Ho Ho Ho…ly Shit

 

I’m not sure whether to feel terrific or terrified by Donald Trump’s downward spiral into 17 concurrent investigations, from Russian ties to his “university” to his alleged charity foundation.

On the one hand, it’s a beautiful downward spiral, as his embarrassing public owning (and pride) of our government shutdown illustrated.

On the other, one can’t help but wonder whether his withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan isn’t a prelude of his attempt to Tweet the nation into martial law (it would no doubt be spelled “marshal.”)

One thing is clear this holiday season: We could use some truth. Thus, the year-end edition of FactSlaps:

 

  • Thomas Edison invented the tattoo pen.Image result for Thomas Edison tattoo pen
  • The Netherlands was the first country in the world to make same-sex marriage legal in 2001.
  • Ratings on Netflix are not actually an average of the ratings of all users, but rather a representation of what users with similar entertainment tastes as you thought of the movie.Image result for netflix
  • St Nicholas is the patron saint of penitent murderers.
  • The Netherlands paved a bike path with recycled toilet paper.Image result for The Netherlands paved a bike path with recycled toilet paper.
  • In the U.S., the death toll from guns is higher for kids ages 0-4 than it is for on-duty law enforcement officers.
  • Enric Marco, a Catalan mechanic, was a prominent public face of Spanish survivors of the Holocaust for decades, until his story was revealed to be a lie.Image result for Enric Marco
  • Tidsoptimist is a Swedish word for someone who thinks they have more time than they actually do.

  • To ‘egrote’ is to pretend to be ill to avoid work.

  • The tallest cactus ever recorded was 78 feet tall.Image result for tallest cactus in the world
  • The Japanese words for wrist and ankle literally translate into “hand neck” and “foot neck.”
  • During its restoration in 1982, the Statue of Liberty’s head was accidentally installed two feet off-center.Image result for the Statue of Liberty's head was accidentally installed two feet off-center.
  • In 1891, a ride was planned that would drop passengers in free fall from the top of the Eiffel Tower into a pond at the bottom.Image result for In 1891, a ride was planned that would drop passengers in free fall from the top of the Eiffel Tower into a pond at the bottom.
  • Parts of Africa no longer want your clothing donations. The vast amount of these imports have devastated local clothing industries and led the region to rely far too heavily on the West.Image result for africa clothing donations