Star Trek‘s creator Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the Star Trek theme song, which were never used nor intended for use. As a co-writer this entitled him to 50% of the royalties, which cut composer Alexander Courage’s share in half. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28895/star-trek-theme-song-has-lyrics
Cigarette filters were originally made of cork and known as “beauty tips”. The modern day filter pattern is meant to resemble the cork from the original filters. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/magazine/who-made-that-cigarette-filter.html
Eugene Schieffelin was an American amateur ornithologist who wanted to bring all of the birds in Shakespeare’s plays to North America. He released a total of 100 European starlings in 1890 and 1891, which have grown into a population of ~200 million. – WTF Fun Facts
The US Department of Agriculture estimated that more than 20 million “victory gardens” were planted during World War 2. The produce harvested in these gardens was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh produce. – WTF Fun Facts
Glenn K. Tripp, a D.B. Cooper copycat, hijacked Northwest Flight 608 in 1980. His drink was spiked with Valium by a flight attendant, and after a 10 hour standoff, he lowered his ransom to 3 cheeseburgers and a getaway car. He was captured and arrested on the way to his car. He tried to hijack the same flight while on probation three years later. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NWA305-DBCooper.htm
A recent study of worker ants found that up to 40% of them are lazy and don’t actually do much work. After further research, scientists found that they may act as a replacement workforce if the active workers were unable to carry out their tasks for some reason. – WTF Fun Facts
The manchineel tree is one of the most toxic trees in the world. The sap which is present in every part of the tree causes blisters, eating its apples can be potentially fatal, and the smoke from a burning manchineel tree can cause blindness if it gets in your eyes. – WTF Fun Facts
In 1992, North Dakota teenager John Thompson lost both of his arms in a freak farming accident. He managed to get up and dial for help using a pencil in his mouth. He survived and doctors were able to reattach both arms. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-26-mn-39382-story.html
If there is a food shortage, pea aphids will climb on to their mothers’ backs and suck her blood in order to survive.–WTF Fun Facts
Source:https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24513-zoologger-baby-vampire-aphids-drink-parents-blood/