http://www.omg-facts.com The #1 site for mind-blowing facts. Read interesting tidbits about celebrities, history, technology, and more. Copyright 2013 OMG Facts 60 omg-facts/WpAqhttp://feedburner.google.com http://www.omg-facts.com/Science/Alaska-Is-Both-The-East-And-Westernmost/57222 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/OCGxCXtYsqk/57222 Alaska is both the east- and westernmost state in the US!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/19/d3ff0ab676068f8ed941cb3c0f4d6dd5" />The Aleutian Islands of Alaska cross the 180 degree-meridian longitude. This means that these islands are part of the Eastern hemisphere. This means that Alaska is the state that is farthest north, east &amp; west in the United States!</p> <p> If you don&#39;t believe in that technicality, the easternmost state is Maine, then Alaska retains it&#39;s northernmost and westernmost titles, and Hawaii rounds out the group by being the southernmost.</p> <p> Of the lower 48 states, Maine is easternmost, Minnesota the northernmost, Washington the westernmost and Florida the southernmost.</p> <p> <a href="http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqznewsstates.htm" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/OCGxCXtYsqk" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Science/Alaska-Is-Both-The-East-And-Westernmost/57222 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/You-Will-Never-Count-To-One-Trillion/57207 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/LQE1vfblrXM/57207 You will never count to one trillion.<p> <img alt="" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2012/6/18/14b407a6374955069ff5205fc94de9b0" style="width: 300px; height: 180px; float: right; " />This one might be a no brainer if you&#39;ve thought about it before. How many numbers can you count to in five seconds? For fast counters, out loud is about twenty seven seconds. In your head, it might be closer to thirty five.</p> <p> Of course because higher numbers take longer to say, a fast counter can typically hit around 200 in sixty seconds. If you bring that up to an hour, it&#39;s somewhere around 1,200.</p> <p> Doing the math without factoring in the amount of time it takes to say the higher numbers, it would take over 9,000 years to get to one trillion. If you&#39;re counting in your head, the results won&#39;t be much better.</p> <p> If you count in your head for 24 hours straight, you will reach somewhere around 600,000. One whole year nonstop would give you 220 million, and if you counted for your entire life, you would only reach the billions.</p> <p> Well, if you ever find yourself immortal and floating through space after the Earth is destroyed, now you know what you can do for fun.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.vcu.com/content/20090218/how-long-would-it-take-count-trillion-one-dollar-bills-1000000000000" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/LQE1vfblrXM" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 16:30:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/You-Will-Never-Count-To-One-Trillion/57207 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/If-You-Turn-In-A-Tax-Cheat-The-IRS-Will/57223 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/NhqnApjF9RQ/57223 If you turn in a tax cheat, the IRS will give you at least 15% of what they collect!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/19/cf8393fa9a1a91dbaff9674b5ed3a6e9" />Being a tattle-tale pays if we&#39;re talking about turning in tax cheaters to the IRS. It&#39;s no secret that the US tax system is complicated and messed up in more ways than one. The large amount of rules, regulations, exemptions and loopholes makes it easy for people to cheat by paying less than what they owe.</p> <p> That&#39;s why, since 2006, the IRS instituted a new whistle-blower program to strengthen then one that has existed for years. If you are an informant in a tax cheating case, they will give you a minimum of 15%, and a maximum of 30% of the amount they collect!</p> <p> There are some stipulations: The total amount disputed has to be at least $2 million, and if it&#39;s an individual, their income must exceed $200,000. Either way, it&#39;s a great incentive to keep people honest.</p> <p> <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/02/pf/taxes/rat_out_tax_cheat/" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/NhqnApjF9RQ" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/If-You-Turn-In-A-Tax-Cheat-The-IRS-Will/57223 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/Fiat-Trolled-Volkswagen-Using-Google-Map/57224 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/f0RLpwhcruk/57224 Fiat trolled Volkswagen using Google Maps!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/19/0e794a38f47de0246e93621f8245e0c9" />This is a great example of good corporate sense of humor (or dickery, depending on your point of view). Here&#39;s what happened: Google sent one of it&#39;s trademark Street View cars to take pictures in Sweden. When Fiat realized this, they decided to have some fun with it.</p> <p> They sent a brand new Fiat 500 to trail the Google Street View car. It drove about 30 miles from Stockholm to park the car right in front of the Volkswagen headquarters in Sodertalje, Sweden.</p> <p> If you search &quot; Volkswagen Group Sverige AB, Sodertalje, Sweden,&quot; in Google Maps, you&#39;ll see the little Fiat car parked right under the Volkswagen sign.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/239979/fiat-pranks-vw-on-google-maps/" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/f0RLpwhcruk" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 14:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/Fiat-Trolled-Volkswagen-Using-Google-Map/57224 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Russell-Brand-Takes-Homeless-People-Out/57225 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/WoExsD3GjMg/57225 Russell Brand takes homeless people out for breakfast!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/19/e3c3e47960f5235de3a1dc7311be1901" />Russell Brand has a bad rep for being kind of a dick, but it seems like he has a much softer heart than most people realize. He has been spotted taking homeless people out for breakfast several times.</p> <p> One time he was seen eating with a group of homeless people at a Caf&eacute; in West Hollywood. Another time, he was seen giving a man a shirt so he could be protected from the heat and sun. Yet another time, he was seen taking someone to an Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.</p> <p> Whatever you think of him, that&#39;s pretty classy!</p> <p> <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4561672/russell-brand-takes-the-homeless-out-for-breakfast.html" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/WoExsD3GjMg" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Russell-Brand-Takes-Homeless-People-Out/57225 http://www.omg-facts.com/Animals/Norway-Knighted-A-Penguin/57214 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/BePBb6Oi5mQ/57214 Norway knighted a penguin.<p> <img alt="" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2012/6/18/038ea6c78e406f7a99c895ed6d03b21b" style="width: 300px; height: 240px; float: right; " />Nils Olav, a king penguin, was adopted in 1972 to be the mascot of the Norwegian Guard. He is named after Majols Nils Egelien and former King of Norway King Olav.</p> <p> Since then, he has only moved up in ranks. In 1982, he became a Corporal. In 1987, he reached the rank of Sergeant. In 1993, he became a Regimental Sergeant Major, and in 2001, he became an Honourable Regimental Sergeant Major.</p> <p> Nils is often visited by Norway&#39;s armed forces and has received much regard and respect because of his outstanding service and good conduct. In 2005, Edinburgh Zoo was presented with a bronze statue of the penguin due to the esteem Nils has generated.</p> <p> 2008, however, was the pinnacle of Olav&rsquo;s career. That year, King Harald V knighted Nils Olav. The ceremony was lavish, and a crowd of several hundred joined 130 guardsmen as Nils received his knighthood. He reportedly was on his best behavior and stood proudly as he was knighted.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/animals/SirNilsOlav.html" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/BePBb6Oi5mQ" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 07:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Animals/Norway-Knighted-A-Penguin/57214 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Bill-Gates-Just-Became-The-Richest-Man-I/57199 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/FXaGiF2NrDE/57199 Bill Gates just became the richest man in the world. Again!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/e4054fb189726a8a0bf2356e5a591e99" />Although he had lost the title to Mexican magnate Carlos Slim for over six years, a recent surge in Microsoft&#39;s stock price has let Bill Gates reclaim the title of the world&#39;s richest man.</p> <p> Gates&#39; fortune now stands at $72.7 billion, while Slim&#39;s is $72.1 billion. Slim&#39;s fortunes also fell because Mexico passed a bill that will tighten the reins of his enormous telecom company, America Movil.</p> <p> Next in line? Warren Buffet at $59.7 billion, then Spaniar Amancio Ortega at $57 and finally, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad at $55.6 billion. What&#39;s remarkable is that both Gates and Buffet have already given so much of their money away, and yet they&#39;re still at the top of the list!</p> <p> <a href="http://www.newser.com/story/168085/hes-back-gates-worlds-richest-person-once-again.html" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/FXaGiF2NrDE" height="1" width="1"/> Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Bill-Gates-Just-Became-The-Richest-Man-I/57199 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/A-Family-Found-A-4-85m-Lottery-Ticket-In/57200 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/YnorAS6NXF0/57200 A family found a $4.85m lottery ticket in their cookie jar!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/5e17436e69330bfd4c4bd5d3cbada888" />Ricardo Cerezo had been buying lottery tickets compulsively. After a month, his wife was annoyed and asked him to go get them checked for prizes, or she was going to throw them away.</p> <p> He took the tickets which had been put in a cookie jar and went to a 7-Eleven to check them. Most weren&#39;t winners. However, the last one said &#39;file a claim,&#39; which meant it was worth $600 or more. That&#39;s when he went online and realized that he had won $4.85 million and didn&#39;t even know about it.</p> <p> The family was facing foreclosure on their home, but now thanks to this fortunate windfall, they&#39;ll be able to keep their home. Hopefully they put the money to good use.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.newser.com/story/168070/found-in-cookie-jar-485m.html" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/YnorAS6NXF0" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 23:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/A-Family-Found-A-4-85m-Lottery-Ticket-In/57200 http://www.omg-facts.com/History/A-Town-In-Michigan-Disappeared-Because-T/57201 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/cdXa-RaoD1w/57201 A town in Michigan disappeared because they helped rebuild Chicago after the fire!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/f6deb92c89658167396edfa8877fcbb5" />No good deed goes unpunished, they say. It might have been the case for the town of Singapore, Michigan. After the devastating fire that destroyed Chicago, Holland and Peshtigo in 1871, Singapore became a valuable source of lumber for the reconstruction.</p> <p> The town became completely deforested after supplying lumber for helping with the reconstruction. This was their big mistake. Without the trees to cover them from the great Lake Michigan winds, the town became completely eroded. Sand started covering streets and houses.</p> <p> By 1875, the town was completely vacated and it was consumed by sand. The town of Singapore now only lives in the name of the Singapore Yacht Club, located at one end of the town.</p> <p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore,_Michigan#Singapore.27s_demise" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/cdXa-RaoD1w" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/History/A-Town-In-Michigan-Disappeared-Because-T/57201 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/UPS-Has-Saved-More-Than-10-Million-Gallo/57198 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/HHay6e3kZa4/57198 UPS has saved more than 10 million gallons of gas by telling their drivers not to turn!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/9e2e06086f6208ce3f979e090114d108" />In 2004, UPS asked their drivers to do something that seems a little strange: Don&#39;t make a left turn unless it&#39;s absolutely necessary. Turns out, UPS engineers had been studying that since 2001, and realized that the most significant cause of idle time was caused from drivers making left turns.</p> <p> What they did was design new routes which maximized the efficiency of package delivery by making a series of right-turn loops. This development has led to UPS saving more than 10 million gallons of gas since 2004, and reducing carbon emissions by 100,000 metric tons, or the equivalent of 5,300 cars being off the road for a year.</p> <p> <a href="http://compass.ups.com/UPS-driver-avoid-left-turns/" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/HHay6e3kZa4" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 21:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Business/UPS-Has-Saved-More-Than-10-Million-Gallo/57198 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/The-Musical-Chicago-Was-Based-On-A-True/57196 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/6uMgT9qwAX0/57196 The musical Chicago was based on a true story!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/5cc5dc5144fe7de0d979dae7676d10e0" />If you&#39;ve seen the movie or the show, then you know that Chicago is the story of Roxy Hart, wannabe cabaret singer. She cheats on her husband with a man who promises her fame and fortune, only to kill him later when it turns out he was lying.</p> <p> The movie, the 1975 musical and a 1927 silent film were all actually based on the real life story of Beulah Annan. Let&#39;s see if you can spot all the similarities to Chicago in Beulah&#39;s story.</p> <p> She was born in Kentucky, where she met and divorced her first husband. Then, she met a car mechanic called Albert Annan. They both moved to Chicago. Annan worked as a mechanic at a garage. Beulah would meet a man named Harry Kalsted at a laundry and begin an affair.</p> <p> In 1924, in her bedroom, Beulah shot Kalsted in the back. Her story changed several times. According to her, they were having an argument; there was a gun on the bed and they both reached for it, and she got to it first. Then, she claimed it was self-defense, fearing rape. Then she said he was leaving her because she said she was pregnant.</p> <p> Her loving husband stood by her through the trial. He gathered his money out of the bank and got her the best lawyers. She was acquitted on May 24, 1925. The very next day, she left her husband and finally divorced him in 1926, saying he had deserted her.</p> <p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beulah_Annan" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/6uMgT9qwAX0" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 20:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/The-Musical-Chicago-Was-Based-On-A-True/57196 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/An-Infamous-Episode-Of-The-X-Files-Was-B/57197 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/li4qrLacwTE/57197 An infamous episode of the X-Files was based on something that happened to Charlie Chaplin!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/17/b834390a3eb7e99b79e8329210914914" />&#39;Home&#39; is the title of an infamous X-Files episode being notorious for being the first X-Files episode for having a parental warning at the beginning of an episode. In it, Mulder and Scully find a family of inbred, mutated freaks in a small town called &#39;Home.&#39;</p> <p> The show had shocking images and an atmosphere that resembled the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The script turned a lot of heads at Fox. Some executives even called it immoral. Turns out, the writers based the script on the real life experiences of Charlie Chaplin.</p> <p> Chaplin was touring England in a musical. He went to stay in an old boarding house. The family who ran it liked him and asked him to come upstairs to show him something not many people saw. There was a man with no arms or legs. Then, they started dancing and the kid flopped around. When they were done, the kid lay on his back and was rolled under the bed.</p> <p> That anecdote showed up in an autobiography and the writer of the episode thought that he just had to do something like that at some point in his life.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.oocities.org/earl20xx/XHome.html" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/li4qrLacwTE" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/An-Infamous-Episode-Of-The-X-Files-Was-B/57197 http://www.omg-facts.com/History/The-Stereotype-Of-Jewish-People-Being-Gr/57185 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/lM8USh0BU7Y/57185 The stereotype of Jewish people being greedy comes from Christians not being able to perform certain jobs!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/16/09eb0fc1d39a11b344569dc8de2c76b6" />The Middle Ages were an era of time when Christianity was essentially ruling Europe. The Christian Church had such a high power of authority, it was able to tell citizens what they could and could not do. For example, the Church proclaimed that Christians were not allowed to lend money and charge interest, a practice called usury.</p> <p> The world, being the cruel place that it is, gave restrictions onto the occupations that Jews were allowed to have. Guess what one of those occupations was? Bingo. Jewish people were restricted to being usurers and money lenders, meaning that they could loan people money and charge them interest.</p> <p> Since being a money lender was one of the only occupations that a Jewish person could be, the idea that Jews are greedy and money-mad developed. As a result, Jewish people still have to live with that stereotype today.</p> <p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_Jews#Greed" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/lM8USh0BU7Y" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 18:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/History/The-Stereotype-Of-Jewish-People-Being-Gr/57185 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/India-Will-Exceed-Chinas-Population-By-2/57215 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/cwW2DxnlASU/57215 India Will Exceed China's Population By 2030<p> <img alt="" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2012/5/30/a4e60de650ac7ed1a28a170e7c7b6a79" style="width: 300px; height: 219px; float: right; " />India is currently at second for the world&rsquo;s largest population with 1.21 billion people or 17% of the Earth&rsquo;s population. When India was granted independence from the United Kingdom around 60 years ago, it&#39;s population was around 350 million.</p> <p> Since that time however, it has nearly tripled. In a matter of decades, it will out-populate China. This high population rate is a result of increasing poverty and sub-standard health care. There is very little awareness and education about birth-control, even amongst the middle classes.</p> <p> Meanwhile China&#39;s population is expected to drop while the US is never expected to reach the mark of 1 billion people. India has created some goals to reduce their population rates, but those goals will need to be carried out with well-planned, and effective strategies to curb a growth rate of 1.6%.</p> <p> <a href="http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/indiapopulation.htm" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/cwW2DxnlASU" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 16:30:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Fun+Facts/India-Will-Exceed-Chinas-Population-By-2/57215 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Will-Smith-Signed-Agreed-To-Star-In-The/57184 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~3/9itfWOJOy-k/57184 Will Smith signed agreed to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air because he owed the IRS $2.8 million!<p> <img class="right" src="http://cdn.omg-facts.com/2013/5/16/69fbeb95f80f658f08b4a949777d90eb" />The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, may just be one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. The humor on the show often consisted of running gags - such as Will making fun of his slightly overweight Uncle Phil&#39;s size, Carlton dancing ridiculously on the show, and Will&#39;s friend Jazz being thrown out of the house for a range of different reasons. But, before the show became something we all known and love - it was a solution to a problem facing Will Smith.</p> <p> In 1989, Will Smith was a successful rapper known as The Fresh Prince, although he grossly overspent his money and paid a small percent of income taxes. As it turns out, he was SUPPOSED to be paying a lot more income taxes - and ended up owing the IRS $2.8 million as a result. The agency seized almost all of his belongings, and hijacked his income.</p> <p> Will was facing the dreaded fate of being bankrupt, when an NBC producer approached him and asked if he would star in a sitcom revolving around himself. 6 seasons and 148 episodes later, we have one of the best sitcoms of the 90&#39;s.</p> <p> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Prince_of_Bel-Air#Backstory" target="_new">(Source)</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/omg-facts/WpAq/~4/9itfWOJOy-k" height="1" width="1"/> Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:00 -0500 http://www.omg-facts.com/Celebs/Will-Smith-Signed-Agreed-To-Star-In-The/57184