Beethoven composed some of his greatest works — the 9th Symphony — when he was completely deaf.

Extreme sports athlete Travis Pastrana became the first person to land a double backflip on a motorcycle at X Games 2006.

The fastest Olympic swim races are completed in under 25 seconds.

The Japanese concept of 'Bushido' (way of the warrior) was largely codified in the early 20th century, not feudal Japan.

Mozart could write music before he could write words — he composed his first piece at age 5.

Fencing's three weapons — épée, foil, and sabre — each have different target areas and scoring rules.

In Thailand, it's illegal to step on currency because the king's face is on it.

The Banksy shredding incident in 2018 — where a painting shredded itself after auction — actually increased its value.

Manga accounts for about 40% of all printed material sold in Japan.