Honk likes facts. Which is why most weeks he includes a Honkin’ Fact. It can be fun, insightful or gut-wrenching. This week he looks back on some of those from the last year that left an impression on him:
Tony Hawk‘s skateboard from when he performed the 900 — a two-and-a-half turn trick — during the 1999 San Francisco X Games sold for $1.152 million. …
A United Airlines flight, traveling from Denver to Los Angeles, suffered a cracked windshield at 36,000 feet that threw glass fragments into the cockpit, cutting a pilot’s arm and prompting an emergency landing — it was likely caused by a 2.4-pound weather balloon anchored by a bag of sand. …
In 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says, there were 2,148 drivers from 15 to 20 years old who died in crashes, a group that made up 5.1% of licensed drivers that year but was 8.9% of the drivers involved in deadly collisions. …
A Fullerton police officer pulled over a driver for a traffic violation and was handed a Monopoly “Get Out of Jail Free” card, a transaction that still ended with the offender getting a citation but also got a chuckle out of the cop and a smile out of the cited one. …
A company intends to offer taxi service during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles with an electric aircraft that is a plane-helicopter hybrid, allowing it to take off and land without a runway. …
Rocker Joe Walsh, who belts out in “Life’s Been Good” how his Maserati does 185, auctioned off his 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 for $102,400. …
There were 35,983,261 vehicles registered in California back in 2024 and, on Dec. 31 of that year, 27,951,17 licensed drivers. …
Caltrans put up fake ivy along a wall on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles to combat graffiti. If the vandals persist, the 1-by-1-foot panels can be taken down, cleaned and reinstalled. …
To apply to become a California Highway Patrol officer, the candidate must be at least age 20. On a 36th birthday, the person is too old to fill out an application. The salary starts at $116,040. …
Before the current season began, Major League Baseball estimated that the Seattle Mariners would lead the 30 teams with 50,308 miles traveled, while the Pittsburgh Pirates would log the least at 26,839. The Dodgers were to clock in at 43,345 and the Angels at 42,876 miles. …
Ultra-distance runner and content creator Dom Stroh — during a Cape Town, South Africa, to Munich flight — ran circles in a jetliner restroom, including stepping atop the closed toilet seat. The Berlin resident says his watch’s app showed in an hour he covered 3.1 miles. …
(Sources: Julien’s Auctions, The Associated Press, the Fullerton Police Department, Archer taxi service, the Department of Motor Vehicles, KABC, the California Highway Patrol, 7 San Diego.)
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk