Here we are again for Day Two. More of those interesting facts in honor of the fake November “Interesting Facts Month.” Hold on to your blustery hats. Making believe, all over again.
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Tolkien’s Moral Dilemma
Do writers struggle? Of course they do. Apparently, J.R.R. Tolkien’s moral dilemma while writing The Lord of the Rings was this. Tolkien struggled with the idea of orcs being “pure evil.” They could think, speak, and reason. That meant they had moral awareness. He decided that even they might deserve mercy. Mercy for the Orcs. Mercy for all?
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The Buried Sphinx
Did you know that the Great Sphinx of Giza was buried? The Sphinx was built around 2500 BCE. But. It was already buried in sand by 1100 B.C. Only its paws were visible when Pharaoh Thutmose IV tried to excavate it. He didn’t have much luck. It stayed hidden for nearly 4,000 years until it was fully uncovered in the 1800s.
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Tiberius, the Detective Emperor
Tiberius Caesar Augustus lived from 42 BCE to 37 CE. He was the second Roman emperor, ruling from 14 CE to 37 CE, right after Augustus (his stepfather). He ruled.
And one day in the kingdom, a senator’s wife fell from a window. Well. Emperor Tiberius didn’t buy the husband’s story. He personally inspected the scene, found signs of struggle, and reported back to the Senate. The husband was found guilty.
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The Marvel–Hulk Hogan Deal
What is so incredible about that Green Hulk? Well. There is this. In 1984, Marvel owned trademarks on “Hulk Hogan,” “Hulkster,” and “Hulkamania.” They let the WWF use them, but only if they paid Marvel $100 per match and 10% of profits from that name.
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The Horse in Motion
Before 1872, artists couldn’t agree on how horses ran. It was all because the human eye couldn’t catch the movement. We are thick, us humans. Anyway. A guy named Eadweard Muybridge took lots of successive photographs of those running horses. And those photos proved all four legs left the ground at once, changing art and science forever.
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The Explosive Nut
I like a nut. The kind you eat. But we must be careful with those nuts. Well. One nut. The pistachio. Pistachios can spontaneously combust. That’s why they’re handled under strict safety protocols during bulk shipping. Kaboom. In the shell.
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Sutton’s Law
What happened? The answer might be simple in all things. But in medicine, Sutton’s Law says: Always check the most obvious cause first. It came from bank robber Willie Sutton, who said he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” Today it seems like medicine is where the money is.
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The Hidden Survivors of Pearl Harbor
Who knew? Not many of us, that is for sure. You see, three sailors trapped in the USS West Virginia survived underwater for 16 days after the Pearl Harbor attack. Their gravestones list the wrong date of death. Their story remained hidden for decades.
When the West Virginia was finally raised in 1942, salvage crews made a chilling discovery. In one of the compartments, they found a calendar on the wall with the dates December 7 through December 23 marked off in red pencil. On stroke each. One day at a time.
They also found empty emergency ration tins, spent flashlights, and batteries. It was proof that men had survived for 16 days after the attack. The compartment was sealed tight, giving them air and water, but no escape route. Eventually, the oxygen ran out.
The Navy never released the names of the trapped sailors publicly, likely to spare the families further anguish.
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And November Birthstones: topaz and citrine are the gems associated with November.
Birth flower: the chrysanthemum, which often symbolizes friendship, joy, and honesty.
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It all begs the question. Who knew?
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“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” — Aldous Huxley
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“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” — Albert Einstein
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“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” — Mark Twain
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