Weird Facts

[mckinzie]

1.Butterflies taste with their feet.

2.A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

3.In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world's nuclear weapons combined.

4.On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

5.On average people fear spiders more than they do death.

6.Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

7.Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

8.Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

9.It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.

10.Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

11.The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch
every year because when it was built, engineers failed to
take into account the weight of all the
books that would occupy the building.

12.A snail can sleep for three years.

13.No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH".

14.Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.

15.Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

16.The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

17.All polar bears are left handed.

18.In ancient Egypt, priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies,
including their eyebrows and eyelashes.

19.An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

20.TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the
letters only on one row of the keyboard.

21.A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

22."Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English
language.

23.If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33.
She would stand seven feet, two inches tall.

24.The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

25.Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.

What do you think?

[james]

Originally Posted by mckinzie

2.A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

myth. not true.

Originally Posted by mckinzie

15.Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

I read that an infant's eye is about 75% the size of an adult's and I've also read that it is 1/3rd the size... anyone sure?

Elsa won't let me measure her's accurately

[mckinzie]

A couple of those statements have me scratcing my head

[TAPPY]

Originally Posted by james

Elsa won't let me measure her's accurately

Just want untill you have to use that nose thingy !!!!!!
She sure is a cutie !!!!!!

[Bumper]

Some interesting items here. I offer the following supposedly true facts to add to the list of oddities. I apologize for the fact that there's some duplication from Kinz's list.

Totally Useless Information


1. Coca-Cola was originally green.
2. Every day, more money is printed for the game Monopoly than for the US Treasury.
3. Smartest dogs: 1) Border Collie 2) Poodle 3) Golden Retriever
4. Dumbest dog: Afghan
5. The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
6. Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
7. Chances that an American lives within 50 miles of where they grew up: 1 in 2.
8. Amount American Airlines saved in ‘87 by taking 1 olive from each salad served in first class: $40,000.
9. City with the most Rolls Royces per capita: Hong Kong.
10. State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.
11. Chances of a white Christmas in New York: 1 in 4
12. Portion of US annual rainfall that falls in April: 1/12.
13. Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%.
14. Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%.
15. Estimated percentage of Americans who go on a diet each year: 44%.
16. Barbie’s measurements if she were life-sized: 39-23-33.
17. Average number of days a German goes without washing his underwear: 7.
18. Percentage of Americans who claim God has spoken to them: 36%.
19. Percentage of Americans who regularly attend church services: 43%.
20. City with highest per capita viewership of TV evangelists: Washington, DC.
21. Percentage of American men who say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again: 80%
22. Percentage of American women who say they would marry the same man: 50%.
23. Percentage of American men who say they are happier after their divorce or separation: 58%.
24. Percentage of American women who say they are happier after their divorce or separation: 85%.
25. Number of different family relationships for which Hallmark makes cards: 105.
26. Cost of raising a medium-sized dog to the age of eleven: $6,400.
27. Average number of people airborne over the US at any given hour: 61,000.
28. Percentage of Americans who have visited Disneyland or Disney World: 70%.
29. Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
30. Portion of total ice cream sold that is vanilla: 1/3.
31. Portion of potatoes sold that are french fried: 1/3.
32. Percentage of Americans who eat at McDonalds each day: 7.
33. Percentage of bird species that are monogamous: 90%.
34. Percentage of mammal species that are: 3%.
35. Number of US states that claim test scores in their elementary schools are above the national average: 50%
36. Portion of Harvard students who graduate with honours: 4/5.
37. Chances that a burglary in the US will be solved: 1 in 7.
38. Portion of land in the US owned by the government: 1/3.
39. Only President to remain a bachelor: James Buchanan.
40. Only first lady to carry a loaded revolver: Eleanor Roosevelt.
41. Only President to win a Pulitzer Prize: John f. Kennedy for “Profiles in Courage”
42. Only President awarded a patent: Abraham Lincoln for a system of buoying vessels over shoals.
43. Only food that does not spoil: Honey.
44. Only person to win the $64,000 Challenge, and the $64,000 Question: Dr. Joyce Brothers (her area of expertise was boxing)
45. Only bird that can fly backwards: Hummingbird.
46. Only continent without reptiles or snakes: Antarctica.
47. Only animal besides human beings that can get a sunburn: Pig.
48. Ostriches stick their head in the sand to look for water.
49. An eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it.
50. In the Caribbean, there are oysters that can climb trees.
51. Polar bears are left handed.
52. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
53. Eskimos never gamble.
54. The youngest Pope was 11 years old.
55. Mark Twain didn’t graduate from elementary school.
56. The world’s youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
57. Proportional to their weight, men are stronger than horses.
58. The Pilgrims ate popcorn at the first Thanksgiving dinner.
59. Your nose and ears never stop growing.
60. Jupiter is bigger than all the other planets in our solar system combined.
61. Hot water is heavier than cold water.
62. The parachute was invented by Leonardo da Vinci in 1515.
63. They have square watermelons in Japan. They stack better.
64. Cream does not weigh as much as milk.
65. Starfish have eight eyes - one at the end of each leg.
66. Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.
67. The first novel ever written on a typewriter was “Tom Sawyer.”
68. There are more collect calls on Father’s Day than any other day of the year.
69. Heinz Catsup leaving the bottle travels at 25 miles per hour.
70. It is possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs.
71. Men get hiccups more often than women.
72. Armadillos can be housebroken.

[Bumper]

Originally Posted by mckinzie

7.Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

I knew if I kept this long enough I would have an opportunity to use it! See...never throw anything away.

Charles had worked for many years as an elephant trainer in a local circus. When the circus finally went broke, he was let go with a thank you, one of the show’s elephants, and a few bales of hay.

Feeling depressed and abandoned, Charles wondered how he was going to survive and make a new career for himself with only one elephant.

He began to think how he could turn his extensive knowledge of elephant training into a money-making enterprise. In all his years in the circus, he had trained elephants to lift one leg off the ground, lift two legs off the ground, and even lift three legs off the ground. It was a widely held belief that no elephant could be trained to lift all four legs off the ground at once. Charles had tried unsuccessfully many times to accomplish this feat.

So he advertised a contest. He publicized near and far. For only $1, you could try to get his elephant to lift all four feet off the ground at once. If you were successful, he offered a reward of $10,000.

People came from far and wide to accept the challenge. Charles was taking in money hand over fist, until one day a fellow appeared in a new red convertible.

He asked about the rules of the contest and paid his money for the right to participate. He walked back to the car, returned with a baseball bat, and positioned himself in front of the huge elephant. After several minute of looking the beast squarely in the eye, he walked around the back of the elephant, took a mighty swing with the bat and struck the animal in the testicles.

At once, the elephant leaped into the air, and Charles was out the $10,000 and feeling very sorry for himself indeed. He realized his money-making scheme was finished, once word got out of the event.

He thought once more about his years of training elephants. He realized that in all his days in the circus, he had never seen an elephant move its head from side to side. Up and down seemed to be a naturally-occurring gesture, and they could be taught to move their head in a circular motion, but NEVER side-to-side.

Once again, he advertised throughout the country. $1 to try to get the elephant to move its head from side to side, with a $10,000 payoff if you were successful.

Hopeful people came from all over to try their luck. Charles was raking in the money again, as no one could manage the seemingly impossible task. Then one day, the same fellow in the red convertible appeared. Again, he asked the rules of the competition, and paid the $1 for his chance. He walked to his car, returning with a baseball bat, approached the front of the elephant, looked the animal in the eye long and hard and said, “You remember me, don’t you?” The elephant nodded nervously. “You remember what I did to you?” The elephant nodded frantically. “You remember the PAIN?” The elephant nodded emphatically. “Do you want me to do it again?”

[jtm1631]

I love lists like this. I think I will try and convince the family to get an armadillo.

Average baseball lasts 7 pitches in a major league game. Does anybody know how many baseballs are used in an average game? We have been wondering about this at work for a couple years and can not seem to find the answer. I suppose we could now look for the average number of pitches in a game and do some simple math.

[sctx]

Originally Posted by Bumper

.
72. Armadillos can be housebroken.

yessir, broke one at my house earlier this year

[Bumper]

Originally Posted by sctx

yessir, broke one at my house earlier this year

I recall being in Arkansas once, years ago, on a partiularly cool morning in November, and commenting to a gas jockey that I had just seen some fresh armadillo road kill up the hill. He said, "How did you know it was fresh?" I replied that it was still steaming. He said, "Hell, around here we don't figure it's fresh unless it's still rolling!"

[TAPPY]

Originally Posted by sctx

yessir, broke one at my house earlier this year

Dont you all BBQ them in Texas ???

[Jesus]

Originally Posted by Bumper

1. Coca-Cola was originally green.

Sorry, but it seem that it wasn't green

[Sue]

Originally Posted by TAPPY

Just want untill you have to use that nose thingy !!!!!!
She sure is a cutie !!!!!!

Are you talking about the suction thing? My friend recently had her first baby, and her sister-in-law was telling her how she absolutely had to have at least one of them on hand. She knew someone who was taking care of his kid and the baby was stuffed up and having trouble breathing, and he panicked and stuck his mouth over the baby's nose and sucked in. The suction instrument would have saved him some ick factor, if you know what I mean.

[TAPPY]

Originally Posted by Sue

Are you talking about the suction thing? My friend recently had her first baby, and her sister-in-law was telling her how she absolutely had to have at least one of them on hand. She knew someone who was taking care of his kid and the baby was stuffed up and having trouble breathing, and he panicked and stuck his mouth over the baby's nose and sucked in. The suction instrument would have saved him some ick factor, if you know what I mean.

ICK is right !!!!!!!!!

Yep that is what I am talking about...
You cant make babies blow their little noses....so you got to use these....
ALL babies hate them !!!!

[Weave]

"23.If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33.
She would stand seven feet, two inches tall." But if "life size" made her only 5 feet 6 inches tall, then her other measurements would be smaller, too,eh?? Fascinating!

[mckinzie]

Originally Posted by Bumper

I knew if I kept this long enough I would have an opportunity to use it! See...never throw anything away.

Charles had worked for many years as an elephant trainer in a local circus. When the circus finally went broke, he was let go with a thank you, one of the show’s elephants, and a few bales of hay.

Feeling depressed and abandoned, Charles wondered how he was going to survive and make a new career for himself with only one elephant.

He began to think how he could turn his extensive knowledge of elephant training into a money-making enterprise. In all his years in the circus, he had trained elephants to lift one leg off the ground, lift two legs off the ground, and even lift three legs off the ground. It was a widely held belief that no elephant could be trained to lift all four legs off the ground at once. Charles had tried unsuccessfully many times to accomplish this feat.

So he advertised a contest. He publicized near and far. For only $1, you could try to get his elephant to lift all four feet off the ground at once. If you were successful, he offered a reward of $10,000.

People came from far and wide to accept the challenge. Charles was taking in money hand over fist, until one day a fellow appeared in a new red convertible.

He asked about the rules of the contest and paid his money for the right to participate. He walked back to the car, returned with a baseball bat, and positioned himself in front of the huge elephant. After several minute of looking the beast squarely in the eye, he walked around the back of the elephant, took a mighty swing with the bat and struck the animal in the testicles.

At once, the elephant leaped into the air, and Charles was out the $10,000 and feeling very sorry for himself indeed. He realized his money-making scheme was finished, once word got out of the event.

He thought once more about his years of training elephants. He realized that in all his days in the circus, he had never seen an elephant move its head from side to side. Up and down seemed to be a naturally-occurring gesture, and they could be taught to move their head in a circular motion, but NEVER side-to-side.

Once again, he advertised throughout the country. $1 to try to get the elephant to move its head from side to side, with a $10,000 payoff if you were successful.

Hopeful people came from all over to try their luck. Charles was raking in the money again, as no one could manage the seemingly impossible task. Then one day, the same fellow in the red convertible appeared. Again, he asked the rules of the competition, and paid the $1 for his chance. He walked to his car, returning with a baseball bat, approached the front of the elephant, looked the animal in the eye long and hard and said, “You remember me, don’t you?” The elephant nodded nervously. “You remember what I did to you?” The elephant nodded frantically. “You remember the PAIN?” The elephant nodded emphatically. “Do you want me to do it again?”

That was a good one Mr. B