Da Vinci's robot, a random manuscript and pregnancy with puppies: 10 facts that are hard to believe (11 photos)

The US Supreme Court has officially declared the tomato a vegetable, although science considers it a berry. And Anthony Hopkins found a manuscript of a novel on a bench, and it was this that helped him get the role.





This collection contains the most incredible, but absolutely real stories that will make you say: "This can't be!"

1. An Unusual Friendship



Samantha Smith, an ordinary American schoolgirl, became famous in the USSR after she wrote a letter to the newly appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR Yuri Andropov in 1982 and received a personal reply containing an invitation to visit the Soviet Union, which she accepted.

2. Cunning Zombifiers





Rhizocephala (root-headed) is a parasite that has a unique life cycle.

Rhizocephala are unusual parasites from the world of crustaceans, living in the seas all over the planet. Females infect the victim by introducing a tiny cellular ball into its body. It turns into an internus - a network of root-like processes that penetrates the host and subjugates it.

These parasites not only control the host's body, but also change its behavior, appearance, block reproduction, and even restructure metabolism. Adult rhizocephalians completely lose touch with their larval past, becoming something completely new.

Later, an externa appears on the host's body - a sac where male larvae deliver their cells for fertilization. As a result, the parasites finally lose their original appearance, turning into real alien invaders.

3. An unconventional approach that works



Cunningham's Law states that the best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, but to post a deliberately incorrect statement and get the necessary information from another user.

The rule is named after Ward Cunningham, an American programmer and inventor of the "wiki" technology, thanks to which the content of a site can be changed by users themselves.

4. Subtle and Effective Revenge



When Michelangelo was working on the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, the papal master of ceremonies Biagio da Cesena was indignant: he said that so many naked bodies were not for a holy place, but for a bathhouse! Without thinking twice, the artist depicted the critic in hell - as Minos with donkey ears, who is bitten by a snake... in the most inconvenient place.

Cesena complained to the Pope, but he only laughed: "My power does not extend to hell!" So Michelangelo not only took revenge on his ill-wisher, but also immortalized him in a shameful image.

5. Luck on the Bench



Before the audition for the role in the film adaptation of "The Girl from Petrovka", Anthony Hopkins went to a bookstore, but the novel had not yet been published in Britain. Frustrated, he sat down on a bench near the metro ... and noticed a stack of papers. It was a manuscript of a book with editorial notes.

Hopkins read it in one go, passed the audition brilliantly and got the role. And a year later, on the set in Vienna, he met the author - George Feiffer. He was shocked: it turns out that the manuscript was stolen from his friend's car in London, and the thief threw it away just before the actor sat down on that very bench.

Sometimes fate literally puts the right book in your hands. Even if it is not published.

6. "Puppy Pregnancy"



In some parts of India, people are seriously afraid of... getting pregnant with puppies. After a dog bite or scratch, they are sure that there are dog babies growing in their stomachs. And this applies even to men.

Patients with this rare mental disorder claim to feel puppies "kicking" and even growling inside them. Of course, these are just hallucinations and delirium, but the fear is so strong that some turn to healers, demanding to "extract" non-existent animals.

Doctors call this syndrome cynophobia or caninophobia. And although it sounds like a myth, such cases are actually documented. But you still won't be able to "give birth" to a puppy - but you can get serious mental problems.

7. Botanical Incidents



A tomato is a berry (botanically speaking), but the US Supreme Court officially recognized it as a vegetable in 1893.

The thing is that tomatoes were taxed on imports, and the duty on vegetables was higher than on fruits. In order to increase the tax, the court ruled that a tomato was a vegetable, even if science says otherwise.

8. The Flatwoods Monster



In 1952, in the state of West Virginia, several police officers were chasing a strange creature - a tall humanoid with glowing eyes that moved without touching the ground.

This case, known as the "Flatwoods Monster Incident", remains a mystery to this day. Witnesses claimed that the creature emitted a pungent smell of sulfur, and that an oily substance remained after it disappeared. Some believe it to be an alien, others a demon from local legends.

9. The Most Expensive Guitar in the World



This is Hendrix's Stratocaster. The instrument Hendrix played at the first Woodstock in 1968 was sold for $2 million.

10. Da Vinci's Robot



Leonardo da Vinci's drawings do indeed include a design for a mechanical knight (c. 1495) that could sit, move its arms, neck, and even open its mouth. It was supposed to be controlled by a system of cables, pulleys, and pulleys. Modern reconstructions (for example, in 2002 by engineer Marco Rocha) have confirmed that the mechanism could work.

There is no documentary evidence that Leonardo assembled a robot, but his students could have experimented with such models.