Random Facts Part 5

1. Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."
2. Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If captured, they could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.
3. Polar Bears trying to blend in with the ice will sometimes cover up their black nose with their paws.
4. Pollsters say that 40 percent of dog and cat owners carry pictures of the pets in their wallets.
5. Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States.
6. Recycling one glass jar, saves enough energy to watch T.V for 3 hours.
7. Reindeer like to eat bananas.
8. Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.
9. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
10. Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."
11. Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns.
12. Since 1896, the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and Australia have participated in every Games.
13. Slugs have 4 noses.
14. Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food.
15. Some toothpaste's contain antifreeze.
16. Spotted skunks do handstands before they spray.
17. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
18. Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.
19. Sylvia Miles had the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar with "Midnight Cowboy." Her entire role lasted only six minutes.
20. Texas is also the only state that is allowed to fly its state flag at the same height as the U.S. flag.
21. The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)
22. The average American drinks about 600 sodas a year.
23. The average American will eat about 11.9 pounds of cereal per year.
24. The average bank teller loses about $250 every year.
25. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
26. The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year.
27. The average person is about a quarter of an inch taller at night.
28. The average person laughs 15 times a day.
29. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
30. The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland's baby daughter, Ruth.
31. The band Duran Duran got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella.
32. The blesbok, a South African antelope, is almost the same color as grapejuice.
33. The Boston University Bridge (on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts) is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
34. The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life".
35. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
36. The company providing the liability insurance for the Republican National Convention in San Diego is the same firm that insured the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.
37. The condom - made originally of linen - was invented in the early 1500s.
38. The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
39. The Earth weighs around 6,588,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.
40. 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.
41. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
42. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.
43. The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.
44. The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
45. The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."
46. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
47. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
48. The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
49. The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.
50. The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.