funny

WTF Fun Fact 12429 – The Inspiration for Google Image Search

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Now known as Google Images, the idea behind the Google Image Search feature was none other than the pop star and actress Jennifer Lopez. When she worse the deep v-cut Versace dress to the Grammys in February of 2000, people performed millions of Google searches to get a second look at it.

Searches for the dress continued at a surprising rate throughout the year and into 2001. As a result, Google made it possible to search images alone starting on July 12, 2001. Before this, you could only search text on websites.

The feature was created by engineer Huican Zhu and product manager Susan Wojcicki (who is now the current CEO of YouTube). In 2001, 250 million images were indexed in Image Search. By 2010, it contained 10 billion photos.

The story has been confirmed by Eric Schmidt, who was the executive chairman of Google at the time.

In an essay published on Project Syndicate, he wrote: “At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress.” As a result, “Google Image Search was born.” – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “How Jennifer Lopez’s infamous 2000 Grammys dress — which was unretired this week — inspired Google image search” — Business Insider

WTF Fun Fact 12426 – The Most Expensive Spice

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Have you ever gone to the grocery store to pick up some saffron for a recipe only to find that they don’t even carry it?

Then, maybe you head to the specialty grocery store only to find that a mere pinch of the stuff is $10 or $20!

Well, there’s a reason for that. Saffron is a highly labor-intensive spice to produce. It’s made from the stigmata (those little bits at the end of the red pistils) of crocuses. Next time those tiny purple flowers start budding at the first sign of spring, take a look and see just how tiny those are – each flower has only 3 of them.

Amazingly, it takes around 75,000 crocus flowers to produce just one pound of saffron. That’s part of the expense, but if you look closely, you’ll see that there’s no way to get the saffron out except by lightly picking them out one by one and by hand. They’re just so delicate. So the labor that goes into this is also costly.

Despite its rarity, saffron has been used for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans used it as perfume, while Indians used it for dye, and the Chinese have used it in medicine.

You’ll find it in many traditional recipes from the Middle East and parts of Europe. So next time you go to make a Moroccan tagine, make sure you prepare yourself for the sticker shock in the spice aisle. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “Why Is Saffron So Expensive?” — Encyclopedia Britannica

WTF Fun Fact 12421 – Taking the Leap

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In 1944, an American B-29 pilot named Claude Hensinger had to parachute out of his aircraft after his engine caught fire over Japan. He made it safely to the ground in China and used the parachute to keep him warm that night until he was rescued the following day. He returned home safely, holding onto the device that saved his life.

Later that year, he met his future wife, Ruth, and they were engaged in 1947. Instead of a ring, Hensinger proposed with the parachute.

“This is the parachute that saved my life. I want you to make a wedding gown out of it,” Hensinger told his fiance.

The Smithsonian, which houses the dress (though it’s not on display), described the circumstances behind its creation:

“This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom’s life during World War II. Maj. Claude Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew, were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan, in August 1944 when their engine caught fire. The crew was forced to bail out. It was night, and Major Hensinger landed on some rocks and suffered some minor injuries. During the night, he used the parachute both as a pillow and a blanket. In the morning, the crew was able to reassemble and were taken in by some friendly Chinese. He kept the parachute and used it as a way to propose to Ruth in 1947. He presented it to her and suggested she make a gown out of it for their wedding.”

At first, Ruth had no idea how to turn the giant parachute into a dress. But after walking by a store window and seeing a dress that resembled Scarlett O’Hara’s in Gone with the Wind (the one she made from curtains), it all came together. Ruth worked with a local seamstress to make a bodice and veil, and she used the parachute to make the skirt on her own.

According to the Smithsonian:

“She made the skirt herself; she pulled up the strings on the parachute so that the dress would be shorter in the front and have a train in the back. The couple were married in the Neffs Lutheran Church in Neffs, Pennslyvania, July 19, 1947. Their daughter and their son’s bride also wore the dress for their weddings.” – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “Parachute Wedding Dress” – The Smithsonian Institute

WTF Fun Fact 12420 – A Penny for Your Thoughts

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Long before Kickstarter or GoFundMe were a thing – and even before the Internet – a student named Mike Hayes managed to crowdfund part of his college education. It was 1987, and Mike Hayes’ parents had already put his siblings through college and didn’t have much left to offer him. He had $2,500 in his savings account, but his tuition at the University of Illinois was $28,000.

Hayes would call his plan “the only idea I’ve ever had.” That idea involved asking 2.8 million people to give him just one penny to reach his $28,000 goal.

But how do you get the word out to so many people without the Internet? Well, the newspapers, of course!

Hayes got in touch with journalist Bob Green who wrote for the Chicago Tribune and whose articles were syndicated in nearly 200 newspapers worldwide. Interested to see what would happen, Green wrote the story, which was published September 6, 1987.

“I don’t really feel like I’m begging,” Hayes was quoted as saying in the piece. “I honestly believe … that no one will feel that it’s a hardship to send a penny to me.”

The article included a PO Box and instructions to “QUIT READING!” and “Go put the penny in the envelope.”

It seemed unlikely since sending a penny would actually cost people $.23 due to the cost of postage. And yet the idea did “go viral.” He received pennies, nickels, and even some larger donations from around the world.

In the end, Hayes received 2.9 million pennies along with 90,000 letters. It was enough to pay his college tuition bill. He was known on campus as “Penny Man.” – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “The Kid Who Crowdfunded His College Education — In 1987” — NPR News

WTF Fun Fact 12419 – Stoffel the Honey Badger

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First things first – Stoffel the honey badger was raised by humans from birth and does not know how to operate in the wild. So that’s why a South African animal sanctuary has adopted him long-term. And despite his penchant for mischief (and destruction), they’ve committed to making his life better in every way.

Stoffel lives at the Moholoholo Wildlife and Rehabilitation Center in South Africa. And it seems that no matter how well he is treated, the one thing he doesn’t like is living in an enclosure (regardless of how luxurious that enclosure is). The challenge is that every time Stoffel escapes his enclosure (which is always), he destroys property and fights (and sometimes kills) other animals.

In 2016, after building him a new enclosure, the facility wrote on Facebook:

“Stoffel Does it Again!!! Our charismatic honey badger otherwise known as Houdini proved his intelligence levels yet again last night. After recently extending his enclosure, Stoffel now has two new trees to climb, a new climbing frame to explore, and a puzzle block in which we hide yummy treats inside. Not content with his lavish new accommodation, Stoffel decided to check out neighboring facilities which just happened to be the student common room!!! He certainly had fun on his latest adventure. Destroying the cushions, moving furniture, marking his scent on the couch, knocking over the tea and coffee jars, and finally helping himself to last night’s dinner. Just a pity he couldn’t clean up after himself! After being safely returned and with a very full tummy, Stoffel watched as Brian and his team tried to work out he did it. ‘He must have been working on the plan overnight. He has broken the branches off the tree. He did something similar before but we thought these were stronger!’ Said Brian. ‘We think he used the broken branches as a ladder and climbed out!’ Stoffel, you are certainly one of a kind!”

One dangerous encounter with two lions put him in the vet clinic for two months. But immediately upon recovering from his injuries, he escaped his enclosure again to go back for Round 2.

According to Africa Geographic, which explained Stoffel’s background after a video of him escaping went viral:

“In the end, Moholoholo was sponsored by Rotary Club to build Stoffel a brick house. Yet, after only a few hours in his new home, he escaped again – in spite of the staff trying different measures to prevent his escape.

In short, a human-imprinted honey badger can be a problem in captivity. However, Stoffel the honey badger will remain loved by all at Moholoholo, and for all who come to visit the centre. He an ambassador for his species.”

Stoffel is still alive and roughly 25 years old. While he has slowed down a bit, he’s managed to pass on his mischief to his playmates. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: “The story of Stoffel the honey badger” — Africa Geographic

WTF Fun Fact 12418 – FedEx’s Luck

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Federal Express (now known as FedEx) was the first overnight delivery company. It was founded by Frederick Smith and based on an economics paper he wrote as a student at Yale. The term paper was written in the 1960s, but it argued that the world needed a way to deliver packages overnight in the new, computerized age of information. As Smith recalls, he got a “C” because his professor found the idea implausible.

But what’s even more implausible-yet-true is how FedEx survived in its early days while running a fleet of airplanes as gas prices skyrocketed. Smith had initially funded the company with his $4 million inheritance along with $80 million in loans and equity investments (in other words, it was no small start-up in his parents’ garage). However, those eight planes covering 35 cities drove the company into debt.

Smith tried to raise more funding but failed. The company’s funds reached a paltry $5,000 – not even enough to gas the planes and pay the pilots. Faced with potential ruin, Fred Smith made a questionable decision. Without consulting his partners, he took the company’s remaining money, hopped on a plane to Las Vegas, and headed to a casino to play blackjack.

When he returned to headquarters the next week, he had turned the $5,000 into $27,000. That wasn’t enough to keep things afloat for long, but they could stay open another week and had new motivation to keep trying for another round of funding.

In the book “Changing How the World Does Business: FedEx’s Incredible Journey to Success” former FedEx senior vice president of operations Roger Frock recalled his reaction to Smith’s antics: “I said, ‘You mean you took our last $5,000 — how could you do that? [Smith] shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘What difference does it make? Without the funds for the fuel companies, we couldn’t have flown anyway.'”

Soon after, FedEx got another injection of funding to the tune of $11 million, which helped stabilize the company and allow Smith to start a direct mail advertising campaign. The company took years to become profitable, but in 1976 it brought in $3.6 million. After going public a few years later, the company became a long-term success.

Of course, we can’t help but wonder about the professor who gave Smith a “C” on his economics paper at Yale. Was he right in thinking that it wasn’t really a viable business idea (after all, it took some serious luck to make it happen)? –WTF Fun Facts

Source: “The Founder Of FedEx Saved The Company From Bankruptcy With His Blackjack Winnings” — Business Insider

WTF Fun Fact 12416 – The Dodge La Femme

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In the 1950s, more and more women were driving, and car companies decided to manufacture cars that they thought would somehow meet more “feminine needs.”

Among the cars were:

  • Dodge La Femme
  • Chrysler La Comtesse
  • Pontiac Parisienne
  • Chevrolet Impala Martinique
  • Cadillac Eldorado Seville Baroness

They could all be purchased in pink (and some in lavender).

The La Femme, a car marketed for “the discriminating, modern woman,” even came with its own matching pink handbag, lighter, compact, lipstick, boots, and cape, along with places to hang or store them within the car.

Most of the cars were simply regular models with femininetrim options and floral interiors, but they were often marketed as easier to drive.

Car literature was careful to point out that nothing under the hood was pink (you know, just in case it might make a husband or mechanic feel less manly to work on it).

The cars were not a success, but that didn’t stop automakers from sending literature to dealers telling them to market the pink vehicles as wildly popular. Dodge tweaked the La Femme a bit to include gold interior elements, thinking that would make it sell better. It did not.

None of the cars were made for very long, and some think that the failures of the pink “lady” models led to more gender-neutral marketing for ubiquitous-but-pricey products such as automobiles. –WTF Fun Facts

Source: “Dodge’s LaFemme is the First Automobile with A Gender – It’s Female” — Popular Mechanics

WTF Fun Fact 12415 – Santa Cash

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David Wayne Oliver has a bit of a bank-robbing problem. In 2019, at age 65, he walked into a Colorado Springs bank claiming to be armed, stole an undisclosed amount of money, and then took the bag out to the street and tossed the cash in the air while shouting “Merry Christmas.” Interestingly, many passersby took the money right back into the bank.

Dubbed the “Santa Claus Bank Robber,”Oliver then sauntered over to a Starbucks where he watched the commotion and waited for his inevitable arrest.

But the story doesn’t end there. Oliver was armed in 2021 when he brandished a gun in a bank at another robbery in Teller County, Colorado. This time, he also led police on a car chase before his arrest.

During the 2021 chase, Oliver held his gun outside his car window, alerting the police that he was armed and was not going back to jail. During the chase, he tossed the gun but kept driving. Strangely enough, the deputies chasing him decided not to pursue.

He eventually turned himself in, but not before becoming the star of a viral Tik Tok video of the encounter. In the clip, he can be heard saying: “I’m an outlaw and a renegade, ok? The sheriff is down there, and they’ve got a roadblock looking for my a**. Get on the radio, you mister, get on your smartphone. I surrender to you boys; I’m not surrendering to the sheriff. I’m surrendering to the Honeycutt boys. I’m the Santa Clause bank robber from last year!”

Oliver was eventually charged with felonies, including menacing, vehicular eluding, possession of a weapon, and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. His bond was set at $2,000. –WTF Fun Facts

Source: “Bearded man robs bank, gifts money, then yells ‘Merry Christmas'” — BBC News

WTF Fun Fact 12412 – The Wonderful Betty White

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Not one to claim she was just a “product of her time” when it came to race, Betty White went to bat for a talented tap dancer back in 1954. Despite attempts by others to keep Black dancer and singer Arthur Duncan off ofher variety show, White decided to fight back by inviting him on every chance she could.

When networks and viewers in the South threatened to boycott “The Betty White Show” because of Duncan’s skin color, White said she replied:“I’m sorry, but, you know, he stays…Live with it.”

White died on Friday, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, news that prompted a look back on a career that included advocacy on many fronts.

Arthur Duncan also confirmed the story in 2017 on Steve Harvey’s “Little Big Shots: Forever Young,” where he recalled: “I was on the show, and they had some letters out of Mississippi and elsewhere that some of the stations would not carry the show if I was permitted to stay on there.Well, Betty wrote back and said, ‘Needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could.”

Betty White continued to invite Duncan on her show until it was canceled in 1954. –WTF Fun Facts

Source: ‘He stays’: Betty White refused to remove Black dancer from her show in 1954 — USA Today