Facts for Fun
To some, facts are fun, to others a bore,
For me, I love ’em, please give me more!
(DAVID JOHN TAIT: Born 4.7.47 at Napier, New Zealand, Died ????)
Facts are infinite – well almost – and growing by the day!
1. Common Corn
The most mentioned crop in the Bible is 'corn'. (A staple then, a staple now. Did they have corn fed beef?)2. A Cool Cave
Jesus Christ, son of Mary, was most likely to have been born in a cave. Caves were used to keep animals in because of the intense heat. The carpenters of Jesus day were basically stone cutters, as wood wasn't used nearly as much as it is today. (Jesus is the foundation stone.)3. A New Taste
The first chocolate chip cookie was developed in the kitchen of a Whitman, Massachusetts, country inn in 1937. Simple experiments led to a recipe combining bits of chocolate candy with shortbread type, cookie dough. (The world hasn't been the same since!)4. You Big Rat!
The world's largest rodent is the 'Capybara'. It is an Amazon water hog that looks like a guinea pig, and can weigh more than 100 pounds. (A gentle giant - really!)5. Ashamed
Alcoholics are twice as likely to confess a drinking problem to a computer than to a doctor, say researchers in Wisconsin, US. (And computers can't be sympathetic either.)6. Not in Egypt
The largest pyramid in the world is not in Egypt but in Cholulu de Rivadahia, Mexico. It is 177 feet (55m) tall and covers 25 acres (11 hectares), being built sometime between 6 and 12 AD. (Well, Mexico is near to Texas, isn't it?)7. First Flight
The first commercial passenger aeroplane began flying in 1914. The first commercial passenger aeroplane with a bathroom began flying in 1919. (Nature rules the airways too!)8. Go Babe - And He Did!
Baseball legend Babe Ruth led the American League in home runs an incredible12 times. (How come he was still a 'Babe' after all that time?)9. Abundant
About 5.6 percent of the Earth's crust is composed of iron. (Ironical really! Don't know why though - but it must be!)10. Spell It Please
A 45-letter word connoting a lung disease, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, is the longest word in Webster's Third New International Dictionary. The longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary means the act of estimating as worthless - floccipaucinihilipilification, which has a mere 29 letters. (Easier to learn English than American?)11. Go Gold
In medieval Europe, alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," one of the earliest references to arthritis. (Setting the scene for expensive drugs to become the norm.)12. Snore More
According to a 1999 survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, amongst those who snore, 19 percent snore so loudly that they can be heard through a closed door. (Of course, none of us snore, do we?)13. Pass the Salt
In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt. (Must have been really determined about it!)14. Ant Stitch
Doctors in ancient India used insect mandibles instead of stitches to bind the two sides of a cut together. The head of a large ant would be removed and its pincers brought together through the patient's flesh. (Stitched 'ant by ant'!)15. A 'Weather Eye' in the Sky
On February 17, 1959, Vanguard II became the first satellite to send weather information back to Earth. (Because we couldn't get it right down here?)16. Wet Sweat
There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in your feet and they sweat as much as 8 ounces of moisture per day. (Walking on water?)17. Not Loved
Elton John's first record, "I've Been Loving You" was released by Philips Records in England in 1968. Philips, not realising the potential of the soon-to-be superstar, released him in 1969, just before he teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin. (The song was a prophetic end to what could have been such a beautiful - and profitable - relationship!)18. Getting Up a Sweat
There are round about 2 million sweat glands in the average human body. The average adult loses 540 calories with every litre of sweat. Men too, sweat about 40% more than women. (But women still use more deodorant!)19. Make Up Your Mind Please
Biologists have discovered that cockroaches can change course as many as 25 times in one second, making them the most nimble animals known. (Don't know which way to turn! Many human cockroaches too!)20. Burnt Gas
About 110,000 million tons of carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere each year as the result of burning fossil fuels. Removing this amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere requires a forested area the size of Australia. (Australia isn't too much helping either - lot's of desert!)21. Money Mouse
According to one source, Americans buy about 5 million things that are shaped like Mickey Mouse, or have a picture of Mickey Mouse on them, every day! (Yet most people don't like mice.)22. A Long Term Investment
Vintage port takes forty years to reach maturity. (Quicker than me!)23. Far Sighted
A bird sees everything at once in total focus. Whereas the human eye is globular and must adjust to varying distances, the bird's eye is flat and so can take in everything at once in a single glance. (So there really is a 'birds-eye view'.)24. There's Got to be an Easy Way
According to the U.S. government, people have tried more than 28,000 different ways to lose weight. (People haven't yet accepted that all you need to do is stop eating and start exercising. We're all the same!)25. Not In Texas!
The largest movie theatre in the world is not in Texas, but rather is the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Opening in December, 1932, it originally had 5,945 seats. (So many could watch Hollywood's American dreams - all at once.)26. A Long, Bumpy Ride
The first automobile to cross the United States took 52 days in 1903 to travel from San Francisco to New York. (Could they ever have imagined what they had started?)27. A Mirror Image
Baseball is the only major sport that appears backwards when looked at in a mirror. (So can you find out the result before the match?)28. Getting in First
President John F. Kennedy commissioned Pierre Salinger to buy and stockpile 1,500 Havana cigars on the eve of signing the Cuban trade embargo. (Fortunately, that was all that went up in smoke!)29. Choose Tails
If you toss a penny 10,000 times, it will not be heads 5,000 times, but more like 4,950. The heads picture weighs more, so it tends to end up on the bottom more often. (A case of the 'tail before the head'.)30. Sad But True
Humanities most destructive disease is malaria. More than 1.5 million people die from malaria every year. (Yet it is preventable - at a cost, and with a will.)31. Not the Same
A woman's heart beats faster than a man's. Any arthritic pains she may suffer from will almost always disappear as soon as she becomes pregnant. (Didn't think men had a heart?)32. Self Interest
Court ladies of Henry VIII's reign tinted their hair orange with the spice saffron until the king forbade it. He feared a saffron shortage would result from the fashion statement, and that it might reach his own dining table. (Stomach before beauty!)33. Fly Away
The average airspeed of the common housefly is 4.5 miles (7km) per hour; getting there by beating its wings about 20,000 times per minute. (Car designers could do well to copy their technology so as to engines rev higher.)34. That's Real Acceleration
Comets speed up as they approach the Sun - sometimes reaching speeds of over a million miles per hour. Far away from the Sun, their speeds drop, perhaps down to as little as 700 miles per hour. (Do they have heavenly 'drag races' with each other?)35. Fishy?
The word salmonella, referring to bacteria that enter a person's digestive tract in contaminated food and causing food poisoning, has nothing to do with fish. Rather, it was named after U.S. pathologist Daniel E. Salmon. (He may not wish to be remembered for this!)36. Bees Beware
'Cerophacy' is the eating of wax. Some birds, such as the honey guides of Africa and Asia, eat bees wax persistently. (Maybe wax lyrical in song after a feed?)37. Growing Claws
Your thumbnail grows the slowest; your middle nail, the fastest. (All finger -nails, and less thumb-nails!)38. Try it!
Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and white worms like fried pork rinds. (So I am told!)39. Getting the Wind Up!
To produce as much electricity as a nuclear power station, the turbines for a wind farm would need to occupy an area of approximately 140 square miles (362.598 square kilometres!). (Not forgetting the wind too, of course.)40. Are You Average?
According to Hallmark Cards, the average American receives eight birthday cards annually. (Mine seem to come more frequently now!)41. Half the Market
Only men were allowed to eat at the first self-service restaurant, the Exchange Buffet in New York, opened in 1885. Customers ate standing up. (Did women do the cooking?)42. Big Bertha
The world's largest mammal, the 'blue whale', weighs 50 tons at birth. Fully grown, it weighs as much as 150 tons. (How many women would like to give birth to a baby one-third its adult weight?)43. Bottle ????
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration statistics, two out of five women in America dye their hair. (But no-ones meant to know this!)44. Just Peanuts
The Jif plant in Lexington, Kentucky, is reportedly the largest peanut butter factory in the world. (Not just 'peanuts' in size though!)45. Aeroplane Cowboys
In the film industry, a 'chute cowboy' is a slang expression for the experienced parachutists that either perform or assist with stunts involving parachutes. (What goes up, must come down - slowly!)46. Poles Apart
If the Earth's axis was not tilted, there would be 12-hour days everywhere, and no seasons. At the poles, the sun would always be on the horizon. (The ultimate in boring political correctness!)47. Can You Believe It!
The biography of Thomas Crapper, the British sanitary engineer who in 1878 invented the modern flush toilet, was called 'Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper.' Others however, say it was invented by Sir John Harington, who is believed to have installed his invention for Queen Elizabeth I at her palace during the 1590's. (Thank you very much to whoever it was that invented it!)48. Good Things Take Time
The average wedding feast in Yemen lasts 21 days. (But who pays the bills?)49. And We Drink It!
Vinegar was the strongest acid known to the ancients. (Dissolves our stomachs?)50. Drink More Water
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. For when a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off. (Drink or die!)