It is quite remarkable to consider the bizarre biology and science that dictates our world. For instance, the fact that a human flatulence travels at seven miles per hour is both a triumph of fluid dynamics and a reason to stay upwind at a garden party. We see these strange trivia points everywhere, like the repetitive scientific naming of the western lowland gorilla. It is as if the taxonomists simply ran out of creative energy that day. This level of weird history is precisely why I find the world so endlessly fascinating. Imagine being the person who paid ten thousand dollars for a piece of invisible art. One has to admire the audacity of the seller and the optimism of the buyer. We are living in a sitcom script written by a particularly eccentric deity. The irony of a Bosnian couple divorcing because they were unknowingly having an affair with each other is a plot twist that even Shakespeare would have found a bit heavy handed. From the official Rock Paper Scissors league in America to the renaming of Ronald McDonald for the Japanese tongue, these global oddities prove that our species is consistently dedicated to the peculiar. It is a world of linguistic facts and historical trivia that reminds us how little we actually know about the planet we inhabit.

One of my favorite tidbits in this gallery is the Greek mythology belief about redheads becoming vampires. It is exactly the sort of ancient superstition that makes one appreciate modern dermatological science. We also learn that West Side Story was nearly East Side Story, which really changes the entire rhythmic feel of the production, does it not? These brain breaking realizations are the spice of life. Whether it is the theft of mayoral underpants in Brussels or the aerodynamic properties of human biology, the truth refuses to be boring. We look at these images and realize that no matter how strange our personal lives might feel, there is a historical precedent for something even weirder. Reality does not need to follow logic to be entertaining, and these snapshots are the ultimate evidence. I hope these facts leave you feeling slightly smarter and significantly more confused about the nature of our existence. It is a magnificent struggle for sense in a very nonsensical world.