What impressive facts appear to be "fakes" but are actually true?

 

1. The crime rate in the Netherlands is so low that since 2004 23 prisons have had to be closed because there were not enough criminals to fill them.
2. In the 1990s, Denzel Washington paid the price for a young, aspiring actor who couldn't afford to attend the Oxford Summer Theatre. That young actor was Chadwick Boseman (rest in peace). Chadwick publicly thanked Denzel at the 2019 awards ceremony.
3. In 1963, a Turkish man was renovating his house. After breaking through a wall, he came across a tunnel. He followed it and discovered the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, which once had 20,000 inhabitants.
4. In 2009, autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire succeeded in drawing New York from memory with a pencil after a helicopter flight of only 20 minutes.
5. Princess Diana was known for ignoring royal protocol. She often took the subway. At theme parks, she refused special treatment and made William and Harry wait in line like everyone else.
6. Blue Nelson Lake in New Zealand has the clearest water known to man, with a visibility of over 80 meters.
7. The record for the largest car theft of all time is 1,000 Volvos. The vehicles were ordered and delivered, but the invoice was ignored and remains unpaid to this day. The cars were delivered to North Korea.
8. In 1963, the Bronx Zoo advertised with the memorable title "The World's Most Dangerous Animal" – a reflection of reality.
9. Two assailants from New York once attempted to attack former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey (then 60 or 70 years old). Both assailants, as one might imagine, were knocked unconscious. The date and circumstances of the incident are unclear, although Dempsey mentioned it in his book.
10. My favorite example: In 1996, an avid ornithologist from Devon in England spent a whole year calling owls and recording their reactions, unaware that his neighbor was pretending to be an owl by calling back.