Interesting facts you didn't know: September 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Nude Recreation

According to American Association for Nude Recreation (yes, it exists), naturist (nude) resorts have grown from a $200 million industry in 1992 to $440 million in 2008.The most popular sport at these resorts? Volleyball.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Mysterious Leh Magnetic Hill

Nestled between the Great Himalayas and Karakoramh mountains, Leh Magnetic Hill apparently has magnetic properties capable of pulling vehicles uphill.
Located just 30 km from the city of Leh, the Magnetic Hill is quite a popular tourist attraction in India. Travelers from all over the world are drawn here by its mysterious magnetic powers. There is a marked line on the road going up the hill, where drivers are instructed to put their cars in neutral and sit back as they get pulled up at speeds over 20 km/h.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Single biggest charge to a credit card in the history

In 2009, Josh Muszynski of New Hampshire made the single biggest charge to a credit card in the history of the world. How much? $23,148,855,308,184,500 (let's just say $23 quadrillion). What did he buy? A pack of cigarettes at a BP station. The charge was the result of a computer glitch by Visa, which took the charge off his account. They also refunded his $15 overdraft fee.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

McDonald's fries are made with beef extract

This isn't even something they're trying to hide. The nutrition facts for the fries mention that they have a "natural beef flavor". Strangely enough, the fries also contain wheat and milk.

This was actually the subject of some controversy in 2001. A class action suit was filed against McDonald's for causing emotional distress to vegetarians who mistakenly ate the fries without knowing that they contain beef.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Un-Hygienic Data on the London Underground

During Autumn of 2000, a team of scientists at the Department of Forensics at University College London removed a row of passenger seats from a Central Line tube carriage for analysis into cleanliness. Despite London Underground's claim that the interior of their trains are cleaned on a regular basis, the scientists made some alarming discoveries:

This is what was found on the surface of the seats:
* 4 types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog)
* 7 types of insect (mostly fleas, mostly alive)
* vomit originating from at least 9 separate people
* human urine originating from at least 4 separate people
* human excrement
* rodent excrement
* human semen

When the seats were taken apart, they found:
* the remains of 6 mice
* the remains of 2 large rats
* 1 previously unheard of fungus