Yvonne Belisle
June 19th, 2001, 12:13 AM
Little Known Facts
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses
every letter in the alphabet. (Developed by Western Union to Test
telex/twx communications)
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a
letter is uncopyrightable.
Did you know that there are coffee flavored PEZ?
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of
yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were
stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up
straight staircases.
The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus
the name of the Don McLean song.)
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from
history. Spades - King David; Clubs - Alexander the Great;
Hearts -Charlemagne; and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people
without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the
expression "to get fired."
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July
4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on
August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years
later.
The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the
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."
Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes
them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law
which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider
than your thumb.
An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
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.
The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the
"General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms
as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of
Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet
facilities for blacks and whites.
Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point
in Colorado.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
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.
No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has
ever won a Superbowl.
The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To
Beaver".
The only two days of the year in which there are no professional
sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the
day after the Major League All-Star Game.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."
In Cleveland, Ohio, it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting
license.
It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a
year's supply of footballs.
Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating
are already married.
Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new cars.
The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola,
and Budweiser, in that order.
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms
of their hands.
Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the
sale of vodka.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every
year.
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the
world's nuclear weapons combined.
Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California.
Average age of top GM executives in 1994: 49.8 years. Average age
of the Rolling Stones: 50.6.
Elephants can't jump. Every other mammal can.
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
Five Jell-O flavors that flopped: celery, coffee, cola, apple,
and chocolate.
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses
every letter in the alphabet. (Developed by Western Union to Test
telex/twx communications)
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a
letter is uncopyrightable.
Did you know that there are coffee flavored PEZ?
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of
yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were
stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up
straight staircases.
The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus
the name of the Don McLean song.)
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from
history. Spades - King David; Clubs - Alexander the Great;
Hearts -Charlemagne; and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people
without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the
expression "to get fired."
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July
4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on
August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years
later.
The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the
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."
Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes
them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law
which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider
than your thumb.
An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
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.
The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the
"General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms
as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of
Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet
facilities for blacks and whites.
Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point
in Colorado.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
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.
No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has
ever won a Superbowl.
The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To
Beaver".
The only two days of the year in which there are no professional
sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the
day after the Major League All-Star Game.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."
In Cleveland, Ohio, it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting
license.
It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a
year's supply of footballs.
Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating
are already married.
Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new cars.
The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola,
and Budweiser, in that order.
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms
of their hands.
Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the
sale of vodka.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every
year.
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the
world's nuclear weapons combined.
Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California.
Average age of top GM executives in 1994: 49.8 years. Average age
of the Rolling Stones: 50.6.
Elephants can't jump. Every other mammal can.
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
Five Jell-O flavors that flopped: celery, coffee, cola, apple,
and chocolate.