The provided text is a transcript of the "Knowledge Whale" series, featuring 50 amazing facts to blow one's mind. The facts range from scientific and historical tidbits to bizarre and humorous anecdotes. Some of the topics covered include:
* Human body facts, such as the production of red blood cells and skin shedding
* Historical events, like the use of natural gas in ancient China and the world's first ligers born in 2013
* Bizarre stories, including a Russian suicide bomber whose plan was foiled by a Happy New Year text message and a woman who took part in a search for a missing person, only to realize she was the missing person
* Interesting animal facts, such as bearded vultures wearing makeup and miniature guide horses for the blind
* Unconventional records, like the longest time spent living exclusively on pizza (26 years) and the world's first ski-through fast food restaurant
* Celebrities and famous people, including Steve Jobs' limited use of technology for his children and Violet Jessop's survival of three shipwrecks
* Quirky facts, such as the most stolen food item being cheese and the world's first ligers being born in 2013
The transcript also includes the host's commentary and reactions to the facts, as well as a promotion for the audio book platform Audible.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. On average, a person produces 72 million red blood cells and sheds 174,000 skin cells every 30 seconds.
2. Humans put a man on the moon before they put wheels on luggage.
3. In 2014, a stray dog named Arthur followed a Swedish racing team through the Amazonian jungle and rivers to complete a 688-kilometer race.
4. The Han Dynasty of China drilled for natural gas, transported it in pipelines and gas containers, and burned it on stoves as far back as 200 BC.
5. There are so many castles in France that some are up for sale cheaper than two-bedroom apartments in metropolis cities like New York City and Sydney.
6. Bearded vultures wear "makeup" by rubbing their necks and heads in iron-rich soil to change their white feathers to a bright reddish-orange.
7. One giant container ship can emit the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50 million cars.
8. The human heart has three types of blood vessels: arteries, veins, and capillaries.
9. 7% of the population triggers a sneeze reflex when they stare at a bright light, and 94% of those people are Caucasian.
10. In 2015, Russia opened a military Disneyland called Patriot Park where visitors can ride in tanks, shoot guns, and buy and sell military gear.
11. A woman once took part in a search for a missing tourist in Iceland only to realize hours later that she was the missing person.
12. A Russian suicide bomber's plan was foiled when her wireless carrier sent her a text message wishing her a Happy New Year, which triggered her belt bomb.
13. Confidential data from the maritime industry revealed that one giant container ship can emit the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50 million cars.
14. If someone reports their company for tax evasion in the United States, they will receive 15 to 30% of the amount collected.
15. One person named Bradley C. Birkenfeld received $104 million as a reward for being a whistleblower on the USB AG Swiss Bank tax evasion scheme.
16. In 2013, a man in Michigan switched his house numbers with his neighbor, and the crew ended up demolishing the wrong house.
17. It's possible to die from drowning up to 24 hours after leaving water due to dry drowning.
18. Chinchilla fur is so thick and soft that fleas will suffocate if they try to live in it.
19. The Pigg-O-Stat is a device that has been around since the 1960s where radiologists can safely immobilize babies and young children who can't sit still during an x-ray.
20. Researchers found that people with dark eyes are more agreeable, while people with blue eyes tend to be more competitive.
21. There is an unnamed species of octopus that scientists think are so cute that they're pushing to have it named Opisthoteuthis adorabilis.
22. In the town of Fucking, Austria, the most common reported crime has been stealing of their road signs.
23. Miniature guide horses can be used as an alternative to seeing eye dogs, with an average lifespan of 30 years and 350-degree vision.
24. Google Chrome's dinosaur Wi-Fi error message is also a game.
25. When General Motors unveiled the Camaro name in 1966, they were asked "What is a Camaro?" and replied that it's a small vicious animal that eats mustangs.
26. In the US, being clean-shaven only became popular after troops returned home as heroes from World War I.
27. Steve Jobs refused to let his own kids have iPads and limited their use of technology to a minimum.
28. LSD was first synthesized in 1938, but its creator, Albert Hofmann, accidentally consumed it discovering its hallucinogenic properties in 1943.
29. The world's first ligers were born in 2013, which are the rarest big cats on earth.
30. After American physicist Richard Feynman was named the world's smartest man by Omni Magazine, his mother was quoted as saying, "If that's the world's smartest man, God help us."
31. In the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, no two female characters ever speak to each other.
32. Howard Hughes bought an entire casino named Silver Slipper just so that he could tear down their neon sign, which was visible from his bedroom and kept him up at night.
33. Scientists in Florida plan on releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild to reduce cases of dengue fever and other diseases.
34. A man from Maryland has lived exclusively on pizza for the last 26 years.
35. Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, met his wife on his first pizza delivery back in 1962.
36. Violet Jessop was a ship nurse on the Britannic, the Olympic, and the Titanic, and survived all three ships' sinkings.
37. Mike Tyson first snorted cocaine when he was just 11 years old and was given alcohol when he was just an infant.
38. China invented fireworks, but Italy gave them their colors.
39. Colors in fireworks are created using metallic powders, such as calcium for orange, sodium for yellow, and barium for green.
40. According to a study by National Geographic, the same gene that gives humans the urge to travel is also responsible for ADHD and thrill-seeking behavior.
41. Paper cuts hurt so much because the cut often bleeds very little or not at all, leaving the skin's pain receptors open to air.
42. Great white sharks have only ever attacked people 280 times between 1876 and 2013 globally, and only 77 of those attacks resulted in a fatality.
43. Deer kill nearly 200 people a year in the US alone.