A recent study discovered it takes the typical mother 26 minutes to go through pre- and post-wash tasks every time she turns on the machine - with most mothers in the United States and the United Kingdom plowing through six loads of washing a week, which means two hours and 36 minutes are spent on the laundry, but on top of that mothers spend 55 minutes a week ironing clothes (This study did not examine father's work in the home)
George Washington, the first President of the United States, borrowed two books from the New York Society Library back in 1789, but never returned them - meaning that he has racked up a $300,000 fine - Washington borrowed the books- "The Law of Nations," a dissertation on international relations, and a volume of debate transcripts from the U.K. House of Commons- out on October 5, 1789, which were due back a month later - lending records show he did not sign them out properly either, having an aide write only "President"
A survey of over 3,000 people in Britain discovered that over the past three years the time people go to bed has been put back 54 minutes to 11:41 pm - hectic work schedules, busy lifestyles and money worries are said to be the main reason for the increasingly late bed time - It was also found that nearly half of people are still up at midnight and one in ten are still awake at 1am
The odds an adult will be investigated for a tax or financial crime in a year are 1 in 52,780 (United States)
Military expenditure by governments worldwide today only: $2.5 billion (US)
Sir Isaac Newton could work skillfully with metal, wood and glass even constructing, among other things, his own telescopes and even the tools with which he made them
‘Jay’ used to be slang for ‘foolish person’ - So when a pedestrian ignored street signs, they were referred to as a ‘jaywalker’
The Channel Islands- Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark- were the only parts of Britain that were occupied by the Germans during World War 2
President Lincoln’s oldest son is connected to three presidential assassinations: He rushed to his father’s deathbed in 1865, and was at or near the scene of the assassination of Garfield in 1881 and McKinley in 1901
In Sri Lanka, citizens celebrate the New Year by participating in elevated pillow fights, where contestants try to knock each other off of beams, and greased pole competitions, where participants try to plant flags atop 10-foot-tall slippery tree trunks
Mock turtle soup does not actually contain turtle, its main ingredient is an entire cow’s head
While it’s up to individual states to determine their color, most school buses in the United States have been painted National School Bus Chrome Yellow since a 1939 national conference recommended it as the shade of choice - the decision was based on a Yale University study that determined yellow was the color most visible to the human eye from a distance
Apple seeds contain trace amounts of cyanide
Valium in its natural form can be found in trace amounts in wheat and potatoes
Whiskey is clear when it is first distilled - it gets it’s color and much of it’s taste from the oak barrels in which it is aged
Angelfish are safe inside the mouths of hammerhead sharks because they serve as natural toothpicks, picking out parasites from between the shark’s teeth
Though his face graces the 20 dollar bill (US), Andrew Jackson despised paper money and favored a monetary system centered on gold and silver
Despite his many name changes, musician Prince does have a real first name given to him upon his birth: Prince
Golf courses in the United States take up as much land space as Rhode Island and Delaware combined
Despite the title of his song “Für Elise”, Beethoven
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Despite Texas's severe pro-conviction history, one man actually received a full pardon in February. Tim Cole had been convicted of rape in 1986, though relentlessly proclaiming his innocence, and a 1996 confession to the crime by another man did not move officials to re-investigate. When a DNA result (ordered in 2008) confirmed the 1996 confession, Cole's innocence could no longer be ignored. In March 2010, Gov. Rick Perry issued a full pardon, but Cole could not enjoy it. He had died in prison in 1999 after wrongfully serving 13 years the last three despite the fact that the actual rapist had already tried to turn himself in
William Edmunds, 32, was charged with DUI in March when his car weaved up to the guard gate at the loading dock for the Montgomery County, New York jail, and he asked if this was the Canadian border crossing at Niagara Falls (more than 250 miles away)
Travis Neeley, 19, was arrested in Lake City, Florida, in March for burglarizing a car, caught red-handed by the owner, who used the remote control to lock Neeley inside. Neeley tried several times to unlock a door and exit, but each time, the owner relocked it before Neeley could get out, and he finally gave up and waited for police
The U.S. Senate passed a bill in March to correct a misimpression Congress had in the 1990s when it instituted mandatory sentences for crack-cocaine possession that were about 100 times the sentences for powdered cocaine. Scientists long ago pointed out that the two substances are chemically the same, and the new provisions set crack-cocaine sentences at only about 18 times those for powder
The Utah legislature passed a bill in March to, for the first time, legalize the personal collection of rain water. "Harvesting" rain has been illegal, but now would be allowed, with a state permit, in special state-approved containers
A December Seattle Times profile of Rachel Porcaro (a single mother with an $18,000-a-year hair-cutting job, raising two kids, living with her parents) centered on IRS's year-long, full-blown audit of her, and subsequently, of her parents, because she was flagged for earning too little money on which to raise a family in Seattle. Ultimately, Rachel and her parents prevailed on every issue
A man seen on surveillance video at a Mobil On The Run convenience store in Bloomfield, Connecticut, in February fled after stuffing at least 17 cans of Red Bull energy drink down his pants. And in Cairns, Australia, a 51-year-old man was caught shoplifting in March, witnessed by security staff putting three limes and a package of beef tongue in his pants. When cornered, the man pulled out an additional two onions, three trays of rump steaks, and a packet of lamb forequarter chops
In February, police in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania., said they had to delay processing accused molester Siri Pinnya, 36, because he would not stop masturbating. Said the police superintendent, "We only fingerprinted his left hand"
Itinerant contractor Billie Bobbie Harrison, 24, was charged in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with indecent exposure in February, after he approached a homeowner, lowered his pants, and offered to pave her driveway later if she would have sex with him
