charles richter, who invented the richter scale to rate the severity of earthquakes, was an avid nudist.

the american actor christopher walken started off his show business career as a lion tamer.

eugene debs, a socialist who was put in prison for protesting u.s. involvement in wwi, ran for president from prion and received almost 1 million votes. this was also the first u.s. election in which women in all 48 states could vote.

pythagorus claimed that he was a time traveler who hated lima beans and could speak with animals.

before native american geronimo learned how to fire a gun, he would run at american soldiers armed only with a knife.

vincent van gogh painted 900 paintings in 10 years. he originally wanted to be a pastor. his most famous paintings were completed while he was a patient in an insane asylum.

no black person has ever been depicted on american money. a plan to put harriet tubman on the $20 bill has been stalled since 2016.

martha washington is the only woman ever depicted on american paper money.

marie curie's notebooks are still radioactive, and will be long after your death. she remains the only person to win nobel prizes in 2 different fields.

st. patrick wasn't irish. he was born to roman parents in wales, england, or scotland.

david bowie was a buddhist, and almost became a monk rather than an entertainer. when he died, his ashes were scattered in bali in accordance with buddhist rituals.

sir isaac newton displayed increasingly bizarre behavior in his later life. by examining strands of his hair, it was determined that it contained mercury, likely the result of newton's alchemical experiments. mercury absorbed into the body can cause mental illness.

arthur stillwell was a railroad tycoon who invented a way to ship live oysters by train. voices in his head that began when he was 15 told him how to do it. they also told him to found 40 towns, found 6 railroads, and told him whom to marry. despite all of this, stillwell was always short of money. when he died of an apoplectic fit, his wife committed suicide 13 days later.

in 2021, the average american makes less per hour ($11.19) than bob cratchit in charles dickens's story a christmas carol ($13.50).

 in 1916, jeannette rankin became the first female member of congress... 4 years before american women were permitted by men to vote.

 van gogh's painting the starry night depicts his view from the st. paul de mausole lunatic asylum.

louis armstrong, the legendary trumpet player and singer, was raised by a jewish family, and wore a star of david pendant to honor them. he could also speak fluent yiddish.

dave thomas, the founder of the wendy's hamburger chain, was adopted when he was 6 weeks old. his adoptive mother died when he was 5 and his adoptive father abused him. this spurred him to create a charity (the dave thomas foundation) to help orphans find familes that are good matches.

jackie chan, the comedy and martial arts actor, is a trained opera singer. he has recorded more than 20 albums in 5 different languages, and early in his acting career often sang the themes to his films over the closing credits.

i’ve paid more taxes, over $10 billion, than anyone else, but the government should require people in my position to pay significantly higher taxes. (bill gates)