Interesting Facts - Page 212

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1056

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, suggested that people answer the phone by saying "ahoy".

1057

Pan-Am airlines once maintained a waiting list of people interested in taking commercial flights to the moon, tentatively scheduled for the year 2000. Offered at no cost, people who joined the waiting list got a free membership card with a serial number on it. Sadly, Pan-Am went bankrupt in 1991.

1058

In 1995, a man named Terry Cottle committed suicide. Fortunately, they were able to save his heart and give it to a man in need of a heart transplant. Here's where it gets weird. The recipient of the heart started exchanging letters with the widow of the donor. They fell in love and got married. Then, 13 years after receiving his new heart, the recipient committed suicide just like the donor had.

1059

Icebergs can be massive. The largest one on record, B-15, was slightly larger than Jamaica. Unverified reports from 1956 claimed to spot one larger than Belgium.

1060

Melbourne, Australia was briefly named Batmania after one its founders, John Batman.

14 Comments

Level ∞

Mar 3, 2025

Regarding #1057, I knew a kid who had one of the cards.

+10

Level ∞

Mar 3, 2025

Regarding #1058, there's a lot more to the story. The wife was a real piece of work.

Level ∞

Mar 3, 2025

Credit @freestater for #1059.

Credit @Minecraftyoshi2 for #1060.

Level 75

Mar 3, 2025

The pinned comments outnumber us 3:1

Level 68

Mar 4, 2025

Thanks for the new facts!

Level 63

Mar 4, 2025

transplant*

how could the donor die? he died to donate

Level 78

Mar 4, 2025

it should be recipient I think

Level 63

Mar 4, 2025

yeah, should say recipient

Level 35

Mar 4, 2025

sad my 13 identity fraud one wasnt picked, maybe next time

Level 83

Mar 8, 2025

Apparently, it was uncommon to say “hello” before the telephone operators started saying it. It’d be kinda weird, I assume, like if you said “Salutations!” as a greeting today.

Level 54

Mar 28, 2025

The word wasn't even a greeting until Thomas Edison suggested people use it on the phone. It was originally just a way of getting attention or expressing surprise.

Level 83

Mar 8, 2025

Wow, read snopes about the heart transplant. I think this is a pretty clear case of the woman being a sociopath and probably getting away with murder. 🤔

Level 65

Mar 10, 2025

There are 0 Olive Gardens in Italy

YouTube was supposed to be a video dating site.

James Garfield, the 20th president of the USA, was very intelligent and could write in Greek with his right hand, Latin with his left, and speak German at the same time.

Gerald Ford, the 38th president, was drafted by the Packers and Lions but declined to go to Yale Law School.

During his term, James Polk secretly purchased a number of enslaved children for his Mississippi cotton plantation.

Calvin Coolidge replied, “You lose,” to a visitor who bet she could get at least three words out of him.

Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton are all GRAMMY winners.

Two presidents, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Level 70

Apr 5, 2025

Could be the best page of 5 facts here.