Fact 1. In ancient Egypt, doctors used jolts from the electric catfish to reduce the pain of arthritis.
Fact 2. In ancient Egypt, Priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
Fact 3. In ancient Egypt, the dung beetle symbolized eternal rebirth and the Sun God Khepri.
Fact 4. In ancient Egypt, the only person who was allowed to wear cotton was the High Priest.
Fact 5. In ancient Greece, throwing an apple to a girl was a way to propose for marriage.. If the girl caught it, that would mean she accepts.
Fact 6. In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose.
Fact 7. In ancient Rome, lead poisoning was a prevalent disease amongst the wealthy because of their extensive use of lead. Many Roman women died because of lead poisoning caused by the use of make-up that contained lead.
Fact 8. In approximately 18 months, the papaya tree can grow to be 20 feet tall.
Fact 9. In August 1999, Lori Lynn Lomeli set a record by spinning 82 Hula Hoops at the same time for three full revolutions.
Fact 10. In Australia, a common “Boxing day” activity is surfing.
Fact 11. In Australia, a dust-devil is called a “willy-willy.
Fact 12. In Australia, the average person uses 876 gallons of water daily. In Switzerland they use only 77 gallons of water per person daily.
Fact 13. In Belgium, 172,000 tons of chocolate are produced in a year.
Fact 14. In Belgium, 94% of children under the age of fourteen own LEGO products.
Fact 15. In Belgium, there is a museum just for strawberries.
Fact 16. In Belgium, there is a museum that is just for strawberries.
Fact 17. In Britain, one out of every four potatoes is eaten in the form of french fries.
Fact 18. In Britain, The Red Lion is the most common name for a pub.
Fact 19. In Britain, there are approximately 50,000 pubs with 17,000 different names.
Fact 20. In Canada, men are three times more likely than women to have seen a doctor in the last year.
Fact 21. In Canada, the $1 and $2 come in the form of coins. The $1 is nicknamed a “loonie” because it contains a loon on it and the $2 is nicknamed the “twonie” because it is the equivalent of two “loonies.”
Fact 22. In Canada, the most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday.
Fact 23. In China, fish is eaten more than three times what it is in the United States.
Fact 24. In China, pancakes are generally served as side dishes. They are stuffed with meat, bean sprouts, and other vegetables.
Fact 25. In China, people eat a bar of chocolate for every 1,000 chocolate bars eaten by the British.
Fact 26. In China, September 20 is “Love Your Teeth Day.”
Fact 27. In China, there is a species of yam that is used to make a dye.
Fact 28. In Cleveland, Ohio, it’s illegal to catch mice without a hunting
license.
Fact 29. In Colorado, there are about 83,000 dairy cows.
Fact 30. In Czechhoslovakia, there is a church that has a chandelier made of human bones.
Fact 31. In Czechoslovakia, there is a church that has a chandelier made out of human bones.
Fact 32. In Denmark, people eat about 36 pounds of candy a year. The highest consumption of candy of any country.
Fact 33. In England, a cigarette is referred to as a fag.
Fact 34. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
Fact 35. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Fact 36. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Fact 37. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Fact 38. In February 1878, the first telephone book was published in New Haven, Connecticut. The book was one page long and had fifty names in it.
Fact 39. In France, it is illegal for a person to kiss another on railways.
Fact 40. In France, the Big Dipper is called the “casserole.”
Fact 41. In gangster slang, a boxing match that is fixed is called a “barney.”
Fact 42. In Greece, the climate is so warm that many of the cinemas do not even have roofs.
Fact 43. In Haiti, only 1 out of every 200 people own a car. This is ironic considering approximately 33% of the country’s budget on import is spent on equipment for fuel and transportation.
Fact 44. In his youth, United States president George W. Bush used to play for the Midland (Texas) Central Little League. He played the position of the catcher.
Fact 45. In Hong Kong, delivery times are primarily influenced by traffic conditions on elevators. It often takes drivers longer to travel vertically than horizontally, as access to elevators is so congested during “high peak” hours. This is due to the volume of people residing in high rises.
Fact 46. In humans, the epidermal layer of skin, which consists of many layers of skin regenerates every 27 days.
Fact 47. In India, a 9-year-old girl was “married” to a stray dog, which tribal custom requires in order to protect a child whose first tooth appears on the upper gum.
Fact 48. In India, pickled ginger, minced mutton and a cottage cheese like substance are popular pizza toppings.
Fact 49. In Ireland, a prime minister is a called a Taoiseach.
Fact 50. In Israel, religious law forbids picking your nose on Sabbath.
Fact 51. In Italy, Santa Claus is known by the name Babbo Natale.
Fact 52. In Ivrea, Italy, thousands of citizens celebrate the beginning of Lent by throwing oranges at one another.
Fact 53. In Japan, by the time man reaches the age of 60, he is commemorated with a special ceremony. This ceremony features the man wearing a red kimono, which denotes that he no longer has the responsibilities of being a mature adult.
Fact 54. In Japan, the number four is considered to be unlucky because the Japanese word for four sounds very similar to the word death.
Fact 55. In Japan, tipping at restaurants is not a norm. However, some restaurants might add a 5 – 10 % service charge to the bill.
Fact 56. In Johannesburg, the average car will be involved in an accident once every four years.
Fact 57. In July 1874, a swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts flew over Nebraska covering an area estimated at 198,600 square miles. It is estimated that the swarm contained about 12.5 trillion insects. These insects became extinct thirty years later.
Fact 58. In just one drop of liquid, 50 million bacteria can be present.
Fact 59. In just the first 56 days of life, the larva of the polyphemus moth eats about 86,000 times its birthweight.
Fact 60. In Kentucky, 50 percent of the people who get married for the first time are teenagers.
Fact 61. In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry ice cream in your back pocket.
Fact 62. In L.A., U.S.A., a man may legally beat his wife with a leather strap, as long as it is less than 2 inches wide.
Fact 63. In Las Vegas, casinos do not have any clocks.
Fact 64. In London, during rush hour traffic moves on average at 13 kilometres an hour.
Fact 65. In Los Angeles, there are fewer people than there are automobiles.
Fact 66. In many of the milk ads that are shown, a mix of thinner and white paint is used instead of milk.
Fact 67. In Miami, Florida, roosting vultures have taken to snatching poodles from rooftop patios.
Fact 68. In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
Fact 69. In New Mexico, over eleven thousand people have visited a tortilla chip that appeared to have the face of Jesus Christ burned into it.
Fact 70. In New York City there are 6,374.6 miles of streets.
Fact 71. In New York City, approximately 1,600 people are bitten by other humans annually.
Fact 72. In North America there are approximately 618 roller coasters.
Fact 73. In November 1999, two women were killed by a lightning bolt. The underwire located in their bras acted as a electrical conductors, and when the lightning bolt hit the bra they left burn marks on their chest.
Fact 74. In October 1973, Swedish sweet maker Roland Ohisson of Falkenberg was buried in a coffin made of nothing but chocolate.
Fact 75. In October 1986, Pepsi paid close to $840 million to Nabisco for the Kentucky Fried Chicken empire.
Fact 76. In one day, 230 marriage licenses are issued in Las Vegas.
Fact 77. In one day, a human sheds 10 billion skin flakes. This amounts to approximately two kilograms in a year.
Fact 78. In one day, a queen bee can lay up to 1500 eggs in one day.
Fact 79. In one day, adult lungs move about 10,000 litres of air.
Fact 80. In one day, the Tootsie Roll Industry makes over 16 million lollipops.
Fact 81. In one gram of soil, about ten million bacteria live in it.
Fact 82. In one minute, the heart of a giraffe can pump 160 gallons of blood.
Fact 83. In one night, an adult hippopotamus eats approximately 150 pounds of grass.
Fact 84. In one trip, a honey bee visits about 75 flowers.
Fact 85. In only eight minutes, the Space Shuttle can accelerate to a speed of 27,000 kilometres per hour.
Fact 86. In Ontario, an average household income of a golfer is greater than $60,000.
Fact 87. In order to mate, a male deep sea anglerfish will bite a female when he finds her. The male will never let go and will eventually merge his body into the female and spend the rest of his life inside the female mate. The males internal organs will disappear apart from the testes that are needed to for breeding.
Fact 88. In order to scare away predators, Giant petrels, a type of seabird, throw up all over the intruder.
Fact 89. In proportion, if Jupiter were a basketball, then the sun would be the size of the Louisiana Super Dome.
Fact 90. In Quebec, Canada, an old law states that margarine must be a different colour than butter.
Fact 91. In Russia, when flowers are given for a romantic occasions, flowers are given in odds numbers as even number of flowers is given at funerals only.
Fact 92. In Singapore, it is illegal to sell or own chewing gum.
Fact 93. In some parts of the Atacama Desert it has never rained.
Fact 94. In Spain, it is common to pour chocolate milk or cafe au lait on cereal for breakfast.
Fact 95. In the 13th century, quality standards for paste were assigned by the Pope.
Fact 96. In the 18th century, potatoes were given out as a dessert. They were served in a napkin, salted and hot.
Fact 97. In the 1920’s, Q-Tips were invented by Leo Gerstenzang who got the idea after watching his wife clean their baby’s ears with cotton stuck onto a toothpick.
Fact 98. In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television’s Channel 1 to mobile Services
(two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not re-number the
other
channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but
no
channel 1.
Fact 99. In the 1960 movie “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock, chocolate syrup was used to show the blood in the shower scene.
Fact 100. In the 1985 Boise, Idaho mayoral election, there were four write-in votes for Mr. Potato Head.
Page topic: Cool, strange and interesting facts page 3
