01-26-2002, 04:00 PM
100 of the most useless facts that you do not need to know.
1. Pierre (pronounced "peer"), South Dakota, is the only state capital with only one syllable.
2. "Abstemiously" and "facetiously" is the only word that uses all five vowels and the sometimes-vowel "y" in alphabetical order.
3. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
4. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
5. The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses.
6. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
7. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
8. There are more chickens than people in the world.
9. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched".
10. On a Canadian two-dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.
11. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
12. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
13. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
14. All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
15. Almonds are members of the rose family even though they look like members of the peach family.
16. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
17. Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
18. There are only four words in the English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
19. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Pornciuncula". And can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "LA".
20. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
21. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
22. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
23. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
24. The only real person to be a Pez head was Betsy Ross.
25. When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city.
26. The characters Bert and Ernie on "Sesame Street" were name after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life".
27. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
28. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
29. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
30. On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield" and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.
31. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
32. Paul Reiser himself plays the piano in the "Mad About You" theme.
33. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
34. The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N and O-Z, hence "Oz."
35. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
36. Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.
37. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
38. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
39. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
40. The average secretary's left hand does 56% of the typing.
41. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
42. In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
43. John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.
44. Coca-Cola was originally green.
45. Every day, more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
46. It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.
47. The smartest dogs are the Scottish border collie, the poodle, and the golden retriever; the dumbest is the Afghan hound.
48. The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
49. Men can read smaller print than women; women, however, can hear better.
50. By eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class, American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987.
51. Hong Kong is the city with the highest number of Rolls Royces per capita.
52. Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.
53. 28% of Africa is wilderness, but 38% of North America is wilderness.
54. 80% of American men said that they would marry the same women if they had it to do all over again; only 50% of women said they would marry the same man.
55. It costs $6,400 to raise a medium-sized dog to age 11.
56. 61,000 people, on average, are airborne over the U.S. at any given moment.
57. 70% of Americans have visited Disneyland and/or Disneyworld.
58. The average life span of a major league baseball is 7 pitches.
59. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
60. The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 years old and lived in China in 1910.
61. The youngest Pope that ever lived was 11 years old.
62. Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.
63. The first novel ever written on a typewriter was "Tom Sawyer."
64. In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's channel one to mobile services (two-way radios on taxicabs, for instance) but did not renumber the other channel assignments; that is why a TV set starts on channel two and not channel one.
65. The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monument.
66. The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".
67. Donald Duck wears a shirt; however, when he comes out of the shower, his towel is around his waist.
68. Dr. Pepper was named after a real doctor.
69. The reason firehouses have circular staircases is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses; the horses were stalled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
70. When opossums are "playing 'possum," they aren't actually "playing"; they actually pass out in sheer terror.
71. Each king in a deck of playing card represents a great king from history: spades--King David, clubs--Alexander the Great, hearts--Charlemagne, diamonds--Julius Caesar.
72. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
73. In a park, if a statue of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
74. Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them would burn their houses down--hence the expression "to get fired".
75. Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th: John Hancock and Charles Thomson; most of the rest signed on August 2nd, but the last signature wasn't attached until five years later.
76. The "Andy Griffith Show" was the first spin-off in TV history. It was a spin-off of the "Danny Thomas Show".
77. Goat's eyes have rectangular pupils.
78. Walt Disney's autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney logo.
79. Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have blue eyes.
80. The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
81. The second longest one-syllable word in the English language is "strengths".
82. Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps. Hence, the postage stamps of Britain are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin. However, every stamp carries a relief image or a silhouette of the monarch's head instead.
83. Artist Constantino Brumidi fell from the dome of the U.S. Capitol while painting a mural around the rim. He died four months later.
84. Elephants and camels both have four knees.
85. The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
86. The real name of the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady is Edith Fore.
87. Ancient Romans ate flamingo tongues and considered them a delicacy.
88. Betsy Ross was born with a fully formed set of teeth. Betsy Ross's other contribution to the American Revolution, beside sewing the first American flag, was running a munitions factory in her basement.
89. Andy Warhol created the Rolling Stone's emblem depicting the big tongue; it first appeared on the cover of the "Sticky Fingers" album.
90. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were the only two left-handed Beatles.
91. Chris Ford scored the first ever NBA three-point shot.
92. Maine is the only state that borders only one other US State.
93. Of all the East Coast States, New Hampshire has the shortest coastline, about fourteen miles; New Hampshire is also the only State name that has four consecutive consonants in it (in the same word).
94. Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
95. Alaska has the longest border with Canada of all the fifty states; Montana has the longest border with Canada of the lower forty-eight states.
96. Montana borders the most Canadian Provinces of all the fifty states; it borders three of them.
97. Arkansas is the only US State that begins with the letter "a" but does not end with "a."
98. Only three angels are mentioned by name in the Bible: Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.
99. Dr. Seuss pronounced "Seuss" such that it rhymed with "rejoice."
100. Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's maiden name was Betty Jean McBricker.
PS there's a 150 more.
1. Pierre (pronounced "peer"), South Dakota, is the only state capital with only one syllable.
2. "Abstemiously" and "facetiously" is the only word that uses all five vowels and the sometimes-vowel "y" in alphabetical order.
3. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
4. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
5. The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses.
6. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
7. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
8. There are more chickens than people in the world.
9. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched".
10. On a Canadian two-dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.
11. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
12. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
13. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
14. All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
15. Almonds are members of the rose family even though they look like members of the peach family.
16. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
17. Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
18. There are only four words in the English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
19. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Pornciuncula". And can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "LA".
20. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
21. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
22. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
23. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
24. The only real person to be a Pez head was Betsy Ross.
25. When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city.
26. The characters Bert and Ernie on "Sesame Street" were name after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life".
27. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
28. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
29. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
30. On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield" and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.
31. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
32. Paul Reiser himself plays the piano in the "Mad About You" theme.
33. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
34. The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N and O-Z, hence "Oz."
35. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
36. Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.
37. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
38. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
39. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
40. The average secretary's left hand does 56% of the typing.
41. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
42. In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
43. John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.
44. Coca-Cola was originally green.
45. Every day, more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
46. It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.
47. The smartest dogs are the Scottish border collie, the poodle, and the golden retriever; the dumbest is the Afghan hound.
48. The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
49. Men can read smaller print than women; women, however, can hear better.
50. By eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class, American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987.
51. Hong Kong is the city with the highest number of Rolls Royces per capita.
52. Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work.
53. 28% of Africa is wilderness, but 38% of North America is wilderness.
54. 80% of American men said that they would marry the same women if they had it to do all over again; only 50% of women said they would marry the same man.
55. It costs $6,400 to raise a medium-sized dog to age 11.
56. 61,000 people, on average, are airborne over the U.S. at any given moment.
57. 70% of Americans have visited Disneyland and/or Disneyworld.
58. The average life span of a major league baseball is 7 pitches.
59. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
60. The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 years old and lived in China in 1910.
61. The youngest Pope that ever lived was 11 years old.
62. Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.
63. The first novel ever written on a typewriter was "Tom Sawyer."
64. In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's channel one to mobile services (two-way radios on taxicabs, for instance) but did not renumber the other channel assignments; that is why a TV set starts on channel two and not channel one.
65. The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monument.
66. The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".
67. Donald Duck wears a shirt; however, when he comes out of the shower, his towel is around his waist.
68. Dr. Pepper was named after a real doctor.
69. The reason firehouses have circular staircases is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses; the horses were stalled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
70. When opossums are "playing 'possum," they aren't actually "playing"; they actually pass out in sheer terror.
71. Each king in a deck of playing card represents a great king from history: spades--King David, clubs--Alexander the Great, hearts--Charlemagne, diamonds--Julius Caesar.
72. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
73. In a park, if a statue of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
74. Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them would burn their houses down--hence the expression "to get fired".
75. Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th: John Hancock and Charles Thomson; most of the rest signed on August 2nd, but the last signature wasn't attached until five years later.
76. The "Andy Griffith Show" was the first spin-off in TV history. It was a spin-off of the "Danny Thomas Show".
77. Goat's eyes have rectangular pupils.
78. Walt Disney's autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney logo.
79. Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have blue eyes.
80. The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
81. The second longest one-syllable word in the English language is "strengths".
82. Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps. Hence, the postage stamps of Britain are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin. However, every stamp carries a relief image or a silhouette of the monarch's head instead.
83. Artist Constantino Brumidi fell from the dome of the U.S. Capitol while painting a mural around the rim. He died four months later.
84. Elephants and camels both have four knees.
85. The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
86. The real name of the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady is Edith Fore.
87. Ancient Romans ate flamingo tongues and considered them a delicacy.
88. Betsy Ross was born with a fully formed set of teeth. Betsy Ross's other contribution to the American Revolution, beside sewing the first American flag, was running a munitions factory in her basement.
89. Andy Warhol created the Rolling Stone's emblem depicting the big tongue; it first appeared on the cover of the "Sticky Fingers" album.
90. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were the only two left-handed Beatles.
91. Chris Ford scored the first ever NBA three-point shot.
92. Maine is the only state that borders only one other US State.
93. Of all the East Coast States, New Hampshire has the shortest coastline, about fourteen miles; New Hampshire is also the only State name that has four consecutive consonants in it (in the same word).
94. Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
95. Alaska has the longest border with Canada of all the fifty states; Montana has the longest border with Canada of the lower forty-eight states.
96. Montana borders the most Canadian Provinces of all the fifty states; it borders three of them.
97. Arkansas is the only US State that begins with the letter "a" but does not end with "a."
98. Only three angels are mentioned by name in the Bible: Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.
99. Dr. Seuss pronounced "Seuss" such that it rhymed with "rejoice."
100. Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's maiden name was Betty Jean McBricker.
PS there's a 150 more.