Yes, the face of the well-known rum brand was a genuine person. In the 1660s and 1670s, he was a Welsh privateer who fought alongside the English against the Spanish in the Caribbean. King Charles II of England knighted him for his first name, Henry. His precise birth year is uncertain, however he was born somewhere around 1635. In 1688, he died in Jamaica, reportedly wealthy.

Did you know that "serendipity," one of the British's favorite words, is derived from "Serendip," the Arab and Persian names for Sri Lanka? The English writer Horace Walpole coined the term in 1754, based on the title of a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the princes "were perpetually making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in pursuit of." Sri Lanka is known as the "Land of Serendipity" for a reason: it has unspoiled beaches, timeless ruins, wonderful wildlife, and breathtaking landscapes.

Criminals have been sailing the seas for as long as there have been ships. Historians, for example, have discovered evidence of pirates in the Mediterranean as far back as 1353 B.C. During this period, the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten complained about pirates raiding his coastal cities and ports. According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the tyrants also threatened ancient Greece's trading routes and looted grain and olive oil cargoes from Roman ships.

Only three films have even won all five of the most coveted Oscars for Best Film, Actor, Actress, Director, and Writing. They are: 'It Happened One Night' (1935), 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1976), and 'The Silence Of The Lambs' (1992).

Sharks have microscopic teeth called epidermal denticles that cover their bodies. Because of this, their skin feels like sandpaper.

The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world. It stretches for around 6,400 kilometers/4,000 miles. The river runs through Peru, Colombia, and Brazil before entering the Atlantic Ocean.

According to Chinese history, music was invented in 2697 B.C. when Emperor Huang Ti sent Ling Lun to cut bamboo poles that would produce a sound similar to a Phoenix bird's call.

This lowers your risk of developing acne but also makes it easier for your skin to become dry. Insufficient skin hydration is one of the main causes of fine wrinkles, but fortunately, it's simple to address with a decent moisturizer.

All asteroids are categorised into numerous classes based on their chemical makeup and albedo. In a nutshell, there are three basic categories of asteroids: metal, silicon, and carbon. Carbon asteroids have very black surfaces. About 75% and 17% of all known asteroids fall within the first two groups.

One weird law, that’s since been long-forgotten, is that it’s illegal to pass wind in Florida after 6pm on a Thursday. It’s never really been enforced in Florida but it was probably written in the 1800’s. It’s not clear why this ever became a law, or a rumoured law in the first place.

We often get attracted towards the smell of the earth when it rains but have you have thought that rain too can have smell? But it does! Petrichor is the word that describes the scent of the rain. The reason behind it is that some plants secrete oild during dry periods & when it rains these oil get released into the air. And the aromatic compounds combine to create the pleasant scent of rain.

Most of us are aware that Christmas is also a time for gift-giving. But do you know what the largest Christmas present ever given is – the Statue of Liberty! In 1886, France presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a Christmas gift.

When there is too much snow for cities to handle, it is usually hauled away to parking lots or other wide-open spaces where it can sit until the weather warms up. Cities are sometimes forced to dump snow in the ocean during particularly snowy seasons, only to be chastised by environmental activists. Snow melters, which use hot water to melt 30 to 50 tonnes of snow per hour, are used in some cities. This method is quick but expensive—a single machine can cost $200,000 and consume 60 gallons of fuel in an hour.

The Sun reported on the astrological analysis done by UK Domain on the most recent Forbes list of billionaires. As it happens, Libra claimed the most—an impressive 27 billionaires. "And considering how Libras tend to be organized perfectionists obsessed with balance," the outlet notes, "it'll come as no surprise really."

Your nails' ability to grow can be impacted by stress. One thing that will stop your nails from growing is stress. But don't worry, your nails will eventually grow back.

First Impressions was the working title for Pride and Prejudice. Yes, the title was chosen as part of a branding strategy designed to increase sales, with publishers opting for a "if-you-liked-that-you'll-love-this" approach. By sticking to the noun-and-noun formula to ca$h in those book sales, Jane Austen's blockbuster sales of Sense and Sensibility encouraged this name change.

Hong Kong's official name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR). This means that it is a territory of China, but has the most autonomy, with separate political and economic systems under the idea of 'one nation, two systems.'

As you may have heard, Starbucks offers a generous benefits package to their employees, including providing healthcare to employees who work 20 hours a week or more. In fact, according to Howard Schultz, CEO of the company in 2008, Starbucks spends $300 million annually on healthcare, which is more than what they spend on coffee beans.

M. Night Shyamalan comes from a family of doctors. He was expected to be one as well, but he fell in love with film at a young age. As a tribute to his family, he appeared as a doctor in The Sixth Sense.

Pagan beliefs underpin witchcraft. The majority of pagan belief systems are not Christian. Because these pagan systems have no concept of Satan, worshipping him makes no sense. In contrast, Satanists worship Lucifer. Satanism has been around almost as long as Christianity.

They can tell the difference between warm-blooded and cold-blooded creatures and exclusively hunt the latter. In fact, in the natural, they would aggressively shun humans. As a result, they have never and will never kill a human. The sea lamprey's natural nature is to cling to things, such as the glass wall of its tank, the pebbles on the sea (or lake) floor, and so on. As a result, if one is put up to a human, it will most likely latch on like a leech. Its suction is quite forceful and can be extremely painful, putting intense pressure on the area of contact. While the bite is eventually unpleasant, no one has to be concerned unless they intentionally introduce the sea lamprey.