Page 50 - Other Facts

Goldeneye had 9 developers. 8 of them had NEVER worked on a videogame before!

GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter video game developed by rare and based on- you guessed it-the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. It was exclusively released for the Nintendo 64 video game console on 25 August 1997. The player is given the role of British Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond, but also includes a split-screen multiplayer mode in which 2-4 players can compete in different types of deathmatch games.

It has become a huge hit with gaming and James Bond fans alike. However, despite being so successful, the game was developed by an inexperienced team; eight of its nine developers had never previously worked on video games. David Doak (one of the developers) commented in 2004; “Looking back, there are things I’d be wary of attempting now, but as none of the people working on the code, graphics, and game design had worked on the game before, there was this joyful naivete.”

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In the Balkans, 2 beers have fierce competing fanbases. The rivalry is fake: they're both made by the same company!

There are two major beers in Slovenia: Lasko and Union. Loyalty to the beers is often compared to loyalty to a baseball team in the US- people take it seriously. If you like Lasko and say it in a Union pub, you can expect a response similar to expressing your enthusiasm for the Giants in Oakland.

Union apparently has a more full, balanced flavor, while Lasko is lighter, more thirst quenching, and contains more hops. The interesting thing is that despite the major followings behind both beers, they’re owned by the same company. Why they would manufacture such diehard loyalty should be pretty obvious- competition is great for your market, and even better when you profit from whichever good in the market is doing best. You can read all about how the two beers are related.

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Switzerland has no single Head of State.

Switzerland is a country with many heads! The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council of the Swedish federal government. Together, they serve as the collective head of state. While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each Councillor (member) heads one of the seven federal executive departments.

The Federal Council was established in 1848. The Federal Constitution describes it as the “supreme and directorial authority of the Confederation.” When the Constitution was written, constitutional democracy was still young and Switzerland’s founding fathers drew heavily the U.S Constitution for the organization of the federal state as a hole. However, as you can see, they ended up choosing the collegial rather than the presidential system for the executive branch of government.

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The world's best Chess player played 10 games at the same time, without looking at the board and won them all within 2 minutes!

He goes by the name of Magnus Carlsen but he’s often referred to as the Chess Mozart. To the 21 year-old Norwegian, chess isn’t just some game; it’s a cut-throat and brutal sport. Mangus has to participate in both physical and mental exercises to prepare himself for a competition. This is because, at the champion level, chess isn’t just about winning- no, you have to crush your opponent in the process.

Magnus says; “I enjoy it when I see my opponent suffering- when he knows I’ve outsmarted him.” Mangus apparently won the talent jackpot- aside from being a transcendent chess player, he’s also an excellent student, an athlete, and of course, a male model.

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Snapple wanted to make the world's largest popsicle. Instead they flooded NY's Union Square with 1.75 tons of melting ice!

Yes for a while, Union Square was sitting in a pool of kiwi-strawberry flavored fluid. Snapple had intended to erect a 25-fott tall, 17.5 ton treat of frozen Snapple Juice, but in their excitement they perhaps forgot that ice has a tendency to melt in 80 degrees temperature.

The mini-Snapple flood sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground and resulted in firefighters closing off several streets. Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting the record, but called off the plan before it was fully upright by a construction crane.

In all fairness, that 3 year olds’ dream was supposed to withstand the heat for some time, and organizers still aren’t sure why it didn’t. Snapple official Lauren Radcliffe said that the company that a take-2 is unlikely.

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