In 2004, the newly elected President of the Republic of Georgia fired all ~30,000 traffic cops to help get rid of corruption. – WTF Fun Facts
Places
WTF Fun Fact – The Manitou Incline
The Manitou incline is a former cable car path in Colorado that has only the rail ties remaining. It is just under a mile long and climbs 2,000 vertical feet. World class athletes have been timed climbing it in under 20 minutes. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Gold Under London Streets
Roughly 6,500 tonnes of gold is stored in seven vault-systems under the city of London. The Bank of England has a system of eight vaults split over two floors under Threadneedle Street in the City. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: How much gold is there in London – and where is it? – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – Interesting Voting Age Addendum
In Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro the voting age is 18, but 16- to 18-year-olds can vote if they are employed. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: cje4965.pdf
WTF Fun Fact – How Switzerland Rid Themselves of Rabies
In Switzerland, rabies was virtually eliminated after scientists placed chicken heads laced with the live attenuated vaccine in the Alps, which the foxes (the main carriers of the virus) ate thus immunizing themselves. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Rabies – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – When Climate Change Gives You Floods
Some chicken farmers in Bangladesh have switched to raising ducks due to climate change and more frequent sudden flooding. Ducks can swim and survive the floods while chickens cannot. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Bangladesh Farmers Are Raising Ducks to Adapt to Climate Change – The Atlantic
WTF Fun Fact – Columbian Interchange
Before the “Columbian interchange,” there were no oranges in Florida, no bananas in Ecuador, no potatoes in Ireland, no coffee in Colombia, no pineapples in Hawaii, no tomatoes in Italy, and no cacao in Switzerland. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – 1300 Pounds of Ancient Roman Coins
In 2016, construction workers in Tomares, Spain found 19 amphoras (jugs) of Roman coins weighing nearly 1,300 pounds, which date back to the third or fourth century. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/29/europe/spain-roman-coins-found/index.html
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WTF Fun Fact – Old (And Now Less) Faithful
“Old Faithful” first earned its name in 1870, when a group of explorers noted that it erupted roughly once every 60 minutes. After decades of earthquakes, it can now take up to 90 minutes between eruptions. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: 10 Things You May Not Know About Yellowstone National Park – HISTORY
WTF Fun Fact – States Never Above 100
There are only two U.S. states where the temperature has not gone above 100 °F: Alaska and Hawaii. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: U.S. state and territory temperature extremes – Wikipedia
WTF Fun Fact – Bridgeville On Ebay
In 2002, Bridgeville, California was the first town to be put up for auction on eBay, initially selling for $1.77 million. The buyer backed out but it eventually sold for $700k. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Sentinelese
There are isolated tribes living on the Andaman Islands near India, including the Sentinelese, that violently reject contact with the outside world. They are some of the last people to be untouched by modern civilization. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Meet the first woman to contact the Sentinelese (nationalgeographic.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Fake Ghanaian US Embassy
Turkish and Ghanaian organized crime rings operated a fake U.S. Embassy in Ghana for about a decade, issuing false visas and other documents until it was discovered and shutdown in 2016. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Fake U.S. Embassy In Ghana Operated For A Decade, State Department Says : The Two-Way : NPR
WTF Fun Fact – Origin Of California
The most popular theory for the origin of the state name California is that it was the name of a fictional island located East of the Indies in Las Sergas de Esplandián, a Spanish chivalry novel written in 1510. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Iran’s Flag Inscription
Iran’s current flag has “Allāhu akbar” (“God is great”) repeated 22 times along the bottom of the green stripe and top of the red stripe. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Flag of Iran | Britannica
WTF Fun Fact – Private Citizen Executioner
The death penalty in Florida is carried out by an executioner who is a private citizen and is paid $150 per execution. State law allows for his or her identity to remain anonymous. They also have a second, backup executioner available. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Death Row — Florida Department of Corrections (state.fl.us)
WTF Fun Fact – Monkey Buffet Festival
In Lopburi, Thailand, on the last Sunday of November, the annual Monkey Buffet Festival is held which provides food and drink to more than 2000 local monkeys, thanking them for drawing tourists to the town.– WTF Fun Facts
Source: Monkey Buffet Festival – Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Eysturoyartunnilin Roundabout
The world’s first underwater roundabout, with a jellyfish-like central pillar, is in a tunnel between two of the Faroe islands: Streymoy and Eysturoy. The “Eysturoyartunnilin” is due to open officially on December 19, 2020. – WTF Fun Facts