Jack Sparrow’s famous gun with just one shot is a real 17th century gun!
In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow routinely draws his gun and threatens to shoot it, yet never does because it only has one bullet that is saved for his enemy, Captain Barbosa.
The movie looks pretty authentic, and one of the reasons is because some of the props were actually real! The gun with one bullet is an actual .50 caliber English Flintlock Pistol dating back to the 17th century!
The Flintlock Pistol was introduced in 1630, and quickly replaced earlier gun models because of its quick reloading time. It was commonly used for over two centuries, until cartridge-based guns were released in the mid 1800’s.
The Flintlock was a favorite of pirates and they usually carried four to eight on them at one time!
If ivory trade was legal, there could be MORE elephants alive than there are now!
Ivory is one of the most sought after goods in the world, demanding prices that rival or even exceed gold. While elephants have always been hunted for the ivory in their tusks, once colonization and globalization erupted over the past 150 years, their populations have sharply declined from an increase demand.
The problem was so bad that in 1989 there was a meeting in Switzerland that discussed possible solutions on how to ensure the elephant population doesn’t disappear.
Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa answered calls to stop the ivory trade to ensure the survival of elephants, yet Zimbabwe took the complete opposite stance with increased success!
Officials in Zimbabwe spoke against banning the ivory trade because they believed the black market would continue to poach elephants and private businesses will no longer be able to ensure their survival to meet market demands.
Instead of working, the bans encouraged the ivory trade, and inside of Zimbabwe the elephant population has since grown!
The most amazing gentleman’s duel ever was held on hot air balloons!
Throughout history men have participated in duels to settle just about everything you could think of, and while they are usually performed standing across from each other, there have been some strange ones.
Perhaps none is stranger than the duel that occurred in Paris in two hot air balloons! The story goes that two men quarreled over who would win the heart of a Mademoiselle Tirevit.
The event occurred in 1808, when the hot air balloon was still extremely popular among the elite in France, and so, pun intended, the men decided to take it to the air because both were of “elevated minds.”
They ascended into the air 900 yards, and stopping at this height, they then shot in turn at each other’s balloon. One of the balloons was hit on the second volley and quickly fell before crashing into Parisian rooftops, killing the dueler.
The victor claimed the heart of his mademoiselle and made history. To this day, this remains one of the strangest duels in history!
Thanks to a mistranslation it is WOMEN who give chocolate to men in Japan!
Valentines Day is always a special occasion for some and a day to be avoided for others, and while Westerners have their customs, they are not the same throughout the World.
Originating as a Western holiday, it was not brought to Japan until 1936, when chocolate companies were aiming for the business of foreigners.
Because the holiday was so new and alien to the Japanese, they were not sure exactly how the day usually went. When an executive at a chocolate company was translating an advertisement, he mistranslated “men” and “women” resulting in the complete opposite of what we know!
In Japan, it is now common for women to give their male friends and co-workers chocolates instead!
Greyhounds have 270-degree vision! They can see objects behind them and half a mile in front of them!
Greyhounds are one of the most interesting species of dog for many reasons. While it is commonly known that they are the fastest, reaching speeds around 70 km, not much else is known to most people. Traditionally used for hunting and racing, the greyhound is a machine of an animal.
They have significantly more red blood cells than other dogs and larger hearts and lungs to be able to run faster and longer. Their vision is amazing and they can see almost entirely around them without moving their bodies!
They were traditionally owned by the nobility in Europe because of their physical superiority compared to other dogs and were once strictly limited to the ruling classes!While they are physically amazing, they are also known to be among the most gentle dogs.
