6 Facts So Unbelievable You'll Accuse Us of Lying

 

Sometimes, reality is crazy—crazier than anything a novelist or avant-garde filmmaker or even just a really imaginative kid would be able to invent. Often, trivia gets to the point where it boggles the mind and you find it downright unbelievable. There's no way a spy agency used cats as spies, you might think. Nope! Boston wasn't nearly wiped off the map by molasses. That's all fiction!

Well, think again. If you peek into the annals of human existence—whether it's corroborated historical record or undisputed modern-day fact—you'll find all manner of seeming fiction that is utterly, totally, 100-percent true. Don't believe us? That's fine. You don't have to. You should, however, at the very least, read on and test the bounds of your information—because we've pinpointed the most bonkers stories of humankind.

1.  Typhoons Saved Japan from Kublai Khan

Though the word "kamikaze" was later applied to Japanese suicide pilots during WWII, it literally means "divine wind" and is also used as a historical term to refer to two typhoons that swept through the island nation in 1274 and 1281. Both times, hordes of Mongols lead by Kublai Khan sailed from China in an attempt to conquer Japan, and both times, a massive storm swept them back. Japanese Buddhists of the time believed that the storms had been the gods' way of preserving their empire, so they referred to the typhoons as "divine wind."

2.  Genuine Leather" Is Kinda Garbage

Next time you're at the mall, stop by a mid-range department store and take a look at the belt selection. Chances are you'll see the words "genuine leather" stamped on the underside. Though, yes, that does mean the belt is 100 percent leather, it also means that it's made of the cheapest grade of leather: several low-quality layers of hide pasted together. "Top-grain leather" is what you'll find in fine leather goods and designer stores, but, of all the widely available forms, "full-grain leather" is the highest quality and longest-lasting type. Or, if you really want to splurge, go for Italian leather, which is inimitable in its quality.

3. There Was a Four- Times - Over Dog Mayor

The beloved mayor of Cormorant, a small township in Minnesota, retired this past summer after four consecutive terms in office. As much as he loved civil service, he was getting too old for the job—91, if you put it in dog years, in fact. Duke, the big, shaggy Great Pyrenees dog, was first elected in 2014 and continued to win yearly elections until announcing his retirement in 2018. Duke plans to write a book about his legacy of being a very good boy.

4. The High Five Is A Recent Innovation

It seems like the simple gesture of one person slapping another's palm in victory must have been around forever, but in truth, it may even be younger than you are. At a pro baseball game in 1977, Dodger player Dusty Baker hit his 30th home run of the season. As he rounded home and passed his teammate Glenn Burke in the on-deck circle, Burke raised his hand in excited greeting. On instinct, Baker reached up and slapped it because, he said, "it seemed like the thing to do."  Thus the high-five was born.

5. A Shot of Espresso Contains Less Caffeine Than a Cup of Coffee

Many coffee purists swear by espresso, a form of coffee made by grinding the beans very finely and subjecting them to hot water at high pressure. Espresso has a more concentrated flavor, so it must have a higher concentration of caffeine, right?  Well… kind of. Though, ounce for ounce, espresso does have more caffeine than a regular drip brew, a shot of espresso has 120 to 170 mg of caffeine, whereas a cup of coffee has 150 to 200 mg. In fact, it would take two or three espresso shots to equal the caffeine in a 16-ounce Starbucks coffee.

6. A Kangaroo Saved the Life of the Man Who Rescued Her

When Australian Len Richards found a joey (that's a baby kangaroo) whose mother had been hit by a car, he brought the little creature home and named her Lulu. The Richards family raised her as a pet on their large farm. One day in 2003, Len was knocked unconscious by a falling branch on his property, and Lulu stayed by him, loudly "yapping" until his family could find him.