The question mark came from a
monk habit of writing the Latin word for question, quo, at the end of
sentences. Over time, the letters were written vertically to save space
and morphed into the ? we write today. Similarly, the exclamation point
came from the Latin word "Lo", meaning something important that should
be eeded. (Lo and behold...)
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.
The fluorescent tube uses 20% of the power to produce
an equal amount of light as a tungsten filament bulb.
Kotex was first manufactured as bandages, during WWI.
About 96% of all American children can recognize
Ronald McDonald. Far less can point out the president in a photo.
Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an
island nation in the western Pacific.
The orchid lasts longer than any other bloom.
A jellyfish is 95 percent water.
Most American car horns honk in the key of F.
Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra
Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula."
Two minor earthquakes occur every minute somewhere in
the world.
A South African monkey was once awarded a medal and
promoted to the rank of corporal during World War I.
Carolyn Shoemaker has discovered 32 comets and
approximately 800 asteroids.
The giant sloth sleeps for 17 hours per day yet only
spends about 70 minutes dreaming.
Chimneys used to be cleaned by dropping live chickens
down them.
According to German researchers, the
risk of heart
attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week.
The moon is one million times drier than the Gobi
Desert.
In
1976, a Los Angeles secretary formally married her
50-pound pet rock.
Slugs have 4 noses.
Pedals
were added to the bicycle in 1839. It was technically invented in 1816,
propelled by a rider's feet shoving off the ground.
On a clear night over 2 000 stars are visible to the
naked eye.
The blood of a grasshopper is not red, but white.
Smoking was first officially recognized as hazardous
to the health on January 11, 1964 by the U.S. Surgeon General.
Between
50 billion and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis(a
genetically determined process of cell self-destruction) in the average
human adult. In a year, this amounts to the proliferation and
subsequent destruction of a mass of cells equal to an individual's body
weight.
Monaco's national orchestra is bigger than its army.
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