The Best Interesting Random Facts
Captain Miles Keogh’s horse, Comanche, who was found wounded but still breathing, survived Custer’s Last Stand. After being rescued and nursed back to health by the U.S. Army in 1876, he was put to work trotting in parades and making other heroic public appearances. In April, 1878, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis issued a humane order […]
Most modern jet fighter planes are armed with heat seeking missiles 9 foot long rocket powered “darts” that pursue enemy aircraft as if they had wills of their own. By staying pointed toward a source of heat, such as an enemy jet’s tailpipe or wing, a missile like the American Sidewinder (named after the western […]
We know of many explorers and travelers from the Middle East, Africa, and China before the 1400s. But during the fifteenth century, advances in exploration occurred in a relative backwater of the world—western Europe. At the dawn of the 1400s, most Europeans tilled the soil and had little knowledge of the world beyond their villages. […]
The moose did not get its name from the French dessert. Only crazy people think up such things. The moose got its name from a Native American word “moosu”, which comes from the Narragansett language meaning “he who trims or cuts smoothly.” The name refers to the neat way moose strip bark from trees. You […]
The Crabeater Seal is the most numerous seal species in the southern ocean with a population nearing 50 million. It is the second most numerous large species of mammal on Earth, after humans, but there are much fewer than the 1.3 billion domesticated cattle in the world. More than one in every two seals in […]
The tiger is a member of the Felidae family and the largest and possibly most dangerous of the four “big cats”. Tigers can be found in eastern and southern Asia, and is a predator and carnivore, reaching up to 11 feet in length, and weighing up to 660 pounds. One of the most recognizable features […]
Cooties is a slang term in North American English used by children and adults for lice, fleas and other pests. A child is said to catch cooties by touching an infected person. The phrase is most commonly used by children under 10. The Game of Cootie from 1949 is an American children’s roll-and-move toy for […]
The expression “possession is nine-tenths of the law” is from the eighteenth century. The old adage means that in the pursuit of justice possession in a dispute over property outweighs these nine other essential elements of a good court case. A lot of money, a lot of patience, a good cause, a good lawyer, good […]
It’s not true that elephants love to eat peanuts. Spending most of the day eating the leaves, bark, and fruits of trees and shrubs, Elephants are herbivores, and they may also eat grasses and herbs. Digesting about half of what they eat, Elephants are browsers in the wild, and are known to love pumpkins and […]
Bears are mammals of the Ursidae family, and can be found in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Bears are usually solitary animals and diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night. The English name “bear” comes from Old English word “bera”, which means “brown” in Germanic languages. The ancient […]
Mules are not native to America. The mule made it from Europe to America because George Washington developed an interest in the animal. He had heard that farms throughout Spain were using an amazing work animal that was stronger and more surefooted than either the horse or the donkey. Best of all, it ate less, […]
The true dolphin is a mammal, any one of about thirty-three species of cetacean mammals in the family Delphinidae, characterized by a pronounced beak-shaped mouth. The dolphin on restaurant menus, Coryphaena hippurus, is a fish with gills, iridescent colors and firm flesh. It is called mahi-mahi in Hawaii and dorado in South America. The dolphin […]
The way most of us pamper cats, you could say that many modern Americans worship the feline. You’ll also find cat-based religions in past or present Thailand, China, India, and among the Incas in South America. It may be hard to believe, but the Bible doesn’t mention cats of any sort, not even once. However, […]
Bear cubs and humans cubs are built in kind of the same way: they’re sturdy, fairly well balanced, and capable of walking upright. In addition, they both put their heels down first when they walk. So for trainers at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where bears have been performing since the turn […]
Along with lions, tigers are the largest members of the cat family. One of the most feared animals of the jungle, the tiger has no enemies except man. Tigers are native to the Asian continent. Although many peoples have legends to explain the tiger’s stripes, the reason is really the animal’s adaptation to its environment. […]
ZOWIE! SOCK0 GLuG! WHAP! Pow! Place those words before an American of any age and, without fail, the reaction will be: comics! In terms of longevity, complexity, and influence, those innocent little cartoon panels certainly are no joke. In fact, the comic strip and comic book together form perhaps the largest and most influential iconographic […]
A camel is an even-toed ungulate with fatty deposits we know as humps on its back. There are two species of camels. The Dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and is found in North Africa and the Middle East. The Bactrian camel has two humps, and the few remaining in the wild in […]
The frisky little otter, who lives on the banks of lakes and streams, is not much of a worker, but is a great player. While its neighbor on land, the beaver, is busy building dams, the otter builds slides on snowy slopes for its favorite game – bellywhopping. The otter has a smooth stomach which […]
The Great Dane, also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound, is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size. The Great Dane is one of the world’s tallest dog breeds, and is commonly referred to as the “Apollo of all breeds”. It is believed that the Great Dane was developed from mastiff-like […]
The doodlebug is the larva of the ant lion. But why this immature insect is held to ridicule by the contemptuous name doodle, “simpleton,” is not easy to understand, for he’s a wise little gazebo, well versed himself in the follies of ants, as you will see under the item ant lion. Because of the […]
The elephant uses its trunk in more ways than any animal uses any part of its body. The trunk is both amazingly strong and very delicate. With it, an elephant can pull down a mighty tree or gently take a peanut from a child’s hand. The elephant smells, drinks, and feeds itself with its trunk. […]
The water buffalo is a large bovine animal, and is commonly used as livestock in southern Asia, and in South America, north Africa, and even southern Europe. The domestic variety of the water buffalo is the product of thousands of years of selective breeding in South Asia and descend from one common ancestor, the Wild […]
There is no difference between a Caribou and a Reindeer because they’re the same thing. Caribou and Reindeer are the same species, but they’re called reindeer in northern Europe because they’ve been tamed, serving as beasts of burden as well as providing meat and milk The name caribou comes from the French Canadians, it’s a […]
Intelligence is not easy to measure even within a single animal species like ours, which is able to communicate and willing to sit through IQ tests. It’s even harder when judging between species. What tests would you put each species through? For example, when comparing cats and dogs, it’s true that a dog is easier […]
In the early days of our country, there were many different kinds of coins in use. In the southwestern parts of the United, States close to Mexico, the Mexican peso was common, and so was a small Mexican coin called the real, which was worth 12.5 cents. When the 25-cent piece, or quarter, came into […]
Pigeons, or rock doves, are actually fairly common in agricultural areas. There they find niches in barns and lofts that resemble the rocky ledges that are their natural nesting sites, as well as plentiful supplies of their favorite food, small grains. However, pigeons do seem to prefer cities to small towns and wilderness. There are […]
The bad-smelling odor of skunks is contained in a liquid which the animal produces and then discharges if it is frightened or in danger. The liquid is called musk. Musk is produced by two glands near the base of the skunk’s tail. The scent glands produce enough musk for six consecutive discharges. Until more liquid […]
New York is called the Empire State not because of the Empire State Building, the state had its nickname long before 1931, when that famous skyscraper was built. No one knows for sure how New York got the nickname, but some historians think the name can be traced to George Washington, who once said the […]
Footballs aren’t really made of pigskin anymore. However, pigs are used for a wide variety of products beneficial to humans, particularly in the field of medicine. Pigskin, for instance, is placed as bandages on severe burns to protect skin while it grows and heals. The valves from pig arteries can be transplanted into humans with […]
When canning was invented, no one knew why food that was packed and heated inside containers remained fresh for a long time. Then, in 1860, French scientist Louis Pasteur discovered that food spoilage was due to bacteria present in all fresh food and in the air. These organisms breaks down substances in the food and […]