The Best Interesting Random Facts
Although lemon enhances the taste of fish, that isn’t the original reason the two were served together. Six hundred years ago, lemon was introduced with fish as a safety precaution. People believed that if someone swallowed a bone, a mouthful of lemon juice would dissolve it. We now know that this isn’t the case, but […]
Japan’s population is expected to drop to 95 million by 2050. In 2011 about 127,960,000 lived in Japan, and in the 2010 census the population of Japan was 128,056,026. Yup, that means the country’s population decreased. The main reason for the decline can be blamed on a low birth rate, Japan’s birth rate has been […]
Pigs have no functional sweat glands, and is one big reason why they love mud. One of the ways pigs keep cool is by wallowing in the mud in hot weather. Pigs also use mud as a form of sunscreen to protect their little pink hides and ears from the scorching sun. The mud dries […]
The little slide fastener we know as a zipper was never officially called a zipper. When it was first invented, in 1891, by Whitcomb L. Judson, it was called a “clasp locker or unlocker.” It was unsuccessful. Judson had invented his device with the idea that it might be used on boots and other articles […]
There are thousands of corn hybrids, but almost all fall into six general groups. The most common variety grown in the United States is dent corn, used for chemicals and animal feed. Sweet corn is the kind most people consume, on or off the cob; its sugar doesn’t convert to starch, so it is sweeter […]
Badgers, also known as brocks, are short-legged, heavy-set omnivores in the weasel family, and the 8 species can be found throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The name badger probably came from the French word “bêcheur”, which means “digger”, introduced during the reign of William the Conqueror. The less common name brock is from the […]
The clock tower north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, often referred to as “Big Ben”, is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. “Big Ben” is neither the tower nor the clock of England’s Houses of Parliament. Rather, it’s the largest of the bells in […]
Legend has it that whenever the French-speaking Mary, Queen of Scots, wasn’t feeling well, she would insist on a medicinal concoction made with boiled oranges. The orders the kitchen received were that Marie was malade, which is French for “sick,” leading to “Marie malade,” or marmalade. This, of course, is untrue. Marmalade is from the […]
The only Llama we know of in Tibet would be the Dalai Lama, although he currently doesn’t live there anymore. Llamas are believed to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago, and by the end of […]
If you hear someone describing a bad winter hailstorm, you can be pretty sure he’s either lying or mistaken, for it almost never hails in winter. Hailstones rarely form unless a thunderstorm is brewing. Hail is caused by the same cloud conditions that usually cause rain in a thunderstorm, except that with hail, the raindrops […]
Gnu is another name for the wildebeest that is native to Africa. Gnus are antelopes, and otherwise known as hooved, or ungulate mammals. They are prey for lions, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, and crocodiles. The primary defensive tactic against these predators is herding where the young are protected by the older larger ones while the herd […]
Lions spend about twenty hours a day resting, just like the average house cat. Lions use the rest of the time looking for food, either by hunting, by scavenging things that have died from disease or other natural causes, or by stealing food from hyenas and vultures. Since they spend so little time hunting, they […]
A sloth is a small South American mammal which moves about very slowly, when it moves at all. It is considered a sluggish, or lazy, animal because of this, but scientists say that this sluggishness is caused by the sloth’s very low body temperature. Sloths spend most of their time in trees and seldom come […]
The bald eagle is not bald, but is so called because it has a head of pure white feathers. Its tail is also white, but the rest of its feathers are dark brown, and the wings may have silver tips. Known as the “king of birds,” the bald eagle looks majestic and proud, and seems […]
Armadillos are mammals with armor-like skin which it uses as a means of defense. Most armadillos, however, escape predators by fleeing or digging to safety. The Armadillo was named by Spanish Conquistadors, and its name means “little man in armor” in Spanish If you want to pronounce the Spanish word correctly, you should not say […]
The terms midget and dwarf both refer to any adult human being, animal, or plant that is considerably smaller than the ordinary size of its species. Midgets usually have normal body proportions even though they are small, but dwarfs have abnormal body proportions in the spine or in the arms and legs. Dwarfism is usually […]
The orange stuff on Cheetos is a combination of various dyes and seasonings, and it’s the only part of Cheetos that has any cheese whatsoever in it. Like similar products, the main part of these “cheese” coated chip products is not cheese but a cornmeal concoction. The cornmeal, with whey and oil added, is mixed […]
Domestication of dogs by humans can be traced back to at least 10,000 years ago. Evidence of the oldest known breed of dog, the saluki, a Middle Eastern dog, appeared on artifacts as long ago as 7000 B.C. Ancient Egyptians were breeding hunting dogs that resembled large mastiffs before 1500 B.C. The irresistible, fluffy Maltese […]
Since sunlight never reaches the deeper parts of the sea, these regions are always totally dark. Yet fish live here and swim about without bumping into each other. How is this so? Well, fish actually “see” without their eyes; they use other sensory organs. The next time you catch a fish, look for a line […]
Iron plus oxygen plus water equals rust. That’s it. When all three are present, rust will inevitably occur. But if any member of this unholy triumvirate is missing, there can be no rust. Fortunately for us living creatures, but unfortunately for our garden tools and automobiles, oxygen and water vapor are present everywhere in the […]
The Tasmanian devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world and can only be found in the Australian island state of Tasmania. Stocky and muscular and the size of a small dog, Tasmanian devils have black fur, smell bad when threatened, and has an extremely loud and disturbing screech. Just like the cartoon, Tasmanian […]
Mozart kept a starling in his home, and it helped him with his compositions. While he wrote and played, the starling would sometimes come up with variations of what Mozart was playing. Giving his bird full credit, Mozart would find the bird’s contributions appealing and add them to his composition. When the bird died, Mozart […]
The wolverine, also known as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or its scientific name Gulo gulo, is the largest species of the weasel family. It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, and looks more like a small bear than other mustelids. Wolverines are aggressive, badger-like animals that can kill prey many times their size, and can […]
The Gopher’s name comes from the French word “gauffre”, meaning “honeycomb.” Early French settlers called a number of burrowing animals by that name. Gophers are well built, are relatively large for a rodent, and can grow up to 12 inches in length. It’s not clear why gophers earned the name, but many theories suggest that […]
The peanut, also known as the groundnut, is a species in the legume “bean” family native to India, Africa, Mexico, South and Central America. The scientific name “Arachis Hypogaea” means “under the earth.” The name Peanut came from its appearance and is not an accurate label as the Peanut is not a nut but classified […]
The bell we now call the Liberty Bell was originally ordered by the Assembly of the colony of Pennsylvania from a foundry in England. When the bell arrived from England in 1752 and was hung in the State House in Philadelphia, it was simply called the State House Bell. The first time that the new […]
Popcorn pops because of a delicate balance between a moist interior and a dry coating. The exterior cells, the pericarp, are hard and relatively impermeable. The interior cells are soft and contain moisture. When the seed is heated, the moisture turns to steam. The pressure builds up to the point where the hard outside pops, […]
The pound is a unit of mass used in various systems of measurement, and historically, the pound has referred to similar but not identical standards of mass or weight. The lb. abbreviation for pound comes from ancient Rome and originates from the Latin word, “libra pondo,” or “pound of weight.” A number of different definitions […]
In their native habitat, it’s estimated that there are only about 500 wild Asian camels and no Arabian ones at all. The Bactrian camel is now reduced to about 1.4 million animals, mostly domesticated, and there are only about 1000 wild Bactrian camels left in the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia. However, outside the […]
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 […]
