The head of Columbia Studios had Sammy Davis Jr. kidnapped by the Mafia to keep him from marrying a white woman!
Sammy Davis Junior was one of the most famous African Americans of the 1950’s and perhaps most well known as a member of the infamous “Rat Pack” along with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Even with his fame however, Davis was a victim of racism throughout his life. One of the most famous and interesting events that he encountered was with the mob and one of his prospective wives. Kim Novak was a famous actress for Columbia Studios and was a white woman.
Harry Cohn, who was the head of Columbia, was terrified that the interracial couple would damage the credibility of the studio and Novak’s career and so he called his friend in the mob. The mob confronted Davis and told him he had to end the relationship…or else. They then had Davis kidnapped for a few hours before releasing him. Davis was so terrified, he hastily married black dancer Loray White in 1958 as a cover up!
Ever wonder where the worst place to lose your wallet is? It’s not where you’d expect!
Students at Bernard College did an experiment in Manhattan where they purposely “lost” their wallets across the city and observed where they were most likely to be returned. Each student picked a different area across the city and “dropped” a handful of wallets with a few dollars, fake credit cards, and business cards with numbers and addresses to have them returned. In total, 132 wallets were dropped, and most of the time as soon as they were dropped someone picked it up and ran to the person who had dropped it to return it. 82 percent of the time the wallets were returned, while 3 percent of the time someone tried to return it but failed, mostly by attempting to give it to the wrong person.
13 percent of the time the wallet was simply unseen or ignored by people as they walked by, and amazingly only 2 percent of the wallets were taken! So where were the most wallets taken? Surprisingly, it was the Upper East Side, the wealthiest area of New York. Where the median family income was nearly $200,000, the student who placed the wallets expected a high rate of return, yet he observed several people who appeared well-off to simply pick up the wallet without looking around and keep walking as if nothing had happened! The results? Don’t lose your wallet in a rich area or your most unlikely to get it back!
Christians were originally called atheists by the Romans!
Christians were routinely punished by the Romans who saw their religion as impious and backward. Beginning with Jesus, Christians were rounded up and executed for their religion over the course of three centuries. The Romans characterized them as “impious atheists” because they did not believe in many gods. Virtually everyone in the ancient world agreed there were many gods, which is why Christianity and Judaism were considered so bizarre.
In fact, the act of praising only one God was so foreign to the Romans that they considered it equivalent to denying the existence of all gods and thus labeled them atheists!
There’s a haunted house so terrifying few people actually make it through!
Haunted houses are always popular around Halloween, and just like everything we do, humans always find a way to go a little overboard. There is one haunted house, called “Blackout Haunted House,” where you must be over 18 to enter and must go through alone. After you enter, you have to stay on the line or will be immediately removed from the house. You can’t touch the actors or walls, and you’re not even allowed to speak!
The house is so violent that a protective mask has to be worn at all times. So what makes it so terrifying? Ridiculously violent, and sexual, acts are constant on the walk and the majority of people are so disturbed they leave by saying, “safety,” which is the only word allowed to be uttered. Would you go? Tell us in the comments!
Scientists are making glass shells to see how hermit crabs fit!
Hermit crabs are interesting little creatures that are usually seen in an elementary school class room, but have you ever wondered just how they fit into their shell? They are known for abandoning shells after it loses its usefulness and then finding another one to walk around in for a while. Scientists wanted to see exactly how they make their homes and constructed a glass shell to do so!
They were able to observe the crabs walk into the glass shell and slowly twist their abdomen around the central column. After it is wrapped around, the hermit crab takes the tip of the abdomen and clasps it firmly to the central column, holding it in place and creating a new home!
