Facts You Probably don’t Need
- John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley all died on November 22, 1963, within a few hours of each other.
- Only five Olympic athletes have ever won more than eight gold medals. Four of them have won nine. Michael Phelps has won 23.
- Woodrow Wilson signed into law the first permanent peacetime federal income tax in U.S. history.
- Maria Anna Mozart, sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was also a talented musician, but once she reached a “marriageable age,” her parents would no longer permit her to show her artistic talents.
- The first ever speeding ticket in the U.S. was given to Harry Myers in Dayton, Ohio in 1904. He was going 12 MPH.
- In 1978, Charlie Chaplin’s body was stolen and held for ransom. His widow refused to pay the demand of £400,000 and the body was found two months later.
- Coca-Cola never patented their “secret formula” because doing so would require them to disclose the ingredients.
- The Eiffel Tower was originally supposed to be in Barcelona, Spain, but the project was rejected for being too expensive and an eyesore.
Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.