Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Collection of Facts
Interesting Facts
Men can read smaller print than women, but women can hear better.
As of June 2006, Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" stood as the most played song in U.S. pop radio history. The previous holder was Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl."
The maximum height for an astronaut in the U.S. space program is 76 inches, or just under 6'4".
More collect calls are made on Father's Day than on any other day of the year.
The term "devil's advocate" comes from the Roman Catholic Church. When deciding if someone should be sainted, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view.
The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
The term "honeymoon" is derived from the Babylonians who declared mead, a honey-flavored wine, the official wedding drink, stipulating that the bride's parents be required to keep the groom supplied with the drink for the month following the wedding.
The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."
The term "throw one's hat in the ring" comes from boxing, where throwing a hat into the ring once signified a challenge. Today it nearly always signifies political candidacy.
The term "white chocolate" is a misnomer. Under Fedaral Standards of Identity, real chocolate must contain chocolate liquor. "White" chocolate contains no chocolate liquor.
The term 'crack' refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate.
The term 'hay fever' originated in England, where some people suffered allergic symptoms during hay pitching time when the symptoms became serve, workers often felt feverish.
The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese, and the karaoke machine was designed originally to provide backing tracks for solo cabaret performers.
The term 'screwing' was derived from the activities of pigs. A pig's member screws.
The term Y2K was invented by David Eddie in June 1995 through the email.
The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified is to poke someone's eye out.
The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging," eveything else was allowed.
The Texas Rangers were the first U.S. state police force. They were established in 1835.
The the oldest living thing on earth is 12,000 years old. It is the flowering shrubs called creosote bushes in the Mojave Desert.
The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal.
The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.
The three central panels on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel tell the story of Adam and Eve.
The three most common elements in the universe are 1) hydrogen; 2) helium; 3) oxygen.
The three most recently discovered planets were Uranus in 1781, Neptune in 1846, and Pluto in 1930.
The three most valuable brand names on earth Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
The Three Musketeers names are Porthos, Athos, and Aramis (D'Artagnan joins them later.)
The three primary colors are red, yellow and blue. The three secondary colors are green, orange and purple.
The Three Wise Men of the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus. Frankincense is a gum resin used as a base for incense. Myrrh, also a gum resin, was valued as a perfume and unguent used in embalming.
The Three Wise Monkeys have names: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).
The three-syllable word "hideous," with the change of a single consonant, becomes a two-syllable word with no vowel sounds in common: "hideout."
The thumbnail grows the slowest; the middle nail grows the fastest.
The tiger is the largest member of the cat family.
The tiny poison arrow frog has enough poison to kill over 2200 people!
The tip of the hour hand on your watch travels at a speed of 0.00000275 miles per hour.
The tips of fingers and the soles of feet are covered by a thick, tough layer of skin called the stratum corneum.
The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal. It was adopted as the international signal for distress in 1912, and the Titanic struck the iceberg in April of that year.
The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. After he refused, it was offered to John Wayne, and then Paul Newman, finally being accepted by Clint Eastwood.
The toes of mummies are wrapped individually.
The Toltecs (a 7th century tribe) used wooden swords so they wouldn't kill their enemies.
The tomato is not just a fruit, but it is a berry along with the cucumber, squash, and melon.
The tongues of chameleons are twice the length of their bodys.
The tonsillectomy is the most common surgical procedure.
The tool doctors wrap around a patient's arm to measure blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer.
The Top 10 grossing movies of the 1990s each earned at least $500 million worldwide and brought in a combined total of over $7 billion.
The top downhill speed of the Ford Model T was 50 miles per hour.
The top selling song of all time is Elton John�s tribute to the late Princess Diana. Candle in the Wind 1997 has sold over 35 million copies worldwide
The total number of Americans killed in the Civil War is greater than the combined total of Americans killed in all other wars.
The total surface area of a pair of human lungs is equal to that of a tennis court.
The town of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is closer to the equator than it is to the North Pole.
The town of Idaho Falls, Idaho, forbids anyone over the age of eighty-eight to ride a motorcycle.
The town of Tidikelt in the Shara Desert once went ten years without rainfall.
The trainees are thrown into a pool with their hands and feet tied wearing snorkeling masks. They are then harassed by their instructors who knock their masks off, spin their bodies, and pull them under in an effort to disorient the student.
The training mantra of the SEALs is, 'The only easy day was yesterday.'
The Tranquilizer, Valium (sleeping piles) is the most widely used drug on earth.
The Treaty of Tordesillas divided all of South America between Spain and Portugal in 1493. Pope Alexander VI drew up the treaty following Columbus�s discovery of the New World.
The tsetse fly kills another 66,000 people annually.
The turbot fish lays approximately 14 million eggs during its lifetime.
The turkey was named for what was wrongly thought to be its country of origin.
The turtle has the lowest pulse rate of any animal: 13 beats per minute.
The two lines that connect your top lip to the bottom of your nose are known as the philtrum.
The two most popular sports in the world are Association Football (soccer) and Table Tennis (ping-pong) respectively. I guess people love their balls, regardless of size. Hehe!
The two presidents who died on the same day: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died July 4, 1826.
The two robbers crucified next to Jesus were named Dismas and Gestas.
The typical lovemaking session averages 15 minutes in length.
The use of the names of dead presidents to sell alcohol in Michigan is prohibited.
The USSR set off the largest nuclear explosion in history, detonating a 50 megaton bomb (2600 times the Hiroshima bomb) in an atmospheric test over the Novaya Zemla Islands, October 30 1961.
The vast majority of coffee available to consumers are blends of different beans.
The Vatican's Swiss Guard still wears a uniform designed by Michelangelo in the early 16th century.
The venom of a female black widow spider is more potent than that of a rattlesnake.
The Venus flytrap feeds primarily on ants, not flies.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winners of the Super Bowl.
The vintage date on a bottle of wine indicates the year the grapes were picked, not the year of bottling.
The Virginia Code (1930) has a statute: "To prohibit corrupt practices or bribery by any person other than candidates."
The viscera of Japanese abalone can harbor a poisonous substance which causes a burning, stinging, prickling and itching over the entire body. It does not manifest itself until exposure to sunlight if eaten outdoors in sunlight, symptoms occur quickly and suddenly.
The vocabulary of the average person consists of 5,000 to 6,000 words.
The Volkswagen was originally called the "Strength Through Joy Wagon".
The waste produced by one chicken in its lifetime can supply enough electricity to run a 100-watt bulb for 5 hours.
The water in the Great Salt Lake of Utah is more than four times as salty as any ocean.
The way that prostitutes got the nickname "Hooker" was because of a general of the Civil War. General Hooker would keep a number of prostitutes to follow has army and keep his men's moral up. The prostitutes were referred to as "Hookers brigade."
The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacer.
The weddell seal, can travel underwater for seven hours without surfacing.
The weight of air in a milk glass is about the same as the weight of one aspirin. (But one also wonders how big a milk glass is... anyone?)
The wettest spot in the world is located on the island of Kauai. Mt. Waialeale consistently records rainfall at the rate of nearly 500 inches per year.
The whiskers on a catfish are called barbells.
The White House, in Washington DC, was originally gray, the color of the sandstone it was built out of. After the War of 1812, during which it had been burned by Canadian troops, the outside walls were painted white to hide the smoke stains.
The lunula is the half-moon shaped pale area at the bottom of finger nails.
The white potato originated in the Andes mountains and was probably brought to Britain by Sir Francis Drake about 1586.
The Willamette River in Oregon is the only river on earth that flows it's entire distance north.
The wind must be below one mile an hour in order for the National Weather Service to rate the weather as "calm."
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made. It had 293 performances and then went on a tour that lasted 9 years.
One American of every 16 will have one of the Top 12 most common last names.
One beaver can cut down as many as 216 trees per year.
One in about eight million people has progeria, a disease that causes people to grow faster than they age.
One in every 2000 babies is born with a tooth.
One in every 9000 people is an albino.
One in every four Americans has appeared on television.
One in fourteen women in America is a natural blonde. Only one in sixteen men is.
One light year the distance light travels in a year at the speed of 186,000 miles per second is just under six thousand billion miles. Earth's nearest neighbor in space, outside our own solar system is four light years away (about 24 trillion miles).
One million tons of oil is equivalent to about 13,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.
One of the greatest soldiers in history, Alexander the Great, was tutored by the greatest thinker of all time, Aristotle.
One of the holiest Christian holidays is named after a pagan goddess. The name "Easter" derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who governed the vernal equinox.
One of the largest carriers of hepitius B is diner mints.
One of the many Tarzans, Karmuala Searlel, was mauled to death by a raging elephant on set.
One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today is because cotton growers in the 30s lobbied against hemp farmers (they saw it as competition).
One out of every 43 prisoners escapes from jail. 94% are recaptured.
One penny doubled everyday becomes over 5 million dollars in just 30 days.
One plain milk chocolate candy bar has more protein than a banana.
One pound of tea can make 300 cups of the beverage.
One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet
One ragweed plant can release as many as one billion grains of pollen.
One square mile of land contains more insects than total number of human beings on earth.
One tonne of uranium produces the same amount of energy as 30,000 tonnes of coal.
Only 1 person in 2 billion will live to be 116 or older.
Only 16% of able-bodied males in the American colonies participated in the Revolutionary War.
Only 4 mayors of U.S. cities went on to become president: Calvin Coolidge, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Andrew Johnson.
Only 3 words in the English language end in "ceed": "proceed," "exceed," and "succeed."
Only 55% of all Americans know that the sun is a star.
Only about 20% of harvested coffee beans are considered to be a premium bean of the highest quality.
Only female mosquitoes bite. Females need the protein from blood to produce their eggs. Males only drink water and plant juice.
Only four countries in the world start with the letter 'D'. They are Denmark, Dominica, Djibouti and the Dominican Republic
Only full-grown male crickets can chirp.
Only 1 out of 100 people have a computer
Only one in two billion people will live to be 116 or older.
Only one movie has had three Academy Award nominees in the same category. In 1963, Tom Jones earned Best Supporting Actress nominations for Diane Cilento, Dame Edith Evans and Joyce Redman.
Only one of the 88 stable chemicals are named after a person gadolinium. It's named after Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 years old.
Only six baseball teams remain from the original National League, which was founded in 1876.
Only three horses who had never previously won a race earned their first victories at the Kentucky Derby. They were Buchanan in 1884, Sir Barton in 1919 and Brokers Tip in 1933.
Only three Presidents graduated from the military academies: Grant, Eisenhower (West Point) and Carter (Annapolis).
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
Orange juice helps the body absorb iron easily when consumed with a meal.
Oranges, lemons, watermelons, and tomatoes are berries.
Orca (killer) whales can grow to b 30ft long.
Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.
Orchids have the smallest seeds. It takes more than 1.25 million seeds to weigh 1 gram.
Orville Wright was involved in the first aircraft accident. His passenger, a Frenchman, was killed.
Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water.
Ostriches swallow pebbles to aid in indigestion.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth but our nose and ears never stop growing.
Our galaxy has approximately 250 billion stars.
Our nerves system transmits messages at up to 300 ft. per second.
Our sun and the surrounding planets orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy once every 250 million years.
Our sun has an expected lifetime of about 11 billion years.
Out of all the eight letter words in the English language, only one has only one vowel in it: "strength"
Ovaltine was originally called Ovamaltine. A clerical error forced the name to be changed when the manufacturer registered the name.
Over 10,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows
Over 10,000 coffee cafes plus several thousand vending machines with both hot and cold coffee serve the needs of Tokyo alone.
Over 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their asses.
Over 2500 left handed people a year are killed from using products made for right handed people. "left" in Latin is "sinister" and "right" is "dexter". Ambidextrous simply means "both right".
Over 2500 left handed people are killed each year from using products made for right handed people.
Over 5 million people in Brazil are employed by the coffee trade. Most of those are involved with the cultivation and harvesting of more than 3 billion coffee plants.
Over 53 countries grow coffee worldwide, but all of them lie along the equator between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Over 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.
Over 80% of professional boxers have suffered brain damage.
Over 96% of American households purchase bananas at least once each month.
Over billions of years, black holes become white holes and they spit out all of the things they sucked in. the atoms are completely jumbled, so no one knows what will ever come out. Theoratically they'll also turn into a white hole. If you were unfortunate enough to fall within one, you would never actually hit -- because time would stop at some point within the event horizon (space outside) of the black hole. Thanx De Composed
Over the course of his lifetime, the average man will ejaculate approximately 18 quarts of semen, containing about a half trillion sperm.
Over the last 50 years in the United States, approximately 9,000 people have died as a result of tornadoes, 5,000 as the result of floods, and 4,000 as the result of hurricanes.
Over-roasted coffee beans are very flammable during the roasting process.
Owls are one of the only birds that can see the color blue.
Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their eyes.
Labels: Humor
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