Who doesn't love random facts? Exactly! So here are some, with my own personal commentary, of course.
..... Random Facts .....
If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar. That's because of the four pennies, of course.
The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. I really want ot check that out. Too bad I'm broke... Can I borrow five bucks?
President Kennedy was the fastest random speaker in the world with upwards of 350 words per minute. Psh. I could beat that in my sleep.
In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator. Wouldn't you get wet?
Odontophobia is the fear of teeth. I bet shrimp have that problem.
The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had. That's a lot of pickiles.
In the early days of the telephone, operators would pick up a call and use the phrase, "Well, are you there?". It wasn't until 1895 that someone suggested answering the phone with the phrase "number please?" So old people were rude. And they say teenages have attitudes.
The surface area of an average-sized brick is 79 cm squared. Could've used that in science two weeks ago...
According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction. Why would someone ever want to find that out?
Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day. My dog sleeps more then that.
The most common name in the world is Mohammed. I know no one named that.
It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear. There was a history channel show about crazy things like that once. It's actually all very cool. It reminds me of The Davinci Code and National Treasure.
Karoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese. Good to know.
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. So when you get your pilots listen you're welcome to land on the road, just not on the cars, please.
The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C. Okay, that I really didn't want to know. Brings up a lot of unwanted questions...
Rhode Island is the smallest state with the longest name. The official name, used on all state documents, is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Old news.
When you die your hair still grows for a couple of months. Who sits around and measure dead people's hair to find this out?
There are two credit cards for every person in the United States. And zero for me.
Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category. That's cool. I've never heard of him.
The newspaper serving Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, the home of Rocky and Bullwinkle, is the Picayune Intellegence. So? I've never seen Rocky and Bullwinkle, so I wouldn't know.
It would take 11 Empire State Buildings, stacked one on top of the other, to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point. Hmmmm... It seems difficult to stack Empire State buildings with the whole needle thing and all.
The first person selected as the Time Magazine Man of the Year - Charles Lindbergh in 1927. He's the pilot guy, right?
The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million. That's one fancy cow.
It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write "War & Peace". Never read it, though I suppose I should. Culture is important you know. And I love reading.
The Neanderthal's brain was bigger than yours is. Of course it was. They invented fire. All we invent is artificial hearts and other crap like that.
On the new hundred dollar bill the time on the clock tower of Independence Hall is 4:10. Why?
Each of the suits on a deck of cards represents the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages: heart represented the Church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class. The mercahnts got diamonds? I like diamonds. Diamonds are a girls best friend. I should be a merchant...
The names of the two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library are Patience and Fortitude. They were named by then-mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Stone lions are cool. Roar. What's fortitude?
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. SO eventually it'll be the world's first underground library.
The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly. I love jelly! I wonder what flavor it was...
Lucy and Linus (who where brother and sister) had another little brother named Rerun. (He sometimes played left-field on Charlie Brown's baseball team, [when he could find it!]). That is very common knowledge. Rerun always goes on bike rides in the bicycle seat on the back of his mom's bike and his mom drives over all the bumps. He's so cute, he's one of my favorites!
The pancreas produces Insulin. So?
1 in 5,000 north Atlantic lobsters are born bright blue. Blue lobsters are awesome. I saw one at and aquarime once. I also petted a baby shark.
There are 10 human body parts that are only 3 letters long (eye hip arm leg ear toe jaw rib lip gum). Oh.
A skunk's smell can be detected by a human a mile away. How far away can a dog smell one then? And can a skunk smell himself?
The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want. OMG! That happens to me all the time! So I'm loquois Laura with a lethlologica problem! Woot!
The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache. So the pope is clean shaven.
Henry Ford produced the model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest to dry. Gotta love the assembly line and the cheeo manufacturing of the industrial revolution.
Mario, of Super Mario Bros. fame, appeared in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong. His original name was Jumpman, but was changed to Mario to honor the Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segali. Good, who wants to be called Jumpman?
The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley. Nixon. He he.
Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced. That's why I keep getting dumber. All the stupid atoms are rubbing off other people and onto me. Thanks a lot.
Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump. Have you ever asked one to try? And what about manatees? Or whales? Have you ever seen them jump?
The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672. How do you put a phone-line in Antarctica?
World Tourist day is observed on September 27. Good to know.
Women are 37% more likely to go to a psychiatrist than men are. That's because we're so open and trusting while men are all hard-headed idiots who don't tell anyone anything and then expect us to read their minds.
The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet (9 m). Morbid at best.
Diet Coke was only invented in 1982. When was un-Diet Coke invented.
There are more than 1,700 references to gems and precious stones in the King James translation of the Bible. King James had an eye for treasure, it seems.
When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food. I've always wanted a second head. Then I could play the clarinet 24-7.
American car horns beep in the tone of F. Regan would be interested in learning this. She really wants to tune our school bell.
Turning a clock's hands counterclockwise while setting it is not necessarily harmful. It is only damaging when the timepiece contains a chiming mechanism. Who cares?
There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people. The kangaroo population is estimated at about 40 million. I've always wanted a kangaroo.
Police dogs are trained to react to commands in a foreign language; commonly German but more recently Hungarian. That way they don't get confused when their owner yells at a human, and the criminals the dog is chasing are suprised and don't knwo what the dog is being told to do. I love police dogs, though Navy dogs are my favorite. I love German Shepherds!
The Australian $5 to $100 notes are made of plastic. Why? So you can't eat it or wash it or something?
St. Stephen is the patron saint of bricklayers. Again, good to know.
The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year. I send that many e-mails in a day.
Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards. There are lots of words like that. I forget what they're called.
If you had enough water to fill one million goldfish bowls, you could fill an entire stadium. With goldfish?
Mary Stuart became Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old. It seems hard to run a counrty when you can't speak. And imagine how soon she would've gotten married off to some old guy so theired be a heir. Royal faimlies and traditions are sick, though they make since. I blame ambition and power.
Charlie Brown's father was a barber. Again, common knowledge. How are these random, I've known this since I was like ten.
Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (2 m) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. Whoops. Our are only about three feet away. And gross.
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV. So I'll just sleep more.
A lion's roar can be heard from five miles away. But is a lion roars in a forst, who's around to hear it?
The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles. Genious.
Canadian researchers have found that Einstein's brain was 15% wider than normal. He must have had a bigger head than Sam!
The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in a lifetime. Talking to Korin mostly.
The fist product to have a bar code was Wrigleys gum. SO you scanned it and payed like five cents. Woot.
The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. There are so many things I could say right now, none of which are remotley appropriate. All I'll say is that that must have been a lot of strained bananas.
Beatrix Potter created the first of her legendary "Peter Rabbit" children's stories in 1902. Who cares?
In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose. My nose has a bump on top, does that count?
The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo." Damn that Suess.
A 41-gun salute is the traditional salute to a royal birth in Great Britain. Geez, just scare the diaper off the kid. I wonder how long he cries after that?
The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep. Lovely. It sort of sounds like a dying one.
Cats can hear ultrasound. SO when they sleep on a pregnant women's lap, they can hear the little heart beating. Awww!
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors. What about organ donors? Do they have to be those too?
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado. And the point of that is?
The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used. The past is doomed to repeat itself. Keep that in mind.
Children grow faster in the springtime. I odn't grow at all anymore. Sniff...
On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonalds BigMac bun. Who sits and counts these? And then averages them?
Paul Revere rode on a horse that belonged to Deacon Larkin. The important question is: what was the horses name?
The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland's baby daughter, Ruth. I knew that.
Minus 40 degrees Celsius is exactly the same as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So the conversion rate is?
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down -- hence the expression "to get fired" That puts some perspective on things.
Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell. I treasure those moments.
7.5 million toothpicks can be created from a cord of wood. Yeah toothpicks!
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets. Who doesn't know that?
"Goodbye" came from "God bye" which came from "God be with you." Don't tell America or we won't be allowed to say that just like we aren't allowed to say the PLedge of Allegiance anymore.
February is Black History Month. Again, there is nothing random about that.
The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees. So why can't they jump?
More to come...
