In the late 1880s, Lester Moore worked as a Wells Fargo Station Agent in the Mexico-United States border town of Naco, Arizona. One day a man named Hank Dunstan arrived at the […]
Appropriate Name in the End
Commonplace Fun Facts
When You Gotta Go… You REALLY Should Go
Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman from Sacramento, died in 2007 of water intoxication while trying to win a Wii console in a radio station’s “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest, which […]
He Used a Dummy, For Sure
Franz Reichelt (1879-1912) fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute. He […]
This Couldn’t Have Been Demonstrated on the Ground Floor?
Toronto attorney Garry Hoy (1955 – 1993) fell to his death after he threw himself through the glass wall on the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre in order to prove the […]
Isn’t This How Terminator Started?
On January 25, 1979, Robert Williams became the first person to be killed by a robot. He was struck in the head and killed by the arm of a 1-ton production-line robot […]
Laughing to Death Over Royalty
The Scottish aristocrat Thomas Urquhart (1611-1660) was a noted polymath and first translator of French Renaissance writer Francois Rabelais into English. It is said that one of the greatest signs of genius […]
Do You See Me Now? How About Now?
Dr. “Jackey” Barrett of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, was as well known for his eccentricities as he was for his ability to teach Hebrew. As a rule he prefaced everything he said […]
A Bird (Foot) in the Hand
Frederick Locker-Lampson described Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s physique as “peculiar: curls like the pendent ears of a water spaniel, and poor little hands — so thin that when she welcomed you she gave […]
The Ladies’ Man with the Ghastly Face
Describing the appearance of the 19th century murderer John Williams, Thomas de Quincey wrote, “One fact, however, was striking, and fell in with the impression of his natural tiger character, that his […]
Whip It… Whip It Good
Pinky Thompson described an associate: “She had a wart on the left side of her chin, with one long, black hair growing out of it. When she sneezed, it cracked like a […]
How Do You Say ‘Sarcasm’ in French?
A French lady to an American who was trying to converse in French: “How wise of you not to attempt the French accent!” source
The Liberace of the 17th Century
Duke Charles II of Brunswick (1804-73) was known as “the Duke of Diamonds” because he wore them in such profusion that he could have been mistaken for an animated chandelier. He had […]
Need a Cheap iPhone? This Guy Has a Few. Just Don’t Ask About His Love Life
A Chinese factory worker spent more than $63,000 (500,000 yuan) to purchase 99 iPhone 6 devices. This is 17 times the average annual salary in his southern province of Guagzhou. He arranged […]
Saying Goodbye to a Friend
Source
Which is More Formidable?
In the early days of World War II, the Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII), paid visits to French troops to help boost their morale. His flaccid grasp of the […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 