The world is full of a wide variety of intriguing, mysterious, and funny
facts about events and people.  Often times these facts are surround by
particular occurrences and geological phenomenon.  I have compiled a
list of 10 interesting world facts that I felt were compelling.
   

10. Michael Jackson co-wrote and was a strong inspiration for Bart
Simpson’s hit single Do the Bartman.
 
Jackson starred in the Simpsons 1991 third season premiere episode Stark
Raving Dad.  He provides Leon Kompowsky's speaking voice, but for
contractual reasons, Jackson was credited as John Jay Smith and his role in the
episode was not officially confirmed until later.  Michael was a fan of the show
and offered to be a guest star and wanted to give Bart a number one hit singe.
Do the Bartman was an international success and it reached #1 in Australia,
Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. It also reached the top ten in
Sweden and the Netherlands, but was not officially released in the U.S.
Michael Jackson’s contributions are clearly evident in the lyrics and the official
video.
 

9. Before the year 1990, only 11 players had hit 50 or more home runs in a
MLB season, a total of 18 times in seventy years.  Babe Ruth did it four times,
Jimmie Foxx (2), Ralph Kiner (2), Mickey Mantle (2), and Willie Mays (2).
From 1995 through 2002, ten players combined to hit a total of 1,051
bombs, reaching the 50 home run plateau 18 times, matching a seventy
year mark in only eight seasons.
 

8. Rembrandt's Jacob de Gheyn III has been taken four times, making it
the world's most stolen painting.
 

This painting is a masterpiece that was created by Rembrandt in 1632.  The
portrait is of Dutch engraver Jacob de Gheyn III.  The painting is smaller than
most of Rembrandt's works, measuring only 29.9 by 24.9 centimeters (11.8 by
9.8 inches).  This has contributed to the numerous thefts.
 

7. Daniel Tammet is a high functioning autistic savant who has the ability
to remember 22,514 continuous digits.
 

He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy.  Experiencing numbers as
colors or sensations is a common form of synesthesia, but Tammet’s case is
extremely unique.  He visualizes every number 1-10,000 as having its own
unique shape and feel.  He can "see" results of calculations.  He can “sense”
whether a number is prime or composite.  He can also speak eleven different
languages.
 

3. Over 500 uninhabited islands exist in the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan,
which is a prefecture located on the island of Kyūshū.
 

The capital of this area of Japan is Nagasaki.  Nagasaki borders Saga Prefecture
on the east, and is otherwise surrounded by water, including Ariake Bay, the
Tsushima Straits, and the East China Sea.  Nagasaki Prefecture contains
thirteen cities, four districts, ten towns, and many islands.  Many of the
uninhabited islands have a long and storied history of civilization and war.  One
of the most intriguing is Gunkanjima, an island that was populated from 1887-
1974 as a coal mining facility.  Buildings and apartments were built on the island
in the early 20th century, but when petroleum replaced coal in the 1960’s the
island was closed.  It remains closed to the public and has gained the title of
Ghost Island, as strange and unsettling screams can often be heard and felt by
the locals.

2. One of the biggest mysteries of World War II is the missing treasures of
The Amber Room.
 

The Amber Room is an 11-foot-square hall consisting of large wall panels inlaid
with several tons of superbly designed amber, large gold-leaf-edged mirrors, and
four magnificent Florentine mosaics. Arranged in three tiers, the amber
contained precious jewels, and glass display cases housed one of the most
valuable collections of Prussian and Russian artwork ever assembled.  Created
for Prussia's King Friedrich I and given to Russian czar Peter the Great in 1716,
it was located at Catherine Palace, near St. Petersburg.  In 1941, the Nazis
stormed Leningrad and stole the artifact.  They put it on display in Königsberg
Castle during the remainder of the war.  However, in April of 1945, after the
German’s surrendered, the treasure was nowhere to be found.  It has not been
seen since.  Although, recently evidence has surfaced that suggests the
underground site of the treasure might have been discovered.  Watch this news
report.
  

1. Animal raining is a rare meteorological phenomenon, in which certain
animals fall from the sky by the hundreds.
 

It has been reported in many countries throughout history.  Fish, frogs, and birds
are the most likely animals to fall.  Several eye-witnesses of the phenomenon
describe the animals as startled at first, but healthy and exhibiting relatively
normal behavior after the event.  However, in some instances the animals are
frozen to death or even enclosed in blocks of ice.  In Honduras, between the
months of May and July, hundreds of fish rain down in the Departamento de
Yoro.  People wait for the fish to fall and then take then home for dinner.
During these occurrences the fish and animals are usually small and there is no
scientific explanation for this phenomenon.  One theory is that strong winds
travelling over water sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and
carry them for up to several miles, although wind is not always present.