1

“Halley's Comet appeared in the sky when Mark Twain was born in 1835. The comet moves in a seventy-five or seventy-six-year orbit, and, as it neared Earth once again, Twain said “I came in with Halley’s Comet and I expect to go out with it.” Sure enough, he died on April 21, 1910, just as the comet made its next pass within sight of Earth.”

2

“My colleague was on the plane to Hawaii [Aloha Airlines Flight 243 in April 1988] where the entire top of the plane ripped off… they flew the rest of the way without any overhead.. landed and everyone walked off. Absolutely insane to see the pictures. Talk about being given a 2nd chance.”

3

“The Battle of Bull Run, one of the first battles of the US Civil War, occurred on and around Wilmer McClean's farm in Northern Virginia. Not wanting to live surrounded by war, McClean and his family moved to Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The Battle of Appomattox Courthouse was the last significant battle between Union and Confederate forces. The Confederates signed the surrender order in Wilmer's sitting room. It is said that the Civil War started on Wilmer's farm and ended in his sitting room.”

4

“In 2014, Pope Francis released doves in the Vatican to symbolize his hopes for peace in the world. As soon as the doves began to fly, a seagull and a crow swooped down and attacked them in front of everyone.”

5

6

“In 1908 Russia showed up 12 days late to the Olympics because the world switched calenders while they did not.”

7

“Michael Malloy AKA Mike the Durable AKA Iron Mike. During the Great Depression, five men took out a life insurance policy on a homeless alcoholic that they were sure was going to drink himself to death. The owner of a bar allowed him to drink for free, but he kept drinking and didn’t die. So they tried to poison him with antifreeze. Didn’t work. The turpentine, horse liniment, rat poison, methanol….still didn’t work. A sandwich made with rotten sardines and tacks. Still no luck. Then they took his drunk body out in the cold and poured water on him. He lived. Then they ran him over with a car. He was in the hospital for three weeks, but survived. Then they poisoned him with carbon monoxide, and he finally died. They were all convicted of murder.”

8

“Nicholas Alkemade fell 18,000 feet without a parachute from a burning plane in 1944 and suffered no serious injury.”

9

“John O'Neill, the FBI agent in charge of investigating Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden in the 1990s, grew frustrated with the bureacratic politics within the FBI and between the FBI and CIA that he felt hampered his mission. He decided to take to leave the FBI and take a higher paying job in the private sector. In August 23, 2001 he became the Chief of Security at the World Trade Center. He was killed in the attacks just a few weeks later.”

10

“The last use of the guillotine in France was the same year 'Star Wars' was founded.”

11

“A man named Tsutomu Yamaguchi was on a business trip in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb dropped. He was wounded, but returned to his hometown of Nagasaki, where the very next day the second atomic bomb was dropped. He survived both blasts and lived to 93.”

12

“When the pyramids were being built, woolly mammoths still existed.”

13

“Abraham Lincoln's son was almost crushed by a train, only to be rescued by the actor, Edwin Booth. A year later Edwin's brother, John, murdered the President.”

14

“There was an attempt in Indiana to legislate Pi to the number 3.2. It was abandoned on the day of the vote by a professor who pointed out that it was lacking any basis in proof.”

15

“In 1903, The New York Times published an article about flying machines. They stated that it would take the combined efforts of all Mathematicians and mechanics 1-to-10 million years for powered flight to be achieved. Anyway, about 9 weeks later, the Wright brothers achieved powered flight for the first time.”

16

“1816 was the "Year Without a Summer," due to very low temperatures. People believed the Sun was about to extinguish as large Sunspots were visible on it's surface, spreading doomsday panic. In actuality, the cause was due to Mt Tambora, the largest volcanic eruption in human history.”

17

“In 2019 a convicted murderer on day release bravely fought off a terrorist at London Bridge with a narwhal tusk.”

18

“Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived a fall of 75 stories while in an elevator in 1945.”

19

“Teddy Roosevelt once had his boat stolen by three armed thieves. With the help of two friends he built a new boat and personally tracked down and captured the thieves.”

20

President John Tyler, who was born in 1790 and was the 10th President to ever take office, still has a living grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler.

21

“The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 that took place in Boston, MA. 40 foot wave that killed 21 people.”

22

“Someone [is thought to have] booked a speaking event at the wrong Four Seasons and proceeded with the speaking engagement at a landscaping company next to an adult toy store.”