12 Trivia Facts With A Tensile Strength Stronger Than Steel

The first country where women can vote

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The first country to enshrine women’s right to vote in law was New Zealand, in 1893.

The Dutch Santa Claus doesn’t bother with reindeer

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Saint Nicholas prefers to keep it simple and ride a regular horse.

Bamboo grows fast enough to be measured per hour

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Chinese Moso Bamboo can grow up to 3.8 centimeters per hour, making it the fastest growing plant in the world.

The word ‘mafia’ is never used in The Godfather

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Concerned about the way Italian-Americans were portrayed in the film, real-life mafioso Joe Colombo kindly suggested that producer Al Ruddy, on behalf of the Italian-American Civil Rights League, remove the words “mafia” and “la Cosa Nostra.”

The strange sound of the narwhal

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It may not be your first thought, but narwhals apparently spin.

Many people died in World War II, and most of them were civilians

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Military casualties in World War II were immense, estimated at 21 million to 25 million. Civilian casualties, however, were much higher, estimated at 50 million to 55 million.

The Silent Genius of Foley Artists

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Many of the sound effects you hear on TV and in movies were recorded after the fact by so-called “Foley artists.” They use tools, random objects, and old-fashioned ingenuity to recreate everyday sounds like footsteps and rain, or to create from scratch sufficiently visceral splashes, crunches, and bumps.

The Strangely Consistent Nests of Armadillos

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No ultrasounds are needed here. Every time a nine-banded armadillo gives birth, the outcome is exactly the same: four identical, same-sex quadruplets.

Disney’s Aladdin was set in the wrong country

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More people are familiar with the movie version, but in the original story of The Thousand and One NightsThe adventures of Aladdin take place in China.

The French behind ‘Faux Pas’

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If you have a faux pasyou have made an embarrassing mistake. Or, in the literal translation from French, a “misstep”.

Never behead a Hydra

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According to legend, cutting a Hydra‘If you don’t do another person’s head right, the problem only gets bigger, because then two more will take its place.