Category: Fun Facts

John Sylvan and Peter Dragone worked together to figure out a better solution for making coffee. In 1992, they founded Keurig, which means “excellence” in Danish. Sylvan was, after all, the target consumer of the product he was trying to make. In 1995, he went to the hospital after feeling woozy and having heart palpitations. […]

September 11, 2001 is known for four flights, in particular, the two planes that were flown into the World Trade Center, the one that was aimed at the Pentagon, and the one that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Air travel was halted until further notice—with the exception of extreme cases. One of these exceptions was for […]

Fast food generally has a bad reputation, and Trent University didn’t help one fast food chain’s credibility. In early 2017, a researcher at the college, based in Ontario, decided to run a test on Subway’s chicken to see if it was, in fact, chicken. The results showed that Subway’s chicken strips were made up of […]

The Greenbrier Bunker was one of America’s best-kept secrets for decades. Beneath the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, a bomb shelter was hidden from the general public. It was created for members of Congress in the event of an emergency, stocked with months’ worth of food and supplies. The bunker was kept a secret for […]

Wyoming isn’t as high-tech as some other states in the US, but one thing that surprises many is the lack of escalators. As of 2013, in the entire state of Wyoming only had two escalators, or four, if you count each set. Both escalators are found in the city of Casper—one at the Hilltop National […]

Coffee in Sweden dates back to the 1670s, and was first a popular beverage amongst the elite. In the mid-1700s, it was banned from the country due in part to the high taxes, and it became a black-market type beverage. Why did King Gustav III want coffee out of his country for good? He worried […]

Whitey Bulger called Alcatraz Island his home from 1959 to 1963, as a result of armed robbery. Years later, in 1995, Bulger went on the run after learning from a crooked FBI agent that there was likely an indictment for murder and racketeering coming for him. After sixteen years on the lam, he was finally […]

GIFs are more popular than ever, but their roots date back to 1987. Before the internet was what it is today, GIFs—or graphics interchange format—made their way into society as short, silent, usually humorous clips. November 5, 1999, was proclaimed “Burn All GIFs Day” by a group of people who created a website with the […]

Oreo’s markets itself as “America’s Favorite Cookie”, and that’s no exaggeration. For years, it has been the bestselling cookie in the country. However, its start was less than stellar. Oreo’s cookies were actually created as a knock-off of Hydrox, a sandwich cookie that was introduced to the market in 1908. Unfortunately for Hydrox, their popular […]

Americans who travel to other countries are often surprised by some of their common etiquette rules when it comes to dining. In Chile, it’s considered rude to eat anything with your hands—even foods like French fries. In France, bread is not to be eaten as appetizer. Additionally, guests should not begin eating until the host […]