KISS ME, I'M IRISH

If your stomach did not produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks it would digest itself

The tongue of the blue whale weighs more than an African elephant

For the first time in recorded history there are more overweight people than underweight people in the world

At any given moment, about 2,000 thunderstorms are occurring around the world

Percent of Americans who do not know the words to "The Star Spangled Banner" (the American national anthem): 61%

Two-thirds of all men and women who have lived past age 65 in the entire history of human existence are alive today

1 out of 128 Americans are millionaires

1 out of 75 American men is in jail or prison

Mother's Day was originally conceived by anti-war activist Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War as a call to unite women against war

Since 2005 Americans have each year spent more than they earned- a negative savings rate of 0.5% for each year- the first time this has happened since the Great Depression of the 1930s

You are more likely to catch a cold by shaking hands than by kissing

Parasites account for 0.1% of your body weight

The average American will spend about 6 years of their lifetime on the toilet

Before 1800, the right and left shoe were no different

"This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." : Sigmund Freud, speaking about the Irish

Penalty in England for attempted suicide: death by hanging (not typically enforced)

Direction windmills turn: counterclockwise (except in Ireland)

Number of Americans who admit to occasionally phoning in sick to work when they are healthy: 58%

Cell phone antennas were invented to give the consumer the perception of having greater reception over consumers using phones not having antennas- they are not connected to any circuitry in the phone

Most common pet name for a goldfish in the U.S.: Jaws

Largest landowner in New York City: Catholic Church (Columbia University ranks second)

Number of nuclear bombs that have been lost at sea: 92

Number of New York City public school teachers who send their children to private schools: 1 in 3

Location of most subscribers to New Yorker magazine: California

A mathematical palindrome:
111, 111, 111 x 111, 111, 111 = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The earth has been around for 4.6 billion years -- scaling this down to 46 hours, humans have been around for 4 hours and the Industrial Revolution began one minute ago