Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King and got one.

Everybody Loves Raymond, except Chuck Norris.

And Chuck Norris counted to infinity-- twice.

There are literally thousands of these true facts floating

around the internet.

Sure, the meme breathed new life into Norris's career.

But even without all of his new found internet fame and glory,

Chuck Norris was already a certified badass.

Today, we're going to explore the most interesting and true

badass facts about Chuck Norris.

But before we get started, subscribe

to our channel, Weird History.

Leave a comment, and let us know what you think about this video

and which historical badass you'd like us to cover next.

Before we dig into Chuck Norris's life,

let's get into how the Chuck Norris fact meme began.

It all started as a joke in 2005 by a web developer

named Ian Spector.

And the joke wasn't originally on Norris.

It was on Vin Diesel.

After a few months, the meme evolved

from teasing the ludicrousness of Vin Diese's action roles

into a tribute of the awesomeness of Chuck Norris.

Thanks to the absurd realism of his action crime series Walker,

Texas Ranger, the hilariousness of Spector's Chuck Norris facts

were an instant internet sensation.

Within half a year, Spector's Chuck Norris facts website

was getting 20 million page views a month.

Norris's career was in a holding pattern at the time.

But the popularity of the meme breathed new life

into his career.

It even gave him enough clout for CBS

to bring back Walker, Texas Ranger for a special television

movie in 2005, after it was canceled four years earlier.

The thing is, even with all of the sudden fame

the meme brought him, Norris sued Spector.

In short, Norris wasn't comfortable with the idea

of people possibly taking the joke seriously.

Norris's lawsuit alleged that some of the facts were racist,

lewd, and portrayed him engaged in illegal activities.

Here's what Norris said about his overnight internet

celebrity.

"People everywhere have asked me,

what do you think of all these Chuck Norris facts?

My answer is always the same.

Some are funny, some are pretty far out,

and most are just promoting harmless fun and times

of laughter.

But be careful if you go searching for Chuck Norris

facts on the internet, because some

are flat-out not appropriate for kids."

Norris eventually dropped the lawsuit.

Specter went on to write five Chuck Norris fact

books based on the meme that started it all.

Norris also put out his own book of his own meme titled,

The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book--

101 of Chuck's Favorite Facts and Stories.

Ian Spector's one of the few men that Chuck Norris

wasn't able to take down.

Chuck Norris is not without mercy.

Chuck Norris was born Carlos Ray Norris in southern Oklahoma

on March 10th, 1940.

Truth be told, he wasn't the extraordinary kid

you'd think Chuck Norris would be.

In fact, Norris was a bit subpar all throughout his adolescence.

Carlos was not athletic, painfully shy,

and when it came to his studies, he barely slid by.

The fact that his frequently unemployed father was

a belligerent alcoholic and his family was always

financially scraping by didn't help his depression

or debilitating introversion.

All that set Norris up for a childhood

filled with insecurity and low self-esteem.

But all that changed for Carlos in 1958.

After the 18-year-old graduated high school,

he immediately signed up for the United States Air Force

as an air policeman.

His goal was to get some police training

under his belt in preparation for a career in law

enforcement.

The sudden shift in responsibility

gave him the confidence he lacked as a kid

and it pointed him in the direction of the one thing

that would change the rest of his life.

Air Chuck, Chuck, Chuck Norris has confidence.

While on patrol at Osan Air Base in South Korea,

Norris realized that he wasn't able to apprehend rowdy drunks

that he encountered while on duty unless he used a weapon.

These drunken arrests got him thinking

that learning a martial art could be a useful tool

while on the job.

So he started studying basic Judo on the base.

After two weeks of studying Judo,

Norris broke his shoulder in a fall on the mat.

While recovering from the injury,

he discovered a bunch of locals practicing a much more

acrobatic form of martial arts.

Once he healed, he took up what he found out

was the art of Tang Soo Do, a karate-based Korean martial art

from the 1930s that focuses on hand strikes, kicks,

wrist grabs, and blocks.

After close to 15 months of studying five hours a day,

seven days a week, Norris earned his first black belt

in Tang Soo Do.

Not long after he earned that belt,

Norris was discharged from his post in South Korea.

And he returned to the United States,

where he continued to serve as an air policeman

at March Air Force Base in California.

While he was serving there, he continued to train on his own,

as there were no Tang Soo Do schools anywhere at the time.

When his fellow soldiers on the base

showed an interest in his solo training,

the 21-year-old Norris began a karate club on the base.

Little did he know this club would set him

on a course for fame, fortune, and a major career change.

When Chuck Norris was discharged in August 1962,

he went to work for Northrop aviation as a file clerk.

But that was just a gig to pay the bills.

His real passion was teaching karate at night.

After six years of working at Northrop during the day,

moonlighting as a martial artist at night,

and kicking ass in state, national,

and international amateur karate tournaments,

Norris opened up a chain of martial arts schools.

Now what you have to remember is that in 1968,

when Norris opened up his studios,

America was just getting its first real taste

of martial arts with the popularity of Bruce

Lee and the Green Hornet.

And they were only a year or so away

from David Carradine and Kung Fu,

and Elvis and his karate-chopping stage show.

Karate was practically a novelty.

Naturally, all this American interest in martial arts

made Norris something of a karate guru.

With his good looks, multiple black belts,

and numerous tournament wins, he eventually

became the go-to karate teacher to the stars.

Some of his bigger celebrity clients

include Steve McQueen, Chad McQueen, Bob Barker--

yeah, The Price is Right guy--

Donny and Marie Osmond, and Priscilla Presley--

at the behest of the King himself.

Of course, it was Steve McQueen who

would change the trajectory of Norris's life forever.

Chuck Norris trajectory.

If you ask Chuck Norris what he planned

on doing with the rest of his life in 1969,

he'd probably say something about opening up a couple dozen

more karate studios, kick ass without mercy

in the rest of his future tournaments,

and retire from the sport a legend.

Norris probably would have been pretty satisfied

with that outcome.

But thanks to his friend and student, Steve McQueen,

he became a leading action movie star.

It all happened during a training session

when McQueen told Norris that he saw potential in him

and suggested that he should consider

a serious career in movies.

Norris had already been in four low-budget movies

when McQueen suggested the career change.

And they were small roles with little or no dialogue.

McQueen suggested Norris take acting classes and focus

on becoming a leading man.

A few years later, Norris starred

in the lead role of John David JD Dawes in Breaker!

Breaker!-- maybe the only movie to ever mash trucker culture,

karate, and country music with great success.

The movie cost $250,000 to make, and it earned $12 million,

which ensured Norris's box office bankability and put him