amazing facts 05
[#] A rat can last longer without water than a camel.
[#] Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks, otherwise it will digest itself.
[#] The Declaration of Independence (the very official copy in the Rotunda of the National Archives) is written on parchment, not paper.
[#] The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.
[#] A raisin dropped in a fresh glass of soda will bounce up and down continually from the bottom of the glass to the top.
[#] A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.
[#] A 2x4 is actually 1Â1/2" x 3Â1/2" .
[#] 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
[#] The 'spot' on 7UP comes from its inventor who had red eyes. He was an albino.
[#] 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
[#] During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen in the distance.
[#] On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.
[#] Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
[#] Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If they were captured, the cards could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.
[#] Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.
[#] American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
[#] The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.
[#] The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
[#] There are four cars and eleven lightposts on the back of a $10 dollar bill.
[#] If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and look like it is stinging itself to death. It spasms a lot. :)
[#] Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to SLOW a film down so you could see his moves. That's the opposite of the norm.
[#] 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.
[#] The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springstein's 'Born in the USA.'
[#] The mask used by Michael Myers in the original Halloween was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
[#] Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to digest a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. (Mmm, diet food.)
[#] Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look alike contest.
[#] Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!
[#] An old law in Bellingham, Wash., made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3 steps backwards while dancing. (?!)
[#] Birds have the right of way on all Utah highways.
[#] Sharon Stone was the first Star Search spokesmodel.
[#] The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
[#] The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from public libraries.
[#] Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit will damage it.
[#] The number one selling CD in history is the third Beatles anthology. It recently beat out the Eagles' "Their Greatest Hits."
[#] Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
[#] If you drop a penny off of the Empire State Building, it will be going 106 miles per hour (terminal velocity) when it reaches the ground. Something moving this fast may actually cause head injuries if it lands on you. (OUCH)
[#] The original Winnie the Pooh was a real live bear found outside of Winnipeg, Canada, hence the name Winnie.
[#] Francis Bacon died in his attempt to find a better way to serve food. He caught a case of pneumonia while attempting to stuff a chicken with snow. Ironically, the chicken survived the ordeal.
[#] Dachshunds were originally bred in 1600 to hunt dachs, which is German for badgers. (Historically speaking, 1600 was a slow year.)
[#] Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss.
[#] The first zoo in America was in Philadelphia.
