Wednesday, June 27, 2012

50 Amazing facts


·               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."
·               Construction on the Leaning Tower of Pisa began on August 9th, 1173
·               President Lyndon Johnson used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day
·               The Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma
·               The word "laser" stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission by radiation."
·               In a lifetime, on average a honey bee produces 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey
·               There are 315 species of parrot in the world
·               The TV show Doctor Who, when it was popular, had an audience of 110 million people
·               The cost to build the Empire State Building was $40,948,900
·               A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day will on average lose two teeth every ten years
·               Wasps that feed on ferment occasionally get drunk and pass out
·               The largest cereal company in the world is Quaker Oats, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
·               The first Olympic games only had one event - a foot race
·               Colonel Sanders traveled over 250,000 miles a year visiting various parts of his Kentucky Fried Chicken Empire
·               Some desert snails have been known to sleep for three to four years
·               Over 80% of the brain is water
·               From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink in size
·               Jackrabbits can reach a speed of fifty miles per hour and can leap as far as twenty feet
·               There are 40 official jelly belly flavours
·               Early sewing machines were destroyed by mobs or workers who felt their jobs were threatened by automation
·               In 1992, the Antarctic Ozone hole was larger than the continent of North America.
·               There is a certain type of Hawk Moth caterpillar from Brazil that inflates its thorax, which makes its head look like a head of a snake when it feels it is in danger or alarmed
·               The CIA has made a disk camera that is as big as a quarter. This gadget can take many pictures at a time when the disk is opened.
·               The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."
·               In Hong Kong, delivery times are primarily influenced by traffic conditions on elevators. It often takes drivers longer to travel vertically than horizontally, as access to elevators is so congested during "high peak" hours. This is due to the volume of people residing in high rises
·               The ancient Greeks had a fascination with the planet Mars. They attributed the planet to Ares, their god of war, because of its red colour
·               The only lizard that has a voice is the Gecko
·               In Israel, religious law forbids picking your nose on Sabbath
·               In twins, there is a great chance that one will be left handed
·               In the 1920's, Q-Tips were invented by Leo Gerstenzang who got the idea after watching his wife clean their baby's ears with cotton stuck onto a toothpick.
·               In the Pacific Islands when people get burns they often use a banana leaf as treatment
·               Acorns were used as a coffee substitute during the American Civil War
·               An airplane mechanic invented Slinky while he was playing with engine parts and realized the possible secondary use for the springs. 
·          Barbie was invented by Ruth Handler after watching her daughter play with baby dolls imagining then in grown up roles
·               When the female grasshopper lays eggs, she covers her eggs with a pasty liquid that protects the eggs throughout the winter
·               The longest recorded duration of a total solar eclipse was 7.5 minutes.
·               On average, an American makes three pounds of garbage in a day
·               Even if you eat food standing on your head, the food will still end up in your stomach
·               Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
·               The most common name in the world is Mohammed
·               Apple seeds are poisonous as they contain a cyanide compound
·               The word breakfast was coined due to the fact that after sleeping for hours, we are "breaking our fast."
·               The cardigan was originally made to be a military jacket made of knitted wool
·               The month of December is the most popular month for weddings in the Philippines
·               The deepest cave in the world is the "Lamprechtsofen-Vogelshacht" cave which can be found in Salzburg, Austria. The cave is 5,354 feet deep
·               The capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the only state capital in the United States that does not have a McDonalds
·               The longest engagement lasted 67 years, and the couple ended up marrying when they were 82 years old
·               Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears. never stop growing
·               Milk and cheese can aid in the reduction of tooth decay
·               On average, a strawberry has 200 seeds on it
·               The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing
·               Research has indicated that indoor pollution is 10 times more toxic than outdoor pollution
·               Eating a banana at night can help in falling asleep
·               The stapler was invented in Spring Valley, Minnesota.
·               The first television newscaster was Kolin Hager, who used to broadcast farm and weather reports in 1928
·               Pixie, a Siberian Husky, gave birth to 7 puppies, one of which was bright green
·               Back in 1953, it took 27 hours to make one Marshmallow Peep. Now it takes only six minutes
·               On average, an ear of a corn has 16 rows and approximately 800 kernels
·               The green ring that is formed around the yolk of eggs that have been cooked too long is formed by the chemical reaction from the iron in the yolk and the sulphur in the white part of the egg
·               The silk that is produced by spiders is stronger than steel
·               The first president to have a picture taken was John Quincy Adams
·               Some brands of toothpaste contain glycerin or glycerol, which is also an ingredient in antifreeze
·               1 in 2000 babies are born with a tooth that is already visible
·               It was during World War II that clothes with elastic waists were introduced. This is because the metal used in zippers was badly needed for the war
·               In 1902, the game table tennis was brought to the U.S. from Europe by Parker Brothers
·               Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes themlooks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
·               The fat from sheep, which is called tallow can be used to make soap and candles
·               Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body
·               Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns
·               When playing competitive darts the player must be 7 feet 9 1/4 inches back from the dartboard. Also the board must be 5 feet 8 inches above the floor
·               In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak
·               Earthworms have 5 hearts
·               If all the gold sitting in the oceans and seas were mined, every person on this plant would get about 20 kilograms of gold each.
·               To make an espresso 42 coffee beans are needed
·               The oil that is found in poison ivy is called "urushiol."

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