During Japan's 1,200-year meat-eating ban, people devised... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
During Japan's 1,200-year meat-eating ban, people devised creative loopholes. They classified rabbits as birds by calling their ears "wings," dubbed wild boar "mountain whale" to pass it off as fish, and claimed ducks were fish because they had webbed feet.
In Yoro, Honduras, fishrain has been falling from the sky for over 100 years. Since 1998, locals have celebrated with an annual "Festival de lluvia de peces" (Fish Rain Festival).
The word 'ketchup' comes from '膎汁' (kôe-chiap) in the Chinese Min Nan dialect, meaning 'fish sauce.' It was originally a fermented fish and shellfish sauce—tomato ketchup was not invented until 1812.
The barbershop pole originated from a time when barbers in Europe also performed surgery. Red represents arteries and bleeding, blue represents veins and shaving, and white represents bones and bandages.
The earliest recorded spam was a dental advertisement sent by telegram in 1864 in Britain. The furious recipient wrote to The London Times: "By what right do they send me a telegram that is plainly, purely an advertisement, to disturb me?"