Page 80 - Other Facts

A pilot ejected his seat over a thunderstorm and survived a 45-minute fall!

William Rankin is the only person known to have survived a fall from the top of a cumulonimbus thunderstorm cloud. Rankin was a pilot in the US Marine Corps and participated in both World War II and the Korean War. One day in 1959 he was flying from Massachusetts to South Carolina when he encountered a massive thunderstorm. 

A 5000 year old underground temple in Malta that was discovered by accident. It contained 6000 skeletons!

The Hypogeum (literally translates to “underground” in Greek) is a subterranean necropolis from the prehistoric times. It is the only prehistoric underground temple in the world. It was closed to visitors between 1992 and 1996 but has since reopened, and only permits entry to 80 people per day. 

Since 1900, the taller candidate has almost always won the presidential election.

Every 4 years when the presidential elections rolls around, analysts look at polls, platforms, and marketing techniques to predict which candidate will eventually win. Perhaps, to save a bit of time, they should just take a quick look at the candidates’ height! Statistics show that since 1900, the taller candidate has won the election 75% of the time. 

Every year a masked man leaves roses and cognac at Edgar Allan Poe's grave!

Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his dark tales of mystery and terror. After living a life that would be difficult to classify as normal, he passed away in 1849 under mysterious circumstances, strangely enough wearing clothes that weren’t even his, that has been attributed to anything from cholera, rabies, alcohol, or even suicide. 

He died in Baltimore and was buried, yet in the 1930’s a tradition began that can be classified nearly as strange as Poe’s life. He’s called the “Poe Toaster.” The nickname was given to a mysterious man that dressed in black with a wide-brimmed hat, white scarf, roses, and a bottle of cognac. The unknown man shows up every year since the 1930’s on January 19th at Poe’s gravesite and pours himself a glass of cognac in which he toasts Poe’s memory. 

After the cognac, he arranges the roses in a very specific order on the tombstone and leaves the half-empty bottle as well. Attempts have been made several times to catch of glimpse of the unknown man and discover his true identity, yet each has been unsuccessful. Fans of the Toaster became nervous as the years went on that eventually the man would have to stop coming, yet after leaving several notes it is now assumed that a younger “son” has emerged to take on the Toaster’s responsibility! 

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There was an attempt to have everyone on Earth jump at the same time to end Global Warming!

It was called “World Jump Day,” and it took place on July 20th, 2006 at 11:39.13. The organization that organized the day claimed that 600 million people from the western hemisphere were participating and that at the given time every person would jump. The hope was that the force of everyone jumping would slightly shift Earth out of its orbit and that it would end global warming. 

There was just one small problem with the whole thing. As it turns out, the entire it was all a hoax organized by an artist named Torsten Lauschmann. Lauschmann claimed to be a professor named Hans Peter Niesward from Munich to convince people of his credibility, and strangely enough he did. Although the estimation that 600 million people were to contribute is grossly over exaggerated, there were many people who participated after news reached major media outlets. 

However, the claim of 600 million people, which is nearly 50% of all internet users, was a dead give away to anyone paying attention that it was a hoax. Many scientists also came out denouncing the idea as completely idiotic and not based on scientific fact in the least, the chief argument being that it is impossible to shift the Earth’s orbit with its own mass. In the end the jump occurred, but it seems like we’re still in the same orbit. 

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