Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith didn’t play baseball until he was a junior in high school, only tried out to win a $10 bet, and only started pitching after his team’s star pitcher was killed in a hunting accident. His first start was a no hitter. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Lee Smith makes the Hall of Fame after reluctantly playing baseball – Sports Collectors Digest
In January 2011, two Canadians bet over $500,000 on a best-of-three game of rock, paper, scissors. The loser took out a mortgage on his home to pay the debt, but the courts ruled that the wager contract was invalid as the amount was excessive and cancelled the mortgage. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/500-k-bet-on-rock-paper-scissors-1.5543533
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
Steve Whiteley, a British 61-year-old heating engineer, turned a £2 bet into nearly £1.5 million after picking all 6 horse race winners to win the jackpot. The winning horse in the final race hadn’t won in their previous 28 races. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/mar/08/steve-whiteley-tote-jackpot-millionaire
After a barroom bet, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a plane from a New Jersey airport and landed it on a Manhattan street in front of the bar in 1956. He did it again 2 years later when someone refused to believe him. – WTF Fun Facts
Sir Richard Branson as a female flight attendant – WTF fun facts
