Family Facts

Cat families usually play best in even numbers. Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible!

Osama bin Laden had four wives and fathered between 20 and 26 children, creating a sprawling family that has largely distanced itself from his legacy since his death in 2011.

No president of the United States was an only child for his parents.

Nearly half of all identity theft victims know their thief personally—whether a family member, friend, neighbor, or coworker.

The Nestles haven't run Nestle since 1875.

Apples are actually part of the rose family.

There is a family with a genetic condition that makes their skin blue, who have been isolated in rural Kentucky for generations.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

The average American family uses about 16,000 gallons of water each year just doing laundry—enough to fill a small backyard swimming pool!

A woman named Rachel Krishevsky who died at age 99 had 1,400 direct descendants.

A man named Ziona Chana lives in a 100 room, four storey house set amidst the hills of Baktwang village in the Indian state of Mizoram and has the world's biggest family with 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren.

Steve Jobs' biological father, Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, managed a popular Mediterranean restaurant near San Jose. Jobs ate there a couple of times without knowing the owner was his father. Jandali didn't know either. Years later, when Jobs' biological sister Mona Simpson tracked Jandali down, he casually boasted: "Even Steve Jobs used to eat there. He was a great tipper." That's how Jobs found out.

Eminem's mother sued him for $10 million in defamation over one line in "My Name Is." A judge ruled in her favor — for $25,000. Her lawyer took $23,354.25 in fees. She walked away with exactly $1,645.75.

Sisa Abu Daooh, an Egyptian woman, disguised herself as a man for 43 years after her husband passed away so she could work and provide for her daughter. She worked as a shoe shiner, brick layer, and farmer. When she was finally revealed in 2015, the Egyptian government didn't punish her — they awarded her the "Ideal Mother" prize on national television.

While filming Matilda, Mara Wilson's mother was dying of cancer. Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman quietly cared for Mara like their own daughter. DeVito secretly took an unfinished cut of the film to the hospital and screened it for her dying mother. He kept it quiet for years.

Austin Appelbee was 13 when his family's kayak flipped off Western Australia. His mother told him to swim for shore. He swam two hours with a life jacket. When it slowed him, he took it off. He swam two more hours without one. He reached shore and sprinted another mile to find a phone. His family was found 14 km out after 10 hours. Everyone survived.

Karl Kissner was cleaning out his late grandfather's attic in Defiance, Ohio when he found a dusty box. Inside were roughly 700 baseball cards from 1910 - including 16 Ty Cobbs and a Honus Wagner - in near-perfect condition, untouched for a century. The collection was valued at $3 million.

When his sister Kim was diagnosed with leukemia in 1991, Keanu Reeves put his career on hold, sold his home to move closer to her, and spent a decade cooking her meals, cleaning her house, and personally administering her medications. Kim told PEOPLE magazine in 1995: "My brother is my prince." She survived.

Kyle Adler was stolen from his mother in Chile as a baby and raised in America under a false name. A DNA test through MyHeritage matched him to Ana Maria Navarrete in Santiago. On Valentine's Day 2026, he walked off a plane in Chile - and she was waiting. She had spent 35 years looking for him.

Eddie Murphy once refused to take a photo with a young Martin Lawrence. Lawrence recalled the sting: "My face was cracked." Decades later, their kids married - Murphy's son Eric wed Lawrence's daughter Jasmin in 2025. In April 2026, they welcomed Ari Skye, making both men grandfathers. At Murphy's 2026 AFI tribute, Lawrence looked him in the eye: "You're my brother, my friend, and you are my in-law."

A Junior Ranger badge cannot be bought. Kids have to earn it. They finish an activity book about the park. Then a ranger swears them in on the spot. Right hand up, they take the oath. About 450,000 kids do this every year. Yosemite alone once swore in 22,600 in a single year. Every one of them still walks out wearing a real badge.

At 73, Alvin Straight rode a 1966 John Deere mower 240 miles to his ailing brother in Wisconsin. Too blind for a license, he would not be driven. At about 5 mph, with breakdowns and a stop when his money ran out, it took six weeks. Twin Peaks director David Lynch made it a G-rated film, released by Disney. The mower still sits in his Iowa hometown.