Fun facts about people in history and other weird celebrity facts!
Braille was originally known as “night writing” and invented in the early 1800’s by Charles Barbier of Napoleon’s French Army after soldiers were being killed because they used lamps after dark to read combat messages. An 11-year-old Louis Braille later simplified it into what we use today. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://brailleworks.com/braille-resources/history-of-braille/
Capt. Robert F. Legge, a United States Navy physician, swam the Panama Canal in 1958 with a time just under 22 hours and was given The Master Key to the Panama Canal in the grade of Honorary Vessel. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/13/archives/panama-canal-is-swum-in-less-than-22-hours.html
Antonio Prohías was a Cuban cartoonist who was accused of working for the CIA by the Fidel Castro’s government. He fled to New York in 1960 and went on to create Spy vs Spy for Mad Magazine. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Proh%C3%ADas#Biography
Perce Blackborow was a stowaway on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s “Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition” ship the Endurance. He was allowed to remain on the ship as long as he agreed to be the first to be eaten if they run out of food. – WTF Fun Facts
An American named Gilbert Bates marched across England after the civil war carrying an American flag and wearing his military uniform on a bet of $1000 that he wouldn’t be insulted along the way. He couldn’t make it into London because of the large crowds showing their support. He had previously walked across the Southern US to make a similar statement. – WTF Fun Facts
The creator of the first ATM machine, John Shepherd-Barron, was unable to access his money one day when he arrived after the bank had closed. He came up with the solution to this problem while taking a bath, taking inspiration from the chocolate bar vending machines. – WTF Fun Facts
According to fellow musician Graham Nash, Jimi Hendrix was unbeatable at the game of Risk which he liked to play while on LSD.–WTF Fun Facts
British actor Anthony Daniels, who has played C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise for the last 40+ years, is the only actor to appear in all nine episodes of the skywalker saga. – WTF Fun Facts
Dutchman Dirk Willems was a religious prisoner who escaped in 1569, but when the guard pursuing him fell through the ice of a nearby river, Willems turned around to save the guard. He was then recaptured and burned at the stake. – WTF Fun Facts
Cassius M. Clay was a politician and abolitionist. He was once shot during a debate, but survived and chased down his assassin, stabbing him & throwing him off an embankment. He later fought off 6 men armed with guns using only his bowie knife. He was Lincoln’s friend and briefly a candidate to be his VP. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Marcellus_Clay_(politician)
Viggo Mortensen purchased the horse he rode in the Lord of The Rings movie. The horse had a hard time adjusting to the lights and sounds on set and it took a while for them to get in sync but they developed a strong bond in the end. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/03/04/ign-inteviews-viggo-mortensen
In 2012, an Australian was kicked out of a darts competition in England because his appearance caused the crowd to chant “Jesus!” repeatedly, which distracted the other players. He was prevented from entering in 2013 for the same reason. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jesus-lookalike-nathan-grindal-banned-2895176
Michael Buffer has made over $400 million from his trademark catchphrase “let’s get ready to rumble!” – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/lets-ready-rumble-meet-man-catchphrase/story?id=9022704
Mark Twain hated suspenders so much he invented and patented an alternative clasp to keep his pants up. It eventually fond mainstream use as a bra-strap clasp. – WTF Fun Facts
A Swiss couple in the Maldives paid £820 to have their wedding vows renewed in the native Dhivehi language. The subtitles of the YouTube video revealed that the minister had actually been insulting them, calling them ‘infidels’ and their children ‘bastard swine’. – WTF Fun Facts
Deland McCullough, a former NFL player and now coach, was given up for adoption at birth in 1973. He found his birth mother in 2017. She told him the name of his father, who turned out to be his college coach and mentor throughout his adult life. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/24505521/the-jaw-dropping-story-nfl-coach-search-family
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic once turned down a $5 million offer to be a beer brand’s commercial spokesperson because he thought it was ethically the right decision since many of his fans were young and impressionable. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2010/11/weird-al-yankovic-regrets-turning-down.html?m=1
After Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver, he was able to walk home and see two doctors, but neither was a surgeon and so they couldn’t remove the bullet. The doctors left him alone smoking his pipe in his room. He died 30 hours later. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh#Death