Did you know ...

WZZM weatherball

... that a Michigan TV station rescued and restored a weather ball (pictured) that had been sitting for years in a scrapyard?

Ravenswood standing stone

... that the 4,000-year-old Ravenswood standing stone (pictured) now lies in a cul-de-sac in a 1970s Scottish housing estate?
... that a plaque on Phoenix Tower in Chester states that King Charles I stood on the tower in 1645 as he watched his soldiers being defeated at Rowton Moor?

The Shard

... that after playing with Lego bricks as a child, Roma Agrawal designed both the tip and bottom of The Shard (pictured)?

Flag of Togo

that the five stripes of the flag of Togo (pictured) represent the country's five regions?
... that Kanaria's song "King" has been characterized as an allegory for the house arrest, trial, and execution of Louis XVI?
... that a schoolteacher tried to make left-footed footballer Norman Hunter play right-footed?
... that the Santos Passos Church in Guimarães, Portugal, was declared a royal chapel by King Luís I in 1878?
... that the United States' largest planned solar project, Mammoth Solar, is named after mastodon fossils rather than its size?
... that a lyric in the song "Hands on Me" is about Meghan Trainor being unable to have sex due to pelvic floor damage?
... that William Hewett was the last-surviving British Army officer to have fought at the Battle of Waterloo?
... that a 1938 Catholic procession featured 80,000 marchers and one blimp?
... that though Donatello was a Bardi, he was not part of the Bardi family?
... that the Auckland meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in New Zealand?
... that the creators of Poetry for Neanderthals faced difficulties during its release because they needed a way to manufacture inflatable clubs?
... that The Hooded Man (pictured) is an iconic photograph of the Iraq War, known as a symbol of torture at Abu Ghraib prison?
... that Asiatyrannus is thought to have grown to less than half the size of other tyrannosaurs?
... that the colors of the flag of Madagascar originally had no meaning?
... that Indian film editor A. Sreekar Prasad holds a record for editing films in 17 different languages?
... that Alfred Biliotti excavated the first known examples of Mycenaean painted pottery in 1868?
... that the Dublin Castle scandal in 1884 led to the resignations, loss of positions, and criminal convictions of a number of British administrators in Dublin, and celebrations amongst Irish nationalists?
... that brothers Mike McCartney and Paul McCartney, and sisters Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning, use their middle names as their first names?
... that in The Gambia, there is a belief that people can summon evil spirits to cause abortions?
... that the demolition of the Iloilo Central Market was criticized as being unlawful?
... that Swedish naval officer Henrik Johan Nauckhoff fought against the British in the American Revolutionary War?
... that German officials exiled the Samoan king from his own kingdom in 1887?
... that a judge compared the bankruptcy fraud of an Ohio TV station to a 1601 English court case?
... that the surviving copies of the Kitab-ı Bahriye contain a total of more than 5,700 maps?
... that in 2006 the parochial church council of St Peter's, Draycott, tried to sell the church's baptismal font?
... that the 1920 foxtrot song "I'll See You in C-U-B-A" was an example of Cuba being perceived as "America's playground"?
... that 30 royal portraits of Korean kings were completely destroyed in a 1954 fire in Busan, South Korea?
... that Babydog is "a fixture in West Virginia politics"?
... that an office building on New York City's Times Square was almost entirely vacant upon its completion?
... that during the 1929 Dollar Mountain Fire, 65 firefighters survived being surrounded by fire overnight by sheltering near a creek?
... that the lyrics of "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" were inspired by beheadings in medieval Europe?
... that from around the Seattle metropolitan area to a wetland in Bothell, Washington, up to 16,000 crows regularly commute?
... that according to a TikTok theory, burnt toast could save you from a car accident?
... that a researcher called the community on the short-lived collaborative writing website One Million Monkeys Typing "astonishingly harmonious"?
... that during the 1964 New York World's Fair, police officers used computers at the United States Pavilion to help arrest people?
... that the Church of St John of the Collachium was said to contain the hand of John the Baptist, a bowl used by Jesus, and a piece of the True Cross?
... that LA LOM have named many of their songs after various locations in Los Angeles?
... that the Nuwhaha people, despite sometimes being erroneously known as the "Upper Samish", do not speak the Samish language?
... that Betty Hanley, originally a Michigander, was appointed lampshade designer to the British royal family?

Modern sculpture of Henry III's white bear

... that in 1253 Henry III of England ordered that his white bear (sculpture pictured) be permitted to swim and hunt in the River Thames?
... that country music singer Buck Owens bought a bankrupt TV station in California from his sister?
... that the owner of the De Vinne Press Building finalized his purchase of the building while in an elevator?
... that hot-dog vendor Dan Rossi has slept inside his cart overnight to preserve his spot in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art?
... that Piri Reis did not map Antarctica in the sixteenth century?
... that a Florida radio station DJ's attempt to break a world record was foiled by blown transmitter tubes?

... that Jill, Duchess of Hamilton, donated her body to science because "funerals are a bore"?

... that a Rhode Island TV station started out by re-running an inventory of 50 hours of cartoons and 14 old movies?
... that the Research Tower at the Johnson Wax Headquarters (pictured) had no fire sprinklers because its architect disliked their appearance?
... that Paul Steele was elected as council leader on the cut of a deck of cards following the 2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election?
... that scholars have discussed whether a 19th-century artwork by Sengai should be titled "○△□" or "□△○"?
... that the earliest of the authentic portraits of Mozart shows the prodigy wearing the clothes of Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, given as a gift by Empress Maria Theresa?
... that Barack Obama listed an anti-war song as one of his favorite songs of 2022?
... that the tower of a North Dakota TV station was the world's tallest man-made structure from 1963 to 1974 and again from 1991 to 2008?
... that in 1997, several merchants of North Kent Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, did not know who owned the mall?

Sony PVM-4300, with a cat for scale

... that the Sony PVM-4300 (pictured) has the largest cathode-ray tube ever made?

... that Gerald Shirtcliff's fake engineering qualifications were exposed following the collapse of the CTV Building?
... that Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple was likened to a Mayan ball court after its completion in 1908?
... that John Stacy warned the Duke of Suffolk that a Tower would be dangerous to him; Suffolk was later murdered by sailors on a ship called The Nicholas of the Tower?
... that the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in Sherlock is one of the most studied examples of queerbaiting?
...that the Wisconsin State Capitol burned nearly to the ground on February 26, 1904?
...that the Plymouth Council for New England was the joint stock company which organized the Plymouth Colony?
...that there appears to be no localized consciousness in the human brain?
... that The Motherfucker With the Hat was the Broadway debut for actor Chris Rock?
... that Twitch streamer Morgpie went viral for using her buttocks as a green screen?
... that more than half of all children in the United States under the age of 16 played Roblox in July 2020?
... that a dam failure at a Chinese-owned copper mine released 50 million litres of highly toxic waste into the Kafue River in Zambia, devastating ecosystems at least 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream?
... that novvot, a popular traditional candy in the Middle East and Central Asia, is often served with tea and has roots in Persian cuisine?
... that "Grim Reaper of Love" by the Turtles features an unusual quintuple-meter (5
4) beat?
... that 269 Justitia is one of the reddest known asteroids in the asteroid belt?
... that the Edmonds' Clock Tower was split in two after the June 2011 Christchurch earthquakes?
... that Betsy Arakawa's house was once featured in Architectural Digest?
... that the theme song to SpongeBob SquarePants was written by Stephen Hillenburg with the idea "to try to make the most annoying song you can"?
... that the Vatican's website was first made available in Latin under Pope Benedict XVI?
... that a disused industrial pier was incorporated into a city park?
... that a former U.S. president helped dedicate the United Engineering Center, and a future U.S. president demolished it?
... that former governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso has a museum dedicated to himself in his backyard?
... that Tao Asian Bistro was used by The New York Times to test new conversation-boosting features in Apple's AirPods Pro?
... that LGBTQ people have adopted cutie marks as personal signifiers, with some getting tattoos of their favorite pony's mark as a form of identity expression?
... that Venezuelan-American socialite Reinaldo Herrera's extensive connections led to Vanity Fair employing him to work as a fixer?
... that in North America, Europe and New Zealand, research funding is sometimes distributed by lottery?
... that a North Carolina TV station was originally named after its attorney?
... that the filming sets of A New Old Play were visibly fake, with shaking white fabrics and plastic bags used to mimic turbulent waves?
... that Proceratosaurus is one of the oldest tyrannosaurs?
... that writer Jilly Cooper named a goat in her novel Jump! after a critic who revealed spoilers for an earlier work?
... that William Arthur Ganfield often wore a red tie when Carroll College was running a deficit and a black tie when it was running a surplus?
... that CBS received a membership to the exclusive Sebonack Golf Club when it bought a TV station on Long Island?
... that fighter pilot Morton D. Magoffin made pilots in his group sprint around an airfield for not saluting him?
... that the Doctor Who episode "Lux" is set in Miami, Florida, despite being filmed in Penarth, Wales?
... that despite being named in college as the best at his position in the U.S., football player Buster Maddox only appeared in one NFL game?
... that a Long Island TV station sued a columnist for satirizing its signal and programming?
... that the music video for "The Kids from Yesterday" by My Chemical Romance was directed by a fan?
... that Chicago's tornado siren has been described as creepier than the city's actual tornadoes?
... that, to research her bonkbuster Wicked!, Jilly Cooper visited more than a dozen schools and taught at one?
... that Brian Satterfield worked for United Parcel Service before playing in the NFL?
... that My Little Pony fan music has developed its own music subgenres such as "dubtrot" and "ponybeat"?
... that the YouTuber behind Stop Killing Games compared video-game publishers shutting down online-only games to silent-era film studios "burning their own films ... to recover the silver content"?
... that a New Jersey TV station claimed that potential advertisers were "hostile" to efforts to encourage them to air commercials?
... that Cybersocket, Inc., started by repackaging public domain information into a niche paperback guide to gay pornographic sites?
... that during the fatal arrest of Abisay Cruz by Montreal police, Cruz was recorded saying "Je vais mourir" ("I'm going to die")?
... that to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Duster's Stratosphere, a vinyl copy of the album was launched into space?
... that the Washington D.C. Temple (pictured) was moved 60 feet (18 m) to exactly align with a nearby road?

... that the authors of The Zelensky Effect analysed material from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's entertainment career in the context of the development of civic national identity in Ukraine?
... that a 1932 building (pictured) of the National Geographic Society Headquarters was constructed in part to house the group's collection of 300,000 photographs?

National Geographic Society Administration Building

... that Bill Maynard received letters thanking him for making Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt "the cleanest show on television"?
... that the band Pinmonkey got their name from an episode of The Simpsons?
... that many of Johann Sebastian Bach's manuscripts were lost because some of his family members did not care about preserving them?
... that Ivan I of Moscow (pictured) earned the nickname "Kalita", which literally means 'money bag'?

... that actress Emma Stone contributed "oddities" to "Florida!!!"?
... that Oduwa's reign saw cowries becoming so widespread as currency that nobles stitched them into their clothes, causing runaway inflation?
... that Korean science fiction has evolved into distinct North and South branches since the first work appeared in 1929?
... that an announcer damaged the tower of an Arkansas radio station while driving a moving van?
... that Christ Church, Amherstburg, a Canadian church built by a Loyalist, features timbers fashioned after a ship's hull?
... that the United States' first capitol building was later sold for $425 and then demolished?
... that from 1986 to 1988, a Boston TV station was the only one in the U.S. to broadcast digital audio in its video signal?
... that Walmart referred to a store at Muscatine Mall as their "Yankee store" because it was then their northernmost?
... that the Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders led to Atari rescheduling its entire release line-up
... that Eduard Hermann was a race walker, boxer, and farmer?
... that Astoria the turkey evaded capture by the New York City Police Department?
... that Claude-Charles Bourgonnier was barred from exhibiting his art at the Salon in Paris after tearing up one of his own paintings while it was on display?
... that Harriet Converse Moody's restaurant and catering business failed after almost 40 years in part because of her lavish spending as a patron of poets?
... that in July 2025 Elon Musk opened a flying saucer–shaped diner on Route 66 in Hollywood?
... that a reviewer found the children's novel The Cat Mummy "really quite disturbing"?
... that the video game Danan: The Jungle Fighter allows the player to summon either an armadillo, an eagle, or a chimpanzee for help?
... that, when the allegedly poisoned Patriarch Stephen was asked by his king how he was, he replied: "Sire, I am faring as you desire"?
... that in 1915 Prahran became one of the first railway stations in Victoria to be provided with automatic signalling?
... that around 700,000 calls were made using 5 Calls to members of the US Congress in one week?
... that the first Portuguese translation of Homer's Odyssey was reportedly "harder to read than the [original] texts"?
... that Emmett Barrett wore glasses while playing American football?
... that Queen Isabella I lost her first husband to politics, her second to assassins, her third to a window, and her fourth to fish?
... that Shadow the Hedgehog's love for Latinas in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was borne from Sonic fandom shitposting?
... that emos and anti-emos confronted each other, but Hare Krishna members de-escalated the situation?
... that one of the first Polish film producers was prevented from screening his first film in Poland?
... that an image of a skull can be used to express happiness?
... that you should "hang a gone fishin' notice on your office door" before reading Geometry of Quantum States?
... that the Mansfield Town Mill has produced flour, textiles and cannabis?
... that some Jeep owners enjoy ducking each other?
... that texting someone a poop emoji in Japan is a way to wish them good luck?
... that VTuber Sakura Miko was featured in a paper on structural stability and thermodynamics?
... that one analysis of the song "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" cites the ancient Roman orator Quintilian?
... that in one version of Zeus's childhood his enemies are terrified of the goat who raised him?
... that before it was good to be the GOAT, it was actually bad to be a goat?
... that according to the Zoo Miami communications director, 100 men could beat a single gorilla if they "envelop the gorilla and create a human straightjacket"?
... that one of the bosses of the video game CarnEvil can be replaced with a giant teddy bear?
... that Death Angels are Happy?
... that people in parts of India, North America, and Africa marry tree trunks?
... that Peter Gersten has been called the "UFO lawyer"?
... that some Italians eat eggplants with chocolate?
... that the Fuck Tree has been described as a "physical embodiment of desire"?
... that conservationist Stephen King was kicked out of Bible College for refusing to wear shoes?
... that during one of his Diddy parties, Sean Combs promised not to spill champagne on the Declaration of Independence?
... that USS Gyatt (pictured), after being fitted with a Terrier anti-air missile launcher, became the world's first guided-missile destroyer?

... that Mr. Bronx was not from the Bronx?

... that a pencil sharpener "is a device for sharpening a pencil's point by shaving the end of the pencil"? Well, all right, you probably did.