These Weird Historical Trends Probably Wouldn't Catch On Today

Sea Monkeys

For kids in the late sixties and early seventies, the promise of sea monkeys was enough to make every Christmas list. Thousands of suburban suckers handed over their allowance money for the chance to raise a monkey from the sea. The big scam was that those sea monkeys were actually just brine shrimp and not magical ocean primates.

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The More You Know

  • A U.S. park ranger named Roy C. Sullivan held the record for being struck by lightning the most times, having been struck — and surviving — seven times between 1942 and 1977.
  • Earth is 4.54 billion years old.
  • The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated the same year Nintendo was founded.
  • Surfaces near the equator move much faster than those in other locations on Earth.
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