A flying pig caused a major blackout in China. On January 26, 2024 in Tongjiang county, Sichuan province, a farmer used his drone to transport his pig to a slaughterhouse. However, it got tangled in overhead power lines, causing a ten-hour-long electrical blackout to the entire village. Apparently, transporting livestock by drone is a common practice in rural areas.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #501: Flying pig causes blackout.
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#whenpigsfly #drones #offbeatnews #strangebuttrue #china #sichuan #webcomic #comics #wtf #flyingpigs #pigs #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Bob Coveiro was a dog who refused to leave his owner's grave for ten years. During that time, he was known to comfort grieving mourners at funerals with his playful and friendly personality at the Taboão da Serra cemetery in Brazil. When he died in 2021, a statue of him was raised in his memory, and he was buried beside his owner. Brazil then passed The Bob Coveiro Law in his honor, which allows pet dogs and cats to be laid to rest alongside their human families.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #500: Bob Coveiro. Also, my 500th strip!
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#bobcoverio #dogs #famousdogs #wholesome #grief #brazil #bobcoveirolaw #pets #familiars #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

When Alexander the Great met Diogenes (a brilliant philosopher who chose to live on the streets homeless, foregoing all material possessions), Alexander offered him anything his heart desired. Notably, at the time, Alexander was arguably the single most powerful man alive on Earth. Diogenes supposedly replied with: "Yes. Move, you're blocking my sunlight."

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #499: Diogenes of Synope.
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#diogenes #philosophers #philosophy #greekphilosopher #diogenesthecynic #cynicism #alexanderthegreat #history #strangebuttrue #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Spire of Lloyd is called "Ireland's only inland lighthouse," and it's located 25 miles (40 km) from the nearest coast. It's a folly, or a building with no function or purpose other than aesthetics.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #498: The Spire of Lloyd.
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#spireoflloyd #ireland #inlandlighthouse #folly #architecturalfolly #architecture #lighthouse #buildings #ireland #facts #funfacts #strangebuttrue #butwhytho #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

TrES-2b (aka Kepler-1b) is the darkest planet discovered so far. Located 750 light years away, it appears literally blacker than coal, but glows slightly in infrared because its surface temperature is about 2,900 F or 1,600 C.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #497: TrEs-2b aka Kepler-1b.
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#sodarkitsbeenshotbycops #tres2b #kepler1b #Planets #gothplanet #space #science #astronomy #strangebuttrue #facts #spacefacts #nasa #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Lone Gunmen was a spin-off of The X-Files. In the pilot, the heroes (who run a conspiracy theory magazine) uncover a secret plan by rogue agents of the U.S. government to remotely hijack a large passenger airliner, crash it into the World Trade Center, and blame it on terrorists in order to justify a new, profitable war. Notably, the episode was aired six months before the 9/11 attacks.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #496: The Lone Gunmen.
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#thelonegunmen #tvshows #tv #thexfiles #xfiles #conspiracytheory #911 #nevarforget #falseflag #spinoff #television #facts #entertainment #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Satoru Nomura was the first Yakuza boss sentenced to death in Japan, and (partly) because of a penis enlargement surgery. While recovering from the procedure, he felt disrespected by one of the nurses. So he ordered an attack on her. However, the investigation into this attack led to charges added to several other serious crimes, including murder. He got the death penalty in 2021, later commuted to life in prison.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #495: Satoru Nomura.
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#yakuza #crime #japan #cosmeticsurgery #organizedcrime #mafia #gangs #strangebuttrue #wtf #offbeatnews #webcomic #comics #facts #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Johnny Cash was once nearly killed by an ostrich. Despite defending himself with a 6-foot long stick, Cash broke two ribs and was nearly disemboweled by the huge bird’s claw. Ostriches can reach 9 feet tall and weigh 320 pounds. They can be aggressive, and can easily kill a human (and have). The incident led to his addiction to painkillers and nearly ruined his life.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #494: Johnny Cash versus an ostrich.
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#johnnycash #themaninblack #musicians #ostriches #ostrich #bigbirds #animalattacks #strangebuttrue #didyouknow #facts #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Helen Duncan was the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. A "psychic," she held a seance in 1941 and revealed the sinking of the HMS Barham, which was classified and only known to the Navy and the sailors' families. She actually heard it from an intelligence leak, and her "vision" was inaccurate on many key details (like the design of the sailors' uniforms). The Navy investigated the leak, which led to her trial for witchcraft and fraud. She was sentenced to nine months in prison.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #493: Helen Duncan.
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#psychics #frauds #bullshit #scams #intelligenceleak #witchcraft #history #legal #ww2 #hmsbarham #stupid #strangebuttrue #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

"aaaaaaa ccccc deeeee ghiiiiiii Illl mm nnnnnnnnn oooopp grrs ttttt uuuuu" was the first written human description of Saturn having rings, by Christian Huygens in 1655. He encoded it as a Latin anagram in his book Systema Saturnium, before claiming credit for the disovery three years later. This was proof he discovered it first, while giving himself time to refine his initial findings.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #492: aaaaaaa­ccccc­deeeeeg­hiiiiiii­llllmm­nnnnnnnnn­oooopp­qrrs­tttttuuuuu.
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#huygens #christiaanhuygens #space #saturn #planets #astronomy #science #history #strangebuttrue #cryptography #tripcode #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm in arithmetic geometry by mathematicians David A. Cox and Steven Zucker. Their paper: "determines whether a given set of sections provides a basis (up to torsion) for the Mordell-Weil group of an elliptic surface E->S, where S is isomorphic to the projective line, " whatever that means. Also, Cox and Zucker said that as soon as they met as students at Princeton, they collaborated specifically because the paper's title would be so funny.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #491: The Cox-Zucker Machine.
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#mathematics #geometry #coxzuckermachine #pardonmyfrench #pardonmymath #strangebuttrue #wtf #facts #funfacts #math #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Fact check: Is it really illegal to talk to dolphins? The Marine Mammal Protection Act doesn't specify communication, but prohibits "interfering with marine mammals" in a way that alters their natural behavior. This includes attempting communication. So it's probably okay to talk to one; but if you're trying to get them to talk back, you may need a lawyer.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #490: The Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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#mmpa #marinemammalprotectionact #dolphins #whales #cetaceans #nature #marinebiology #biology #zoology #laws #legal #facts #funfacts #didyouknow #strangebuttrue #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Finnair Flight 666 flew to HEL on Friday the 13th, October 2017 (Copenhagen to Helsinki). It landed safely without incident.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #379: Flight 666 direct to HEL.
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#thingsstupidpeoplearescaredof #finland #finair #666 #friday13 #fridaythe13th #markofthebeast #superstition #metal #flight666 #strangebuttrue #aviation #denmark #webcomic #comics #wtf #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" is a 1980 documentary where the legendary filmmaker fulfills a bet to eat his own shoe if his friend ever completed their film. At its premiere, Herzog boiled his shoe in garlic and ate it on camera. It wasn't even Herzog's first strange bet. While filming "Even Dwarfs Started Small, " he bet his crew he'd dive into a cactus patch while they film it, if there were no more accidents on set. There weren't, and he made good on his promise.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #489: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
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#wernerherzog #wernerherzogeatshisshoe #bets #filmmakers #movies #strangebuttrue #wtf #art #facts #funfacts #moviefacts #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #8: Vulcan Point.
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#vulcanpoint #philippines #weirdgeography #geography #islands #luzon #wtf #facts #funfacts #strangebuttrue #uselessfacts #themoreyouknow #didyouknow #comic #comicstrip
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The Breathalyzer's co-designer, Dr. Richard Lacey, was caught drunk driving in the UK in 2024.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn: #488: The Breathalyzer.
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#truecrime #breathalyzer #baddrivers #uk #crime #offbeatnews #strangebuttrue #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Torpedo fish wasn't named after the torpedo, but the other way round. The underwater missile was named after the fish, which are now called electric rays (genus Torpedo, family Torpedinidae). The name, in turn, comes from the Latin torpēdo, meaning lethargy or sluggish-ness. The name was fitting because the original design was more like a sea mine than today's self-propelled device.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #487: Torpedo.
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#torpedo #torpedofish #electricrays #nomenclature #whatsinaname #fish #submarines #missiles #explosives #strangebuttrue #didyouknow #funfacts #facts #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Matrix Defense is a legal defense based on the 1999 movie The Matrix (where the entire world is revealed to be a huge computer simulation) and argues that the defendant committed their crimes because "none of this is real."

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #486: The Matrix Defense.
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#matrixdefense #law #legal #matrix #movies #thematrix #solipsism #philosophy #delusion #delulu #bullshit #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

•Kkrieger is the world's smallest-sized computer game at just 96 kilobytes, and this was in 2004. Despite its tiny filesize, it was a first-person shooter with 3D graphics, textures, original music, and detailed maps; and looked like Doom or Quake from the era. It was made by German demogroup theprodukkt for a game demo competition, which it won. For perspecțive on how small 96 KB is, this comic's image file is around 1 MB, or about ten times larger.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #485: .kkrieger.
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#kkrieger #computergames #gaming #worldrecords #germany #theprodukkt #strangebuttrue #wtf #3dgames #doom #quake #firstpersonshooter #geek #funfacts #facts #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Ancient Egypt covers such a vast expanse of time (3150 BC to 30 BC), that each era of ancient Egypt had their own ancient Egyptian anthropologists studying previous eras of even more ancient Egypt before them.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #484: Ancient Egypt.
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#ancientegypt #egyptology #history #anthropology #egypt #strangebuttrue #science #webcomic #comics #wtf #facts #funfacts #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The most expensive speeding ticket was for €650,000 (or US $1 million). It was handed out in 2010 to a Swedish millionaire for doing 180 mph in his Mercedes AMG SLS in Switzerland (the speed limit was 72 mph). Some European countries base traffic fines on the offender's income and car's value as well as speed. In 2015, for example, a Finnish millionaire was slapped with a $58,000 fine for going just 15 mph over the speed limit.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #483: The World's Most Expensive Speeding Ticket.
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#baddriving #speedingticket #speeding #switzerland #finland #scandinavia #supercars #webcomic #comics #facts #funfacts #didyouknow #strangebuttrue #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The one-electron universe is a hypothesis that says the entire known universe consists of just one single electron, moving backwards and forwards through time.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #482: The One-Electron Universe.
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#onelectronuniverse #quantumphysics #quantummechanics #science #wtf #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Takanakuy is held in some parts of Peru where entire villages ring in the new year by getting drunk and beating the crap out of each other. The idea is to settle old scores and grudges, and start the new year with a clean slate. The results are legally binding. It's unclear how healthy this is, but it certainly can't make political debates any worse.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #78: Happy New Year! #Takanakuy
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Sauce: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takanakuy
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#happynewyear #newyear #tradition #traditions #culture #cultures #peru #cuzco #southamerica #themoreyouknow #comic #webcomics #cartoons #uselsssfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The Sator Square is a word square or grid of five five-letter words (sator, arepo, tenet, opera, and rotas). It has existed since 62 AD and has been found all over Europe, the Middle East, Asia minor and North Africa. However, nobody knows its real meaning or origin. It could also be an early meme. It was also featured in the worst movie ever made by mankind, Christopher Nolan's Tenet.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #481: The Sator Square.
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#satorsquare #satorrotas #satorrotassquare #ancientmemes #history #strangebuttrue #mysteries #badmovies #badsciencefiction #timetravel #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Roland the Farter was King Henry II's royal court jester who was famous for performing an act called the "saltum, siffletum, Pettum" (a jump, a whistle, and a tart, simultaneously) for the king's court every Christmas. He was apparently so good at it that the king gave him 110 acres of land in Suffolk.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #480: Roland the Farter. Also, Happy Yule etc
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#rolandthefarter #courtjesters #jesters #medievalhistory #kinghenryii #strangebuttrue #farts #performingarts #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus. We all know about jolly St. Nick rewarding good kids with presents on Christmas. But in pre-Christian folklore, he was also accompanied by Krampus, a "half goat, half-demon" who would punish bad kids. He's depicted as dark and hairy, with goat horns, cloven hooves and a long, pointed tongue. Variations show him with birch branches for whipping naughty kids and a sack in which to carry them to hell. So, uh... Merry Christmas!

Bonus Yule edition! A lump of coal isn't much of a threat. Teach your ill-behaved crotchfruit vermin offspring all about the horrors of Krampus and scare them straight!
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#Krampus #santa #christmas #folklore #comic #comicstrip #comics #facts #trivia #funfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Lake Natron is a blood red salt lake in Tanzania that is so salty, hot and alkaline (with a pH above 12), that any animal that dies in or near it is calcified, or turned into a salt statue.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #479: Lake Natron.
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#lakenatron #alkalilake #saltlake #saltflat #weirdplaces #africa #nature #volcanoes #cursed #weirdfacts #funfacts #didyouknow #strangebuttrue #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The dodo was actually intelligent and inedible, contrary to popular belief. They went extinct mainly due to habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species by explorers, rather than being hunted. It didn't help that they had no fear of humans, like penguins today. They were initially named "Walghvoghel" meaning "tasteless bird" by early Dutch explorers. And as members of the family Columbidae, which includes pigeons, they were probably of above-average avian intelligence.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #478: The Dodo.
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#dodo #commonmisconceptions #misconceptions #myths #birds #extinct #animals #history #pseudohistory #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

The world's largest nature reserve for penguins was created unintentionally. The Falkland Islands were heavily land-mined in the Falklands War, making the beaches off-limits to humans and large predators. But penguins are not heavy enough to trigger the land mines, so the beaches became a safe haven for thousands of them.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #144: The Falkland Islands Penguin Reserve.
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#falklandislands #islands #landmines #naturereserves #penguins #southamerica #patagonia #falklands #war #strangebuttrue #facts #funfacts #weirdfacts #comics #webcomic #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn

Nigel Richards memorized the French dictionary in 9 weeks and won The World French Scrabble Tournament in 2015-all without ever learning how to speak the language at all.

Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #246: Nigel Richards.
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#scrabble #nigelrichards #frenchscrabble #boardgames #wordgames #trivia #french #didyouknow #butwhytho #strangebuttrue #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn