8.14.30 AM Amazing fact 44 |
The average
American looks at eight houses before buying one. 75% of
people wash from top to bottom in the shower. 8% of
Americans twiddle their thumbs. 5,840 people
with pillow related injuries checked into U.S. emergency rooms in 1992. "Evaluation
and Parameterization of Stability and Safety Performance Characteristics of Two
and Three Wheeled Vehicular Toys for Riding." Title of a $230,000 research
project proposed by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, to study
the various ways children fall off bicycles. According to
the US Government people have tried nearly 28,000 different ways to lose
weight. 40,000
Americans are injured by toilets every year. The average
person over fifty will have spent 5 years waiting in lines. Statistically
speaking, the most dangerous job in the United States is that of Sanitation
Worker. Firemen and Policeman are a close second and third, followed by Leather
Tanners in fourth. Since the
Lego Group began manufacturing blocks in 1949, more than 189 billion pieces in 2000
different shapes have been produced. This is enough for about 30 Lego pieces
for every living person on Earth. Since 1978,
at least 37 people have died as a result of shaking vending machines, in an
attempt to get free merchandise. More than 100 have been injured. Seventy-three
percent of Americans are willing to wear clothes until the clothes wear out.
The poll conducted by Louis Harris and Associates also revealed: 92 percent are
willing to eliminate annual model changes in automobiles; 57 percent are
willing to see a national policy that would make it cheaper to live in
multiple-unit apartments than in single-family homes; 91 percent are willing to
eat more vegetables and less meat for protein. Seventy
percent of house dust is made up of dead skin flakes. Half of all
people who have ever smoked have now quit. Adults spend
an average of 16 times as many hours selecting clothes (145.6 hours a year) as
they do on planning their retirement. Results of a
survey show that 76 percent of women make their bed every day, compared to 46
percent of men. Police
estimated that 10,000 abandoned, orphaned and runaway children were roaming the
streets of New York City in 1852. Per capita,
it is safer to live in New York City than it is to live in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
In 1996,
Americans bought only 12 inches of dental floss per capita. In 1995,
each American used an annual average of 731 pounds of paper, more than double
the amount used in the 1980s. Contrary to predictions that computers would
displace paper, consumption is growing. In 1990 the
life expectancy of the average American male was 72.7 years and 76.1 years for
females. In 1900 the life expectancy was 46.6 for males and 48.7 for females. In 1977,
less than 9 percent of physicians in the U.S. were women. In 1970 only
5 percent of the American population lived in cities. In 1915, the
average annual family income in the United States was $687 a year. Per a
national survey, 80 percent of U.S. teachers in grades kindergarten through
eighth grade have received chocolate as a gift from their students. Per a
"Newsweek" poll, 49 percent of American fathers described themselves
as better parents than their dads. Pediatricians
estimate that 58 percent of their young patients go to child care or school
even when ill, according to a Gallup survey. This despite the fact that 81
percent of mothers working full-time have stayed home at times to care for a
sick child. In 1990
there were about 15,000 vacuum cleaner related accidents in the U.S. There have
been several documented cases of women giving birth to twins who had different
fathers, including cases where the children were of different races. To do so,
the mother had to have conceived both children in close proximity. There has
also been one recent case where a mother gave birth to unrelated
"twins." In that instance, the mother underwent in vitro
fertilization and had her own child and the embryo of another couple
accidentally implanted in her. While the
average cost of air travel is about $60 per hour, using an air-phone during
that plane trip can cost as much as $160 per hour. Over 15
billion prizes have been given away in Cracker Jacks boxes. Two out of
three adults in the United States have hemorrhoids. Hawaii is
the only state in the United States where male life expectancy exceeds 70
years. Hawaii also leads all states in life expectancy in general, with an
average of 73.6 years for both males and females. Hawaii has
the highest percentage of cremations of all other U.S. states, with a 60.6
percent preference over burial. Only 3
percent of Americans ages 18 to 21 attended college in 1890. Executives
work an average 57 hours a week, but just 22 percent say their hours are a
major cause of stress. Out of the
34,000 gun deaths in the U.S. each year, fewer than 300 are listed as
"justifiable homicide," the only category that could include shooting
a burglar, mugger, or rapist. Only about
30 percent of teenage males consistently apply sun protection lotion when going
poolside, compared to 46 percent of female teens. There are
more telephones than people in Washington DC. Occasionally,
hot dog sales at baseball stadiums exceed attendance, but typically, hot dog
sales at ballparks average 80 percent of the attendance. Each year
approximately 250,000 American husbands are physically attacked and beaten by
their wives. Canada is
the largest importer of American cars. Ninety
percent of U.S. households have at lease one remote control for the television;
8 out of 10 report losing it. More than 50
percent of adults surveyed said that children should not be paid money for
getting good grades in school. Spaghetti is
the favorite pasta shape, with 38 percent favoring it over other pasta shapes.
The second favorite shape is elbow macaroni, at 16 percent. The one
extra room new-home shoppers want the most is the laundry room, at 95 percent.
Only 66 percent of new-home buyers request an extra room to use as an office. Residential
buildings use about 35 percent of all available electricity. A recent
Gallup survey showed that in the United States 8 percent of kissers kept their
eyes open, but more than 20 percent confessed to an occasional peek. Forty-one
percent said they experienced their first serious smooch when they were age
thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen; 36 percent between the ages of sixteen and
twenty-one. The most memorable kiss in a motion picture was in "Gone With
The Wind" according to 25 percent of those polled. The
population divides approximately in half between AM and PM people. But
early-birds have the edge - 56 percent routinely rise early while 44 percent
stay up late. Medical studies, by the way, find that people tend to work more
productively in the morning. According to
a major hotel chain, approximately the same numbers of men and women are locked
out of their rooms. 32 percent are less than fully dressed. Nearly 87
percent of the 103 people polled in 1977 were unable to identify correctly an
unlabeled copy of the Declaration of Independence. By the end
of the U.S. Civil War, 33 percent of all U.S. paper currency in circulation was
counterfeit. This was a devastating situation for a nation struggling to
recover economically from such a destructive war. On July 5, 1865, the Secret
Service was created as a part of the Department of the Treasury to help
suppress counterfeit currency. Before the
Chinese take-over of Tibet in 1952, 25 percent of the males in the country were
Buddhist monks. One in five
American households move in a given year. The average American moves 11 times.
But most of us - 61 percent - still live in the state we were born in. And big
corporations report increasing resistance to transfers to new cities...with
many people turning down promotions in order to stay put. Focus group
information compiled by CalComp revealed that 50 percent of computer users do
not like using a mouse. According to
one U.S. study, about 25 percent of all adolescent and adult males never use
deodorant. Half of all
men start to lose their hair by the time they turn 30. Everybody loses dozens of
hairs a day - the key thing is whether or not they grow back. More than 40
percent of men wind up with significant hair loss. About 10
percent of the workforce in Egypt is under 12 years of age. Although laws
protecting children are on the books, they are not well enforced, partly
because many poverty-stricken parents feel forced to send their children out to
help support the family. About 60
percent of all American babies are named after close relatives. About 25
percent of all male Americans between the ages of ten and fifteen were
"gainfully employed" at the turn of the century. By 1970, so few in
that age bracket were employed that the U.S. Census Bureau did not bother to
make inquiries about them. About 24
percent of alcoholics die in accidents, falls, fires, and suicides. A recent
study conducted by the Shyness Clinic in Menlo Park, California, revealed that
almost 90 percent of Americans label themselves as shy. It is
illegal to marry the spouse of a grandparent in Maine, Maryland, South Carolina,
and Washington, DC. Golf was
banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the
serious pursuit of archery. The murder
rate in the Unted States is 200 times greater than in Japan. In Japan no
private citizen can buy a handgun legally. Impotence is
grounds for divorce in 24 U.S. states. The minimum
age set in the U.S. Constitution for the President of the United States is 35. In Milan,
Italy, there is a law on the books that requires a smile on the face of all
citizens at all times. Exemptions include time spent visiting patients in
hospitals or attending funerals. Otherwise, the fine is $100 if they are seen
in public without a smile on their face. Talking on a
cellular phone while driving is against the law in Israel. Because of
heavy traffic congestion, Julius Caesar banned all wheeled vehicles from Rome
during daylight hours. In 1968, a
convention of beggars in Dacca, India, passed a resolution demanding that the
minimum amount of alms be fixed at 15 paisa (three cents). In the
marriage ceremony of the ancient Inca Indians of Peru, the couple was
considered officially wed when they took off their sandals and handed them to
each other. During the
eighteenth century, books that were considered offensive were sometimes punished
by being whipped. The Spanish
Inquisition once condemned the entire Netherlands to death for heresy. A girl, in
the Vacococha tribe of Peru, to prepare her for marriage at the age of 12, is
placed in a basket in the hut of her prospective in-laws and must remain
suspened over an open fire night and day for 3 months. In the
Middle Ages, the highest court in France ordered the execution of a cow for
injuring a human. Margaret
Sanger was jailed for a month, in 1917, in a workhouse for founding a clinic
that dispensed contraceptives. The curtain
or veil used by some Hindus and Moslems to seclude or hide their women from
strangers is called a "purdah." It is
illegal to marry the spouse of a grandparent in Maine, Maryland, South
Carolina, and Washington, DC. Golf was
banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the
serious pursuit of archery. The murder
rate in the Unted States is 200 times greater than in Japan. In Japan no
private citizen can buy a handgun legally. Impotence is
grounds for divorce in 24 U.S. states. The minimum
age set in the U.S. Constitution for the President of the United States is 35. In Milan,
Italy, there is a law on the books that requires a smile on the face of all
citizens at all times. Exemptions include time spent visiting patients in
hospitals or attending funerals. Otherwise, the fine is $100 if they are seen
in public without a smile on their face. Talking on a
cellular phone while driving is against the law in Israel. Because of
heavy traffic congestion, Julius Caesar banned all wheeled vehicles from Rome
during daylight hours. In 1968, a
convention of beggars in Dacca, India, passed a resolution demanding that the
minimum amount of alms be fixed at 15 paisa (three cents). In the
marriage ceremony of the ancient Inca Indians of Peru, the couple was
considered officially wed when they took off their sandals and handed them to
each other. During the
eighteenth century, books that were considered offensive were sometimes
punished by being whipped. The Spanish
Inquisition once condemned the entire Netherlands to death for heresy. A girl, in
the Vacococha tribe of Peru, to prepare her for marriage at the age of 12, is
placed in a basket in the hut of her prospective in-laws and must remain suspened
over an open fire night and day for 3 months. In the
Middle Ages, the highest court in France ordered the execution of a cow for
injuring a human. Margaret
Sanger was jailed for a month, in 1917, in a workhouse for founding a clinic
that dispensed contraceptives. The curtain
or veil used by some Hindus and Moslems to seclude or hide their women from
strangers is called a "purdah." The
mummified hand of a notary public, chopped off for falsely certifying a
document, has been on display in the city hall of Munster, Germany, as a
warning to other notaries for 400 years. It is legal
in North Dakota to shoot an Indian on horseback, provided you are in a covered
wagon. Women in
Florida may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon
owner. Snoring is
prohibited in Massachusetts unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely
locked. It is also illegal to go to bed without first having a full bath. Mailing an
entire building has been illegal in the U.S. since 1916 when a man mailed a
40,000-ton brick house across Utah to avoid high freight rates. In Hartford,
Connecticut, you may not, under any circumstances, cross the street walking on
your hands. To pass U.S.
Army basic training young female recruits must do 17 pushups in two minutes.
Males must do 40 pushups in two minutes. At the first
professional baseball game, the umpire was fined 6 cents for swearing. During the
time of Peter the Great, any Russian man who wore a beard was required to pay a
special tax. During World
War II, bakers in the United States were ordered to stop selling sliced bread
for the duration of the war on January 18, 1943. Only whole loaves were made
available to the public. It was never explained how this action helped the war
effort. During World
War I, the punishment for homosexuality in the French army was execution. Quebec and
Newfoundland are the only two provinces which do not allow personalized license
plates. The ship,
the Queen Elizabeth 2, should always be written as QE2. QEII is the actual
queen. In Atlanta,
Georgia, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp. In 1996,
Christmas caroling was banned at two major malls in Pensacola, Florida.
Apparently, shoppers and merchants complained the carolers were too loud and
took up too much space. In 1388,
English Parliament banned waste disposal in public waterways and ditches. In most
places, when a drawbridge is open, the only land vehicle that can claim
priority over boats is a truck hauling the US mail. This option is seldom if
ever exercised, of course. Found on a
butane lighter: "Warning: Flame may cause fire." Found on the
handle of a hammer: "Caution: Do not use this hammer to strike any solid
object." Found on Bat
Man The Animated Series Armor Set Halloween costume box: "PARENT: Please
exercise caution, mask and chest plate are not protective; cape does not enable
wearer to fly." Found on the
instruction sheet of a Conair Pro Style 1600 hair dryer: "WARNING: Do not
use in shower. Never use while sleeping." Found a box
of Tampax Tampons: "Remove used tampon before inserting a new one." Found on
Axius Sno-Off Automobile Windshield cover: "Caution: Never drive with the
cover on your windshield." A local
ordinance in Atwoodville, Connecticut prohibits people from playing Scrabble
while waiting for a politician to speak. In December
1997, the state of Nevada (USA) became the first state to pass legislation
categorizing Y2K data disasters as "acts of God"— protecting the
state from lawsuits that may potentially be brought against it by residents in
the year 2000. In Hartford
Connecticut, it is illegal for a husband to kiss his wife on Sundays. In Milan,
Italy, when an operator dialed a wrong number, the phone company fined the
operator. In Italy, it
is illegal to make coffins out of anything except nutshells or wood. It is
illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona. In Turkey,
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, anyone caught drinking coffee was
put to death. Christmas
was once illegal in England. In Utah,
birds have the right of way on all highways. During the
time that the atomic bomb was being hatched by the United States at Alamogordo,
New Mexico, applicants for routine jobs like janitors, were disqualified if
they could read. Illiteracy was a job requirement. The reason: the authorities
did not want their trash or other papers read. In Kentucky,
it is illegal to carry ice cream in your back pocket. No building
in DC may be taller than 13 floors. This is so that no matter where in the city
you are, you can see the monument to our first president, Washington. Texas is the
only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space. The
first to exercise this right to vote while in orbit was astronaut David Wolf,
who cast his vote for Houston mayor via e-mail from the Russian space station
Mir in November 1997. Hypnotism is
banned by public schools in San Diego. It was once
against the law to slam your car door in a city in Switzerland. In Pakistan,
it is rude to show the soles of your feet or point a foot when you are sitting
on the floor. In Thailand,
the left hand is considered unclean, so you should not eat with it. Also,
pointing with one finger is considered rude and is only done when pointing to
objects or animals, never humans. Being rude
to a telephone operator in Prussia was once a crime. In 1908, a respected
citizen was reprimanded by the government after becoming exasperated with an
operator and saying "My dear girl!" In South
America, it would be rude not to ask a man about his wife and children. In most
Arab countries, it would be rude to do so. In some
smaller towns in the state of Arizona, it is illegal to wear suspenders. In
seventeenth-century Japan, no citizen was allowed to leave the country on
penalty of death. Anyone caught coming or going without permission was executed
on the spot. In
Pennsylvania, Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the
bride or groom is drunk. In San
Salvador, drunk drivers can be punished by death before a firing squad. In Saudi
Arabia, a woman reportedly may divorce her husband if he does not keep her
supplied with coffee. Women were
banned by royal decree from using hotel swimming pools in Jidda, Saudi Arabia,
in 1979. Vermont,
Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine are the four states in the U.S. that do not allow
billboards. In New York
State, it is still illegal to shoot a rabbit from a moving trolley car. In most
American states, a wedding ring is exempt by law from inclusion among the
assets in a bankruptcy estate. This means that a wedding ring cannot be seized
by creditors, no matter how much the bankrupt person owes. A few years
back, a Chinese soap hit it big with consumers in Asia. It was claimed in ads
that users would lose weight with Seaweed Defat Scented Soap simply by washing
with it. The soap was sold in violation to the Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs
Law and was banned. Reportedly, the craze for the soap was so great that
Japanese tourists from China and Hong Kong brought back large quantities. The product
was also in violation of customs regulations. In June and July 1999 alone, over
10,000 bars were seized. Connecticut
and Rhode Island never ratified the 18th Amendment: Prohibition. Candy made
from pieces of barrel cactus was outlawed in the U.S. in 1952 to protect the
species. By law,
information collected in a U.S. census must remain confidential for 72 years. An old law
in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3
steps backwards while dancing. For hundreds
of years, the Chinese zealously guarded the secret of sericulture; imperial law
decreed death by torture to those who disclosed how to make silk. The
handkerchief had been used by the Romans, who ordinarily wore two
handkerchiefs: one on the left wrist and one tucked in at the waist or around
the neck. In the fifteenth century, the handkerchief was for a time allowed
only to the nobility; special laws were made to enforce this. The classical
heritage was rediscovered during the Renaissance. Chewing gum
is outlawed in Singapore because it is a means of "tainting an environment
free of dirt." Before the
enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York
City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog
excrement were deposited on the streets every year. According to
law, no store is allowed to sell a toothbrush on the Sabbath in Providence,
Rhode Island. Yet these same stores are allowed to sell toothpaste and
mouthwash on Sundays. In the state
of Queensland, Australia, it is still constitutional law that all pubs
(hotel/bar) must have a railing outside for patrons to tie up their horse. A Venetian
law decrees that all gondolas must be painted black. The only exceptions are
gondolas belonging to high public officials. It is
against the law to whale hunt in Oklahoma. (Think about it...) Every
citizen of Kentucky is required by law to take a bath at least once a year. In Idaho a
citizen is forbidden by law to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs
more than 50 pounds. Lawn darts
are illegal in Canada. Anti-modem
laws restrict Internet access in the country of Burma. Illegal possession of a
modem can lead to a prison term. Under the
law of Mississippi, there’s no such thing as a female Peeping Tom. Theaters in
Glendale, California can show horror films only on Monday, Tuesday, or
Wednesday. Scientists
have estimated a fly ball will travel about seven feet further for every 1,000
feet of altitude. With an approximate elevation of 1,100 feet, Bank One
Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona is the second highest facility in the major
baseball leagues; only Coors Field in Denver, Colorado is higher. In the U.S.,
there are more then 10,000 golf courses. Boxing
champion Gene Tunney taught Shakespeare at Yale University. The city of
Denver was chosen to host and then refused the 1976 Winter Olympics. The Miami
Dolphins were the last NFL team to go through a season unbeaten. The 1900
Olympics were held in Paris, France. The average
rikishi tips the scales at about 280 pounds, but in 1988 the heaviest sumo
westler ever recorded weighed in at a thundering 560 pounds. To bulk up,
rikishi eat huge portions of protein-rich stews called chankonabe, packed with
fish or meat and vegetables, plus vast quantities of less healthful foods,
including fast food. They often force themselves to eat when they are full, and
they have a nap after lunch, thus acquiring flab on top of their strong
muscles, which helps to keep their center of gravity low. Professional
sumo wrestlers, called rikishi, must be quick on their feet and supple, but
weight is vital to success as they hurl themselves at their opponents, aiming
to floor them or push them outside the 15-foot fighting circle. In 1870,
British boxing champ Jim Mace and American boxer Joe Coburn fought for three
hours and 48 minutes without landing one punch. Boxing is
considered the easiest sport for gamblers to fix. Six bulls
are killed in a formal bullfight. Canada beat
Denmark 47-0 at the 1949 world hockey championships. The theme
song of the Harlem Globetrotters is "Sweet Georgia Brown." Three
consective strikes in bowling is called a turkey. Jesse Owens
won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. O.J. Simpson
rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973. The
Indianapolis 500 is run on Memorial Day. The five
Olympic rings represent the continents. Ten events
make up the decathlon. A regulation
soccer games is 90 minutes. In 1910, A
baseball with a cork center was used in a World Series game for the first time.
The Philadelphia Athletics (managed by Connie Mack) and the Chicago Cubs
(managed by P.K. Wrigley) played for the championship. Before 1859,
baseball umpires were seated in padded chairs behind home plate. Golf-great
Billy Casper turned golf pro during the Korean War while serving in the Navy.
Casper was assigned to operate and build golf driving ranges for the Navy in
the San Diego area. The United
States Golf Association (USGA) was founded in 1894 as the governing body of
golf in the United States. The youngest
golfer recorded to have shot a hole-in-one is Coby Orr (5 years) of Littleton,
CO on the 103 yd fifth at the Riverside Golf Course, San Antonio, TX in 1975. Two golf
clubs claim to be the first established in the United States: the Foxberg Golf
Club, Clarion County, PA (1887) and St. Andrews Golf Club of Yonkers, NY
(1888). The Tom
Thumb golf course was the first miniature golf course in the United States. It
was built it 1929 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by John Garnet Carter. The oldest
player to score his age is C. Arthur Thompson (1869-1975) of Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada, who scored 103 on the Uplands course of 6,215 yd, age 103 in
1973. The youngest
American female to score an ace was Shirley Kunde in August 1943 at age 13. Americans
spend more than $630 million a year on golf balls. Before 1850,
golf balls were made of leather and were stuffed with feathers. Honey is
used as a center for golf balls and in antifreeze mixtures. In the NHL
in the 1960’s, the league decided that home teams would wear white,
while visiting teams would wear their dark jerseys. The reasoning behind this
was that it would be more difficult to keep white uniforms clean while on the
road. Frank
Mahovlich played for 3 different teams during his NHL career: Toronto, Detroit,
and Montreal. For all three, he wore the number 27. Fastest
round of golf (18 holes) by a team - 9 minutes and 28 seconds. Set at Tatnuck
CC in Worcester in September 9, 1996 at 10:40am. Pittsburgh
is the only city where all major sports teams have the same colors: Black and
gold. Pro golfer
Wayne Levi was the first PGA pro to win a tournament using a colored (orange)
ball. He did it in the Hawaiian Open in 1982. In 1986
Danny Heep became the first player in a World Series to be a designated hitter
(DH) with the initials "D.H." Kresimir
Cosic is only non-American player in NBA Hall of Fame. Jackie
Robinson was the only person to letter in four sports at UCLA. Of all of them,
he supposedly liked baseball the least. Honey is
used as a center for golf balls and in antifreeze mixtures. Superfly
Jimmy Snuka was the first E.C.W. World Champ. The
silhouette on the Major League Baseball logo is Harmon Killebrew. At 101,
Larry Lewis ran the 100 yard dash in 17.8 seconds setting a new world record
for runners 100 years old or older. Rick and
Paul Reuschel of the 1975 Chicago Cubs combine to pitch a shutout, the first
time brothers do this. The 1990 New
York Yankee pitching staff set an all-time record with the fewest complete
games, three. Will Clark,
professional baseball player, is a direct descendant of William Clark of Lewis
and Clark. Olympic
Badminton rules say that the birdie has to have exactly fourteen feathers. The home
team must provide the referee with 36 footballs for each National Football League
game. Racehorses
have been known to wear out new shoes in one race. Baseball
cards have been around since 1886. Modern cards, with high-resolution color
photographs on the front and player statistics on the back, date from 1953. The
photos are taken in the spring, with and without team caps, just in case the
player is traded to another team. Australian
Rules football was originally designed to give cricketers something to play
during the off season. Since 1896,
the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and Australia have
participated in every Games. In 1964 for
the 10th time in his major-league baseball career, Mickey Mantle hit home runs
from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game - setting a new
baseball record. Gene Sarazen,
a golfer from several generations ago, set the record for the fastest golf
drive: 120 mph. In July 1934
Babe Ruth paid a fan $20 dollars for the return of the baseball he hit for his
700th career home run. The Iditarod
dog sled race - from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska - commemorates an emergency
operation in 1925 to get medical supplies to Nome following a diphtheria
epidemic. Golf was
banned in England in 1457 because it was considered a distraction from the
serious pursuit of archery. Not all Golf
Balls have 360 dimples. There are some as high as 420. Thereare also all
different kinds of dimple patterns. Prior to
1900, prize fights lasted up to 100 rounds. Four men in
the history of boxing have been knocked out in the first eleven seconds of the
first round. Golf-great
Billy Casper turned golf pro during the Korean War while serving in the Navy.
Casper was assigned to operate and build golf driving ranges for the Navy in
the San Diego area. Billiards
great, Henry Lewis once sank 46 balls in a row. We are in
the middle of an ice age. Ice ages include both cold and warm periods; at the
moment we are experiencing a relatively warm span of time known as an
"interglacial period." Geologists believe that the warmest part of
this period occurred from 1890 through 1945 and that since 1945 things have
slowly begun freezing up again. The first
man-made insecticide was DDT. The earth
rotates on its axis more slowly in March than in September. The Earth
gets heavier each day by tons, as meteoric dust settles on it. The whirling
cloud, a flat cloud hovering over the peak of an extinct volcano, Mount Jirinaj
in Indonesia, affected by hot air rising from the crater, spins swiftly around
and around. Because of a
large orbital eccentricity, Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune between
January 1979 and March 1999. According to
experts, large caves tend to "breathe"; they inhale and exhale great
quantities of air when the barometric pressure on the surface changes, and air
rushes in or out seeking equilibrium. About 500
meteorites hit the Earth each year. The largest known meteorite was found at
Grootfontein in Namibia, southwest Africa, in 1920. It is 9 feet (2.75m) long
and 8 feet (2.43m) wide. A shrimp has
more than a hundred pair of chromosomes in each cell nucleus. Vineger was
the strongest acid known in the ancient times. The clock at
the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., will gain or lose only
one second in 300 years because it uses cesium atoms. The densest
substance on Earth is the metal "osmium."m |
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