Kim Jong-Il was born Yuri Irsenovich Kim. His official biography states that he was born on a sacred mountain (Baekdu Mountain, the legendary birthplace of Korea’s first kingdom) on February 16, 1942, where his father was serving in a secret military base, attempting to overthrow the Japanese. Further, it states that his birth was marked by a double rainbow over […]
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Today I found out Rowan Atkinson, the guy who played “Mr. Bean”, has a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Atkinson originally received an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering (EE) at Newcastle University before enrolling in an EE master’s program at The Queen’s College Oxford in 1975. While working towards this degree, he also pursued acting on the side with a […]
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Today I found out Albert Einstein did not fail at mathematics in school. In fact, he actually excelled at mathematics throughout his schooling and even considered becoming a mathematician for a time. This rumor actually started while he was still alive and even showed up in a particular issue of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Einstein was shown the article […]
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Today I found out Marie Antoinette never said “let them eat cake”. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Of course she didn’t, she spoke French!” But, in fact, she didn’t say “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” either. In fact, this saying in France actually pre-dated her arrival there by anywhere from about thirty years to as much […]
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Today I found out Al Capone’s brother was a police officer who at one point was also a prohibition enforcement officer. James Vincenzo Capone, born in 1892, was 7 years old when his infamous brother Al was born. Growing up in Brooklyn, he felt the city life didn’t suit him and decided to head out west. As such, he left […]
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Today I found out Whitey Ford gave Pete Rose his “Charlie Hustle” nickname. It was during spring training of what would turn out to be Pete Rose’s rookie year that Ford gave the nickname to him. The exact event that lead to the nickname is somewhat in dispute. The most commonly held story is that he gave Pete Rose the […]
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Today I found out Elizabeth Taylor was at one time Carrie Fisher’s step-mother. Carrie Fisher, who’s best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, is the daughter of famed entertainers Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. At the height of Eddie Fisher’s fame as a singer and eventual TV show host in the 1950s, he married actress Debbie […]
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Today I found out about a woman who lost the ability to smell, taste, see, and hear as a child, but went on to become the first deaf-blind person to be fully educated. The woman was Laura Bridgman. Bridgman was born in 1829 and it is thought she had full use of all her senses at birth. However, at the […]
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Today I found out a 61 year old potato and sheep farmer once won one of the world’s most grueling athletic competitions. The man was an Australian by the name of Albert Ernest Clifford “Cliff” Young, who decided to take up running as a sport at the age of 57. The competition was the Westfield run, which is an ultra-marathon that […]
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Today I found out Jimmy Stewart was a two star general in the United States military. In 1940, Jimmy Stewart was drafted into the United States Army, but ended up being rejected due to being five pounds under the required weight, given his height (at the time he weighed 143 pounds). Not to be dissuaded, Stewart then sought out the help […]
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Today I found out Randy and Sharon Marsh and Gerald and Shelia Broflovsky were named after Trey Parker’s and Matt Stone’s parents respectively. Trey Parker’s dad’s name is Randy Parker and, like Randy Marsh, he’s a geologist. Sharon Parker is an insurance broker, unlike Sharon Marsh, who is a receptionist at Tom’s Rhinoplasty. In addition to that, Shelley Marsh on […]
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Today I found out the first woman to cast a vote in Chicago did so with her feet. The woman was Kittie Smith. Smith lost her arms as a child, after having both her arms and hands burned badly on a kitchen stove. It is unclear exactly how her arms came to be burned so badly so that they needed […]
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Today I found out that Dick Cheney likely doesn’t have a pulse. No, really! Dick has had several heart attacks since 1978. These heart attacks have made his heart extremely weak and he is currently in need of a new one. Technology has advanced to the point that we, as humans, have invented several mechanical devices that can help our […]
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Today I found out that the Popsicle was invented by an eleven-year-old boy. In 1905, eleven-year-old Frank Epperson from San Francisco, California invented the popular hot weather treat, the Popsicle as we know it today. However, the invention supposedly came about as a pure accident! According to the Popsicle company, one cold evening Frank left a mixture of powder flavored […]
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Today I found out the microwave oven was invented by accident by a man who was orphaned and never finished grammar school. The man was Percy Spencer. At the age of just 18 months old, Spencer’s father died and his mother soon left him to his aunt and uncle. His uncle then died when Spencer was just seven years old. […]
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Today I found out that Elvis didn’t naturally have black hair. He was born a blond and, when he got older, his hair was more of a sandy blond color. He started occasionally dying it black all the way back when he was in high school and eventually just always kept it as black. Other fun Elvis Related Facts: There […]
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Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay, Jon. Today I Found Out that Dolph Lundgren (A.K.A. Ivan Drago) is a real life genius. I guess the phrase “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is true. Just looking at Mr. Lundgren, I’d think he was a fun guy to hang out […]
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Today I found out Robert Downey Jr. modeled his portrayal of Tony Stark after Elon Musk, one of the founds of Zip2, Paypal, Tesla Motors, Solar City, and SpaceX. During the planning stages of Iron Man, after Downey Jr. had been cast, director Jon Favreau and Downey Jr. sat down to discuss how to make a really believable Tony Stark […]
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