Physician and social reformer Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) reported that turn-of-the-century seamstresses using treadle-operated sewing machines could achieve orgasm by sitting near the edge of their chairs -- Ellis himself remained a virgin until his marriage at age 32 to the openly lesbian Edith Lees -- Ellis remained sexually impotent until age 60 when he discovered, by chance, that he was sexually aroused at the sight of women urinating
Lifespan of a human taste bud: 10 days
Your body has 6 quarts of blood which circulates through your entire body 3 times every minute
The word CLITORIS derives from the Ancient Greek word KLEITORIS, meaning "little hill"
Worldwide labor force: 3.2 billion people
Number of airports in the world: 49,024
Median age worldwide: 28 years
Global birth rate: 19.97 births per 1,000 people
Global death rate: 8.32 deaths per 1,000 people
Global population growth rate: 1.2%
Global life expectancy at birth: 66 years
More than two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are found in 8 nations: India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt
U.S. life expectancy at birth: 78 years
U.S. LABOR FORCE BY OCCUPATION: (153 million workers)
--Management, professional, technical: 35.5%
--Sales and office: 24.8%
--Manufacturing, extraction, transportation, crafts: 22.6%
--Other services: 16.5%
--Farming, forestry, fishing: .6%
A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of rocks
If you place a sealed envelope in the freezer for a few hours, you can slip a butter knife under the flap, open it, and re-seal it without it appearing to have been previously opened
Recently, a fragment of a lance used by commercial whalers in the 19th century was found in a Bowhead whale, indicating that the age of the whale is between 115 and 130 years
The male angler fish permanently attaches himself to the female during sex, and eventually becomes absorbed by her body
A pangram is a sentence that uses all of the letters of the alphabet -- in English, an example is: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
You can't sneeze in your sleep
A Rubik's Cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible combinations -- any combination can be solved in 17 moves or less
Broccoli has twice as much Vitamin C as an Orange
Every population of humans (regardless of location, race, or other variation) has a majority of right-handed people, and about the same percentage of left-handed people (10%)
Worldwide, there are 81 men aged 60 or older for every 1oo women in that age group
In the past 30 years, about 600,000 people have been murdered in the United States
In the U.S., police are more likely to identify a suspect if the victim of homicide is a child -- overall, police make an arrest in a murder case 62% of the time, making homicide the most likely violent crime in the U.S. to result in an arrest
The reason stores in the U.S. do not sell mouse-flavored catfood is for marketing reasons -- focus groups of potential human shoppers who own cats indicated that it was a "disgusting" flavor they were not likely to purchase, so the most popular flavors remain tuna, chicken and liver -- flavors humans are familiar with and deem "acceptable"
Sudoku is actually a Swiss invention designed by mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1783, who called the game "Latin Squares"
The word "skyscraper" was first used in 1888 to describe an 11-story building
Studies show that most people daydream between 70 and 120 minutes a day
Hawaii is moving toward Japan at a rate of about 4 inches per year
It takes 70% less energy to produce paper from recycled paper than from trees
The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee
Ratio of sheep to people in New Zealand: 20:1
Francis Galton, the inventor of finger-printing as a means of identification, also invented the dog whistle
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
McDonald's fast-food restaurants employ more than 1.5 million people worldwide -- in the U.S., 1 out of 4 adults worked at a McDonald's prior to age 21
In Canada and the U.S., the most productive workday is Tuesday and is also the workday with the least absenteeism
Before the advent of toilet tissue, French royalty used fine linen to wipe their bottoms
Common pesticides used to kill cockroaches, termites, fleas and ants can be found in trace amounts, and sometimes higher, in the bodies of 98% of Americans
Early Romans used porcupine quills as toothpicks
Eleven towns in the United States are named Moscow
At any given time in the United States, about 4% of women are pregnant
About 3% of women worldwide will give birth to twins -- this is an increase of nearly 60% in the past 25 years (the highest percentage of women who give birth to twins are women over age 40, followed by women who use fertility treatments)
Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births in the world at around 5% -- scientists theorize that this may be related to the high intake of yams in the Nigerian diet
A single 75-watt light bulb emits more light than three 25-watt bulbs
1 in every 9,000 people is albino
On average, 1 out of 43 people jailed in the U.S. will attempt to escape -- of those that succeed, 94% are re-captured within 48 hours
Outside of the bedroom, the most common place for Americans to have sex is in the car, followed by a hotel room, their workplace, or outdoors
Throughout the world, 1 out of 4 people report having had one sexual partner, while 1 out of 5 claim to have had at least ten sexual partners
The United States produces 250 million tons of garbage each year -- Canada generates 31 million tons
Your sense of smell is about 10,000 times more sensitive than your sense of taste
Even small noises cause the human eye to dilate
Your teeth start growing about 6 months before you are born -- these "teeth buds" will eventually form a child's first set of teeth appearing usually within the first 6-8 months of life, while 1 out of 2,000 newborns are born with at least one tooth
About 4% of the world's population will have sex today (240 million)
Women in the world comprise 51% of the population, perform nearly 2/3 of all work hours, receive 1/10 of world income, and own less than 1/100 of the world's property
Spiders are not insects because they have eight legs -- centipedes and millipedes are also disqualified
All insects have 3 body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), six-jointed legs, two antennae, and an exoskeleton
The only letter that does not appear in the Periodic Table of the Elements: J
The Tokyo Zoo closes for two months each year to give the animals in captivity a holiday from visitors
New Zealand was the first nation to grant women the right to vote (1893)
In Canada and the U.S., the most productive workday is Tuesday and is also the workday with the least absenteeism
Before the advent of toilet tissue, French royalty used fine linen to wipe their bottoms
Common pesticides used to kill cockroaches, termites, fleas and ants can be found in trace amounts, and sometimes higher, in the bodies of 98% of Americans
Early Romans used porcupine quills as toothpicks
Eleven towns in the United States are named Moscow
At any given time in the United States, about 4% of women are pregnant
About 3% of women worldwide will give birth to twins -- this is an increase of nearly 60% in the past 25 years (the highest percentage of women who give birth to twins are women over age 40, followed by women who use fertility treatments)
Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births in the world at around 5% -- scientists theorize that this may be related to the high intake of yams in the Nigerian diet
A single 75-watt light bulb emits more light than three 25-watt bulbs
1 in every 9,000 people is albino
On average, 1 out of 43 people jailed in the U.S. will attempt to escape -- of those that succeed, 94% are re-captured within 48 hours
Outside of the bedroom, the most common place for Americans to have sex is in the car, followed by a hotel room, their workplace, or outdoors
Throughout the world, 1 out of 4 people report having had one sexual partner, while 1 out of 5 claim to have had at least ten sexual partners
The United States produces 250 million tons of garbage each year -- Canada generates 31 million tons
Your sense of smell is about 10,000 times more sensitive than your sense of taste
Even small noises cause the human eye to dilate
Your teeth start growing about 6 months before you are born -- these "teeth buds" will eventually form a child's first set of teeth appearing usually within the first 6-8 months of life, while 1 out of 2,000 newborns are born with at least one tooth
About 4% of the world's population will have sex today (240 million)
Women in the world comprise 51% of the population, perform nearly 2/3 of all work hours, receive 1/10 of world income, and own less than 1/100 of the world's property
Spiders are not insects because they have eight legs -- centipedes and millipedes are also disqualified
All insects have 3 body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), six-jointed legs, two antennae, and an exoskeleton
The only letter that does not appear in the Periodic Table of the Elements: J
The Tokyo Zoo closes for two months each year to give the animals in captivity a holiday from visitors
New Zealand was the first nation to grant women the right to vote (1893)
Monday, July 13, 2009
EVERYTHING'S GOT A NAME!
Scientific name for your butt crack: Natal Cleft
The word GENIUS appears to date back to between 2,000 and 3,000 years to a Latin word of the same spelling that referred to a guardian deity, a spirit that watches over each person from the moment of their birth (every man had a genius, every woman had a juno) -- the meaning evolved over the centuries to refer to a person who seemed to have an innately superior intellect
From birth to age 2, the human brain triples in size
38% of CO2 emissions in the United States come from buildings
In 1883, Henry Ziegland broke off his relationship with his paramour who subsequently committed suicide. Her brother tracked down Ziegland and shot him, then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. Ziegland hadn't been killed, however. The bullet had merely grazed him and was lodged in a tree. He decided to cut down the tree and extract the bullet to keep as a good-luck charm. Frustrated with chopping, Ziegland decided to place a stick of dynamite at the base of the tree to expedite the felling of the tree. When the dynamite exploded, the tree did fall but the bullet was propelled out first and hit Ziegland in the head, killing him instantly
The longest cells in the human body are the motor neurons, which can be up to 4.5 feet long and run from the lower spinal cord to the big toe
The average human head weighs about 8 pounds
30% of all Bingo players in the United States and Canada are under age 35
The average adult human body contains 45 billion fat cells
In the U.S. in 2005, the average CEO was paid $10,982,000, which was 262 times the salary of the average worker
Decaffeinated coffee was invented in 1903
Coffee is the most popular drink worldwide, with more than 1/3 of the world's coffee being imported by the U.S. alone
Largest concentrations of world population: Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Jakarta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Cairo, New York City, Los Angeles, Seoul, Mumbai, Moscow, London, Paris
Marijuana, once touted by the federal government as a drug that induced permanent memory loss, is now being seen in a new light-- researchers have found the drug useful in staving off Alzheimer's Disease
WHAT COUNTRIES CALL THEMSELVES
Austria --- Osterreich
Belgium --- Belgique
Germany --- Deutschland
Greece --- Ellas
Greenland --- Kalatdit-Nunat
Israel --- Yisrael
Japan --- Nippan
The Netherlands --- Nederland
Poland --- Polska
Spain --- Espana
Eight countries maintain 61 colonies or territories: Australia- 6; Denmark- 2; Netherlands- 2; France- 16; New Zealand- 3; Norway- 3; U.K.- 15; U.S.- 14
87% of the U.S. population was born there -- 60% are living in the state in which they were born -- Of the U.S. population not born in the United States, most were born in Latin America (nearly 52%) followed by those born in Asia (26%) and Europe (16%)
10% of the U.S. population is divorced and currently not re-married, while nearly 28% of adult Americans have never married and 54% are married for the first time
First umbrella factory in the United States: Baltimore, MD (1928)
Xander Rinker was born on August 8, 2008 (8.08.08) at 8:08am at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and he weighed in at 8lbs, 8ozs -- his 2-year old brother, Kael, was born at the same hospital on April 5, 2006 (4.05.06)
Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize twice and discovered Radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was female
The Bible does not claim that it was three wise men who visited the newborn Jesus, only that the visitors brought three gifts
Writing systems emerged among humans around 5,000 BP (Before Present)
1 in 5 Europeans is 60 years of age or older, while 1 in 20 Africans are age 60 or older
Studies have shown that having sex 2-3 times per week can reduce the risk for heart attack or stroke by as much as 50% for both men and women
The word GENIUS appears to date back to between 2,000 and 3,000 years to a Latin word of the same spelling that referred to a guardian deity, a spirit that watches over each person from the moment of their birth (every man had a genius, every woman had a juno) -- the meaning evolved over the centuries to refer to a person who seemed to have an innately superior intellect
From birth to age 2, the human brain triples in size
38% of CO2 emissions in the United States come from buildings
In 1883, Henry Ziegland broke off his relationship with his paramour who subsequently committed suicide. Her brother tracked down Ziegland and shot him, then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. Ziegland hadn't been killed, however. The bullet had merely grazed him and was lodged in a tree. He decided to cut down the tree and extract the bullet to keep as a good-luck charm. Frustrated with chopping, Ziegland decided to place a stick of dynamite at the base of the tree to expedite the felling of the tree. When the dynamite exploded, the tree did fall but the bullet was propelled out first and hit Ziegland in the head, killing him instantly
The longest cells in the human body are the motor neurons, which can be up to 4.5 feet long and run from the lower spinal cord to the big toe
The average human head weighs about 8 pounds
30% of all Bingo players in the United States and Canada are under age 35
The average adult human body contains 45 billion fat cells
In the U.S. in 2005, the average CEO was paid $10,982,000, which was 262 times the salary of the average worker
Decaffeinated coffee was invented in 1903
Coffee is the most popular drink worldwide, with more than 1/3 of the world's coffee being imported by the U.S. alone
Largest concentrations of world population: Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Jakarta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Cairo, New York City, Los Angeles, Seoul, Mumbai, Moscow, London, Paris
Marijuana, once touted by the federal government as a drug that induced permanent memory loss, is now being seen in a new light-- researchers have found the drug useful in staving off Alzheimer's Disease
WHAT COUNTRIES CALL THEMSELVES
Austria --- Osterreich
Belgium --- Belgique
Germany --- Deutschland
Greece --- Ellas
Greenland --- Kalatdit-Nunat
Israel --- Yisrael
Japan --- Nippan
The Netherlands --- Nederland
Poland --- Polska
Spain --- Espana
Eight countries maintain 61 colonies or territories: Australia- 6; Denmark- 2; Netherlands- 2; France- 16; New Zealand- 3; Norway- 3; U.K.- 15; U.S.- 14
87% of the U.S. population was born there -- 60% are living in the state in which they were born -- Of the U.S. population not born in the United States, most were born in Latin America (nearly 52%) followed by those born in Asia (26%) and Europe (16%)
10% of the U.S. population is divorced and currently not re-married, while nearly 28% of adult Americans have never married and 54% are married for the first time
First umbrella factory in the United States: Baltimore, MD (1928)
Xander Rinker was born on August 8, 2008 (8.08.08) at 8:08am at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and he weighed in at 8lbs, 8ozs -- his 2-year old brother, Kael, was born at the same hospital on April 5, 2006 (4.05.06)
Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize twice and discovered Radium, was not allowed to become a member of the prestigious French Academy because she was female
The Bible does not claim that it was three wise men who visited the newborn Jesus, only that the visitors brought three gifts
Writing systems emerged among humans around 5,000 BP (Before Present)
1 in 5 Europeans is 60 years of age or older, while 1 in 20 Africans are age 60 or older
Studies have shown that having sex 2-3 times per week can reduce the risk for heart attack or stroke by as much as 50% for both men and women
Monday, July 6, 2009
RED HEAD
The earliest known written reference to same-sex love between women are attributed to Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos in ancient Greece from about 625-570 BCE and wrote poems expressing her physical and romantic attraction to women -- centuries later, based on these poems and the location of Sappho at the time of her writing, the term LESBIAN came to refer to any woman attracted sexually to women
Humans are the only species that demonstrates a strong preference for right-handedness across the species -- about 90% of all humans are right hand dominant
The fresh, living human brain is very soft and jelly-like, and a deep red -- it only appears firm and gray after being preserved
Benjamin Franklin invented the rocking chair
The only exterior parts of a human that do not sweat are the fingernails, toenails, the upper earlobes, the head of the penis, and the center portion of the lips of the mouth
Before Barack Obama, no U.S. president had had brown eyes
A single molecule of DNA could stretch to over three feet long
The equator passes through 13 countries: Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, and Kiribati
Museum of... and where to find it...
Bad Art --- Dedham, MA
Angels --- Beloit, WI
Asphalt --- Rohnert Part, CA
Baking --- Manhattan, KA
Bananas --- Auburn, WA
Barbed Wire --- Lacrosse, KA
Bathroom Fixtures --- Worcester, MA
Fasteners --- Julian, CA
KKK and Rednecks --- Laurens, SC
Mustard --- Mount Horeb, WI
Pez Dispensers --- Burlingane, CA
Pretzels --- Philadelphia, PA
Sand --- Freeport, ME
Sandpaper --- Two Harbors, MN
Sewing Machines --- Arlington, TX
Snowmobiles --- Saymer, WI
SPAM --- Austin, MN
Telephones --- Leslie, GA
A dragonfly can fly as fast backwards as forwards
Technical term for an "ice cream headache": Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuroalgia
Ice is a mineral
By age 60, most humans have lost half their taste buds
A full moon always rises at sunset
Clouds fly higher during the day than at night
Animals listed in order by number of neurons in their brain:
Human --- 100 billion
Rat --- 21 million
Elephant --- 20 million
Whale --- 20 million
Frog --- 16 million
Octopus --- 3 million
Cat --- 2 million
Cockroach --- 1 million
Fruit Fly --- 100,000
Honey Bee --- 850,000
Ant --- 10,000
The condom is named after Charles Condom (1630-1685), who had devoted much of his life's work to making a prophylactic that was comfortable for men to use
USA at a Glance:
Protestant: 51.3%
Roman Catholic: 23.9%
Mormon: 1.7%
Jewish: 1.7%
Other Christian: 1.6%
Buddhist: 0.7%
Mulsim: 0.6%
Unspecified: 2.5%
Unaffiliated: 12.1%
Atheist: 4%
Humans are the only species that demonstrates a strong preference for right-handedness across the species -- about 90% of all humans are right hand dominant
The fresh, living human brain is very soft and jelly-like, and a deep red -- it only appears firm and gray after being preserved
Benjamin Franklin invented the rocking chair
The only exterior parts of a human that do not sweat are the fingernails, toenails, the upper earlobes, the head of the penis, and the center portion of the lips of the mouth
Before Barack Obama, no U.S. president had had brown eyes
A single molecule of DNA could stretch to over three feet long
The equator passes through 13 countries: Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, and Kiribati
Museum of... and where to find it...
Bad Art --- Dedham, MA
Angels --- Beloit, WI
Asphalt --- Rohnert Part, CA
Baking --- Manhattan, KA
Bananas --- Auburn, WA
Barbed Wire --- Lacrosse, KA
Bathroom Fixtures --- Worcester, MA
Fasteners --- Julian, CA
KKK and Rednecks --- Laurens, SC
Mustard --- Mount Horeb, WI
Pez Dispensers --- Burlingane, CA
Pretzels --- Philadelphia, PA
Sand --- Freeport, ME
Sandpaper --- Two Harbors, MN
Sewing Machines --- Arlington, TX
Snowmobiles --- Saymer, WI
SPAM --- Austin, MN
Telephones --- Leslie, GA
A dragonfly can fly as fast backwards as forwards
Technical term for an "ice cream headache": Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuroalgia
Ice is a mineral
By age 60, most humans have lost half their taste buds
A full moon always rises at sunset
Clouds fly higher during the day than at night
Animals listed in order by number of neurons in their brain:
Human --- 100 billion
Rat --- 21 million
Elephant --- 20 million
Whale --- 20 million
Frog --- 16 million
Octopus --- 3 million
Cat --- 2 million
Cockroach --- 1 million
Fruit Fly --- 100,000
Honey Bee --- 850,000
Ant --- 10,000
The condom is named after Charles Condom (1630-1685), who had devoted much of his life's work to making a prophylactic that was comfortable for men to use
USA at a Glance:
Protestant: 51.3%
Roman Catholic: 23.9%
Mormon: 1.7%
Jewish: 1.7%
Other Christian: 1.6%
Buddhist: 0.7%
Mulsim: 0.6%
Unspecified: 2.5%
Unaffiliated: 12.1%
Atheist: 4%
- Since 1975, nearly all gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households
- Imported oil accounts for 2/3 of U.S. consumption - largest importer is Canada, largest consumer is U.S. military
- Population below federal poverty line: 13%
- Population without health care coverage of any kind: 46.5 million
- Exports: Canada- 22%; Mexico- 12.9%; Japan- 5.8%; China- 5.3%; U.K.- 4.4%
- Imports: Canada- 16%; China- 15.9%; Mexico- 10.4%; Japan- 7.9%; Germany- 4.8%
- National unemployment rate (July 2009): 9.7%
- U.S. population: approximately 350 million (we'll know for sure when the Census is complete)
- 50 million reside in rural areas, 255 million in urban areas, 45 million in suburban areas
- Per capita income: $36,714 ($27,670- rural - $43,624- urban)
- Median age: 36.7 years
- 950,000 living with HIV/AIDS
- Land line telephones: 172 million
- Cellular/Mobile telephones: 233 million
- Televisions: 297 million
- Internet users: 208 million (Fastest growing group is women over age 50)
- Airports: 14,947
- Number of U.S. veterans who will sleep homeless tonight: about 70,000
- Overall homeless population on any given day in the United States: 1 million (1/3 under age 15)
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