Holiday Fun Facts

In 1962, a drifter named Steve Wynn's predecessor won the entire town of Goodsprings, Nevada—including its saloon, gas station, and post office—with nothing but a lucky hand of cards. This is the bizarre tale of America's strangest real estate transaction and what happened to the town after it became the ultimate poker prize.

When Pepsi started selling their soda in Soviet Russia while Coke couldn't, they accepted payment in vodka and warships—yes, actual military submarines. From the New Coke disaster to celebrity endorsements gone wrong, discover how two sugar water companies became bitter rivals that shaped modern marketing and briefly made PepsiCo the sixth largest military power in the world.

We've all heard about animals going extinct, but what about the ones that came back? From a giant tortoise rediscovered after 100 years to a deer spotted in the mountains of Vietnam, these 'Lazarus species' prove that nature still has surprises up her sleeve. Get ready for seven jaw-dropping comeback stories that'll make you question everything you thought you knew about extinction.

On March 3, 1876, Mrs. Allen Crouch was making soap in her yard when meat started raining from the sky. For the next several minutes, chunks of fresh flesh covered her property while the sky remained perfectly clear. What scientists discovered when they tested the meat—and the wild theories that followed—make this one of history's strangest unsolved mysteries.

In the 1880s, two brilliant inventors waged war over which electrical system would power America—and things got seriously weird. From Edison electrocuting an elephant to prove his point, to Tesla lighting up the World's Fair, discover the shocking (literally) facts behind history's most electrifying rivalry.

From chocolate chip cookies to potato chips, some of our favorite foods exist only because someone messed up spectacularly in the kitchen. Join us as we count down five delicious accidents that changed culinary history forever—and made someone very rich in the process.

In 1932, Australia deployed soldiers armed with machine guns to fight an invasion of 20,000 emus destroying farmland in Western Australia. What sounds like a joke became one of history's most embarrassing military operations, complete with tactical retreats, media mockery, and the emus decisively winning. Discover how flightless birds defeated the Australian army and became legendary guerrilla fighters.

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Here's your holiday dose of trivia!

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