BuzzFeed Facts

Actually factual facts from the BuzzFeed Video Research team. Check out our sources!

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

The first-ever government shutdown occurred in 1976, 200 years into the history of the United States, after the budget process was changed in 1974 by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act.

(@washingtonpost, 2013)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

Happy birthday, Alaska!

[Law Library of Congress @LawLibCongress]

#OTD, January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state, 92 years following its purchase from the Russian Empire. #TodayinHistory

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

Earth gets hit with more than 100 tons of dust and sand-sized particles from space every day.

(@NASA)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

There are approximately 257,500 millennial farmers in the US.

(@FarmBureau, 2017)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

Happy Kwanzaa!

[JSTOR Daily @JSTOR_Daily]

The first #Kwanzaa was celebrated beginning #OTD in 1966. #HappyKwanzaa
https://t.co/uiRJH1Ilb7

[PA Historical & Museum Commission @PHMC]

When George Washington died on Dec.14, 1799, #Congress set Dec. 26 as a day of formal mourning in #Philadelphia, the nation's capital from 1790 to 1800. #OnThisDay #OTD @librarycongress

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

KFC began a campaign in the 1970s to popularize fried chicken on Christmas in Japan. Now, they report record sales there on Christmas Eve.

(Smithsonian, 2012)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

It's A Wonderful Life was first released in theaters on this day in 1946!

[US Copyright Office @CopyrightOffice]

The holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life" was released #OTD in 1946. Even though it did not set the box office ablaze, the film is now a well-loved holiday classic. You can read about the copyright saga behind it in our blog post. https://t.co/HSKlR7E40U

[JSTOR Daily @JSTOR_Daily]

Once upon a time, #OTD in 1812, Grimms' Fairy Tales were first published!
https://t.co/CRRqThQBkB

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

The ocean floor contains mountain ranges taller than Mount Everest and valleys deeper than the Grand Canyon.

(@NatGeo)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

The “bread-toaster” was patented by Charles Strite in Minnesota in 1921. His design for a toaster that toasted both sides of the bread simultaneously and popped up when finished was sold by Toastmaster starting in 1926.

(US Patent & Trademark Office)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

A 2017 Gallup poll found that more Millennials identify as LGBT than any other generation.

(@Gallup, 2017)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

“The Elf on the Shelf” was a longtime family tradition before Carol Aebersold & her daughters Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts published the popular children’s book in 2005. The original Elf on the Shelf from their childhood was named Fisbee.

(@HuffPostUK, 2016; @TODAYshow, 2015)

[ARCHIVED - NASA Moon @NASAMoon]

It's now been 46 years since humans were on the Moon. #OTD in 1972, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt launched from the Moon to return to Earth on the Apollo 17 mission. https://t.co/2IUjQQBU1v

[Museum of Australian Democracy @MoAD_Canberra]

#OTD in 1904, leading Australian feminist, trade unionist, activist and writer, Edna Ryan was born.

Ryan was an organiser of the first International Women's Day rally held in Australia in 1928, and the first female deputy mayor of NSW.

📷 Badge belonging to Edna Ryan. MoAD.

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

Dalmatians aren’t born with spots — they are totally white at birth.

(American Kennel Club,

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

To create interest, YouTube's founders initially called it a dating website. The slogan was "Tune in, Hook up."

(VICE)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is only one ocean. The multiple oceans we're familiar with are actually ocean basins that connect to form the singular global ocean.

(NOAA)

[BuzzFeed Facts @umfactually]

Pork is eaten more than any other type of meat in the world.

(Washington Post, 2011)

[U.S. Naval Institute @NavalInstitute]

#OTD in 1917, the TNT-laden SS Mont-Blanc caught fire and exploded after colliding with another ship near Halifax, Canada. The blast and resulting tsunami destroyed 1600 houses and killed 2,000 people. It was considered the largest man-made explosion until Hiroshima.