Roller coasters were invented to distract Americans from sin. In the 1880’s businessman LaMarcus Thompson didn’t like people going to brothels and drinking, so he invented the rollercoaster to try and persuade people to go there for thrills instead. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Rollercoaster Was Invented to Save America From Satan | Smithsonian Magazine
Prior to the 1800’s and before coffee became widely available, the popular breakfast drink was beer. This was because plain water was usually contaminated, and coffee and tea were not widely available. Beer provided carbs you needed to get through the day. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Beer for Breakfast – Chowhound
The COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed more than 336,000 lives in the United States in 2020, significantly affected life expectancy. Life expectancy at birth for Americans will shorten by 1.13 years to 77.48 years, the largest single-year decline in life expectancy in over 40 years. – WTF Fun Facts
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are able to fly across the Gulf of Mexico, ~500 miles, in one 20-hour non-stop flight. This flight requires more calories than the bird’s weight of ~3g, so they prepare by doubling their fat mass. They then expend their entire caloric reserve during the migration. – WTF Fun Facts
From 1932 to 1967, there was a casino called the “Bullpen” in a stone building on the grounds of the Nevada State prison in Carson City. Inmates could play blackjack, craps, poker, and even bet on sports. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Casino – Nevada State Prison
In 2007 a man in a wheelchair was hit by a semi-truck. The wheelchair handles were ensnared within the grill of the truck and he was pushed at over 60 mph for several miles on the highway. Amazingly, he escaped without injury. – WTF Fun Facts
The world’s rarest cheese, Pule, is made from donkey milk. Many thought it impossible to make cheese out of donkey’s milk because the liquid doesn’t coagulate. However, the Serbian cheesemonger Slobodan Simić found a solution and now sells his cheese for over $500 per pound. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Donkey cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world at £880 per kilo | Metro News
A Harvard research study found that having no friends is as deadly as smoking. Researchers discovered a link between loneliness and an increase in the levels of a blood-clotting protein known as fibrinogen which can cause heart attacks and strokes. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Study Shows Having No Friends ‘As Deadly As Smoking’ (newsweek.com)
Cheerios were first called “Cheerioats” when first introduced on May 1, 1941. However, Quaker Oates later objected to the name and General Mills made the change in 1945. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Cheerios – Wikipedia