The tradition of firing guns as a salute was originally a sign of peaceful intentions. Since guns and cannons would need to be reloaded after each shot, firing your gun in the air essentially rendered you “unarmed.” – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://history.army.mil/html/faq/salute.html
Rats are nonemetic, meaning they can’t vomit. It’s why rat poison is so effective. They also can’t burp and they don’t experience heartburn. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: http://www.ratbehavior.org/vomit.htm
The second part of the 25th amendment deals specifically with procedures for a President who is unfit to serve. It has been used three times, all related to colon issues and two of the three were a result of Presidential colonoscopies. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/25th-amendment-colon-trump-reagan-bush-unfit-president-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with being the first to introduce the idea of contact lenses in his 1508 Codex of the eye, Manual D. However, his ideas for implementing the lenses was entirely impractical. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_lens
In 1999, Philip Morris attempted to convince the Czech Republic that smoking was highly beneficial to the country, as more people would die earlier, saving the government millions on pensions, hospitals, and housing for elderly citizens. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-05-mn-30831-story.html
Tartle is an old Scottish word for the moment of hesitation when you are introducing someone whose name you can’t remember. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/7936824/Tartle-bufetak-kaelling-the-foreign-words-to-which-English-has-no-answer.html
Recent research found that nearly half of all US food produced is discarded (left in the field to rot, fed to livestock, or hauled directly from the field to landfill) because of unrealistic “cosmetic food” standards. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect
There’s a species of orchid that looks like a monkey’s face called ‘Dracula Simia’. It is native to the tropical cloud forests of Southeastern Ecuador and Peru as it grows best in elevations above 2,000 feet. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_simia
Japan has installed special concrete tunnels under some of their train tracks to allow for turtles to cross the tracks. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japanese-rail-workers-build-special-tunnels-to-save-turtles-from-train-deaths-a6757466.html