• Bananas were discovered by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. when he conquered India

 

• Levan, which is located in Utah, got its name from "navel" which is levan spelt backwards. It was named this because it is in the center of Utah

 

• Approximately one out of four injuries by athletes involve the wrist and hand

 

• Former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836

 

• Musk is extracted from the bottom of a civet, and is used as an ingredient to make perfumes.

 

• The first human heart transplant happened on December 3, 1967. Unfortunately the patient only lived for eighteen days, succumbing in the end to pneumonia

 

• In New York City there are 6,374.6 miles of streets

 

• The sound made by the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is so loud that it can be heard 40 miles away

 

• Ancient Egyptians used to think having facial hair was an indication of personal neglect

 

• In Czechoslovakia, there is a church that has a chandelier made of human bones

 

• The largest hotel in the world is the MGM Grand, which has 5,034 rooms and is located in Las Vegas, Nevada

 

• The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets

 

• The fleshy bulbs on each side of your nose are called the Alea (AY-lee) singular Ala (AY-luh)

 

• Male koalas mark their territory by rubbing their chests on a tree. Male koalas have a dark scent gland in the middle of their chest

 

• An octopus has three hearts

 

• Roses generally need around 6 hours of sunlight to grow properly.

 

• Buttermilk does not contain any butter, but is a cultured milk product which is usually made from fat free milk

 

• Pineapples were first called "anana", which is Caribbean for "excellent fruit."

 

• Human birth control pills work on gorillas

 

• The tallest woman that ever lived was Zeng Jinlian who was 8 feet 2 inches tall of China. She died at the age of 17

 

• An adult "Gold Frog" measures to be 9.8 millimeters in body length

 

• Each day, anywhere from 35-150 species of life go extinct

 

• Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned his wife or mother because they were both deaf

 

• Alexander the Great made his troops eat onions as he believed it would prove their vitality

 

• Bill Russell was the first black head coach of a major league pro sports team

 

• In 1945, a seven ounce bathroom cup was the first item Tupperware marketed

 

• Central air conditioners use 98% more energy than ceiling fans.

 

• The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache

 

• Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better

 

• Every day, U.S. business use enough paper to circle the Earth over 20 times

 

• The Welwitschia plant can live up to 1,000 years

 

• The dromedary camel can drink as much as 100 litres of water in just 10 minutes

 

• According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress approximately costs the U.S. industry over $300 billion dollars per year

 

• It takes 72 minutes for the restaurant at the top of the CN Tower to make one revolution

 

• Coffee beans were chewed for more than 400 years before the first cup of coffee was brewed

 

• All of the Peking ducks in the United States are descendents from three ducks and one drake imported to Long Island, New York in 1873

 

• The first British ship to use the SOS distress signal was the Titanic

 

• The Spring peeper (a frog) can survive the winter season with 65% of its body water as ice

 

• Studies have shown that the scent of Rosemary can help in better mental performance and make individuals feel more alert

 

• The search engine Google got its name from the word "googol," which refers to the number one with a hundred zeros after it

 

• The Goliath beetle is about the size of your fist and can weigh as much as 3-4 ounces

 

• If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create explosion that is equal to an atomic bomb

 

• Humans have about the same number of hair follicles as a chimpanzee has

 

• Studies indicate that listening to music is good for digestion

 

• The Chihuahua was named after the Mexican state where they were discovered

 

• There are no snakes in New Zealand

 

• The most popular grown bulbs are tulips

 

• Every day the human stomach produces about 2 liters of hydrochloric acid

 

• The country of Bolivia is named after a fighter Simon Bolivar

 

• Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite

 

• The first state to give the right to women to vote was Wyoming

 

• In 1949 UNICEF produced the first charity Christmas card. The picture shown on the card was painted by a seven year old girl

 

• Archaeologists report that cannabis was most likely the first plant cultivated by humans. Cannabis was used for linen, paper, and garments

 

• The garfish has green bones

 

• Women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have a higher chance of developing osteoporosis

 

• The banana was officially introduced in 1876 in the U.S. at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. The bananas were wrapped in tinfoil and were sold for 10 cents each

 

• A yawn usually lasts for approximately six seconds

 

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

 

• The food that people crave the most is cheese

 

• Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury

 

• The only animal, besides humans that can get leprosy is the Armadillo

 

• In 1894, the carnival made its debut in North America

 

• The artist Vincent Van Gogh sliced part of his ear off in madness

 

• According to Scientists, vampire bat saliva is the best known medicine for keeping blood from clotting.

 

• People from North America prefer pickles with warts, where as Europeans prefer pickles with no warts

 

• People that suffer from gum disease are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack

 

• Close to 50% of the water used in a home originates from the bathroom

 

• After the Krakatoa volcano eruption in 1883 in Indonesia, many people reported that, because of the dust, the sunset appeared green and the moon blue. The moon was said to appear blue for almost two years.

 

• The country with the highest consumption of chocolate per capita is Switzerland, with 22 pounds per person, per year

 

• In China, September 20 is "Love Your Teeth Day."

 

• Actor Richard Gere was considered to play the role of John McClane in the movie Die Hard. Bruce Willis played the part instead

 

• The record for the world’s worst drivers is a toss-up between two candidates: First, a 75-year-old man who received 10 traffic tickets, drove on the wrong side of the road four times, committed four hit-and-run offenses, and caused six accidents, all within 20 minutes on October 15, 1966. Second, a 62-year-old woman who failed her driving test 40 times before passing it in August, 1970 (by that time, she had spent over $700 in lessons, and could no longer afford to buy a car)

 

• Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur

 

• Left-handed people are better at sports that require good spatial judgment and fast reaction, compared to right-handed individuals

 

• Half of a cup of figs will give you just as much calcium as half a cup of milk

 

• A "hairbreadth away" is 1/48 of an inch

 

• In 1281, the Mongol army of Kublai Khan tried to invade Japan but were ravaged by a hurricane that destroyed their fleet

 

• Walt Disney was afraid of mice

 

• Studies show that couples that smoke during the time of conception have a higher chance of having a girl compared to couples that do not smoke

 

• The reason why some people get a cowlick is because the growth of their hair is in a spiral pattern, which causes the hair to either stand straight up, or goes to a certain angle

 

• Approximately 50% of Americans admit they have ran a red light

 

• In 1755, the first Canadian post office opened in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The fist Deputy Postmaster General was American inventor Benjamin Franklin who was later dismissed for sympathizing with the American revolutionary cause

 

• Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California.

 

• On average, 90% of the people that have the disease Lupus are female

 

• Unlike other four legged mammals, kangaroos cannot walk backwards

 

• The itch from a mosquito bite can be soothed by cutting open a clove of garlic and rubbing it on the bite

 

• If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar

 

• Most American car horns honk in the key of F

 

• A superstition in baseball is to never lend your bat to anyone or you will be jinxed

 

• Bats always turn left when exiting a cave

 

• Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air

 

• In 1998, approximately 1.6 billion tree seedlings were planted in the United States. This amounts to about five trees per American

 

• There are species of fish that can walk on land in search of water when its water source dries up. Some can survive as long as three days on land such as the snakehead fish

 

• Race car driver Lee Petty once left a pit stop and did a full lap at Nascar with a pit crew member still on the hood

 

• The first fashion house to be set up was in 1858 by Charles Worth. He opened his store in Paris with the idea of having pre-made gowns presented on models to his customers

 

• St. Patrick explained the Holy Trinity to King Laoghaire, using the shamrock to illustrate the trinity

 

• More twins are born in the Western world than in the Eastern world

 

• Nine egg yolks have been found in one chicken egg

 

• The record for the longest Monopoly game played in a bathtub is ninety-nine hours

 

• The flea can jump 350 times its body length, that is like a 6 foot-tall human jumping the length of 7 football fields

 

• The 1988 move "Big" which was directed by Penny Marshall was the first movie by a female director to gross over $100 million domestically

 

• When the Galileo Probe entered Jupiter's atmosphere, it was traveling at a speed of 106,000 miles per hour. This is the fastest impact speed ever achieved by a man-made object.

 

• In 1972, a gorilla by the name of "Koko" was taught ASL (American Sign Language) for the deaf. By the year 2000, the gorilla could understand approximately 2,000 English words

 

• 3000 children die every day in Africa because of malaria

 

• 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 color

 

• Approximately 125 people die in the United States from an anaphylaxis to foods each year

 

• The word "vamp" is used to describe the upper front top of a shoe

 

• Construction on the White House began in October of 1792

 

• A galactic year is 250 million Earth-years. This is the time it takes for our solar system to make one revolution around the Milky Way Galaxy.

 

• Leonardo da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards

 

• The male platypus has poisonous spurs on its legs

 

• Polar bears can smell seal from 20 miles away

 

• Canadians Scott Abbott and Chris Haney invented Trivial Pursuit. They were planning on playing Scrabble and realized that some of the pieces were missing so they came up with the idea of making their own game; Trivial Pursuit

 

• On average, there is about three molecules of ozone for every 10 million air molecules.

 

• A person uses approximately fifty-seven sheets of toilet paper each day

 

• The Barbie doll has more than 80 careers

 

• James Buchanan was the only unmarried president of the United States

 

• The Stanley Cup originally was only seven and a half inches high

 

• In 1991, during an attempted political coup on Russian President Boris Yeltsin, food supplies had dwindled down at the parliament buildings so they ordered Pizza Hut to deliver pizzas

 

• Some people drink the urine of pregnant women to build up their immune system

 

• The five Olympic rings represent the five continents linked together in friendship

 

• Ray Kroc bought McDonald's for $2.7 million in 1961 from the McDonald brothers

 

• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs

 

• Shark cartilage has been used to make artificial skin for human burn victims

 

• The first person to die in the electric chair was William Kemmler, an axe murderer from New York on August 6, 1890

 

• Finland has 187,888 lakes and 179,584 islands

 

• The average adult has approximately six pounds of skin

 

• A crocodile can open and close its jaw but cannot move it side to side

 

• There are over 1,000,000 swimming pools in Florida, even though the ocean is no farther than 80 miles away

 

• 99% of the blueberries that are produced in the United States are produced in the state of Maine

 

• On May 9, 1999 approximately 600,000 gallons of whiskey flowed into the Kentucky River during a fire at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg

 

• Thomas Jefferson had three achievements placed on his headstone at his request, "Here Was Buried Thomas Jefferson/Author Of The Declaration Of American Independence/Of The Statute Of Virginia For Religious Freedom/And Father Of The University of Virginia.? He never mentioned being President of the United States

 

• Humans and cows have the same gestation period, which is about nine months

 

• In the Victoria era, red tulips were a declaration of love

 

• The sport Lacrosse was initially played by Native American Indians. They played the sport to prepare for war

 

• It takes a sloth up to six days to digest the food it eats

 

• According to Scandinavian traditions, if a boy and girl eat from the same loaf of bread, they are bound to fall in love

 

• In 1796, Napoleon was only 26 years old when he took command of the French Army of Italy

 

• A bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed every animal in the Berlin Zoo except the elephant, which escaped and roamed the city. When a Russian commander saw hungry Germans chasing the elephant and trying to kill it, he ordered his troops to protect it and shoot anyone who tried to kill it

 

• The expression "Tying the Knot" comes from an old Roman custom where the brides clothes were tied up all in knots and the groom was supposed to untie the knots

 

• Snake is a delicacy in China

 

• In 1999, All Nippon Airlines, had one of its jets fully decorated with Pokemon characters from nose to tail on its exterior

 

• The Dead Sea has been sinking for last several years

 

• Uranus has 27 moons

 

• Actress Sally Field was paid $4,000 a week for her role in the TV show The Flying Nun

 

• More pollution is emitted from the average home compared to the average car.

 

• The snow leopard protects itself from extreme cold when it sleeps by wrapping its 3-foot-long tail around its nose

 

• Only 4% of babies are born on their actual due date

 

• 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.

 

• A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for approximately sixty-nine years

 

• There are more Subway restaurants in Canada than there are McDonald restaurants

 

• The CN Tower, in Toronto, is the tallest freestanding structure in the world with a height of about 553 meters
  

 

• The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

 

• Construction on the Leaning Tower of Pisa began on August 9th, 1173

 

• President Lyndon Johnson used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day

 

• The Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma

 

• The word "laser" stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission by radiation."

 

• In a lifetime, on average a honey bee produces 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey

 

• There are 315 species of parrot in the world

 

• The TV show Doctor Who, when it was popular, had an audience of 110 million people

 

• The cost to build the Empire State Building was $40,948,900

 

• A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day will on average lose two teeth every ten years

 

• Wasps that feed on ferment occasionally get drunk and pass out

 

• The largest cereal company in the world is Quaker Oats, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

 

• The first Olympic Games only had one event - a foot race

 

• Colonel Sanders traveled over 250,000 miles a year visiting various parts of his Kentucky Fried Chicken Empire

 

• Some desert snails have been known to sleep for three to four years

 

• Over 80% of the brain is water

 

• From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink in size

 

• Jackrabbits can reach a speed of fifty miles per hour and can leap as far as twenty feet

 

• There are 40 official jelly belly flavors

 

• Early sewing machines were destroyed by mobs or workers who felt their jobs were threatened by automation

 

• In 1992, the Antarctic Ozone hole was larger than the continent of North America.

 

• Someone gets divorced every ten to thirteen seconds

 

• There is a certain type of Hawk Moth caterpillar from Brazil that inflates its thorax, which makes its head look like a head of a snake when it feels it is in danger or alarmed

 

• The CIA has made a disk camera that is as big as a quarter. This gadget can take many pictures at a time when the disk is opened.

 

• The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."

 

• 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

 

• The ancient Greeks had a fascination with the planet Mars. They attributed the planet to Ares, their god of war, because of its red color

 

• The only lizard that has a voice is the Gecko

 

• In Israel, religious law forbids picking your nose on Sabbath

 

• In twins, there is a great chance that one will be left handed

 

• 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.

 

• In the Pacific Islands when people get burns they often use a banana leaf as treatment

 

• Acorns were used as a coffee substitute during the American Civil War

 

• An airplane mechanic invented Slinky while he was playing with engine parts and realized the possible secondary use for the springs. Barbie was invented by Ruth Handler after watching her daughter play with baby dolls imagining then in grown up roles

 

• When the female grasshopper lays eggs, she covers her eggs with a pasty liquid that protects the eggs throughout the winter

 

• The longest recorded duration of a total solar eclipse was 7.5 minutes.

 

• On average, an American makes three pounds of garbage in a day

 

• Even if you eat food standing on your head, the food will still end up in your stomach

 

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

 

• The most common name in the world is Mohammed

 

• Apple seeds are poisonous as they contain a cyanide compound

 

• The word breakfast was coined due to the fact that after sleeping for hours, we are "breaking our fast."

 

• The cardigan was originally made to be a military jacket made of knitted wool

 

• The month of December is the most popular month for weddings in the Philippines

 

• The deepest cave in the world is the "Lamprechtsofen-Vogelshacht" cave which can be found in Salzburg, Austria. The cave is 5,354 feet deep

 

• The capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the only state capital in the United States that does not have a McDonalds

 

• The longest engagement lasted 67 years, and the couple ended up marrying when they were 82 years old

 

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

 

• Milk and cheese can aid in the reduction of tooth decay

 

• On average, a strawberry has 200 seeds on it

 

• Coconuts kill more people in the world than sharks do

 

• The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing

 

• Research has indicated that indoor pollution is 10 times more toxic than outdoor pollution

 

• Eating a banana at night can help in falling asleep

 

• The stapler was invented in Spring Valley, Minnesota.

 

• The first television newscaster was Kolin Hager, who used to broadcast farm and weather reports in 1928

 

• Pixie, a Siberian Husky, gave birth to 7 puppies, one of which was bright green

 

• Back in 1953, it took 27 hours to make one Marshmallow Peep. Now it takes only six minutes

 

• On average, an ear of a corn has 16 rows and approximately 800 kernels

 

• The green ring that is formed around the yolk of eggs that have been cooked too long is formed by the chemical reaction from the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white part of the egg

 

• The silk that is produced by spiders is stronger than steel

 

• The first president to have a picture taken was John Quincy Adams

 

• Some brands of toothpaste contain glycerine or glycerol, which is also an ingredient in antifreeze

 

• 1 in 2000 babies are born with a tooth that is already visible

 

• It was during World War II that clothes with elastic waists were introduced. This is because the metal used in zippers was badly needed for the war

 

• In 1902, the game table tennis was brought to the U.S. from Europe by Parker Brothers

 

• Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

 

• The fat from sheep, which is called tallow can be used to make soap and candles

 

• Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body

 

• Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns

 

• When playing competitive darts the player must be 7 feet 9 1/4 inches back from the dartboard. Also the board must be 5 feet 8 inches above the floor

 

• In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak

 

• Earthworms have 5 hearts

 

• If all the gold sitting in the oceans and seas were mined, every person on this plant would get about 20 kilograms of gold each.

 

• To make an espresso 42 coffee beans are needed

 

• The oil that is found in poison ivy is called "urushiol."

 

• Of all the days of the week, the most popular day for people to eat ice cream is Sunday

 

• The first museum in Moscow that was set up in 1791 was the Natural History Laboratory at Moscow University. This later was changed to the Zoological Museum

 

• A surfer once sued another surfer for "stealing his wave." The case was thrown out because the court was unable to put a price on "pain and suffering" endured by the surfer watching someone else ride "his" wave

 

• Many people in parts of China eat insects. Some common insects are bean worms, scorpions, and locusts

 

• The largest dog in the world is the Irish Wolfhound

 

• Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a fifty thousand-word novel, "Gadsby," without any word containing the letter "e."

 

• The projection light used for IMAX theaters can be seen from space.

 

• The human liver performs over 500 functions

 

• Ballroom dancing is a course at Brigham Young University in Utah

 

• The word "maverick" came into use after Samuel Maverick, a Texan, refused to brand his cattle. Eventually any unbranded calf became known as a Maverick

 

• Finnish folklore states that when Santa comes to Finland to deliver gifts, he leaves his sleigh behind and rides on a goat named Ukko instead

 

• More than $1 billion is spent each year on neck ties in the United States

 

• In the 18th century, potatoes were given out as a dessert. They were served in a napkin, salted and hot