Wikitruths

"Several well-known entertainers have praised Manilow, including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s..."

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:32:01 -0500

“Several well-known entertainers have praised Manilow, including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s saying, “He’s next.” In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, “Don’t stop what you’re doing, man. We’re all inspired by you.””

- Barry Manilow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"In the 2010 film The Social Network, in the initial meeting between Facebook co-founders Mark..."

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:32:06 -0400

“In the 2010 film The Social Network, in the initial meeting between Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin and Napster co-founder Sean Parker, Parker buys the table a few rounds of the drink. In real life, Zuckerberg never had an appletini until he attended the film’s premiere. After seeing the film, Zuckerberg made the appletini Facebook’s official drink.”

- Appletini

"The Queen woke when he disturbed a curtain, after which he sat on the edge of her bed talking to her..."

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:44:49 -0400

“The Queen woke when he disturbed a curtain, after which he sat on the edge of her bed talking to her for about ten minutes. She phoned twice for police but none came. Fagan then asked for some cigarettes, which were brought by a maid.”

- Michael Fagan incident

"In January 1985, two armed robbers broke into Drescher and Jacobson’s Los Angeles apartment...."

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:43:05 -0400

“In January 1985, two armed robbers broke into Drescher and Jacobson’s Los Angeles apartment. While one ransacked their home, the other raped Drescher and her friend at gunpoint. Jacobson was also physically attacked, tied up, and forced to witness the entire ordeal.”

- Fran Drescher

(via topherchris)

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:24:31 -0400

(via topherchris)

"In GPS technology, the phrasing “COCOM Limits” is also used to refer to a limit placed to GPS..."

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:28:00 -0400

“In GPS technology, the phrasing “COCOM Limits” is also used to refer to a limit placed to GPS tracking devices that should disable tracking when the device realizes itself to be moving faster than 1,000 knots (1,900 km/h; 1,200 mph) at an altitude higher than 60,000 feet (18,000 m). This was intended to avoid the use of GPS in intercontinental ballistic missile-like applications.”

- If your mobile moves faster than 1,200 MPH the GPS will shut off because it thinks you’re a missile. (Via Wikipedia)

"Mary Toft, also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the..."

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:41:31 -0400

“Mary Toft, also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits.”

- Mary Toft on Wikipedia

"The story goes that the city of Bielefeld (population 330,000) in the German state of North..."

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:54:28 -0400

“The story goes that the city of Bielefeld (population 330,000) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia does not actually exist. … Even after 17 years, however, the mayor’s office receives phone calls and e-mails each day which doubt the existence of the city.”

- Bielefeld Conspiracy on Wikipedia

"Diana, Princess of Wales admitted that she had an affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt,..."

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:35:22 -0400

“Diana, Princess of Wales admitted that she had an affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt, between 1987 and 1992. As she was then the wife of the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, this fitted the definition of high treason,”

- High treason in the United Kingdom on Wikipedia

"Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (born 19 February 1963 in Paddington, London, England),..."

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 03:07:16 -0400

“Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (born 19 February 1963 in Paddington, London, England), known simply as Seal”

- Seal (musician) on Wikipedia

"David Lubega (born April 13, 1975), also known as Lou Bega, is a German musician of Italian and..."

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:08:27 -0400

“David Lubega (born April 13, 1975), also known as Lou Bega, is a German musician of Italian and Ugandan descent, and is famous for his song “Mambo No. 5”. This song is a remake of the Perez Prado instrumental from 1949. Bega added his own words to the song and sampled the original version extensively.”

- Lou Bega on Wikipedia (via daveshumka)

"The oldest living Goldfish to date was a goldfish named Tish owned by Hilda and Gordon Hand of..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:46:21 -0400

“The oldest living Goldfish to date was a goldfish named Tish owned by Hilda and Gordon Hand of Thirsk, N. Yorkshire, England. Tish lived for 43 years after being won at a fairground in 1956.”

- Common goldfish on Wikipedia

"The building’s distinctive Art Deco spire was originally designed to be a mooring mast and..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:10:03 -0400

“The building’s distinctive Art Deco spire was originally designed to be a mooring mast and depot for dirigibles. The 102nd floor was originally a landing platform with a dirigible gangplank. A particular elevator, traveling between the 86th and 102nd floors, was supposed to transport passengers after they checked in at the observation deck on the 86th floor. However, the idea proved to be impractical and dangerous after a few attempts with airships, due to the powerful updrafts caused by the size of the building itself, as well as the lack of mooring lines tying the other end of the craft to the ground.”

- Empire State Building on Wikipedia

"Perhaps the most widely known story of the origin of the expression concerns the area around the..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:05:44 -0400

“Perhaps the most widely known story of the origin of the expression concerns the area around the triangular-shaped Flatiron Building at Madison Square in New York City. The building is located on 23rd Street at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, and due to the shape of the building winds swirl around it. During the 1920s, groups of men would allegedly gather to watch women walking by have their skirts blown up, revealing legs, which were seldom seen publicly at that time. Local constables, when sometimes telling such groups of men to leave the area, were said to be “giving them the 23 Skidoo”.”

- 23 skidoo (phrase) on Wikipedia

"Jobs noticed his friend Steve Wozniak—employee of Hewlett-Packard—was capable of producing designs..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:58:13 -0400

“Jobs noticed his friend Steve Wozniak—employee of Hewlett-Packard—was capable of producing designs with a small number of chips, and invited him to work on the hardware design with the prospect of splitting the $750 wage. Wozniak had no sketches and instead interpreted the game from its description. To save parts, he had “tricky little designs” difficult to understand for most engineers. Near the end of development, Wozniak considered moving the high score to the screen’s top, but Jobs claimed Bushnell wanted it at the bottom; Wozniak was unaware of any truth to his claims. The original deadline was met after Wozniak did not sleep for four days straight. In the end 50 chips were removed from Jobs’ original design. This equated to a US$5,000 bonus, which Jobs kept secret from Wozniak, instead only paying him $375.”

- Breakout (video game) on Wikipedia

"Chicago is not significantly windier than any other U.S. city."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:53:32 -0400

“Chicago is not significantly windier than any other U.S. city.”

- Origin of the name “Windy City” on Wikipedia

"Jack Dorsey grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri, and by age 13, he had become interested in dispatch..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:53:00 -0400

“Jack Dorsey grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri, and by age 13, he had become interested in dispatch routing.”

- Jack Dorsey on Wikipedia

"He also threw out the defamation lawsuit that Aqua’s record company filed against Mattel...."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:50:00 -0400

“He also threw out the defamation lawsuit that Aqua’s record company filed against Mattel. Kozinski concluded his ruling by saying, “The parties are advised to chill.” The case was dismissed, and in the process, it garnered lots of media attention for the song and the band.”

- Barbie Girl on Wikipedia

"In popular comedy, Evian is naive spelled backwards."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:49:29 -0400

“In popular comedy, Evian is naive spelled backwards.”

- Evian on Wikipedia

"The last thing he reportedly wrote before his death was the name of actor Kurt Russell, the..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:39:24 -0400

“The last thing he reportedly wrote before his death was the name of actor Kurt Russell, the significance of which remains a mystery, even to Russell.”

- Walt Disney on Wikipedia