in northern countries where the sky is often grey and the lack of sunshine might make local people feel depressed. Yet, some of the world´s most colorful cities are also located in regions famous for their year-round warm and sunny climate such the Caribbean, South America and the Mediterranean. If you are one of those who love bright and vibrant colors all around them, you will probably want to move to one of these 25 World´s Most Colorful Cities. Even if you don’t, these will definitely brighten your day.

Wroclaw, Poland

Home to about 635,000 people, Wroclaw is the fourth largest city in Poland and the historical capital of region known as Silesia. A major cultural and financial centre of Western Poland, Wroclaw is also famous for a number of historical sites and stunning architecture.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is renowned for its iconic tourist attractions like the Rio carnival, the Redeemer statue and the Copacabana Beach but this Brazilian metropolis also boasts some amazingly colorful neighborhoods.

Stockholm, Sweden

The capital of Sweden and the most populous city in the Nordic countries, Stockholm has beautiful architecture marked by vibrant colors. Local metro (well known for its station decor) has even been called the longest art gallery in the world.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Located in Northern Italy, Cinque Terre is technically not a city but rather a part of the popular Italian Riviera. It consists of five villages where people have carefully built their colorful houses on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea.

Barcelona, Spain

The proud capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, Barcelona is brimming with unique colorful architectonical jewels designed by Antoni Gaudí, one of the greatest architects of the 20^th century.

Lima, Peru

The capital and the largest city of Peru, Lima is characterized by a mix of architectural styles ranging from monumental Spanish Baroque buildings and modern glass skyscrapers to picturesque colorful houses built on hills.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Located on a small island which lies along the north coast, about 35 miles (56 km) of mainland Puerto Rico, Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within the country. The town is a marvelous mosaic of bright pastel colors in all directions.

Jodhpur, India

What looks like an elaborated imitation of the Smurf village is the actual city of Jodhpur, a major city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. With bright blue houses all around, it is understandable why Jodhpur topped Lonely Planet’s list of most extraordinary places to stay in 2013.

Reykjavik, Iceland

At latitude of 64°08′ N, Reykjavik is the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With an annual sunshine of just 1,300 hours, Reykjavik compensates its cold and grayish weather with joyfully colored houses that can be found in many parts of the city.

Valparaiso, Chile

Home to almost 300,000 people, Valparaiso mushroomed during the second half of the 19^thcentury when it was known as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific”. Famous for its colorful houses scattered around the city, it also boasts impressive street art works.

Willemstad, Curacao

The capital of Curacao, an island in the southern Caribbean, Willemstad has an array of colonial architecture influenced by Dutch styles. The city centre, with its unique colorful architecture and harbor entry, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

St. John´s, Canada

The capital and the largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, St. John´s is famous for its unique architecture, particularly for its brightly colored low rise heritage buildings, housing tourist shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, also boasts some strikingly colorful neighborhoods. The most famous of them is La Boca which retains a strong European flavor, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa.

Cartagena, Colombia

With a population of almost 900,000 Cartagena is the fifth largest city in Colombia. Located on the Caribbean coast, the city has a varied architecture but colonial styles marked by vividly colored row houses prevail.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Nyhavn, a historic waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, boasts of the most vibrant houses in Copenhagen. The port is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses, cafes and restaurants and it also harbors historical wooden ships.

Guanajuato City, Mexico

Guanajuato is a city and municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. The historic center has numerous small plazas and colonial-era mansions, civil constructions and churches made from colorful (mainly pink and green) sandstone.

Istanbul, Turkey

Located on the European side of Istanbul, the traditional Jewish neighborhood known as Balat is the most colorful part of the Turkey´s largest city. Lying on the western bank of the Golden Horn, the neighborhood is famous for strikingly colorful row houses.

Venice, Italy

Sited on a group of 117 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, Venice is generally considered one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. The city is known for the beauty of its settings, unique colorful architecture and artwork.

Havana, Cuba

The largest city of both Cuba and the Caribbean, Havana boasts some of the most diverse styles of architecture in the world, from castles built in the late 16th century to modernist present-day high-rises. Many buildings share a similarity though – they are incredibly colorful.

Lisbon, Portugal

One of the oldest cities in the world, Lisbon has unusually varied architecture with a number of different styles to be observed within this city but it is the colorful houses topped with the iconic red roofs what makes Lisbon so easy to recognize.

Bergen, Norway

The second largest city in Norway, Bergen is one of the cities with the lowest annual amount of sunshine on the list. Nevertheless, its pastel-colored neighborhood known as Bryggen makes up for the lack of sunshine with its incredible happy array of colors.

Menton, France

Situated on the renowned French Riviera, Menton is a French commune and a popular tourist area. Nicknamed “la perle de la France” (“The Pearl of France”), it is famous for beautiful beaches, large botanic gardens and picturesque colored architecture.

Nuuk, Greenland

In Nuuk, the capital and largest city in Greenland, people cheer themselves up by building strikingly colorful wooden houses. Located at latitude of 64°10′ N, Nuuk is the world’s northernmost capital (yet Greenland is politically part of the Danish Realm).

Sighisoara, Romania

Located in the historic region of Transylvania (home of Vlad the Impaler), Sighisoara is a small Romanian town renowned for its traditional civil architecture. Most of its 164 houses are at least 300 years old and are considered historical monuments.

San Francisco, USA

San Francisco is known for an eclectic mix of architectural styles including “Painted ladies”, a term used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details.

Article published on http://list25.com/