In 2005, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, insulted Finnish cuisine and joked that Finns ate “marinated reindeer”. In 2008, Finland won an international pizza contest, beating Italy. The name of the winning pizza was “Pizza Berlusconi” and it was made of smoked reindeer.
4
In ancient Athens, the worlds first democracy, they had a process called ostracism, where once a year the people could vote on the politician they thought was most destructive to the democratic process. The “winner” was banished from Athens for 10 years.
2
When George W. Bush was 30 years old, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
40
In 1916, a US amendment was proposed to put all acts of war to a national vote. If you voted yes you would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army.
6
Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender.
259
In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
3
J. Edgar Hoover liked to fire FBI agents whose palms were sweaty when shaking hands.
26
Richard Nixon was so good at poker that most of his first campaign for the House of Representatives was funded by poker winnings from his time in the navy.
9