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Amazing fact 25

The sandwich is named for the Fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-92), for whom sandwiches were made so that he could stay at the gambling table without interruptions for meals.

The Santa Maria was the only one of Columbus's ships not to return to Spain. It hit a reef on December 5, 1492 and sank.

The saying 'once in a blue moon ' refers to the occurrence of two full moons during one calendar month. The last two occurred in January & March 1999. The next one isn't until the end of 2001.

The science-fiction series "Lost in Space" (set in the year 1997) premiered on CBS in 1965.

The sea contains about 1/2 of the world's known animal groups

The Sea of tranquility is found on the moon.

The SEALs have been deployed in Vietnam, Laos, Panama, Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, and Colombia.

The search engine "Lycos" is named for Lycosidae, the Latin name for the wolf spider family. Unlike other spiders that sit passively in their web, wolf spiders are hunters, actively stalking their prey.

The secretary-bird swallow hen's egg whole without breaking its shell.

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet!

The setting sun is redder than the rising sun because the air at the end of the day is generally dustier than it is at the beginning of the day.

The seven archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel, Jophiel, and Zadkiel.

The Seven Deadly Sins are lust, pride, anger, envy, sloth, avarice and gluttony.

The seven hills of Rome are the Palatine (on which the original city was built), the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine.

The seven virtues are prudence, courage, temperance, justice, faith, hope and charity.

The seven wonders of the ancient world werethe Egyptian Pyramids at Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Colossus of Rhodes or huge bronze statue near the Harbor of Rhodes that honored the sun god Helios, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Lighthouse at Alexandria

The sewing machine was patented on August 12, 1851, by Isaac Singer of Pittstown, New York.

The sex of crocodiles is determined by the incubation temperature. Eggs incubated at temperatures below 85 degrees become females. Those incubated above 95 degrees become males. 2. Crocodiles are the closest living relatives to birds.

The shallowest sea is the sea of Azov.It is 13 meters at its deepest.

The shape of a plants' collenchyma cells and the shape of the bubbles in beer foam are the same they are orthotetrachidecahedrons.

The shore of the Dead Sea in Israel-Jordan is 1312 feet (400 meter) below sea level.

The shortest "-ology" (study of) word is oology, the study of eggs.

The shortest British monarch was Charles I, who was 4'9".

The shortest verse in the Bible consists of two words: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar an England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

The shortest word in the English language with all its letters in alphabetical order is the word "almost."

The side of a hammer is a cheek.

The silhouette on the MLB logo is Harmon Killebrew.

The silkworm consumes 86000 times its own weight in 56 days.

The single highest temperature ever recorded in U.S. history was 134 degrees Fahrenheit. It was recorded in Greenland Ranch, CA on July 10, 1913. The lowest recorded temperature was minus 80 degrees on January 23, 1971 in Prospect Creek, AK.

The six most dangerous occupations in America are; football player, firefighter, race-car driver, astrnaut, police officer, and fisherman.

The size of a newly born kangaroo is 2.5 cms.

The size of a raindrop is around 0.5 mm 2.5 mm, and they fall from the sky on average 21 feet per second.

The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radio's newscast about the wreck.

The slanted line that divides dates, fractions, choices, etc. (6/1/04) is called a virgule.

The sloth (a mammal) moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on it's fur

The sloth moves so slowly that it's fur offers a comfortable environment for algae to grow.

The slowest trainee on the SEALs obstacle course must wear a pink T-shirt that reads, "Always a Lady".

The smallest breed of dogs are the Chihuahuas.

The smallest fish in the world is the Trimattum Nanus of the Chagos Archipelago. It is only 0.33" long.

The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 square miles.

The smallest known fish is the Pandaka Pygmea,about the size of an ant and almost transeparent.

The smallest number spelled with an "a" is one thousand.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens. A smaller museum in Sanibel, Florida owns a mere 2 million shells and claims to be the worlds only museum devoted solely to mollusks.

The smoke detector was invented in 1969.

The snail mates only once in it's entire life.

The soldiers of World War I were the first people to use the modern flushing toilet. The inventor: Thomas Crapper.

The song "Happy Birthday to You" was originally written by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill as "Good Morning to You." The words were changed and it was published in 1935.

The song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" was written by George Graff, who was German, and was never in Ireland in his life.

The song Take Me Out to the Ballgame was written by Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer.

The sorcerer's name in Disney's Fantasia is Yensid, which happens to be Disney backwards.

The sound of a snore (up to 69 decibels) can be almost as loud as the noise of a pneumatic drill.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in Jello.

The sound you hear when you macho people crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

The sound you here when you put a seashell next to your ear is not the ocean, but blood flowing through your head.

The soundtrack to Oklahoma was the first album to sell one million copies on August 18, 1958.

The South Pole is covered with 8,850 feet of solid ice.

The South Pole was reached for the first time on 14 December 1911 by a team of explorers led by Roald Amundsen.

The Soviet Caucasus mountain actually moved a mile in 1972. Heavy rains swelled an underground river and the whole mountain salied away over the course of eight days.

The Sphinx ( famous pyramid) was carved from one piece of stone.

The standard blue U.S. Postal Service mailbox can hold approximately 4,000 letters at a time.

The Stanley Cup came from the Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893, Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley. Stanley was a fan of hockey and presented a trophy to be contested by the best amateur hockey team in Canada. The amateur HNA would later become to NHL in 1917.

The Star Trek theme actually has lyrics.

The starfish has an eye on the end of each arm.

The starfish is one of the only animals who can turn it's stomach inside-out. They also dont have brains. (See the connection?)

The state flower of Texas is the Bluebonnet; the state tree is a pecan.

The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub.

The state of Florida is bigger than England!

The state of Utah used to be submerged under water and to this day brine shrimp can still be found in rain-filled hollows under rocks and boulders.

The states of Washington and Montana still execute prisoners by hanging.

The states with the most presidential burial sites: Ohio and Virginia (tie).

The statue by Auguste Rodin that has come to be known as The Thinker wasn't meant to be a portrait of a man in thought. It's a portrait of Dante Aligheri.

The statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capital building is 19.5 feet tall and weighs 15,000 pounds. It was created in Rome, and the ship that brought it to America ran into a storm so severe that most of the cargo had to be tossed overboard. Before the ship reached the United States, it was condemned and sold in Bermuda, where the statue was put in storage. Two years later it reached Washington, but because of the Civil War the dome wasn't finished and the statue didn't get hoisted to its proper position for another two years.

The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City in 1885 aboard the French ship "Isere."

 

The Statue of Liberty weighs 225 tons.

The Statue of Liberty's mouth is 3 feet wide.

The stormtroopers in the original starwars are seen in many seen carrying long blasters. On closer inspection you can see that the blasters are actually WWII era German MG42 machine guns (modified slightly)

The strawberry is the only agricultural product that bears its seeds on the outside.

The striped billiard balls weight .1 ounces or so more than the solids

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Relative to size)

The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. (the heart is not a muscle)

The study of insects is called entomology.

The study of word origins is called etymology.

The Sudan is the largest country in Africa. It covers about 967,500 square miles of the continent.

The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes of all the tiger subspecies, the Siberian tiger has the least.

The sun is about three million miles closer to the earth on January 1st than it is on June 1st.

The sun weighs 330,000 times as much as the earth.

The sun's average period of rotation is 27 days.

The sun's total lifetime as a star capable of maintaining a life-bearing Earth is about 11 billion years. Nearly half that time has passed.

The supersonic Concorde jet made its first trial flight on January 1, 1969.

The surface of the Earth is about 60% water and 10% ice.

The swastika was origionaly a symbol of peace and honor and is still used by Buddhists today.

The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other nation on earth. That's 22 pounds each compared to 11 pounds per person in the United States.

The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.

The symbols used on playing cards were supposed to represent the four classes of men: hearts represented the clergy; spades (from the Spanish word espada, or sword) represented the warriors; clubs were originally leaves and represented the peasants; and citizens and merchants were recognized in the diamonds.

The table fork was introduced into England in 1601. Until then people would eat with their knives, spoons or fingers. When Queen Elizabeth first used a fork, the clergy went ballistic. They felt it was an insult to God not to touch meat with one's fingers.

The Taj Mahal in India is perfectly symetrical, except for one thing. The two tombs inside are not equal in size. This is because the male tomb has to be larger than the female tomb.

The Taj Mahal was actually built for use as a tomb.

The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1630 by Shah Jehan to honor his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.

The tallest monument built in the US, the Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, Missouri, is 630 feet tall.

The telescope at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, in California, also serves as a tomb. The 36-inch refracting telescope is mounted on a pillar that contains the remains of Jack Lick, who died in 1876. Lick was a wealthy financier and philanthropist who financed the construction of the observatory that bears his name.

The telescope on Mount Palomar, California, can see a distance of 7,038,835,200,000,000,000,000 miles.

The temperature of the earth's interior increases by one degree every 60 feet down.

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 Cunard liner SS Slavonia was the first ship to use an SOS distress call, on 10 June 1909. It was not the Titanic, as many people believe.

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 African slaves sent to all parts of the world between 1500 and 1865 was estimated to be at least 12 million. When you consider that only one in ten made the trip alive, the number of Africans who were enslaved or killed in the 350 years of the slave trade had to be no less than 120 million people.

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 U.S. Army has a stealth reconnaissance helicopter named "The Duke" in honor of John Wayne.

The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for 2 cents an acre.

The U.S. Dow Jones' lowest figure was 41.22 was on July 8, 1932.

The U.S. Post Office handles 43 percent of the world's mail.

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches.

The underside of a horses hoof is called a frog.

The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.

The Union ironclad, Monitor, was the first U.S. ship to have a flush toilet.

The United States government keeps its supply of silver at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.

The United States is the world's largest consumer of coffee, importing 16 to 20 million bags annually (2.5 million pounds), representing one-third of all coffee exported. More than half of the United States population consumes coffee. The typical coffee drinker has 3.4 cups of coffee per day. That translates into more than 450,000,000 cups of coffee daily.

The United States Library of Congress contains 73 millions volumes (books), arranged on 350 miles of shelves.

The United States minted a 1787 copper coin with the motto 'Mind Your Business.'

The United States nickel (five cent piece) is made of 75% copper and 25% nickel.

The United States produces 3,145,892,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year. That's over three times the amount of the second-highest producing country, Russia.

The United States Treasury Department maintains a fund known as "The Conscience Fund," which accepts money sent in anonymously by taxpayers who think they've cheated the government. The money is used for miscellaneous expenses.

The universe is so vast in relation to the matter it contains that it can be compared in the following way: A building 20 miles long, 20 miles wide and 20 miles high that contains 1 grain of sand.

The US Army has a 50 caliber sniper rifle that can shoot through the engine block of a car.

The US city with the highest murder rate is Detroit, with 45.3 homicides per 100,000 people.

The US federal income tax was first enacted in 1862 to support the Union's Civil War effort. It was eliminated in 1872, revived in 1894 then declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court the following year. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture in the US tax system.

The US has more personal computers than the next 7 countries combined.

The US President's Cabinet is composed of: the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health/Human Services, the Secretary of Housing/Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Education.

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."

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