Ian McKellen once signed an autograph “F*** off, I’m gay.”

The controversial Section 28 law in the UK was supposed to forbid the promotion of homosexuality in schools, and a chief proponent of the bill was then Home Secretary Michael Howard.

Sir Ian McKellen, the legendary Shakespearean actor known for such prolific roles ranging from Gandalf to King Lear, attempted to convince parliament and Howard to not follow through with what he believed to be a discriminatory law, yet did not succeed. 

After the lobbying was over, Howard approached McKellen who he claims he was a huge fan of, and asked for an autograph. McKellen kindly took the piece of paper handed to him, and with a smile on his face signed, “Fuck off, I’m gay.” 

Although Mckellen failed to succeed in his political campaign, he definitely made a point and the law was later removed in 2003. 

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Steve Jobs never used license plates for his cars.

Steve Jobs was always known for his signature image of a black turtleneck, sneakers, and blue denim pants. What fewer people relate with him, though, is the silver Mercedes SL55 AMG he always drove, and the fact that it never had a license plate. 

Jobs had driven the same car for years, but never had a license plate on it. He was also never fined by the police for it. So how did he get away with it? It's all because of a loophole in the California vehicle laws. 

Anyone in California has a maximum of six months after the issuing of a plate number to put a license plate on a new car. All Jobs did was change cars every six months to an identical, new model, so that he could keep the plates off. 

Of course, doing this for most of us would be senseless hassle, as well as potentially very expensive. The gimmick would also probably run its course soon, and in the event the vehicle was stolen, identification would be much more difficult.

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A polio victim was kept alive in a metal tube for 58 years only to die when a power outage shut her iron lung down.

Her name was Dianne Odell, and for more than half a century she lived with an iron lung. A thunderstorm in 2008 knocked out the power to her home, which shut off the metal machine that had kept her alive for almost 60 years. When the power went out, the emergency generator didn’t start, and her father and brother-in-law tried to keep her alive by pumping the iron lung manually. 

Dianne is thought to be the oldest survivor of polio. She had been inside the 7 foot, 750 pound lung ever since she was paralyzed at age 3 by polio- back in 1950. Her parents decided to care for her. She managed to graduate high school, take college classes, and even write a book. 

Her whole family adapted to live taking care of her. Her father even built a generator as a backup power system in case of a blackout. On several occasions, he had to crank the machine by hand to keep her alive. Polio has long since been vaccinated and basically eradicated. Iron lungs are also no longer made. 

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Kodak, who invented the first digital camera, went bankrupt because they didn't convert to digital.

Kodak is an American multinational imaging and photography equipment company. You probably best identify them with their disposable cameras and photo developing locations, which have today greatly fallen out of use. With the rise of photographic technology in nearly every device, companies like Kodak have suffered. 

It’s a far cry from the days when Kodak held 90% of the market share. You probably remember Kodak’s signature “Kodak moment” commercials. When the digital cameras started coming in, Kodak’s glory days were over. Because Kodak was so slow to transition to digital photography, they ultimately went bankrupt- even though they had invented the core technology used in digital cameras. For the last 5 years, Kodak hasn’t seen a profit, and has gone bankrupt as of last January.

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A man threatened to sue Pall Mall cigarettes for not killing him!

Kurt Vonnegut was a famous 20th century writer. Some of his most well known novels are Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle and Breakfast of Champions. They blended satire and science fiction and humor. This humor was exemplified when Vonnegut threatened to sue a cigarette company for NOT killing him. His exact quote was:

“Here's the news: I am going to sue the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, manufacturers of Pall Mall cigarettes, for a billion bucks! Starting when I was only twelve years old, I have never chain-smoked anything but unfiltered Pall Malls. And for many years now, right on the package, Brown & Williamson have promised to kill me. But I am eighty-two. Thanks a lot, you dirty rats. The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon.”

If you haven’t read his books, you can imagine how amusing they are. Vonnegut died in April 2007.

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