75% of home-schooled children in the U.S. are Evangelical Christians (about 25% of the population in the U.S., or 85 million people, identify as Evangelical Christian)
The word LESBIAN first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1870 to mean a sexual orientation -- previously the word referred to an inhabitant of the Greek island of Lesbos
You have a better chance of being struck by lightning on your way to purchase your ticket than you do of winning the lottery
In the Middle Ages, dead bodies on the battlefield were often used as ammunition in catapults
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar (U.S.)
In 1980, the city of Detroit presented Saddam Hussein with a key to the city
Most dust particles in your home come from dead skin
Brits eat more baked beans each year than the rest of the world combined
Only 1% of bacteria cause disease
The universe contains approximately 100 billion galaxies -- the largest galaxies contain more than a billion stars
According to a 1996 Congressional report, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) commits at least 100,000 "highly illegal activities" every year (House of Representatives' Permanent Committee on Intelligence, "IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century") -- other government documents, including CIA reports, show that the agency's crimes include assassination and human rights violations around the world
Copper is the second most-used metal in the world
It would take 20 new mid-size cars to generate the same amount of pollution as one mid-size car on the road in 1965
Number of African-Americans in prison in the U.S.: 800,000 (46% of total prison population)
Number of African-Americans in college in the U.S.: 600,000 (16% of total population of Americans in college)
The human brain generates 25 watts of electricity while a person is awake, enough to power a light bulb
17 tons of gold is used for the production of wedding bands in the U.S. each year
In 1958, the Crayola color Prussian Blue was changed to Midnight Blue by request of teachers and parents in the U.S. as kids could not relate to Prussian history
In the U.S., most burglaries occur during the day, and in the winter months -- most burglaries are committed by people aged 13-21
In Boston, Massachusetts it is illegal to take a bath without a prescription from a doctor
77% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas
The population of the United States has increased 61% since 1970
Type O blood is considered to be the "universal donor" because this type can be transfused to patients of any other type
Half of all identity thieves are relatives, friends or neighbors of their victim
Most men ejaculate within 6 minutes of penetration
A new book is published in the U.S. every 13 minutes
Percent of Americans who believe in some form of "life after death": 62%
Percent of the average American's budget spent on food: 13% (percent spent on transportation: 18%)
Number of heterosexual couples who live together outside of marriage in the U.S.: 4.2 million
Percent of the world's poor who are female: 75% (percent of the world's population that is female: 49%)
Number of cellular phones accidentally dropped into toilets last year that were reported for replacement in the United States: over 200,000
Most turkeys and giraffes are bisexual
Safest age of life (least likely to die or be injured) in all industrialized nations: 10 years of age
In the United States, interest paid on the national debt accounts for the third largest portion of the total federal budget
Percent of an American's income tax that is spent by the U.S. government on the interest rate on the national debt and the military: 50%
Number of undocumented workers hired by Golden Gate Fence Company to complete a portion of the wall between the United States and Mexico designed to deter illegal Mexican immigration into the U.S.: 1 out of 3 workers
Cost to the American taxpayer to keep a prisoner on death row: $61.58 per day
Ten largest countries by land mass: Russia, Canada, China, United States, Brazil, Australia, India, Argentina, Kazakhistan, Sudan
Due to plate tectonics, Europe and North America are drifting apart at the same speed a human fingernail grows, approximately 2 yards (6 feet) in a lifetime
According to Amnesty International, between 1900 and 1995 in the United States twenty-three people who were later determined to be innocent had been executed
The Catholic Church decreed that "man on top" was the only acceptable sexual position in the 16th century -- eventually it came to be known as the "missionary position" because missionaries were instructed to teach it as part of their efforts to "civilize" non-Christians in Africa, India and other locations
Number of lottery winners who gain weight in the first year after winning a prize of $1 million or more: All
In 2003, an employee of the Alabama Department of Transportation installed spyware on his boss's computer that proved his boss spent 10% of his workday doing work, 20% of the day checking stocks, and 70% playing various online games -- the employee was fired for tampering with his supervisor's computer, while the supervisor was reprimanded but held his position
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
OH NO, THERE GOES GODZILLA!
The number of people who starved to death in the last 25 years of the 20th century is less than the number who starved to death in the last 25 years of the 19th century
The Dodo was first discovered in 1507 -- 100 years later it had been hunted to extinction by humans
Rain forests cover 7% of the earth's surface, but at least 40% of all animal and plant species live in them
Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as to any other color
More babies are born at night than during the day
Without its lining of mucus, your stomach would digest itself
The average person is able to detect and distinguish between 10,000 different smells -- most, when blindfolded, can accurately detect the sex of the person they are asked to smell
In 1653, the word "not" was left out in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9 to read "know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God" (rather than "know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit...") -- this became known as the "Unrighteous Bible"
"The Printer's Bible" appeared in 1702 with an error in Psalm 119, verse 161 where instead of "princes" it read "printers have persecuted me"
In 1801, two printing errors occurred in what came to be known as the "Murderer's Bible" -- "These are the murderers" rather than "These are the murmurs," and continued with "Let the children first be killed" instead of "Let the children first be filled"
The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years, but the oldest on record, Bess, lived to the relatively old age of 48
The oldest known goldfish was Fred, who lived to be 41 years old with his "owner" in New Jersey
Physicist Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 but declined politely by stating "I have no head for problems"
No piece of dry, square paper can be folded in half more than 7 times, no matter it's size
The population of New York City is expected to reach 9.4 million people within the next 15 years (current population is 8 million, which amounts to 40% of the entire population of New York State)
Number of women killed each year in the United States by a husband or boyfriend: 1500
Most eaten meat worldwide: Pork
Length of time a person remains conscious after decapitation: 8 seconds
90% of all casualties of war in the past 100 years have been civilians
The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel was 63-year old schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor in 1901
In 1557, European physicians recommended smoking to combat bad breath and cancer
U.S. funds allocated for building and maintaining prisons per year: $40 million
U.S. funds allocated for social welfare programs per year: $20 million
Cleopatra had a special lipstick made for her that consisted of crushed ants and deep red carmine beetles
About 5% of the entire U.S. potato crop goes to make McDonald's French fries
Global spending on military (in U.S. dollars): $700 billion
Global spending on education (in U.S. dollars): $80 billion
Global spending on health and nutrition (in U.S. dollars): $13 billion
The first electric dishwater was invented by Josephine Cochrane, a socialite who was irritated that her kitchen staff broke expensive dishware
The idea for Godzilla came from a horrible accident when a U.S. atomic test bomb went off in the Pacific and contaminated the crew and the catch of a Japanese fishing boat -- Japanese filmmakers wanted to create a clumsy, lumbering monster as a metaphor for America
Water does not conduct electricity, but the impurities found in water do
Using an orange-handled coffee pot to denote decaffeinated brew originated in 1923 when General Foods first introduced Sanka and as an advertising promotion gave restaurants and diners orange-colored coffee pots that matched the orange packaging of their decaf coffee
The border of your lips is called the vermilion-skin borderline regardless of your race
British postage stamps are the only in the world that do not indicate the country of origin
The most over-due book in the world was borrowed from Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, England and was returned 288 years later
Research has indicated consistently that among industrialized nations, Icelanders report being the happiest -- statistics also show that Icelanders miss, on average, 1/3 of scheduled workdays each year
People infected with endemic parasitic worms don't have allergies
Tokyo has more than 40 Irish pubs
The longest living cells in your body are in your brain, most of which will live your entire lifetime
When glass breaks, the cracks travel at speeds up to 3000 miles per hour
Ants do not sleep
The female Tarantula Hawk wasp paralyzes a large spider with her sting, then lays her eggs on the motionless body so that her developing young have a fresh supply of spider meat to feed on
Name of the metal band that connects the pencil eraser to the end of the pencil: Ferrule
In Alaska, it is legal to shoot and kill a bear, but illegal to wake a sleeping bear to photograph it
It is against the law to whale hunt in Oklahoma, USA
In Florida, USA it is illegal to have sexual relations with a porcupine
The Dodo was first discovered in 1507 -- 100 years later it had been hunted to extinction by humans
Rain forests cover 7% of the earth's surface, but at least 40% of all animal and plant species live in them
Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as to any other color
More babies are born at night than during the day
Without its lining of mucus, your stomach would digest itself
The average person is able to detect and distinguish between 10,000 different smells -- most, when blindfolded, can accurately detect the sex of the person they are asked to smell
In 1653, the word "not" was left out in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9 to read "know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God" (rather than "know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit...") -- this became known as the "Unrighteous Bible"
"The Printer's Bible" appeared in 1702 with an error in Psalm 119, verse 161 where instead of "princes" it read "printers have persecuted me"
In 1801, two printing errors occurred in what came to be known as the "Murderer's Bible" -- "These are the murderers" rather than "These are the murmurs," and continued with "Let the children first be killed" instead of "Let the children first be filled"
The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years, but the oldest on record, Bess, lived to the relatively old age of 48
The oldest known goldfish was Fred, who lived to be 41 years old with his "owner" in New Jersey
Physicist Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 but declined politely by stating "I have no head for problems"
No piece of dry, square paper can be folded in half more than 7 times, no matter it's size
The population of New York City is expected to reach 9.4 million people within the next 15 years (current population is 8 million, which amounts to 40% of the entire population of New York State)
Number of women killed each year in the United States by a husband or boyfriend: 1500
Most eaten meat worldwide: Pork
Length of time a person remains conscious after decapitation: 8 seconds
90% of all casualties of war in the past 100 years have been civilians
The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel was 63-year old schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor in 1901
In 1557, European physicians recommended smoking to combat bad breath and cancer
U.S. funds allocated for building and maintaining prisons per year: $40 million
U.S. funds allocated for social welfare programs per year: $20 million
Cleopatra had a special lipstick made for her that consisted of crushed ants and deep red carmine beetles
About 5% of the entire U.S. potato crop goes to make McDonald's French fries
Global spending on military (in U.S. dollars): $700 billion
Global spending on education (in U.S. dollars): $80 billion
Global spending on health and nutrition (in U.S. dollars): $13 billion
The first electric dishwater was invented by Josephine Cochrane, a socialite who was irritated that her kitchen staff broke expensive dishware
The idea for Godzilla came from a horrible accident when a U.S. atomic test bomb went off in the Pacific and contaminated the crew and the catch of a Japanese fishing boat -- Japanese filmmakers wanted to create a clumsy, lumbering monster as a metaphor for America
Water does not conduct electricity, but the impurities found in water do
Using an orange-handled coffee pot to denote decaffeinated brew originated in 1923 when General Foods first introduced Sanka and as an advertising promotion gave restaurants and diners orange-colored coffee pots that matched the orange packaging of their decaf coffee
The border of your lips is called the vermilion-skin borderline regardless of your race
British postage stamps are the only in the world that do not indicate the country of origin
The most over-due book in the world was borrowed from Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, England and was returned 288 years later
Research has indicated consistently that among industrialized nations, Icelanders report being the happiest -- statistics also show that Icelanders miss, on average, 1/3 of scheduled workdays each year
People infected with endemic parasitic worms don't have allergies
Tokyo has more than 40 Irish pubs
The longest living cells in your body are in your brain, most of which will live your entire lifetime
When glass breaks, the cracks travel at speeds up to 3000 miles per hour
Ants do not sleep
The female Tarantula Hawk wasp paralyzes a large spider with her sting, then lays her eggs on the motionless body so that her developing young have a fresh supply of spider meat to feed on
Name of the metal band that connects the pencil eraser to the end of the pencil: Ferrule
In Alaska, it is legal to shoot and kill a bear, but illegal to wake a sleeping bear to photograph it
It is against the law to whale hunt in Oklahoma, USA
In Florida, USA it is illegal to have sexual relations with a porcupine
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