People & Society

Intriguing facts about human culture, religion, psychology, and social behavior.

There is a 1420 book that was found to have cat piss on one of its pages. The author of the manuscript even wrote on the page "Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer... and beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come." April 28, 2019
In 2008, the country of Rwanda banned plastic bags and, in early 2019, banned all single use plastics. April 28, 2019
In 1997 Pope John Paul II had nominated St. Isidore of Seville to be the patron saint of the Internet, a seventh-century theologian and encyclopedist who tried to record everything ever known. April 27, 2019
In Finland citizens legally have the right to an internet connection, similar to education and heath care. April 27, 2019
Tori Amos taught herself to play piano at the age of 2, and started composing at the age of 3. She was admitted into the Peabody Conservatory at the age of 5, but lost the scholarship six years later, reportedly due to her dislike for using sheet music and interest in rock and pop music. April 26, 2019
Light bulbs in the New York City subway system screw in "backwards" (i.e. with left-handed threads) so people won't steal them to use at home. April 22, 2019
The likely record for fastest manmade object is a manhole cover launched by a nuclear bomb. A high-speed camera recording the lid only caught one frame of it moving meaning it was traveling over 125,000 miles per hour April 21, 2019
Meet Randy, the Guinea Pig that broke into the female enclosure at his Zoo, and impregnated around 100 females in 2014. He then became a father of around 400 babies. April 20, 2019
Romans weaved asbestos fibers into a cloth-like material that was then sewn into tablecloths and napkins. These cloths were cleaned by throwing them into a blistering fire, from which they came out unharmed and whiter than when they went in. April 17, 2019
Mike Tyson's Training Regimen included waking up at 4am, jogging 5-miles. Then he would do 2000 sit-ups, 500 pushups, 500 dips, 500 shrugs and about 30 minutes of neck bridges daily. He repeated this 6 days a week. April 17, 2019
Victor Hugo wrote the Hunchback of Norte-Dame to inform people of the value of Gothic architecture, which was being neglected and destroyed at the time. This explains the large descriptive sections of the book, which far exceed the requirements of the story. April 16, 2019
It took 87 years to build Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, from 1163-1250. April 16, 2019
50 Cent once bought 200 front row seats to a Ja Rule concert just to leave them empty April 14, 2019
Principal Akbar Cook installed a free fully-stocked laundry room at school because students with dirty clothes were bullied and missing 3-5 days of school per month. Attendance rose 10%. April 8, 2019
It cost $20 million to evict the last four tenants of a Manhattan apartment building to renovate it. The last tenant was so stubborn and savvy that he received $17 million of the money, plus use of a $2 million condo for life. April 8, 2019
In 1988, a man with OCD and extreme germophobia tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head with a rifle. However, he survived, and the bullet completely eliminated his mental disorder without causing any other damage to his brain. April 6, 2019
A 74 year old Japanese man, dressed as a ninja and possessing great physical ability, carried out 254 break-ins worth $260,000 before he was caught by police April 5, 2019
There was a girl nicknamed Sober Sue, who was offered worked at a theatre that would offer $1,000 to anyone that could make her laugh. All summer people tried to make her laugh, even professional comedians came onto the show, none of which prevailed. Sober Sue had facial paralysis. April 3, 2019
Slave Bible, an abridged version of the bible made for slaves, in which the enslaved Israelites never left Egypt and lines that condemn slave owners were removed. April 3, 2019
The japanese passport is the strongest passport in the world in terms of travel freedom alongside Singapore and South Korea. Japanese citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories including the world's four largest economies - China, India, USA and the EU. April 2, 2019