Interesting Facts - Page 186

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926

In 1953, the U.S. government launched "Operation Moolah". The goal was to get North Korean pilots to defect and bring their planes with them. In exchange, the pilot would receive $50,000 cash and asylum in a non-Communist country. Although no pilots defected, the plan was a huge success. Afraid of defection, the Communists kept many pilots grounded – and the USSR pulled their pilots out entirely. After the offer was posted, the Communists lost 155 MiG fighter planes against just 3 losses for UN forces.

927

About 11% of adults in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes. This number rises to 29% for adults who are 65 or older.

928

About 252 million years ago, the world experienced its largest mass extinction: The Permian Extinction. Nearly all large land vertebrates died off. But one plucky pig-sized creature, the Lystrosaurus, survived. Because it had the world almost to itself, it reproduced in huge numbers. For awhile, up to 95% of land vertebrates in the world were Lystrosaurus.

929

In Japan, it is traditional to consume Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas.

930

Trepanation is the process of drilling holes into the skull for medical purposes. For some reason, this seemed like a good idea to many unrelated cultures in history. It was practiced in China, Mesoamerica, East Africa, and Europe.

55 Comments

+11

Level 81

Nov 1, 2023

#926 is hilarious. It really was a no-win scenario for the communists.

+11

Level 70

Nov 2, 2023

amazing fact: i once balanced 6 red sponges on my nose

Level 78

Nov 6, 2023

Is this what Quizmaster was talking about? Are you sure you fact checked?

Level 27

Nov 3, 2023

In chess, after move 4, there is a possible 288 Billion possible positions.

+10

Level 81

Nov 3, 2023

Not an interesting fact in and of itself, but last night I had a dream about this page—

All the quotes and facts, along with other new categories like pictures, were compiled into one page. There were no comments, just a single submission box with a drop-down menu of what category to put it under (fact, quote, etc.). Most uniquely, you could only submit five in one week, unless one was approved by the Quizmaster, in which case your streak would restart.

I'm sure this means something, but what exactly that is I'm unsure.

+26

Level 66

Nov 4, 2023

Level 78

Nov 9, 2023

How does this have the most likes on the page

Level 26

Feb 11, 2025

Well, take a look at the comment.

Itz Ingenious!

Level 81

Jul 9, 2025

Booooooooo

Level 81

Nov 4, 2023

The Army of the United States is not the same thing as the United States Army. The former is one of four branches, used for those drafted in times of war, of the latter—which also includes the Regular Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard.

Level 73

Nov 4, 2023

According to Article Six, NATO will protect in Article 5 (attack against one is an attack against all) all mainland areas and territories above the Tropic of Cancer, but due to this wording, Hawaii technically isn’t protected under Article 5.

Level 68

Nov 4, 2023

That is interesting. However I think one can safely assume that Hawaii will be under some kind of sworn defense of the United States itself, or at least I hope so....

Level 73

Nov 5, 2023

Yes, I never said that Hawaii was prone to invasion, as since the United States is one of the strongest countries in the world, they would definitely protect one of their most important possessions, but if it were attacked, Article 5 cannot be initiated, unless there is special exempt.

Level 73

Nov 5, 2023

The state of Wyoming is named after a valley in Pennsylvania.

Level 63

Mar 27, 2024

Source

Level 78

Nov 5, 2023

A 65537-gon can be constructed with a compass and straight edge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/65537-gon

Level 78

Nov 5, 2023

On August 21, 1986, a lake exploded in Cameroon, killing 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.

Level 75

Nov 6, 2023

Of the 18500 species of butterfly, only 5 species have gone extinct or possibly extinct.

Level 27

Nov 6, 2023

Caffeine has the opposite effect on people with ADHD

Level 68

Nov 21, 2023

Not for me. At least, coffee seems to act the same. Coke has no effect. I can drink a lot of Coke and have no effects.

Level 78

Nov 6, 2023

"Thinking about the immortality of the crab" is a Spanish idiom for daydreaming.

Level 78

Nov 6, 2023

The one of the longest lasting hoaxes on Wikipedia was an article about a fake Sheikh named Abu-Ali Urbuti.

Level 73

Nov 8, 2023

Sheikh Urbuti… hmmm…

Level 78

Nov 6, 2023

The largest gem diamond ever found in Russia is named "26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union".

Level 78

Nov 9, 2023

Well, recently another bigger one was discovered, but it is still among the biggest diamonds in the world.

Level 56

Nov 6, 2023

The tail spikes found on stegosaurian dinosaur fossils originally had no name. However, in 1982 cartoonist Gary Larson invented the name "thagomizer" to refer to these spikes as a joke in "The Far Side". The term has since been adopted by the paleontological community, appearing in museums, documentaries, and even technical papers.

Original farside comic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thagomizer.png

Scientific paper where "thagomizer" is used: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6853308/

Level 78

Nov 7, 2023

The last synagogue in Kabul (known by locals as "the Jewish Mosque) was inhabited by two men, who both ended up being imprisoned by the Taliban because they got annoyed by the two constantly complaining about each other, before later being converted by one of the men into a kebab restaurant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabul_synagogue

Level 78

Nov 7, 2023

There is a zoo in Pyongyang that displays a chimpanzee with a smoking problem, monkeys that play basketball, a dog that has been trained to use an abacus, and a parrot that can say in English "Long live the Great Leader, Comrade Kim Il Sung".

Level 78

Nov 7, 2023

National Route 339 is a national highway in Japan that has a staircase in the middle of it.

Level 78

Nov 7, 2023

There is a hypothetical roller coaster that is designed as a euthanasia device to kill its passengers. It rises up about 500 meters for the users to "contemplate their life". Then they could get off if they wanted or say their last words and continue. The drop would take the train almost to terminal velocity, then going into seven "clothoid inversions" (loops). These would apply enough g-force to deprive the user of oxygen for 60 seconds, eventually killing them.

Level 70

Nov 7, 2023

Jacksonville State University is not in Jacksonville, FL but rather Jacksonville, AL

Level 68

Nov 8, 2023

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is a fictional forest-dwelling octopus invented by teachers who assign researching it to their students as an exercise in not believing everything you are told. Unfortunately Wikipedia and Google caught on and now the first result on a Google search of 'pacific northwest tree octopus' is a Google Answers bar explaining how it's a fictional creature.

Level 78

Nov 8, 2023

The Zone of Death is a 50 square mile section of Yellowstone national park in which through a loophole in the constitution, you could get away with any major crime, up to and including murder.

Level 78

Nov 8, 2023

Corporation Trust Center is a single story building in Wilmington, Delaware, and is the legal headquarters of over 15% of American businesses.

Level 54

Nov 16, 2023

this is already interesting fact #580

Level 78

Nov 20, 2023

well oops anyways

Level 78

Nov 8, 2023

Shi Yousan was a general who seemingly made it his life's work to betray everyone he met. He defected to, and then betrayed, a Chinese warlord, another Chinese warlord, the leader of Taiwan, a president of a Japanese puppet state of Japan, another Manchurian warlord, the Chinese Communist Party, and then Japan.

He was also kidnapped and buried alive by his blood brother, who then took over his military unit.

Level 78

Nov 9, 2023

Wait that link didnt work :l

Level 78

Nov 8, 2023

In the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash, a Boeing carrying two 3.8-megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in the air and dropped them over Goldsboro, North Carolina. Information declassified in 2013 revealed both the bombs were only one safety switch away from detonation going through all but one of the stages to explode.

Level 87

Nov 8, 2023

INTERESTING FAct: I got last place at my fourth grade spelling bee

Level 78

Nov 9, 2023

CONGRATULATIOns

Level 66

Nov 12, 2023

CONGRATULONIONs!

Level 78

Nov 9, 2023

In the Battle of Karánsebes, 80,000-100,000 Austrian troops were defeated by an imaginary Ottoman force. Different portions of the army were scouting for the Turks, and then fired on one another by mistake. After the Austrians taking heavy casualties, the Ottomans showed up and quickly took advantage of the situation. The Austrians also managed to lose their war chest.

Level 65

Nov 9, 2023

really gives a whole new meaning to shoot yourself in the foot

Level 81

Nov 10, 2023

Ngerulmud, the capital of Palau, has zero permanent residents, making it the only uninhabited national capital.

Level 70

Nov 10, 2023

technically its not the only uninhabited capital, as plymouth has zero people also. But if nobody lives there, how come its got buildings and stuff

Level 78

Nov 10, 2023

Oh yeah it's a ghost town because they used to live there and then a volcano started erupting again but it is still the official capital. Plymouth, monserrat

Level 81

Nov 10, 2023

It is the only uninhabited national capital, though.

Level 78

Nov 10, 2023

There is a Basque-Icelandic pidgin.

Level 75

Nov 11, 2023

There's also a Chinese-Tahitian pidgin named Te Parau Tinito

Level 55

Nov 19, 2023

I thought the Lystrosaurus was bigger than a pig, since it descended from the Diictodon which was about as big as a beaver and it got even larger.

Level 43

Apr 26, 2024

Actually on #926 is partially false as many Pilots from the USSR and North Korea defected and earned the 50k offered, with the most notable being Viktor Belenko and Kum-Sok

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Belenko

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-sok

It even says it in the Operation Moolahs wiki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Moolah#Aftermath

Level 55

May 21, 2024

#930 is a repeat of #149

Level 40

Jan 12, 2025

yep, came here for that

Level 32

Oct 31, 2025

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was the shortest war in history, lasting around 38 minutes.