great facts

*In 2002, the most popular boat name in the U.S. was Liberty

*One out of 20 people have an extra rib

*44% of kids watch television before they go to sleep

*In 1865, the U.S. Secret Service was first established for the specific purpose to combat the counterfeiting of money

*Istanbul, Turkey is the only city in the world located on two continents

In 1967, the IMAX film system was invented by Canadian Ivan Grame Ferguson to premier at Expo 67.

Approximately 40% of the U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit by the end of the Civil War

Every three days a human stomach gets a new lining

In 1873, Colgate made a toothpaste that was available in a jar

The Kodiak, which is native to Alaska, is the largest bear and can measure up to eight feet and weigh as much as 1,700 pounds

The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley

Mars is the home of Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in our solar system

The Gastric Flu can cause projectile vomiting

The second best selling game of all time is Jenga. Jenga is a Swahili word, meaning "to build."

Cinderella is known as Rashin Coatie in Scotland, Zezolla in Italy, and Yeh-hsien in China

The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

The fur of the binturong, also known as the "Asian Bear Cat," smells like popcorn. The scent is believed to come from a gland located near the tail

In 1894 the first big Coke sign was found on the side of a building located in Cartersville, Georgia, and still exists today

The longest distance a deepwater lobster has been recorded to travel is 225 miles

Orcas (killer whales), when traveling in groups, breathe in unison

The Great Pyramids used to be as white as snow because they were encased in a bright limestone that has worn off over the years

NASCAR stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

Percentage of American men who say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again: 80%

Paul Hunn holds the record for the loudest burp, which was 118.1 decibels, which is as loud as a chainsaw

A monkey was once tried and convicted for smoking a cigarette in South Bend, Indiana

There are six million parts in the Boeing 747-400.

The first TONKA truck was made in 1947 In the U.S., 


over one million gallons of cosmetics, drinks, and lotions are sold that contain aloe in them per year

Sugar Bear (the mascot for Golden Crisps cereal) was born in 1963

The Tonle Sap River in Cambodia flows north for almost half the year and then south for the rest of the year

Japanese research has concluded that moderate drinking can boost IQ levels

For more than 3,000 years, Carpenter ants have been used to close wounds in India, Asia and South America

Baskin Robbins plain vanilla ice cream is the number one selling flavour and accounts for a quarter of their sales

Elizabeth Taylor has appeared on the cover of Life magazine more than anyone else

The typical lead pencil can draw a line that is thirty five miles long

The word "toy" comes from an old English word that means "tool."

Smokers are twice as likely to develop lower back pain than non-smokers

Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, however when a person reaches adulthood they only have 206 bones. This occurs because many of them join together to make a single bone

The reason why hair turns gray as we age is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die, which is responsible for producing "melanin" which gives the hair colour

In 1960 there were 16,067 gambling slots in Nevada. By 1999, this number rose to 205,726 slots which would be one slot for every 10 people residing there

It takes the Hubble telescope about 97 minutes to complete an orbit of the Earth. On average, the Hubble uses the equivilent amount of energy as 30 household light bulbs to complete an orbit.

The two factories of the Jelly Belly Candy Company produces approximately 100,000 pounds of jelly beans a day. this amounts to about 1,250,000 jelly beans an hour

Pucks hit by hockey sticks have reached speeds of up to 150 miles per hour

The "naked recreation and travel" industry has grown by 233% in the past decade

The Planters Peanut Company mascot, Mr. Peanut, was created during a contest for schoolchildren in 1916

Most lipstick contains fish scales

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the english language

The expression cooked "al dente" means "to the tooth." What this means is that the pasta should be somewhat firm, and offer some resistance to the tooth, but should also be tender

Of married couples, 70% of men and 60% of women have cheated on their spouse

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times

More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes

The first couple to be shown on a sitcom sleeping in the same bed was "Mary Kay and Johnny."

Asthma affects one in fifteen children under the age of eighteen

A one ounce milk chocolate bar has 6 mg of caffeine

Throughout the South, peanuts were known as "Monkey Nuts," and "Goober peas," before the civil war

Scallops have approximately 100 eyes around the edge of its shell

In 1810, Peter Durand invented the tin can for preserving food

The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia

Men in their early twenties shave an average of four times a week

Colour is not an indicator for the taste or ripeness in cranberries

Each year there are approximately 20 billion coconuts produced worldwide

A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs

Not all polar bears hibernate; only pregnant females polar bears do

There is a restaurant in Stockholm that only offers all-garlic products. They even have a garlic cheesecake

Serving ice cream on cherry pie was once illegal in Kansas

Superman The Escape rollercoaster, located in California at Six Flags Magic Mountain, goes from 0 to 100 miles per hour in only 7 seconds

Five thousandths of a millimeter is the tolerance of accuracy at the LEGO mould factories

2.5 cans of Spam are consumed every second in the United States

In 1836, Mexican General Santa Anna held an elaborate state funeral for his amputated leg. updated

A meteor has only destroyed one satellite, which was the European Space Agency's Olympus in 1993.

The Koala bear is not really a bear, but is really related to the kangaroo and the wombat.

One gallon of pure maple syrup weighs 11 pounds

Instead of a Birthday Cake, many Russian children are given a Birthday Pie

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system in India, employing over 1.6 million people

The word "comet" comes from the Greek word "kometes" meaning long hair and referring to the tail

The average price for a major league baseball game in 2004 is $19.82

The hydra, which is related to the jellyfish, can grow its body back in a couple of days if it is cut in half

The deepest mine in the world is the East Rand mine, which goes to a depth of about 3,585 metres

Native Indians have been known to paint their doors blue, which they believe keeps the bad spirits out

Before air conditioning was invented, white cotton slipcovers were put on furniture to keep the air cool.

It would take about fourteen and half million notes of currency to build a mile high stack

Chinese Crested dogs can get acne

It costs about 3 cents to make a $1 bill in the United States

Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command "go hang yourself."

The cross bow was invented by the Chinese and records of its usage goes back to as far as the Three Kingdom Period (220 a.d.-280 a.d.).

It is estimated that by the end of 2000, there has been 142,600 tonnes of gold mined in the world

One-third pound stalk of broccoli contains more vitamin C than 204 apples

The Flintstones cartoon was the first thirty-minute cartoon to be aired during prime time

The abbreviation Xmas for the word Christmas is of Greek origin. Since the word for Christ in the Greek language is Xristos, which starts with the letter "X," they started putting the X in place of Christ and came up with the short form for the word Christmas

Dipsomania refers to an insatiable craving for alcoholic beverages

China has more English speakers than the United States

Pitcher Darold Knowles once pitched all seven games of one World Series

In a day, kids in the U.S. that are between the ages of 2 - 8 spend 28 minutes of their time coloring

The Ancient Greek women made a type of cheek blush by painting their cheeks with herbal pastes which was made out of crushed berries and seeds

Herbert Hoover, who was the 31st president of the United Stated, turned over all the Federal salary checks he received to charity during the 47 years he was in government

Macadamia nuts are not sold in their shells because it takes 300 pounds per square inch of pressure to break the shell

Japan has approximately 200 volcanoes and is home to 10% of the active volcanoes in the world

Before 1928, yo-yos used to be called bandalores in the United States

The only South East Asian country that has never been colonized by a Western Power is Thailand

In 1631, two London bible printers accidentally left the word "not" out of the seventh commandment, which then read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." This legendary book is now known as the "Wicked Bible."

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar an England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes

Irish Wolfhound dogs have a short lifespan and live about 7-8 years

When Queen Elizabeth I of England died she owned over 3,000 gowns

Female alligators lay about 40 eggs that hatch in 60 - 7