Dark, but still Fun Facts

This week's fun facts are dark because I enjoy dark facts.

1. In the UK, the most common cause of death for men under 50 is suicide.

2. Hundreds of inmates died during Hurricane Katrina, not because of the hurricane or flooding, they died because the officials left in a panic and left the inmates to starve in their cells.

3. Before World War II, Hitler offered to give Jewish refuges to the U.S., Britain, and many more first world countries, but they refused.

4. Tuberculosis killed 1.5 million people in 2014, making it a larger cause of death than AIDS.

5. Vincent Van Gogh's last words were "The sadness will last forever."

6. More people died in Auschwitz than the British and America losses during WW2 combined.

7. In 1968, a man built an platform off the coast of Italy and declared himself the President of his micronation. The Italian government seized control and blew it up with explosives.

8. Human trafficking is the largest growing criminal industry.The industry is worth about $32 billion in total.

9. Gun sales increase after a mass shooting.

10. The only country that spoke against Germany when it was annexing (seizing territory by force) Austria, was Mexico.

11. Half of the top 20 cities with murder rates are located in Brazil.

12. Spain was neutral in WW1 and WW2, but they experienced a civil war from 1936-1939, which killed over 500,000.

13. A Russian suicide bomber planned to attack Moscow during the new year (because of the crowds) but she received a text message, and the bomb instantly exploded, only killing the bomber.

14. The youngest serial killer is age 8, killing 3 young children, as well as the neighbors baby, who he killed by smashing it with a brick.

15. The top 5 worst cities for pollution in the U.S. are all in CA.

16. Nazis burned and banned "Bambi" because it was made by a Jewish author.

17. It takes longer to drown in salt water than it does fresh water.

18, Only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful.

19. Once a dog hits the ago of 10, it has a 50% chance of dying from cancer.

20. 1/3 of the deaths in WWI were caused by the Spanish Flue.

Fun Fun Fun

1. Research conducted that women are better at discriminating among colors, while men excel at tracking fast moving objects. This is believed to be an evolutionary trait that stuck around from our hunter-gatherer phase.

2. Sniper bullets move so fast that the Earth's rotation will actually move the target and snipers have to to take this into account.

3. Perfectionists are much more likely to have depression because they have an unrealistic view of failure and are over-critical of themselves.

4. The creator of the Eiffel tower made a secret room near the top, where he entertained members of the science community.

5. Al Capone sends flowers to rival gang members' funerals.
Bonus Fact: One time, he spent almost 5,000 dollars on flowers on a single funeral.

6. Jellyfish are 98% water and when they wash up on the shore, they will evaporate.

7. Tears of joy are your bodies way of restoring emotional equilibrium(bringing it back to normal levels).

8. The CEO of Japan Airlines makes less than the pilots, takes a bus to work, and eats in the cafeteria.

9. The van cats of eastern turkey all have mismatched eyes, white fur, and love to swim.

10. Carrie Fisher wore no underpants in Star Wars because George Lucas convinced her there was no underwear in outer space.

11. The world has only been at peace (no war) for 268 years. That equates to about 8% of recorded history.

12. Giraffes only sleep for 30 minutes a day, the least of all mammals.

13. The flag of Nepal is so complicated that the country's constitution includes 24-step instructions on how to create it.

14. The U.S. has more people of Norwegian descent than Norway.

15. Elephants can suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).

16. 27 people die every year from elevator accidents. But, 1600 people die from taking the stares.

17. Al-Qaeda had denounced ISIS for being anti-islamic.

18. A Shiba Inu makes 100,000 dollars from modeling men's ware on Instagram.

19. There are so many apples that if you ate a different one everyday, it would take you almost 20 years to try them all.

20. 35% of workers would forego a substantial pay raise if it meant their boss would be fired.

  

Nation States

I will probably do Fun Facts this week as well, but I have been playing a fun game recently and would like to share my experience. I was introduced to this game by Michael, the same guy who lives in PA and wrote the Donald Trump story. It is called NationStates and is a text based political simulator. You receive two issues per day, and they all impact your nation in some way or another. I have made three nations because two issues per day is too few for me. Today in one of my nations, Pasta Masta, I received an issue titled Heads Will Roll. Someone in my nation died and killed others, but this could have been prevented if he had worn a helmet, and I am forced to take a stance on this issue.

1. "This law would violate our religious right to wear our sacred top hats while riding motorcycles!" exclaims Ali Cohen, president of the Violetist Scooter Corps, as he points his ceremonial blade at your chest. "We have worn the top hat in times of war on the battlefield! Our protection comes from Violet herself! Require the ungodly heathens to wear helmets! Those who are chosen by Violet to ride will ride in style or die trying!"

2. "The stove pipe is right, helmets are lame!" agrees Dean James, your slacker nephew. "How am I going to impress any babes if I have helmet hair?" he asks, running his hand through his hair while checking out your secretary over his sunglasses. "Do the right thing boss; helmets are for losers."

3. "Don't listen to him, dear," says your sister, while she drags her son towards the door by the ear. "You had the right idea: everyone riding a motorcycle should wear a helmet, and a padded full body protective suit, and a reflective vest, and neck warmers and..." she continues listing security gear as she leaves the room with your nephew in tow.

4. "It's not enough!" screams one of your junior aides, a fragile and slightly confused soul who was particularly disturbed by the recent accident. "It's not just traffic! People slip in the shower every day, cans fall on their heads in supermarkets, disoriented birds; we're all exposed, at all times! If people are too stupid to realize that, we have to make them! There should be a helmet law for everyone! Wear a helmet or go to jail!"

The above are all of the stances I can take on this issue, while all of these options are extreme, most of the time there is a nice in-between if you choose to pick that. I adapted the first option because the nation I received this issue in is crazy, corrupt, and religious. To show you the scope of this game, I will show you my three 3 nations, one of my friend's, and my governing style behind my nations.  

Phagate : This was my first nation and it started out as a extremely militaristic and crime infested state. My goal with this nation is to became a safe, and democratic nation.

Pasta Masta : As mentioned earlier, this nation is bonkers. I basically just pick the most interesting option. For an example, instead of trial by jury, criminals can request trial by combat. 15% of my population dies to acts of god, and my government kills people that try to speak out (roughly 6% of my population) against my corrupt ways. 

Phenita : Is pretty close to the U.S. My economy is rather lackluster, but free speech is held dear. My political freedoms are excessive and my civil rights are superb. Even though I am a Catholic nation, 9% of my population dies to acts of god. I want to keep the environment as clean as possible, no matter the cost. I am basically trying to make the perfect nation.

Ahar : This is my friend's nation and he has a similar tactic to my Pasta Masta tactic; he just picks the most interesting one. Political freedoms and civil rights are close to none, and his economy is about as good as modern day Greece. When his government had a spy problem, he built a moon cannon so he could shoot them down from the safety of his home. 16% of his population dies to acts of god and 0.5% of his population dies because they kill themselves in police custody. His entire budget is going towards spirituality (religion), defense (military), and law and order so he can punish people that speak out against his government. All in all, a great nation.

I hope I piqued your interest at least a little bit, and if I didn't, I am just glad you read this super long rant,