Fun Facts

Iceland was the first country to legalize abortion in 1935.

It takes a ton of water to make a pound of refined sugar.

Licking a stamp leads to the consumption of 1/10 of a calorie.

There are only four words in the common English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

The United States has more airports than any other nation (there are over 14,800).

The average CEO's salary in the US is 475 times greater than the average worker's salary. In Japan, it is 11 times greater; in France, 15 times; in Canada, 20; in South Africa, 21, and in Britain, 22.

The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; '7' was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. 'UP' indicated the direction of the bubbles.

Less than one per cent of the 500 Chinese cities have clean air, respiratory disease is China's leading cause of death.

At -40 degrees Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing.

The correct response to the Irish greeting, "Top of the morning to you," is "and the rest of the day to yourself."

The human brain is 80% water.

The Hawaiian alphabet consists of only 13 letters.

The most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

There are over 58 million dogs in the US.

Japan is the largest exporter of frog's legs.

China has 100 million Internet users, second to the US's 135 million users.

In the latter part of the 18th century, Prussian surgeons treated stutterers by snipping off portions of their tongues.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

In 1800 on 50 cities on earth had a population of more than 100,000.

40 to 50 percent of body heat can be lost through the head (no hat) as a result of its extensive circulatory network.

America's best selling ice cream flavor is vanilla.

Tremendous erosion at the base of Niagara Falls (USA) undermines the shale cliffs and as a result the falls have receded approximately 7 miles over the last 10,000 years.

There are 1.6 million inventions under active patent in the United States.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

Active membership in the United Auto Workers union at the Big Three auto makers has declined from 800,000 members in 1970 to around 270,000 members in 2005.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades--King David, Clubs--Alexander the Great, Hearts--Charlemagne and Diamonds--Julius Caesar.

Nurses and doctors wash their hands between patients less than one-third of the time.

The egg came first.

No president of the United States was an only child.

In 1899, President McKinley was assured by the director of the US Patent Office that "everything that can be invented has already been invented."

Seventy-three percent of Manila residents smoke.

Orangutans warn people to stay out of their territory by belching.

Modern teenagers are better behaved than their counterparts of 20 years ago, showing "less problematic behavior" involving sex, drugs and drink.

The oldest dog died at the age of 29.

Google's name is a play on the word googol, which refers to the number 1 followed by one hundred zeroes.

Every second over 7,000 Coca-Cola products are consumed.

Toilet paper was invented in 1857.

The Himalayas cover one-tenth of the Earth's surface.

White Out was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith (Formerly of the Monkees).

It is possible for any American citizen to give whatever name he or she chooses to any unnamed mountain or hill in the United States.

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Average people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.

Goldfish swallowing started at Harvard in 1939.

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

In 2002, the National Research Council, a US Congressionally chartered group, said that there are about 400,000 online subscription sites with adult entertainment content worldwide, or about 1.5% of all Internet content.

There are over 58 million dogs in the US.

Shanghai, China boasts 4,000 skyscrapers - double the number in New York City.

The collecting of beer mats (coasters) is called tegestology.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

When Saigon fell, the signal for all Americans to evacuate was Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" being played on the radio.

More than half of women in the United States will not leave their home without makeup on.

Jeremy Bentham, a British philosopher who died in 1832,left his entire estate to the London Hospital provided that his body be allowed to preside over its board meetings. His skeleton was clothed and fitted with a wax mask of his face. It was present at the meeting for 92 years.

The parking meter was invented by C.C. Magee in 1935.

Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."

There are only four words in the common English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.