Illeists

Fact- an Illeist is someone who refers to themselves in the third person

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32844

Temper

Fact- At the Battle of Thermopoli, Persian Emperor Xerxes I was so mad that rough waves ruined a wooden bridge he had built, he order that the water receive 300 lashes of the whip

Pauley Perrette

Fact- Pauley Perrette plays forensic specialist Abby Scuito on the t.v. show "NCIS". In real life, Perrette has a degree in criminology.

Santa Claus

Fact- The illustrator that helped to popularize the modern image of Santa Claus, Haddon H. Sundblom, created the image for a Coca-Cola ad campaign in 1931.

Haddon H. Sundblom worked for several other well known companies, but he also created the image of the Quaker Man for the Quaker Oats Company. 

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Fact- The most well known aviation mysteries is the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, but one even more intriguing might be the vanishing of renowned French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Saint-Expuery was a reckless pilot who became better known for his writing , especially Le Petit Prince, than his flying career, even though the later was very eventful.

He pulled strings (being a famous author and a minor noble helped a lot) and got reassigned to the Free French Air Force during WWII at the age of 44. While flying a reconnaissance mission, he mysteriously disappeared. Despite further clues that have appeared over the last 2 decades, the actual events leading to his death are still unexplained.

For further Information:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=antoine+de+saint-exup%C3%A9ry&hl=en&prmd=ivnsb&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dXsB9CReXYVpVBM&sa=X&ei=6h6RTZ-6EM_AtgfOtvBg&ved=0CGwQhg4wCw

Inez de Castro

Fact- In 1360, King Pedro of Portugal wanted to legitimize his children that were born to his mistress Inez de Castro. He had married her after the kids were born, but the Pope said that Inez needed to be crowned to make them truly legitimate. Problem: Inez had been dead and buried for years. This wasn't a problem for King Pedro, he dug her up and crowned her in an extravagant coronation.

Madame de Pompadour

Fact- Madame de Pompadour is one of the most infamous royal mistresses. She was the official royal mistress to French Louis XV for almost 20 years. She is thought to have had a STI that made sexual relations painful. However, by keeping Louis entertained outside the bedroom, she kept her place at court and in his favor until her death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boucher_Marquise_de_Pompadour_1756.jpg

Chitty, Chitty, Bond, James Bond

Fact- Ian Fleming creator of the James Bond character, also wrote the children's book, "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang" that was made into a movie featuring Dick Van Dyke.

Acrophobia

Fact- Gustave Eiffel suffered from Acrophobia, or a fear of heights

Mr T

Fact- The reason why Mr. T started to wear so much jewelry was because he was a bouncer at a club. He would wear the lost and found jewelry so that when people came back for it, he wouldnt have to let them back into the club.

Thanks Francis Billington for this one.

XMAS Birthday

Fact- Shane MacGowen, the lead singer of The Pogues, is a Christmas Baby. "Fairytale of New York" was released in time for his 30th birthday in 1987

Fact- Richard Carroll was the last man who signed the Declaration of Independence to die. He was also the only Roman Catholic to sign the document.

Pardons

Fact- the outgoing governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is considering including outlaw Billy the Kid in his end of term pardons list.

Yum!

Fact- Admiral Boyd brought 2 1/2 tons of NECCO Wafers to the South Pole in the 1930s

Sloth

Fact- The man who played Sloth in The Goonies was John Matuszak. He was the first round pick in the 1973 NFL draft. He won 2 superbowls before retiring and becoming Sloth

Dracula

Fact- Bram Stoker was going to call his book "The Dead Un-Dead". He eventually decided to call it "Dracula"

Interesting Degree

Fact- At Liverpool Hope University, you can get a masters degree in The Beatles

Charity

Fact- JM Barrie, the author of the Peter Pan story, donated all rights to the Great Ormond Childrens' Hospital in 1929.

Further Info- the hospital received royalties from all stage and movie adaptations of Peter Pan until 2007, when the copyright expired. The Prime Minister worked out a deal that allows the hospital to get the royalties of all stage productions of the story in the UK

Behind the Scenes- from one of my favorite sights, Mental Floss