Funny Facts

In 2009, thieves arrived by helicopter on a cash depot roof in Stockholm. They had placed a fake bomb at the police helicopter hangar. Scattered caltrops on every access road. Stole $5.3 million and escaped clean. Police caught them months later through DNA on a piece of duct tape someone had licked.

A man from Dildo, Newfoundland flew his drone and found this iceberg floating into the nearby Conception Bay.

Dennis Schroder turned down an $84 million extension from the Lakers in 2021 because he believed he could get $100 million in free agency. After a poor playoff run, his market collapsed. He signed with the Celtics for $5.9 million.

Rob Lowe was offered the role of Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy. He turned it down for a CBS show called Dr. Vegas. CBS pulled it after five episodes. Patrick Dempsey took McDreamy instead. Grey's Anatomy ran for 21 seasons. Lowe later said the decision probably cost him $70 million.

In 1986, Nadine Vaujour hovered a rented helicopter over La Santé Prison in Paris while her husband Michel climbed a rope to reach her. She'd spent three years learning to fly under a fake name specifically for this moment. Michel had fought his way to the roof using nectarines he'd painted green and passed off as grenades. Not a single shot was fired. They disappeared for four months before being caught.

In 1989, the Soviet Union traded Pepsi 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer in exchange for Pepsi products. For a brief moment, PepsiCo had the 6th largest submarine fleet in the world. Pepsi's CEO told the National Security Advisor: "We're disarming the Soviet Union faster than you are."

In 1995, Patrick Combs got a promotional check for $95,093.35 in junk mail. He endorsed it with a smiley face and deposited it at an ATM as a joke. The bank cleared the full amount. It turned out the fake check accidentally met every legal requirement of a real one. Six lawyers told him the money was legally his. He returned it anyway.

Red Bull settled a $13 million lawsuit after a customer argued it was no better than coffee. A can has 80mg of caffeine. A cup of coffee has 150mg. Red Bull offered $10 per person to anyone who bought one since 2002. So many people claimed it that the payout dropped to $4.25.

In 1986, Cleveland released 1.5 million balloons to set a world record. A storm pushed them back down. They clogged Lake Erie, shut down a Coast Guard search for two missing boaters who drowned, caused a horse stampede, and triggered so many 911 calls about UFOs that the system crashed. The city was sued for years. The record was never officially recognised.

Jesse Dimmick broke into a Kansas couple's home while fleeing a homicide, held them at knifepoint, then fell asleep. They escaped. He was convicted of kidnapping. Then he sued them for $235,000, claiming they'd made an oral contract to hide him from police. The judge threw it out.

Before painting happy little trees, Bob Ross spent 20 years in the US Air Force as a Master Sergeant. He was the guy who screamed at you, made you scrub latrines, made you make your bed. When he left, he vowed to never raise his voice again. That's why he whispered.

In 2009, Wells Fargo held both the first and second mortgage on a Florida condo. When it needed to foreclose, Florida law required it to sue all lien holders, including itself. So Wells Fargo hired one law firm to file the lawsuit against Wells Fargo, and a second law firm to defend Wells Fargo against Wells Fargo.

Kevin Costner was offered the lead in The Shawshank Redemption. He turned it down because he was committed to Waterworld. Shawshank became the highest-rated film in IMDb history. Waterworld became Hollywood's most expensive punchline.

John Travolta was offered the lead in Forrest Gump but turned it down for Pulp Fiction. Both films were nominated for Best Picture in 1994. Travolta was nominated for Best Actor. He lost the award to Tom Hanks - playing the exact role he had turned down.

Virginia inmate Robert Lee Brock sued himself for $5 million. His argument: getting drunk violated his own civil rights and caused him to commit crimes. Since he couldn't work in prison, he asked the state to pay on his behalf. The judge called his legal theory "innovative" then ruled it "totally ludicrous."

Since 1966, the Swedish city of Gavle has built a giant straw Christmas goat in the town square. Arsonists have burned it down 43 out of 60 years. The city tried guards, CCTV, fences, and fireproofing. In 2005, attackers dressed as Santa and a Gingerbread Man shot it with flaming arrows. In 1976, an American tourist burned it down and told police he thought it was a tradition.

At his peak, T-Pain had $40 million in the bank. He bought a $1.7 million Bugatti. He let his manager invest in real estate properties that were, in his words, "complete dumps." Within a few years, he was so broke he had to borrow money to buy his children Burger King.

In 1965, French lawyer André-François Raffray agreed to pay 90-year-old Jeanne Calment a monthly fee for her apartment in Arles — he'd get it when she died. Calment lived to 122 years and 164 days, becoming the oldest verified person in history. Raffray died in 1995 at age 77, having paid more than double the apartment's value. His widow was legally required to keep paying until Calment finally died in 1997.

A dolphin named Kelly at a research center was trained to trade litter for fish. She started hiding paper under a rock, tearing off small pieces, and trading each scrap separately for maximum fish. Then she saved a whole fish, used it to lure a seagull into the pool, caught the gull, and traded that for even more fish. She taught her calf the system. Her calf taught other calves. The researchers realized they were the ones being trained.

A dog named Eclipse was at a Seattle bus stop with her owner. He stopped to finish a cigarette. The bus came. She got on without him. She rode 3 stops, got off at the dog park, and waited for him to catch up. Then she did it again. Every day. For 7 years. She had her own transit card on her collar.

In 1970, a dead whale washed up on an Oregon beach. Officials decided to dispose of it with half a ton of dynamite. A WWII explosives veteran warned them it was way too much. They ignored him. The explosion launched car-sized chunks of blubber 800 feet. One crushed a brand new Oldsmobile in the parking lot. The owner had just bought it from a dealership running a "Whale of a Deal" promotion.

In 2000, the New York Mets owed Bobby Bonilla $5.9 million. Instead of paying, they deferred it: $1.19 million per year from 2011 to 2035. The owner planned to invest the savings with his friend Bernie Madoff. Madoff turned out to be running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The Mets are now paying Bonilla $29.8 million for a career that ended in 1999.

In 1962, The Beatles drove ten hours through a snowstorm to audition for Decca Records. Decca rejected them. "Guitar groups are on the way out." They signed a local band instead to save on travel expenses. The Beatles went on to sell 600 million albums.

During the Cold War, the CIA spent $20 million and five years on Project Acoustic Kitty. They surgically implanted a microphone in a cat's ear, a transmitter in its skull, and an antenna in its tail. The plan was to eavesdrop on Soviet diplomats. On its very first mission, the cat was released near the Soviet embassy and was immediately hit by a taxi. The CIA concluded the technique was impractical.