An entire neighbourhood in Istanbul learned sign language to surprise a deaf man who lived there. Legendary actor, Steve Buscemi, saved dozens of people during 9/11. Leonardo Da Vinci used to buy caged animals just to set them free. Disneyland was rejected 302 times. It now makes millions every day. Morgan Freeman didn't get his first big acting break until he was 52. He has been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood for decades. Nelson Mandela set up the first black-run law firm in South Africa. A woman celebrated her 103rd birthday by volunteering at a Senior Centre dressed up as Wonder Woman. Illiteracy has nearly halved in the United States in the last 15 years. James Dyson tweaked his Dyson vacuum cleaner 5,000 times before he got it right. The window washers at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh dress up as superheroes to cheer up the patients. Robin Williams used to anonymously donate his earnings from standup comedy to a local food bank.

The time machine in Back to the Future was meant to be a refrigerator. Steve Carell wanted to play the Joker in The Dark Knight. William Wallace was never called Braveheart. Die Hard started off as a sequel to Commando. Aliens were meant to appear in Dr. Strangelove. ET - The Extra-Terrestrial was nearly called A Boy's Life. Blade Runner and Alien take place in the same universe. The line "Play it again, Sam" is never said in Casablanca. Russell Crowe thought his dialogue in Gladiator was "garbage." The shark barely appears in Jaws because it kept malfunctioning. The Lion King is the most successful VHS film ever. Although Viggo Mortensen stars in The Return of the King, he thinks the film is overrated. Orson Welles hated the twist in Citizen Kane. In Star Wars, Han Solo was meant to be a green, gilled, noseless alien. Christopher Walken, Sean Connery, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tommy Lee Jones were considered for the role of Morpheus in The Matrix.

The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself. - Anon Water is formless and flows. But if you put it in a cup, its shape becomes the cup. If you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be like water. - Bruce Lee One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. - Malala Yousafzai If you only read the books that everyone is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. - H.P. Lovercraft Work hard in silence. Let success makes the noise. - Anon Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. - Marie Curie Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. - Bill Nye

OJ Simpson was turned down for the role of The Terminator because the studio thought he couldn't play a convincing killer. Back to the Future was nearly called Spaceman from Pluto. In the original script of The Truman Show, all the actors are criminals. Bob Hoskins kept hallucinating while making Who Framed Roger Rabbit and couldn't work again for a year. The line, "Fly, my pretties. Fly!" is never said in The Wizard of Oz. The crewmembers of The Lord of the Rings made so much chainmail for the films, they wore their fingerprints off. The main song for Beauty and the Beast was meant to be a rock-n'-roll song. The most expensive part of Rocky was the make-up. The line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," in Gone with the Wind was nearly, "Frankly my dear, it makes my gorge rise." Alec Guinness wears a toupee in every Star Wars film that he appears in. Production on The Shawshank Redemption was shut down for days while the studio waited for a maggot to die so they could use it in a scene.

Spider-Man has fought Nazi bees. Batman has fought Superman at least 16 times. David Bowie nearly played Daredevil. The creator of Wonder Woman believed women should govern the world. Thor owns two killer goats. The Justice League have teamed up with He-Man. Stan Lee devised Iron Man to show that he could make the least likeable character successful. Originally, Aquaman had to make contact with water every hour or he died. Storm was meant to be called Black Cat and had the power to turn into a feline. Robin killed three people in his debut comic. There is a pig version of Gambit called Hambit. Flash can punch a person a billion times per second. Wolverine allied with Captain America during World War II. Green Arrow has a Nuclear Bomb arrow. Silver Surfer's surfboard is alive. Shazam popularized the phrase, "Holy moly!" The CIA tried to hire The Punisher to kill Osama Bin Laden.

In Siberia, it used to be illegal to make excuses. The entire country of Estonia has free Wi-Fi. Roses are black in Turkey. In China, it's illegal to reincarnate without the government's permission. Despite what many people believe, Finland isn't a part of Scandinavia. Iceland is considered to have the happiest people in the world. The widest pyramid in the world is in Mexico. In India, cops are paid more if they have a moustache. You can be stopped from entering New Zealand for being obese. Germans invented Christmas trees, Fanta, and gummy bears. Egypt has more landmines than any other country. The first Western film shown in North Korea was Bend It Like Beckham. There is a bar in Tokyo where you can drink with penguins. The US was nearly called The United States of Earth.

Black Panther has battled the Ku Klux Klan. Batman has teamed up with a cow called Bat-Cow. Wolverine was nearly called The Badger. Iron Man's armor used to have roller-skates. Robin is the only person in the world who can do a quadruple somersault. Captain America used to have an airbag built into his outfit. Aquaman can walk on water. Apocalypse was supposed to be Cyclops' brother. Barack Obama made Deadpool an Avenger. The Flash popularized the "alternative worlds" concept in comics. Drax can play the saxophone. Green Arrow has a chimney arrow. There were three Hulk characters before Bruce Banner became the Hulk. Green Lantern has teamed up with Huckleberry Hound. Peter Parker's name is misspelt in the first Spider-Man comic. Vision has saved the world at least 37 times. Thor nearly had an off-Broadway play in the 1970s.