Strange & True
Fact1: You can not touch your lower lip with your tounge...
Fact2: After reading this, 99/100 idiots would try it..
A Charlotte, North Carolina man, having purchased a case of rare, very
expensive cigars, insured them against ... get this ... fire. Within a
month, having smoked his entire stockpile of fabulous cigars, and having
yet to make a single premium payment on the policy, the man filed a claim
against the insurance company. In his claim, the man stated that he had
lost the cigars in "a series of small fires." The insurance company
refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the
cigars in a normal fashion.
The man sued... and won! In delivering his ruling, the judge stated
that since the man held a policy from the company in which it had
warranted that the cigars were insurable, and also guaranteed that it
would insure the cigars against fire, without defining what it considered
to be "unacceptable fire," it was obligated to compensate the insured
for his loss. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the
insurance company accepted the judge's ruling and paid the man $15,000
for the rare cigars he lost in "the fires."
After the man cashed his check, however, the insurance company had him
arrested ... on 24 counts of arson! With his own insurance claim and
testimony from the previous case being used as evidence against him, the
man was convicted of intentionally burning the rare cigars and sentenced
to 24 consecutive one year terms!
More Amusing Facts
In Cleveland, Ohio, it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license.
Dr. Seuss coined the word "nerd" in his 1950 book "If I Ran the Zoo"
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.
There are an average of 178 sesame seeds on a McDonald's Big Mac bun.
The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.
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.
When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per
year.
It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
The Bible has been translated into Klingon.
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.
Ninety percent of New York City cabbies are recently arrived immigrants.
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 lifespan of a major league baseball: 5 pitches.
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.
According to one study, 24% of lawns have some sort of lawn ornament in
their yard.
Internationally, Baywatch is the most popular TV show in history.
Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33
Coca-cola was originally green.
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than for the US Treas.
Smartest dogs: 1)Border Collie; 2)Poodle; 3)Golden Retriever
Dumbest dog: Afghan
Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
First novel ever written on a typewriter was "Tom Sawyer".
There are more collect calls on Father's Day than any other day of the year.
Heinz Catsup leaving the bottle travels at 25 miles per year.
It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.
Men get hiccups more often than woman.
Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
Chances that an American lives within 50 miles of where he/she grew up: 1 in 2
Amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each
salad served in first class: $440,000
City with the most Rolls Royces per capita: Hong Kong
US State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
Chances of a white Christmas in New York: 1 in 4
Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28
Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38
Estimated percentage of American adults who go on a diet each year: 44
Percentage of Americans who say that God has spoken to them: 36
Percentage of Americans who regularly attend religious services: 43
City with the highest per capita viewership of TV evangelists: Wash., DC.
Percentage of American men who say they would marry the same woman if
they had it to do all over again: 80
Percentage of American women who say they would marry the same man: 50
Percentage of men who say they are happier after their divorce or
separation: 58
Percentage of women who say they are happier: 85
Number of different familial relationships for which Hallmark makes
cards:105
Average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.
Percentage of Americans who have visited Disneyland or Disney World: 70
Portion of ice cream sold that is vanilla: 1/3
Portion of potatoes sold that are French-fried: 1/3
Percentage of Americans that eat at McDonalds each day: 7
Percentage of bird species that are monogamous: 90
Percentage of mammal species that are: 3
Number of US states that claim test scores in their elementary schools
are above national average: 50
Portion of Harvard students who graduate with honors: 4/5
Chances that a burglary in the US will be solved: 1 in 7
Portion of land in the US owned by the government: 1/3
Only President to remain a bachelor: James Buchanan
Only first lady to carry a loaded revolver: Eleanor Roosevelt
Only president to win a Pulitzer: John F. Kennedy, for "Profiles in
Courage"
Only president awarded a patent: Abe Lincoln, for a system of buoying
vessels over shoals
Only food that does not spoil: honey
Only bird that can fly backwards: Hummingbird
Only continent without reptiles or snakes: Antarctica
Only animal besides human that can get sunburn: Pig
Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water.
An eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it.
In the Caribbean there are oysters that can climb trees.
Polar bears are left-handed.
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
Eskimos never gamble.
The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
The youngest pope was 11 years old.
Mark Twain didn't graduate from elementary school.
Proportional to their weight, men are stronger than horses.
Pilgrims ate popcorn at the first Thanksgiving dinner.
Your nose and ears never stop growing.
Jupiter is bigger than all the other planets combined.
Hot water is heavier than cold.
The parachute was invented by da Vinci in 1515.
They have square watermelons in Japan...they stack better.
Starfish have eight eyes--one at the end of each leg.
Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation
Armadillos can be housebroken.
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 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.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never
stop growing.
David Prowse was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all
of Vader's lines, and didn't know that he was going to be dubbed over by
James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.
Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full
moon.
Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds.
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.
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon
of diesel that it burns.
Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal
category.
Columbia University is the second largest landowner in New York City, after
the Catholic Church.
Cat's urine glows under a black light.
Back in the mid to late 80's, an IBM compatible computer wasn't considered
a hundred percent compatible unless it could run Microsoft's Flight
Simulator.
The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
It takes about a half a gallon of water to cook macaroni, and about a
gallon to clean the pot.
In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child
reaches 2-6 years of age.
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.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike
factory workers in Malaysia combined.
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".
In the great fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down but only
6 people were injured
Lincoln Logs were invented by Frank Lloyd Wright's son.
One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today because cotton growers in the
30s lobbied against hemp farmers -- they saw it as competition. It is not
chemically addictive as is nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.
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 by James Barrie for the book "Peter Pan"
The Nature of the World
These are responses to a contest sponsored by OMNI magazine:
Grand Prize Winner:
When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is
dropped, it always lands with the buttered side facing down. I propose to
strap buttered toast to the back of a cat; the two will hover, spinning
inches above the ground. With a giant buttered cat array, a high-speed
monorail could easily link New York with Chicago.
Runners-up:
If an infinite number of rednecks riding in an infinite number of pickup
trucks fire an infinite number of shotgun rounds at an infinite number of
highway signs, they will eventually produce all the worlds great literary
works in Braille.
Why Yawning Is Contagious: You yawn to equalize the pressure on your
eardrums. This pressure change outside your eardrums unbalances other
people's ear pressures, so they must yawn to even it out.
Communist China is technologically underdeveloped because they have no
alphabet and therefore cannot use acronyms to communicate ideas at a faster
rate.
The earth may spin faster on its axis due to deforestation. Just as a
figure skater's rate of spin increases when the arms are brought in close
to the body, the cutting of tall trees may cause our planet to spin
dangerously fast.
Honorable Mentions:
Birds take off at sunrise. On the opposite side of the world, they are
landing at sunset. This causes the earth to spin on its axis.
The reason hot-rod owners raise the backs of their cars is that it's easier
to go faster when you're always going downhill.
The quantity of consonants in the English language is constant. If omitted
in one place, they turn up in another. When a Bostonian "pahks" his "cah,"
the lost r's migrate southwest, causing a Texan to "warsh" his car and
invest in "erl wells."
Useless Things to Know
* Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
* Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
* No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses of the national anthem of Greece.
* There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
* The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
* A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
* There are more chickens than people in the world.
* Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
* The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
* All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
* No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
* "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."
* All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5
bill.
* Almonds are a member of the peach family.
* Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
* Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
* There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous":
tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
* Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de
orciuncula" -and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: "L.A."
* A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
* An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
* Tigers have stripped skin, not just stripped fur.
* In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
* Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
* The only real person to be a Pez head was Betsy Ross.
* When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium
becomes the state's third largest city.
* 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."
* A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
* A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
* An American dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
* 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.
* It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. (DON'T try this at home!)
* The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
* In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
* Frank Baum, the creator of The "Wizard of Oz" thought up the name for Oz when
he looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."
* The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a
chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
* Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.
* Thelma Pickles was John Lennon's first girlfriend.
* The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
* There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
* "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
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