In our solar system, the gas giant Jupiter and its gravitational pull often “eats” up any asteroid or comet that ventures near, earning it the nickname “vacuum cleaner of the solar system.” – WTF Fun Facts
Places
WTF Fun Fact – The Walls of Benin City
The Walls of Benin City, originally known as Edo and located in present-day Nigeria, were the world’s largest man-made earth structure, and an estimated four times longer than the Great Wall of China. Large portions of the walls were destroyed by the British in 1897. –WTF Fun Facts
Source: Story of cities #5: Benin City, the mighty medieval capital now lost without trace | Cities | The Guardian
WTF Fun Fact – Elderly Disco
South Korea’s government organizes disco-like dance parties for elderly people with the sole purpose of tackling loneliness and preventing dementia in their country where the population is rapidly aging. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Seoul’s over-65s disco ‘like medicine’ for seniors – BBC News
WTF Fun Fact – Sticky Rice Mortar
The Great Wall of China is held together by sticky rice mortar. Around the year 500 A.D., the Chinese started mixing sticky rice soup with slaked lime to make very strong and weather resistant mortar. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – The Status Quo
The “Status Quo” is an understanding among religious communities with respect to 9 shared religious sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. As a result, there’s an immovable ladder which was left behind by a mason in the 18th century at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_Quo_(Jerusalem_and_Bethlehem)
WTF Fun Fact – North Korean Basketball Scoring System
North Korea has their own scoring system for basketball: slam dunks are worth 3 points, field goals in the final 3 minutes of the game are worth 8 points, “3-pointers” are worth 4 if the ball doesn’t touch the rim, and a point is deducted for missed free throws. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.opencourt-basketball.com/north-korea-basketball-implemented-some-crazy-new-rules/
WTF Fun Fact – The Fuggerei
Founded in 1516, the Fuggerei in Germany is the world’s oldest social housing complex still in use. The rent was and still is one Rhenish guilder per year (equivalent to 0.88 euros), as well as three daily prayers. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Donald McDonald
In Japan, “Ronald McDonald” is known as “Donald McDonald” or “Donarudo Makudonarudo,” because saying “Ronald McDonald” is difficult in Japanese. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://kotaku.com/why-ronald-mcdonalds-name-is-slightly-different-in-japa-1825232733
WTF Fun Fact – Shinkansen’s Perfect Record
In the 50-plus year history of the Japanese Shinkansen or bullet train system, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there has been not a single passenger fatality or injury due to train accidents. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – World’s Smallest Target
The “world’s smallest target” is in Marathon, Texas which has a population of just over 400. In 2016, someone decorated an old railroad structure as an art installation, but nobody knows who it was. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://texashillcountry.com/smallest-target-store-marathon-texas/
WTF Fun Fact – Shri Lanka
In 1992, the President of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa, changed the first syllable of the country’s name in English from Sri to Shri believing it would improve the country’s fortunes. The following year he was assassinated and the spelling was reverted. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – 50-Peso Coins From CHIIE
In 2008, Chile minted 1.5 million 50-peso coins with a spelling error. A year later, they finally noticed they had spelled “CHIIE” instead of “CHILE”. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/2739/Chile-2008-50-Peso/
WTF Fun Fact – The Home Depot Studio Store
In 2014, Home Depot opened a private store within Pinewood Studios known as The Studio Store. It is about half the size of other Home Depot stores, with extra room for bulk materials, like lumber, for building sets. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Mud Keeps The Taj Mahal White
Workers keep the Taj Mahal’s white marble glowing and white by applying a mud-pack (lime-rich clay and water) based on an ancient traditional recipe every few years. It is left on for 24 hours then washed away with distilled water. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-36366733
WTF Fun Fact – World’s First Holographic Protest
In 2015, the world’s first holographic protest was held in Madrid outside of one of their parliament buildings. They were protesting a new law which organizers said criminalizes the right to protest. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/12/europe/spain-hologram-protest/
WTF Fun Fact – The Canine Mayor Of Rabbit Hash
The town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky has elected a dog for a mayor since 1998. The first mayor was a dog named Goofy Borneman-Calhoun and the most recent is a French Bulldog named Wilbur Beast. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Mystery Soda Vending Machine
In the 1990’s, a mystery soda vending machine appeared in Capitol Hill, Seattle. The machine dispensed rare or discontinued drinks cans. It was unknown who filled it. In June 2018, the machine disappeared leaving a note saying it went for a walk. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill%27s_mystery_soda_machine
WTF Fun Fact – McDonald’s Fried Apple Pies
Hawaii is the only place in the USA where you can get a fried apple pie. Everywhere else they are baked. Their recipe goes back to 1968, when the apple pie was first introduced at McDonald’s. – WTF Fun Facts