insane facts

Just when you thought you knew it all, here we are again with ANOTHER list of remarkable and verifiable real estate facts that are going to blow your mind.

I hope you're just as fascinated by these as I was!


1. The Real Super Mario

Super Mario was named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting a warehouse to Nintendo. When Nintendo fell behind on rent, Segale gave them another chance to come up with the money, which they did. Nintendo then named its main character in the game Donkey Kong after him.

Super Mario was named after Mario Segale

Image: Mika Baumeister | Fact: Wikipedia


2. The Wild West?

Not only is Reno, Nevada, west of Los Angeles but so are six other state capitals.

cities west of los angeles

Image: Getty Images | Fact: JohnFry.com via Reddit


3. The Bright Side of Depression

You are less likely to die during an economic depression, because of reduced traffic, cleaner air, and less money spent on tobacco and alcohol.

you are less likely to die during a recession

Image: Sonder Quest | Fact: Fortune


4. The Lost Continent of Zealandia

New Zealand is part of a hidden underwater continent called “Zealandia”.

Image: Casey Horner | Fact: Wikipedia


5. Cage Homes

Over 100,000 people in Hong Kong live in “cage homes”, which are 6ft x 2ft metal cages that cover a bed.


6. The Maine Down in Africa

Maine is the closest U.S. state to Africa.

maine closest us state to africa

Image: Google Earth | Fact: Google Earth


7. The Great Lake State

Michigan has over 10,000 lakes that are five acres or larger.


8. Here Comes the Sun

As of 2017, San Francisco has required all new buildings to have solar panels.

San Francisco Solar Panels 2017

Image: Vivint Solar | Fact: NPR


9. The Origin of the Word “Boycott”

An English land agent named Charles Boycott was so hated by his local community that his name became a verb.

charles boycott hated name verb

Image: Matthew Brady | Fact: Wikipedia


10. Detroit's Packard Plant

The Packard Plant in Detroit is the largest abandoned industrial facility in the world.


11. Aloha, Land!

Hawaii is the only state that keeps adding square footage, because it's the home of the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea.

Image: Marc Szeglat | Fact: CBS News


12. Way Off the Mark

Six months after building a $680,000 custom home in Florida with an ocean view, the homeowners realized it had been built on the wrong lot.

florida custom home ocean view wrong lot $680K

Image: Gautier Salles | Fact: Fox News


13. The Land of (Artificial) Lakes

The state of Maryland has no natural lakes. Every single lake is man-made.


14. “We The North?”

About 60% of the Canadian population lives further south than Seattle, Washington.


15. Baghdad's U.S. Embassy

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq is the world's largest (nearly the size of the Vatican City). It has its own power station, water and sewage treatment, internet and phone network, gym, cinema, and sports facilities, and six apartment buildings for employees.

US Embassy Baghdad Iraq

Image: Getty Images | Fact: Wikipedia


16. No Smell Like Home

Most people can't smell their own homes because of ‘olfactory adaptation.' The human brain is programmed to look for new, strange, changing smells as a sign of possible danger and ignores familiar scents.

people cant smell their homes

Image: Getty Images | Fact: Wikipedia


17. Japan's Moving Castle

Japan is moving an entire 400-year-old castle 230 feet so they can fix its foundation. They'll move it back in 2021.


18. Street Cred

Mapmakers used to plant fictitious streets in their maps, so if their maps were ever copied, they could easily point out the replication of fake streets to prove copyright infringement.

map makers fake streets

Image: Getty Images | Fact: Atlas Obscura via Reddit


19. Night Soil Contamination

Some have theorized that as many as three U.S. Presidents, and also Abraham Lincoln's son, died as a result of a contaminated water supply to the White House. Until 1850 there was no sewage system and a field of human excrement called “night soil” flowed freely into the water supply.


20. The Saga of the Sagrada Familia

For 137 years, Spain's Sagrada Familia was constructed illegally. It finally got a building permit in 2019 when authorities found out it didn't have one in 2016.


21. The $600 Million Rocks

Japan has spent $600 million protecting two rocks that are part of the coral reef of Okinotorishima because it gives Japan a 200 nautical mile (370.4 km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the atoll. The atoll is the southernmost part of Japan and the only Japanese territory in the tropics.

22. Not Rocket Science

NASA's vehicle assembly building is so big that it needs over 10,000 tons of air conditioning equipment to control the moisture and prevent rain clouds from forming inside on humid days.


23. Mortar Combat

Ancient Inca architecture was built to be earthquake-resistant, with boulders that were carefully cut to fit tightly without mortar.

Image: Unukorno | Fact: Wikipedia


Want to learn even more crazy real estate trivia? Be sure to check out these other articles:

About the author

Seth Williams is the Founder of REtipster.com - an online community that offers real-world guidance for real estate investors.

REtipster Club

Discover the REtipster Club

Learn what successful investors aren’t telling you.
Become a member, achieve financial freedom and
make your dream a reality!

Join the Club!
Scroll Up

Welcome to REtipster.com

We noticed you are using an Ad Blocker


We get it, too much advertising can be annoying.

Our few advertisers help us continue bringing lots of great content to you for FREE.

Please add REtipster.com to your Ad Blocker white list, to receive full access to website functionality.

Thank you for supporting. We promise you will find ample value from our website. 

Loading