Queen ants can live up to 30 years, the longest life-spans of any known insect

Depending on the species, there can be either a single mother queen, or potentially, hundreds of fertile queens in some species. Queen ants have one of the longest life-spans of any known insect – up to 30 years. A queen of Lasius niger was held in captivity by German Entomologist Hermann Appel for 28¾ years; also a a Pogonomyrmex owyheei has a maximum estimated longevity of 30 years in the field.

The term “queen” is not particularly apt, as the queen ant has very little control over the colony as a whole. She has no known authority or decision-making control; instead her sole function is to reproduce. Therefore the queen is best understood as the reproductive element of a colony rather than a leader. Once a colony is established, the worker ants meet the queen’s needs such as giving her food and disposing of her waste. Because ant social structure is very complex and individual ants are relatively simple, an ant colony can be thought of as a single organism, and the individual ants as cells or limbs of the organism, as the individuals can rarely survive on their own.

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The Illuminati was originally formed to oppose superstition, religious influence and abuses of state power

The Illuminati could refer to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776 to oppose superstition, prejudice, religious influence over public life, abuses of state power, and to support women’s education and gender equality. The Illuminati were outlawed along with other secret societies by the Bavarian government leadership with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church, and permanently disbanded in 1785. In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution.

In subsequent use, “Illuminati” refers to various organizations claiming or purported to have unsubstantiated links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies, and often alleged to conspire to control world affairs by masterminding events and planting agents ingovernment and corporations to establish a New World Order and gain further political power and influence. Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories, the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels, movies, television shows, comics, video games, and music videos.

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In 1793, the fattest man in the world fought a bear in England

Daniel Lambert (13 March 1770 – 21 June 1809) was a gaol keeper and animal breeder from Leicester, England, famous for his unusually large size. After serving four years as an apprentice at an engraving and die casting works in Birmingham, he returned to Leicester around 1788 and succeeded his father as keeper of Leicester’s gaol. He was a keen sportsman and extremely strong, on one occasion he fought a bear in the streets of Leicester. He was an expert in sporting animals, widely respected for his expertise with dogs, horses and fighting cocks.

Although by his own account Lambert did not eat unusually large amounts of food, at about the time of his return to Leicester his weight began to increase steadily, and by 1793, he weighed 32 stone (450 lb; 200 kg). Concerned for his fitness, in his spare time he devoted himself to exercise, building his strength to the point where he was able to easily carry five hundredweight (560 lb; 250 kg). On one occasion, while he was watching a dancing bear on display in Blue Boar Lane, his dog slipped loose and bit it. The bear knocked the dog to the ground, and Lambert asked its keeper to restrain it so he could retrieve his wounded animal; however, the keeper removed the bear’s muzzle so it could attack the dog. Lambert reportedly struck the bear with a pole and with his left hand, punched its head, knocking it to the ground to allow the dog to escape.

Despite his increasingly large girth, Lambert remained fit and active, once walking seven miles (11 km) from Woolwich to the City of London ”with much less apparent fatigue than several middle-sized men who were of the party”. Although not particularly agile, he was not significantly restricted by his bulk, and was able to stand on one leg and kick the other to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m). He continued to teach swimming in Leicester, and was able to stay afloat with two grown men sitting on his back. He disliked changing his clothes, and each morning habitually wore the clothes he had worn the day before, regardless of whether they were still wet; by Lambert’s own account he suffered no colds or other ill effects from this behaviour.

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A French painter was highly acclaimed by art critics in 1964. What they didn't know is that the artist was actually a chimpanzee

In 1964 an art exhibition was held in the Swedish city of Göteborg. The work of previously unknown French painter, Pierre Brassau, attracted much attention. Art critic Rolf Anderberg wrote in the morning Posten: "Pierre Brassau paints with powerful strokes but also with clean determination. His brush strokes twist with a furious fastidiousness on the canvas ... Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer." One private collector bought Brassau's painting for $90 (equivalent to $500- $1000 in 2006).

Pierre Brassau turned out to be an ape.

Two pranksters, Åke "Dacke" Axelsson (a journalist) and Yngve Funkegård (an artist) gave a brush and paints to the chimp, named Peter, from local Borås zoo. The ape took to art like duck to water. The pranksters hung his work in a gallery under the brush name of Pierre Brassau.

When the hoax was revealed, art critic Anderberg still insisted that Pierre's work, was the best painting in the exhibition. Not everyone was fooled by the monkey work however. Another art critic wrote: "Only an ape could have done this." And what about you? Can you tell an immortal masterpiece of abstract art from monkey work? 

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Queen's "We Are the Champions" was scientifically proven to be the catchiest song in the history of pop music

In 2011, a team of scientific researchers concluded that the song was the catchiest song in the history of pop music. Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen said of the study, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology; from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers which can add effects to make a song more catchy. We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song.”

“We Are the Champions” was written by Freddie Mercury and recorded and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it remains among rock’s most recognisable anthems.

The song was a worldwide success, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. In 2009, “We Are the Champions” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was voted the world’s favourite song in a 2005 Sony Ericsson world music poll. In 2011, a team of scientific researchers concluded that the song was the catchiest in the history of popular music.

“We Are the Champions” has become an anthem for sporting victories, including as official theme song for 1994 FIFA World Cup, and has been often used or referenced in popular culture (see below). The song has also been covered by many artists.

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25% of the US military is Catholic

Prior to the creation of the Military Ordinariate and then the Archdiocese for the Military Services, the armed forces of the United States was served by an informal corps of volunteer priests. Beginning in 1917, the spiritual care of those in military service fell to the Military Ordinariate, the equivalent of a personal vicariate apostolic, that is, a particular church the membership of which is defined by some personal quality (as in this case being a member or a dependent of a member of the armed services) that is headed by a legate of the pope. Originally, the ordinariate was headed by then-Bishop Patrick J. Hayes, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York who served double duty as papal military vicar for the United States beginning on November 24, 1917.

Hayes was chosen because New York was the primary port of embarkation for U.S. troops leaving for Europe and therefore a convenient contact point for Catholic chaplains serving with them. When Cardinal John Farley, Archbishop of New York, died, Hayes was appointed as his successor and simply kept the additional title and duty of military vicar. In November 1939, the Holy See established the Military Vicariate of the United States of America. The post remained an additional duty of the archbishop of New York from Hayes’ time until Cardinal Terence Cooke began plans to separate it as its own jurisdiction in the early 1980s, plans he was unable to carry out before his death in 1983. His successor, Cardinal John Joseph O’Connor, a former Navy chaplain, former chief of Navy chaplains (the military’s title for its own senior chaplain officer) and former auxiliary bishop for the military, then assisted in creating the separate Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in 1985 and participated in the selection of its first own archbishop. On July 21, 1986, the military vicariate was elevated to the Military Ordinariate of the Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States. As of April 2013, about 25% of the U.S. armed forces are Catholic.

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There is a sport where hawks are trained to fly paragliders. It's called Parahawking

In parahawking, birds of prey are trained to fly with paragliders, guiding them to thermals.

Parahawking was developed by British falconer Scott Mason in 2001. Mason began a round-the-world trip in Pokhara, Nepal, where many birds of prey – such as the griffon vulture, steppe eagle and black kite – can be found. While taking a tandem paragliding flight with British paraglider Adam Hill, he had the opportunity to see raptors in flight, and realised that he could combine the sports of paragliding and falconry. He hopes that others will also be interested in the combined endeavours. He has been based in Pokhara ever since, training and flying birds during the dry season between September and March.

The team started by training two black kites, but have since added two Egyptian vultures, Kevin and Bob, to the team. Only rescued birds are used – none of the birds have been taken from the wild.

Mason and Hill documented their endeavours, with help from colleague Graham Saunders-Griffiths, in a film entitled Parahawking. In addition to being named Best Debut Film at the 2003 Festival International du Film de Vol libre in St-Hilaire, France (held as part of the Coupe Icare), and winning top prize in the ‘Air’ category at the 5th Hory a Mesto international festival of mountain films in Slovakia, Parahawking was a finalist in the category of ‘Best Film on Mountain Sports’ at the 2003 Banff Mountain Film Festival, and competed for the title of ‘Best Documentary’ at the 2004 Cervino International Film Festival.

Mason’s work has been featured in many publications around the world, from falconry-related journals and newsletters, to paragliding publications, mainstream magazines and newspapers.

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