The car is one of the most recognizeable inventions of the modern era. Without cars there would be no suburbs, car trips, endless drop-offs and pick-ups most parents are all to familiar with. Here are some fun facts about cars and their colorful past.
* The first cars did not have steering wheels. Drivers steered with a lever.
* The New York City Police Department used bicycles to pursue speeding motorists in 1898.
* The first speeding ticket was issued in 1902.
* In 1916, 55 percent of the cars in the world were Model T Fords, a record that has never been beaten.
* The first gas gauge appeared in cars in 1922.
* In 1923, 173 new inventions by women for cars had been reported. Among these inventions were a carburetor and an electric engine starter.
* The first car radio was invented in 1929.
* Buick introduced the first electric turn signals in 1938.
* The Peanuts characters were first animated in 1957 for a Ford Fairlaine automobile commercial.
* Most American car horns beep in the key of F.
* The automobile is the most recycled consumer product in the world today
Car fun Facts
Rolls-Royce facts
The first 10 hp Rolls-Royce was sold for £395...Today it is worth over £250,000
More than six out of ten of all Rolls-Royce Motor cars built are still roadworthy
At the Rolls-Royce factories in Crewe and London the cars are always referred to as Royces.
They are never called Rollers
The Rolls-Royce radiator grille is made entirely by hand and eye - no measuring instruments are used
It takes one man one day to make a Rolls-Royce radiator, and then five hours are spent polishing it
The Rolls -Royce radiator was not registered as a trademark until 1974
It takes over 800 man-hours to make the body of a Phantom VI
During the First World War Rolls-Royce made rifles
You will never open an ashtray in a modern Rolls-Royce and find a cigarette end.
It empties automatically
A Rolls-Royce does not break down. It 'fails to proceed.'
Notices have been hung around the factory bearing the legend: 'Beware silent cars.'
Even today every Rolls-Royce engine is completely hand built
The cooling capacity of the air-conditioning system in the Silver Spirit is equivalent to that of
30 domestic refrigerators
No one is certain who designed the Rolls-Royce radiator grille or the interlinked RR badge
The hydraulic tappets on Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars are given a natural finish
of a 16-millionth of an inch
The oldest known Rolls-Royce still on the road is the 1904 10hp owned by Mr Thomas Love Jr of
Scotland
Rolls-Royce did not make a complete car until after the Second World War. Before that they made only
chassis, the bodies being added by outside coachbuilders
Sir Henry Royce's first job was a newspaper delivery boy for W H Smith & Son Ltd
Sir Henry Royce was always known as 'R' at the factory. The practice of addressing people by their initials,
especially on written memorandums, is still continued at the factory
In 1949 an Italian owner, seeking permission to modify his Rolls-Royce, commissioned a seance to
call up Henry Royce's spirit. Rolls-Royce legend has it that the advice from beyond the veil was:
"Consult your authorised distributor"
Examine the coachline that extends the full length of the Silver Spirit, you may be surprised to learn that it is
applied by hand. This unerring line is 15' 6" long.
At one time, Rolls-Royce engines held World Speed Records in the Air, on Land and on Water,
simultaneously.
It is possible that Rolls-Royce Motors is the best known British company name in the World. Letters have
been received from remote corners of the globe addressed to the Royal Family, care of Rolls-Royce, England.
There are 27 Electric Motors in every Silver Spirit.
The Vicar of St Marys, Nantwich, took a Rolls-Royce into his church and blessed it, along with fruit &
vegetables at the Harvest Festival service. A member of the congregation remarked "It's going in for it's first service".
The badge on the Rolls-Royce was changed from Red to Black not, as popularly
believed to commemorate Henry Royce's death, but because Royce himself decided
Black was aesthetically more appropriate. Some customers complained that the red badge often clashed with the
colour of the car. The Prince of Wales was particularly outspoken on the subject.
Every piece of glass in a Silver Spirit is given a final polish with powdered pumice of a fineness normally used for polishing optical lenses
Just inside the main entrance to the offices at the Roll-Royce factory in Crewe, there is a bust of Henry Royce facing one of Charles Rolls. For many years the bust of Royce stood in No 1 shop at the Derby factory and contained his ashes, until they were sent to Alwalton church were Royce had been christened.
The 4 final polishings on some gearbox components was not done with jewellers rouge (which is too coarse) but fine ground oat husks
Although he designed some of the great aero engines of all time, Royce never travelled in an aircraft.
'I have only one regret' said Royce as he lay dying, 'that I have not worked harder.'
After singing the praises of Rolls-Royce Cars over tea with Henry Royce, an aristocratic lady asked,
as an afterthought, 'but Sir Henry, what would happen if the factory at Derby produced a bad car?'
Sir Henry answered,
"Madam. the man on the gate would not let it out of the works."
Royce left £112,000 in his will, mostly to his faithful nurse, Ethel Aubin.
Dinosaur Fact Book....
The study of dinosaurs stretches our imaginations, gives us new perspectives on time and space, and invites us to discover worlds very different from our modern Earth.
When did the dinosaurs first appear on Earth?
The oldest dinosaur types are known from rocks in Argentina and Brazil and are about 230 million years old. The most primitive of these types, Eoraptor, was a small meat-eating dinosaur. Because Eoraptor's skeleton shows some advanced skeletal features, older dinosaurs may yet be found.
OTHER FACTS:
Some dinosaurs were as small as a hen, but the typical dinosaur weighed about as much as a hippopotamus or an elephant.
Dinosaur eggs are smaller than those of modern birds (relative to the weight of the mother). In fact, the largest known dinosaur eggs are much smaller than those of the extinct elephant bird of Madagascar.
Instead of chewing their food, some sauropods ground their food between stones in a portion of the digestive tract, much like the gizzard of a modern bird.
How fast could dinosaurs walk or run?
Estimates of dinosaur speeds vary because several different methods are used to calculate them. One recent estimate suggests that an average person might have been able to to outrun an adult Tyrannosaurus (although you probably would not volunteer to try). The two basic approaches for estimating dinosaur speed are comparing to recorded speeds of modern animals of similar body size and build, and measuring distances between fossil footprints in a trackway and using these distances to calculate estimated speed. Walking-speed estimates for medium-sized bipedal (two-legged) dinosaurs vary from 4 kph to 6 kph, and peak running-speed estimates vary from 37 kph to 88 kph. The highest figure (88.6 kph) is the same as the peak speed of the currently fastest land animals, such as the North American pronghorn "antelope" (Antilocapra americana), and very probably is too high.
OTHER FACTS:
The earliest dinosaurs resembled two-legged, short-headed crocodiles, but later dinosaurs were oddly reminiscent of giant mammals and birds.
Some dinosaurs spent time in the water, but no dinosaur could swim very well.
Dinosaur bones have been found on all of the continents, but the fossil record is most complete in North America and Asia.
Dinosaurs had tiny (or completely absent) outside fingers and toes.
It's easy to tell a dinosaur skeleton from that of a modern reptile because dinosaur skeletons have a strong joint between the backbone and hips.
Small, two-legged dinosaurs could turn rapidly by swinging their tail abruptly in a direction opposite to where they wished to turn.
Some dinosaurs had feathers.
Dinosaurs generally are named after a characteristic body feature, after the place where they were found, or after a person involved in the discovery. Usually the name consists of two Greek or Latin words (or combinations); in order, these are the genus (plural, genera) and the species name. For example, the Greek and Latin combination (binomen) Tyrannosaurus rex means "king of the tyrant lizards." Biologists name modern animals exactly the same way. Some examples include humans (Homo sapiens), domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), box turtles (Terrapene carolina), and rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus).
More Info at:
Farlow, J.O., 1993, The dinosaurs of Dinosaur Valley State Park -- Somervell County, Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin
Glut, D.F., 1982, The New Dinosaur Dictionary: Secaucus. Citadel Press
Lambert, D., and the Diagram Group, 1990, Dinosaur Data Book: New York, Avon Books
Norman, D., 1985, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: New York, Crescent Books
Russell, D.A., 1989, An Odyssey in Time, the Dinosaurs of North America: Minocqua, North Word Press,
Thulborn, T., 1990, Dinosaus Tracks: London, Chapman and Hall
Children Books:
Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts (Macmillan)
Astrosaurs: Riddle of the Raptors by Steve Cole (Random House)
Dinosaur Chase by Benedict Blathwayt ( Red Fox)
Rotten and Rascal! by Paul Geraghty (Red Fox)
Turtles can cry (amazing facts)
1. Sea turtles cry. The green sea turtle lives in the salty ocean, and gets rid of the excess salt from its body by way of its eyes, in very salty tears.
2. All turtles lay their eggs on land, even turtles that never come out of the water otherwise such as the giant sea
turtles.
3. Most turtles can live much longer than people can. One turtle was estimated to be fifty years old when it was
caught, and it lived another one hundred and fifty-two years after that!
4. Turtles are cold-blooded, like all reptiles. But the Blanding's Turtle, a common North American freshwater
species, has been seen swimming under the ice in the Great Lakes in winter.
5. Some water turtles can absorb oxygen through their skin on their necks and cloacal areas (their rear ends), so they can not only stay underwater for long periods, they can hibernate underwater.
6. Some land turtles can outrun a person on level ground. But they still can't outrun a hare.
7. A turtle's shell is made of over sixty bones all fused together, and they are connected to the bottom shell, so a
turtle can't really take off its shell like they do in the cartoons.
8. The largest turtle ever found was a fossil of a sea turtle that was over fifteen feet long! The largest turtle
species living now is the Leatherback Sea Turtle, which can grow to as large as nine feet long, six feet wide and can weigh over 1,000 pounds.
9. Some aquatic turtles such as the snapping turtle and soft-shelled turtles have eyes that let them easily look up. They can sit on the bottom under the water and look up for predators or food swimming by, or lay in shallow water with just their eyes and nostrils above the water so land predators can't see them.
10. No turtles have teeth. Instead they have a strong beak to cut and chew their food. Many also have sharp ridges on their beaks to saw through their food. Some turtles catch and eat fish; so those beaks work pretty well.
Facts on languages worldwide
Widow is the only female form in the English language that is shorter than its corresponding male term (widower).
Victor Hugo's Les Miserable contains one of the longest sentences in the French language 823 words without a period.
There is only ONE word in the English language with THREE CONSECUTIVE SETS OF DOUBLE LETTERS.... Bookkeeper
There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs five times: "indivisibility."
There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
There are thirteen languages spoken by more than 100 million people. They are: Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Malay-Indonesian, French, Japanese, German, and Urdu.
There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. There are 885,000,000 people in China that speak that language.
There are only two sequences of four consecutive letters that can be found in the English language: "rstu" and "mnop." Examples of each are understudy and gynophobia.
There are only 4 words in the English language which end in "duos": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
There are at least two words in the English language that use all of the vowels, in the correct order, and end in the letter Y: abstemiously & facetiously.
There are 41,806 different spoken languages in the world today.
The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.
The word "honcho" comes from a Japanese word meaning "squad leader" and first came into usage in the English language during the American occupation of Japan following World War II.
he shortest word in the English language with all its letters in alphabetical order is the word "almost."
The Philippines has more than 1,000 regional dialects and two official languages.
The only MLB team to have both its city's name and its team name in a foreign language is the San Diego Padres.
The longest word in the Finnish language, that isn't a compound word, is 'epaejaerjestelmaellistyttaemaettoemyydellaensaekaeaen'. In English it means 'even with their lack of ability to disorganize'.
The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. The only other word with the same amount of letters ispneumonoultra-microscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, its plural.
The longest word in the English language is 1909 letters long and it refers to a distinct part of DNA.
The longest one syllable word in he English language is "screeched".
The letter most in use in the English language is "E" and the letter "Q" is least used.
The computer programming language ADA was named in honor of Augusta Ada King. The U.S. Defense Department named the language after the Countess of Lovelace and daughter of Lord Byron because she helped finance and program what is thought to be the first computer, the “analytical engine” designed by Charles Babbage.
The Chinese language does not require punctuation.
The "huddle" in football was formed due a deaf football player who used sign language to communicate and his team didn't want the opposition to see the signals he used and in turn huddled around him.
South Africa used to have two official languages, now it has eleven.
Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say 'many things' and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible -in many places -refers to '40 days,' they meant many days.
Seoul, the South Korean capital, just means "the capital" in the Korean language.
You can SEE all facts on EYES here
We should never put anything in or near our eyes, unless we have a reason to use eye drops. We would only do that if our doctor or parent told us to use them.
Blinking helps to wash tears over our eyeballs. That keeps them clean and moist. Also, if something is about to hit our eye, we will blink automatically.
Our body has some natural protection for our eyes. Our eyelashes help to keep dirt out of our eyes. Our eyebrows are made to keep sweat from running into our eyes.
Our eyes are very important to us, and we must protect them. We don't want dirt, sand, splinters or even fingers to get in our eyes. We don't want our eyes to get scratched or poked. That could damage our sight!
The study of the iris of the eye is called iridology.
The shark cornea has been used in eye surgery, since its cornea is similar to a human cornea.
The number one cause of blindness in adults in the United States is diabetes.
The eyeball of a human weighs approximately 28 grams.
The eye of a human can distinguish 500 shades of the gray.
The cornea is the only living tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels.
The conjunctiva is a membrane that covers the human eye.
Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would improve their eyesight.
Research has indicated that a tie that is on too tight cam increase the risk of glaucoma in men.
People generally read 25% slower from a computer screen compared to paper.
Men are able to read fine print better than women can.
In the United States, approximately 25,000 eye injuries occur that result in the person becoming totally blind.
All babies are colour blind when they are born.
A human eyeball weighs an ounce.
If the lens in our eye doesn't work quite right, we can get glasses to help us see. Glasses have lenses in them that work with our eye's own lens to help us see better.
Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
The reason why your nose gets runny when you are crying is because the tears from the eyes drain into the nose.
The most common injury caused by cosmetics is to the eye by a mascara wand.
Some people start to sneeze if they are exposed to sunlight or have a light shined into their eye.
The highest recorded speed of a sneeze is 165 km per hour.
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
The space between your eyebrows is called the Glabella.
Inside our eye, at the back, is a part called the "retina." On the retina are cells called "rods" and "cones." These rods and cones help us to see colors and light.
Just behind the pupil is a lens. It is round and flat. It is thicker toward the middle.
Over the front of our eye is a clear covering called the "conjunctiva."
The white part of our eye is called the "sclera." At the front, the sclera becomes clear and is called the "cornea."
Around the pupil is a colored muscle called the "iris." Our eyes may be BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, GRAY OR BLACK, because that is the color of the iris.
Our eyes have many parts. The black part on the front of our eye is called the "pupil." It is really a little hole that opens into the back part of our eyes.
Your eyes blinks over 10,000,000 times a year!Hitler Facts ....
Since Congress passed the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act in 1998, almost 3 million classified files have been opened to the public - including a 1942 secret profile of Adolf Hitler compiled by the OSS. Here are some excerpts.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
• Hitler never allows anyone to see him while he is naked or bathing. He refuses to use cologne or scents of any sort on his body
• No matter how warm he feels, Hitler will never take off his coat in public
• In 1923, Nazi press secretary Dr. Sedgwick tried to convince Hitler to get rid of his trademark mustache or grow it normally. Hitler answered: "Do not worry about my mustache. If it is not the fashion now, it will be later because I wear it!"
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
• While dining with the others, Hitler will allow the conversation to linger on general topics, but after a couple of hours he will inevitably begin one of his many monologues. These speeches are flawless from start to finish because he rehearses them any time he gets a moment.
• His favorite topics include: "When I was a soldier," "When I was in Vienna," "When I was in prison," and "When I was the leader in the early days of the party."
• If Hitler begins speaking about Wagner and the opera, no one dares interrupt him. He will often sermonize on this topic until his audience falls asleep.
PERSONAL HABITS
• Hitler has no interest in sports or games of any kind and never exercised, except for an occasional walk.
• He paces frequently inside rooms, always to the same tune that he whistles to himself and always diagonally across the room, from corner to corner
• Hitler’s handwriting is impeccable. When famous psychologist Carl Jung saw Hitler’s handwriting in 1937, he remarked: "Behind this handwriting I recognize the typical characteristics of a man with essentially feminine instinct."
ENTERTAINMENT
• Hitler loves the circus. He takes real pleasure in the idea that underpaid performers are risking their lives to please him.
• He went to the circus on several occasions in 1933 and sent extremely expensive chocolates and flowers to the female performers. Hitler even remembered their names and would worry about them and their families in the event of an accident.
• He isn’t interested in wild animal acts, unless there is a woman in danger
• Nearly every night Hitler will see a movie in his private theatre, mainly foreign films that are banned to the German public. He loves comedies and will often laugh merrily at Jewish comedians. Hitler even liked a few Jewish singers, but after hearing them he would remark that it was too bad he or she wasn’t Aryan.
• Hitler staff secretly made films for him of torture and execution of political prisoners, which he very much enjoyed viewing. His executive assistants also secured pornographic pictures and movies for him.
• He loves newsreels - especially when he is in them.
Weird and Wacky Facts on Beards
Longest Male Beard:
Back in 1997, Shamsher Singh of Punjab, India, had his beard officially measured at an impressive 1.83 m (6 ft) from the end of chin to the tip. This is the longest beard on a living male.
The longest beard ever was grown by Hans Langseth of Norway, whose whiskers stretched an incredible 5.33 m (17 6 in) when measured upon his death in Kensett, Iowa, in 1927. The beard was presented to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, in 1967.
Longest Female Beard:
Vivian Wheeler of Wood River, Illinois, USA, grew a full beard after the death of her mother in 1990. The longest strand from the follicle to the tip of hair was measured at 27.9 cm (11 in) in 2000.
Some random facts about beards:
Number of inches whiskers grow per year: 5.5.
Length of beard an average man would grow if he never shaved: 27.5 feet.
Amount of time an average man spends shaving: 3350 hours.
Number of whiskers on the face of the average man: 30,000.
"Werewolf syndrome" or hypertrichosis:
Where even the women of the family are covered with a light to medium coat of hair, while the men have thick hair on every inch of their bodies, apart from their hands and feet. Far out, how about that.
According to a study in Quebec:
The hypothesis according to which male common baldness has developed in the human species as a compensation for the growth of a beard in order to achieve heat loss has been tested In 100 clean-shaven men. During light hyperthermia the evaporation rate on the bald scalp was 2 to 3 times higher than on the hairy scalp. The results support the hypothesis that male baldness is a thermoregulatory compensation for the growth of a beard in adults. - No shit, they needed a study to tell us that?
ZZTop Facts:
The only guy without a beard in ZZTOP has the surname Beard. I've always known they had class.
Pogonophobia or fear of beards:
refers to an abnormal and persistent fear of beards. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences pogonophobia in their own way and may have different symptoms
30 facts on SHARKS...
Films such as Jaws and Open Water have projected sharks as super predators eager to take a bite out of human flesh, but there is more to these fish, Sharks are magnificent creatures which are not only endangered, but also vastly misunderstood.
Great white sharks grow about 10 inches per year. Great whites can grow to mature lengths of 12 to 14 feet.
The Porbeagle is among the fastest sharks. It can jump fully out of the water, a behavior observed in only a few sharks.
New teeth are constantly being formed in rows in a shark's jaw. Shark's teeth are normally replaced every eight days.
Some species of sharks can shed as many as 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.
In 1956, one single Whale shark egg was found off the Mexican coast. This led scientists to believe that the Whale shark was an oviparous species, but now we know that this erroneous Whale shark fact was based on false assumptions. (Oviparous fish species lay undeveloped eggs that are fertilized and developed outside the body of the female fish.)
Whale sharks have approximately 300 rows of teeth, with hundreds of tiny teeth in each row.
It has also been estimated that of all documented great white shark attacks on humans, more than half have occurred within the Red Triangle (Red Triangle is roughly triangle-shaped region off the coast of northern California, extending from Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco
Dried shark skin (shagreen) was used in the past as sandpaper. In Germany and Japan, shark skin was used on sword handles for a non-slip grip.
In 1937, shark liver oil was discovered to be rich in vitamin A. Sharks were hunted for the vitamin until 1950, when a synthesizing method was developed for vitamin A.
SHARK ATTACK VIDEO
Tiger sharks have developed a specialized form of gill slit known as a spiracle. The spiracles are situated right behind the eyes of the Tiger shark and this arrangement ensures a constant flow of oxygen directly to the brain and the eyes of the shark.
The average life span of a shark is 25 years, but some sharks can live to be 100.
The dogfish sharks are named for their tendency to attack their prey as a pack of wild dogs would.
The porbeagle is mainly a pelagic shark, but can be found in coastal waters.
Great white sharks can go as long as three months without eating.
The Tiger sharks are equipped with special electro receptors that can detect even slight electrical currents in the water
The most distinguishing characteristic of the Porbeagle is a white patch on the trailing edge of the dorsal fin.
Not all sharks have to be in continuous motion to breathe.
Newly born Tiger sharks are roughly 50-75 centimetres long (20-30 inches)
Bull sharks can tolerate a wide range of salinity and are often found in freshwater rivers and lakes in Africa and South America.
More people are killed each year by dogs, pigs and deer than by shark attacks.
The pygmy shark has a maximum length of 11 inches.
Sharks have no bones. A shark's skeleton is made up of cartilage.
There are more than 340 known species of sharks.
They have about 3000 teeth, arranged in several rows. The first two rows of teeth are used for grabbing and cutting prey, while the teeth in the last rows rotate into place when front teeth are broken, worn down, or fall out. The teeth are triangularly shaped with serrations on the edges
Sharks first appeared in the fossil record over 400 million years ago.
A significant physical trait that separates a modern shark from an ancient shark is the protrusile jaw, which gives the modern shark more biting force.
Sharks can generate about six and a half tons per square inch of biting force.
A shark's skin is embedded with dermal denticles, which resemble teeth.
The shortfin mako shark is probably the fastest fish in the ocean, clocked at about 60 mph.
Rehabilitation Facts -- animals
SEALS
seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a
special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were
released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A
minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both. "
PENGUINS
"The highlight of Dyan's career was flying to South Africa as part of an international team of penguin experts to help save 20,000 penguins from an oil spill. The rehabilitation effort took three months and 556,000 hours of volunteer labor, and due to the incredible response to the penguins in crisis, 91% of the oiled birds were saved and released back into the wild. This event was historic in its size and success rate, and represents the largest number of animals within a species ever to be rescued and rehabilitated. Dyan calls her participation in this rescue the most challenging, yet most rewarding, experience of her life.
More details at: http://www.thepenguinlady.com/ "
Crime and Criminal Facts
1. On average, 80 people shoot at the Goodyear blimp each year.
2. In Miami in August, Levon Howard lost a shoot-out with his roommate Edwin Heyliger. Howard broke into Heyliger's room, angry that someone had drunk his Kool-Aid, and in the ensuing argument, both scrambled for guns.
3. In June 1995, in Liberty, Ohio, police officer Bradley L. Sebastian, tired of waiting for his food order at Denny's, stormed into the kitchen, held his gun to the cook's head, and told her he would kill her if she didn't hurry up.
4. Chances that a drug offense by a black U.S. juvenile with no prior jail time will result in imprisonment: 48 in 100,000. Chance that a drug offense by a white juvenile with no prior jail time will do so : 1 in 100,000
5. In 1471, a chicken in Basel, Switzerland, was accused of being 'a devil in disguise' after laying a brightly colored egg. The chicken stood trial, was found guilty and burned at the stake.
6. The LAPD purchased 40 semiautomatic paint-ball rifles in preparation for this the April 2000 Democratic convention.
7. Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865 on Good Friday and in 1995 Good Friday was also on April 14. When Booth shot Lincoln, some people thought it was part of the play.
8. A frightened Englishwoman rang the police emergency line, she could hear burglars, she was sure, drilling into her house from a building site next door. However, when the law arrived they found the rapid thumping noise was caused by a faulty sex toy, that was humming along all by itself in a bedside cabinet.
9. One Saturday, police received not one or two or ten but thirty five emergency calls from Razorback Stadium. The local team were "battering the oposition" (final score 58-6), but there was no clear emergency happening. Eventually the calls were traced to a fan with his trendy little cellphone tucked into a back pocket. Every time he stood up to cheer, and sat down he was hitting the 'one button dial' feature.
10. According to one study, people who keep guns at home nearly triple their chances of being murdered, usually by friends or relatives, but fail to protect themselves from intruders. However, Paul Blackman, research coordinator at the National Rifle Association, criticized the study, "These people were highly susceptible to homicide," he said. "We know that because they were killed."
The "Orange" Word...
The name of the fruit was NARANJ in Sanskrit. This language was spoken in ancient India. Indians traded with Arabs, so the word passed into Arabic as NARANJAH. The Spaniards were ruled by north African Arabs who passed the fruit and word into Spanish as NARANJA (pronounced as NARANHA).
This came into English where the fruit was a NARANJ. Words ending in J are not common in English so the spelling quickly changed to a NARANGE.
The initial N moved to the a because of mis-hearing to give an ARANGE
18 Unknown Facts About Watermelon
1. To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow then it is ripe.
2. Watermelons are more than 90% water. That's the secret behind the name! In ancient times travelers used watermelons as a replacement for water.
3. Watermelons are found in varied shapes and sizes and the latest addition is a SQUARE watermelon grown by the Japanese. These square watermelons were created to save space and to ensure that the watermelons fit in the refrigerators more easily. The farmers put the watermelons in a square tempered glass box, when the watermelon is still growing on the vine. The square boxes are of exact dimensions of the Japanese refrigerators that allows full-grown watermelon to fit in conveniently and precisely in refrigerator shelves. The square watermelons are generally priced at a very high premium.
4. The largest watermelon weighed 262 pounds. It was grown by Bill Carson of Arrington, Tennessee in 1990. (Reference: Guinness Book of Records)
5. A Watermelon is completely edible. While most of us relish the flesh part, the watermelon seeds can be roasted and eaten. Watermelon rind is used for making preserves, pickles and relish.
6. Over 1200 varieties of watermelons are grown worldwide.
7. By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the U.S., followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
8. A watermelon was once thrown at Roman Governor Demosthenes during a political debate. Placing the watermelon upon his head, he thanked the thrower for providing him with a helmet to wear as he fought Philip of Macedonia.
9. The word "watermelon" first appeared in the English dictionary in 1615.
10. Every two years, the town of Chinchilla pays tribute to the melon harvest with the Chinchilla Melon Festival. The highlight of the festival however is Water Melon Skiing. They put down a long tarpaulin and make it slippy with the insides of a few dozen watermelons. Players take it in turns to stand at the beginning of the run, each foot encased in a scooped out watermelon. They then hold onto a rope being held by two people standing either side of the tarpaulin. These two players run down the course dragging the watermelon skier behind them. The person who remains on his feet for the longest distance is the winner.
11. The first cookbook published in the U.S. in 1776 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles.
12. Though watermelon is commonly considered as a fruit it is actually a vegetable! It is a member of the cucumber family and is kin to the gourd.
13. Watermelon is a certified heart healthy food by the American heart Association
14. Watermelon originated in the Kalahari Desert in Africa
15. Watermelon is the Lycopene Leader among fresh fruits and vegetables
16. In 1939 seedless watermelon was developed for the first time by treating the un-pollinated flowers of watermelons with a specific acid, which resulted in the seedless watermelon.
17. The World record for eating Watermelon lies with Richard LeFevre who ate 11 1/2 pounds of watermelon in 15 minutes.
18. In southern Russia a beer is made from watermelon juice. Also they boil down watermelon juice to heavy syrup like molasses for its sugar.
More details: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/15/square.watermelon/index.html
Bermuda Triangle Mysteries: Is it real ...
Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels have disappeared in what are said to be circumstances that fall beyond the boundaries of human error or acts of nature.
The Bermuda Triangle has been a topic of hot discussion and interest for many years because so many strange occurrences have taken place in this area of the world that lies between the southern eastern coast of the United States and the islands of the West Indies. Basically, if you draw a line from Miami to Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico to Bermuda and then Bermuda back to Miami you would have the area that is known as the Bermuda Triangle.
Many boats, airplanes, and ships have mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle with no explanation for what happened to the crafts or the individuals on board. In the past 100 years, more than 1000 lives have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle. For many years individuals attributed the disappearances and strange events to extraterrestrials or aliens because there simply was no other explanation for what was happening in this area of the world.
In fact, in 1974 Charles Berlitz wrote about the mysterious Bermuda Triangle in a book that sold almost 20 million copies in more than 30 languages. This is because the entire world is intrigued by the unknown that is the Bermuda Triangle.
However, the unknown of the Bermuda Triangle does have some explanations other than extraterrestrials or aliens flying down and snatching up boats, ships and airplanes. Some simply say that accidents happen and while some of those accidents occurred in what is known as the Bermuda Triangle, many more have occurred outside of it. Then, there are those looking for something more substantial to answer the questions of the Bermuda Triangle. One such result is that methane gas hydrate is the explanation for the disappearances of boats and planes over the years.
In 1981 a geochemist by the name of Richard McIver introduced his theory of the role methane gas hydrate plays in the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. His theory was that to the North of the Bermuda Triangle huge landslides occur on the continental shelf, which results in large stones and sludge falling rapidly to the sea floor and ultimately rupturing the sea floor which covers a layer of gas hydrate. When the seafloor is ruptured the hydrate is released rapidly as well as methane within the hydrate causing a huge surge of gas which erupts from the surface of the water with no warning. When this happens any ship, airplane, or boat within the vicinity will be in immediate peril because the water and air no longer have the same density, causing the vessels to sink rapidly and lie to rest covered by sludge on the floor of the ocean.
While this is a somewhat viable theory, most people prefer to believe in something more extraordinary that happens in the Bermuda Triangle. Because of its triangular shape and strange events many individuals believe it is a portal to another world, outer space, or even the Lost City of Atlantis. Also, people claim to have an unusual feeling when they are in the Bermuda Triangle, as if something is calling to them from another place and time. Many claim there is something strange about the Triangle because it is the only place on earth where the compass points true north. There are no definitive answers as to which theory is the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle, or if the extraordinary Bermuda Triangle is simply a myth that has been created over the years.
However, no matter whether you choose to believe in one myth or other, or a combination, or simply believe the Bermuda Triangle is nothing more than a lot of hype, you will probably still be apprehensive when traveling in the area simply because of the question, “What if.” So, until more concrete information is found that points to one solid answer behind the disappearances of boats, ships, planes and people in the Atlantic’s Bermuda Triangle it is up to you to decide if the Bermuda Triangle’s disappearances are simply accidents played up into something dramatic or whether there truly is something otherworldly about the Bermuda Triangle. So, what do you think? Are the Bermuda Triangle myths fact or fiction?
Books for additional Information:
# Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery, Gian J. Quasar, International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press (2003) ISBN 0-07-142640-X. (Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6).
# The Bermuda Triangle, Charles Berlitz (ISBN 0-385-04114-4).
# The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved (1975). Lawrence David Kusche (ISBN 0-87975-971-2).
# Limbo Of The Lost, John Wallace Spencer (ISBN 0-686-10658-X).
# The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle, (1984), David Group (ISBN 0-85030-413-X).
How did these Words origin.....(Multiple Sources)
Bonds. This term is taken from the early English word band, which means a fastening. The word bond implies that one is "bound" to repay an obligation.
Borrow. The word borrow derives from the Old English word borg, which means "pledge".
Budget. In the Middle Ages, French merchants carried their money in a bougette, or "little bag". The word borrows from the Latin word bulga, meaning "a leather bag". Within the bag, one's monetary resources were kept.
Business. Business originally applied to a person suspected of taking part in mischievous activity. Eventually, it related to any type of activity, and later still to a type of vocation.
Capital. This word comes ultimately from the Latin word for "head". The words capital and cattle come from this same root. Cattle were and are a source of wealth, and are typically measured in terms of how many "head of cattle".
Cartel. This word originates with the Latin word charta, which means "paper" and led to the English word for chart. Initially, the word referred to a written challenge to a fight. Later, it changed its meaning and referred to a libelous written statement. By the 1600s, it became an agreement associated with prisoner of war exchanges. Eventually, the word came to take on its current meaning, "an agreement in restraint of trade".
Cash. This word stems from the Latin word for "box", cassa. Originally, the French used this term to refer to the "moneybox" holding any cash, but later the term applied to the cash itself.
Coin. The word coin comes originally from the Latin word cuneus, meaning "wedge". The term came to apply to the wedge-shaped die that made these small pieces of money. Later, the word coin was applied to the stamped image on the money, but eventually referred to the money itself.
Commerce. This word is a combination of two Latin words: com, meaning "together"; and merx, meaning "goods".
Communism. This is a term developed by Karl Marx from the Old French word for "common" and based upon the Latin word communis, or "essential goods". It was thought that essential goods should be owned in common and thus shared.
Company. The Latin words cum, "with", and panis, "bread", combine to form the source of the word company. Initially, the word was relational, corresponding with the word companion. Eventually, it came to exist within a business context as well.
Consumer. The Latin term consumo means "eat up completely", which understandably led to our current use of the term consumer.
Deposit. Deposit is created by putting together two Latin words: de, a relatively common prefix that means "away"; and positus, meaning "placed".
Economist. This important word is taken from the Greek word oikonomia, which means "house management". It originally applied to persons who were good administrators within a community, business or home.
Finance. Finance derives from the Latin and Old French word for fine, which originally meant "end". The French word for finance came to mean both "payment" and "ending", but in the 18th century the English adapted it to mean "the management of money".
Labor. This word comes from the Latin word laborare, which means "to be tired". Beginning with the Reformation, labor supposedly came to be regarded as a duty.
Manager. The word manager comes from the Italian word maneggiare, "to train horses", which derives from their word mano, meaning "hand".
Merger. The Roman word for "plunge" or "sink" is mergo.
Money. One of the responsibilities of the Roman goddess Juno was to warn the Romans of impending danger. In this capacity, she was called Juno Moneta, where the name Moneta derives from a Latin word meaning "warn". As a tribute to Juno, the Romans built a temple in her honor on Capitoline Hill, which later became the place where coinage was kept. Becoming known also as the guardian of finances, the name Moneta would evolve into our word money.
Monopoly. In Greek, the word monopolion means "the right to exclusive sale".
Revenue. The word revenue was created by combining the Latin words: re, which means "back"; and venio, which means "come".
Salary. The Latin word salarium, meaning "salt allowance", is the origin of the word salary. A necessary part of one's diet, Roman soldiers were supposedly given an allowance to buy salt as part of their income. In time, this word applied more generally to one's wages.
Securities. The Latin words se and cura combine to form this word. Translated literally, these words mean "without care".
Socialism. This term originates with the Latin word socius, which had the basic meaning of "sharing", but was also used to refer to a comrade, a sharer or an ally.
Stocks. Stocks originates from the Old English word stocc, a word for tree trunk. It implied that something was solid, or even safe.
Surplus. The word comes from two related French words: sur, which means "over"; and plus, which means "more".
Tariff. This word comes from an ancient Arabic term, tarrif, which means "notification".
Crazy Laws (International)
- Children may not purchase cigarettes, but can smoke them.
- You may never leave your car keys in an unattended vehicle.
- It is illegal to roam the streets wearing black clothes, felt shoes and black shoe polish on your face as these items are the tools of a cat burglar.
- It is illegal to read someone's tarot, or give them a psychic reading as these are forms of witchcraft.
- Under Australian Communications Authority (ACA) regulations, your modem can't pick up on the first ring. If it does the ACA permit for your modem is invalid and there's a $12000 fine. - Telecommunications Act 1991.
- Those wishing to use a television must apply for a license.
- It is illegal to leave baggage unattended.
- Picking up abandoned baggage is as act of terrorism.
- Between the hours of 8AM and 8PM, 70% of the music in the radio must be by French composers.
- It is illegal to leave your house if you are not wearing underwear.
- You must wear a shirt while driving a car.
- You must pay a fine of $600 in Thailand if you're caught throwing away chewed bubblegum on the sidewalk. If you do not pay the fine, you are jailed.
- No one may step on any of the nation's currency.
If there is any correction , Pls comment - I would immediately do the needfull
White House Facts.....
· The White House has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.
· Presidential Firsts while in office... President James Polk (1845-49) was the first President to have his photograph taken... President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama... President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.
· With five full-time chefs, the White House kitchen is able to serve dinner to as many as 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1,000.
· The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.
· For recreation, the White House has a variety of facilities available to its residents, including a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane.
More Info On: http://www.whitehouse.gov
