Odds

You’ve surely heard of the. Infantry and the Cavalry, but not many people know that the United States once had a Camel Corps. Back in 1850, before the railroad crossed the country, the U.S. Army needed a cheap, fast way of moving supplies westward. These supplies were needed by the army in their wars against […]

When a balloon is carried by the wind high into the sky, it seems as if it will go on flying forever. But it doesn’t. Even though the opening of the balloon may have been tied tightly, the gas that filled it and lifted it slowly begins to push out, bit by bit, through the […]

SURPRISE! It’s a steel ball! When a steel ball hits a hard surface, like the ground, it dents just like a rubber ball. But the steel ball snaps back into shape much faster than a rubber ball. It is the snapping back into shape that makes any ball bounce, so since the steel ball snaps […]

Long ago, when people were very superstitious, the sign of the cross had almost a magical meaning for good luck. If two people wished for the same thing to happen, one held out his index finger and the other placed his index finger across it, making the sign of a cross. As time passed, this […]

Even though the island of Manhattan holds up tremendous millions of tons of steel, concrete, stone, and human bodies, it actually weighs less today than it did when only Indians and their teepees were on it! Amazing, but true! The reason for that is because the weight of all the soil and rock dug out […]

Since its invention in 1886, the secret formula for making Coca-Cola has been known to only seven men. Today, just two of these men are still alive, and they never travel together on the same airplane. The world’s most popular soft drink was the creation of a druggist named John S. Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia. […]

Many people have been making wishes for years on four leaf clovers, chicken bones, and the first star out at night. But you can make a wish on a banana too. Before you eat it, make a wish. To learn if your wish will come true, cut a thin slice from the bottom of the […]

The Spanish artist Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispin Crispiano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso holds the honor as the most productive artist in world history. During his 78-year career, Picasso produced 13,500 paintings, 100,000 prints and engravings, 34,000 book illustrations, and 300 pieces of sculpture. These works are valued […]

In 1507, when Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait of Mona Lisa Gherardini for her husband, a merchant named Francesco del Giocondo, the husband did not like the finished painting and refused to pay for it. Was it because of her mysterious smile which still puzzles viewers today? No one knows. But King Francis I […]

According to stories, four boys and their dog, playing on a mountainside in Lescaux, France, near the border between France and Spain, were caught in the rain and found shelter in a cave. There, they discovered paintings on the walls. When scientists tested this cave art and similar cave art found in southern Spain, Portugal, […]

Among the Masai tribesmen of East Central Africa, spitting is considered an act of respect and friendship. A newborn Masai child is spit upon by friends and relatives wishing to give the child good luck. Masai tribesmen spit at each other when they meet, just as we say “Hello,” and spit again to say “Good-bye.” […]

For a brief period in the 1930s, the Russian people in the city of Kiev came out to watch the sport of “Face-Slapping.” The two opponents did just that, slapped each other’s faces with their open hands until one bloody cornbattant gave up. An endurance record was set in 1931 when two “slappers” went at […]

Since music is a name given to certain sounds produced by the voice or an instrument, the answer is yes. The idea of constructing a single machine to create and combine electronic sounds as music was developed in 1955 by the Radio Corporation of America. RCA developed an Electronic Music Synthesizer, which was able to […]

Johnny Appleseed was the name given to a pioneer named John Chapman. During the early 1800s, Chapman settled along the Ohio River. He was a mixture of nurseryman and herb doctor. Chapman sold apple seeds and sprouts of apple trees throughout Northern and Central Ohio. As payment, Chapman accepted any amount of money or any […]

This is an old saying, and nothing more. Apples do not have any magical powers to prevent disease, but scientists have proven that apples do give the human body much of the potassium that it needs. This mineral, combined with many others, does help keep the human body strong and healthy. There are nearly 10,000 […]

Did you guess Superman? Or perhaps Dick Tracy? Or even Tarzan? Even though these comic strip characters have been read for many years, the most popular strip today is Peanuts. The adventures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Lucy are read by more people today than any other comic strip characters in history. The record for […]

At the time Columbus sailed from Spain, in August, 1492, the Spanish unit of currency was the maravedi, a small silver coin. Columbus was paid 2,000 maravedis a month, which at that time could buy a cow or five pigs. Judging Columbus’ salary in American money today, his two-month voyage to discover the New World […]

Quite by accident, really!, In 1828, Nelson Hower, a bareback rider in a circus, dressed as did all bareback riders in his day, in a short jacket, stockings, and knee breeches. On one particular evening, however, Hower’s costumes failed to arrive in time for his performance, and he was forced to go on with the […]

Yes! The Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus has a clown training school each year in Venice, Florida, near its winter headquarters. Three hundred hopeful clowns attend the school, but only the best thirty are selected to perform in the circus. Each clown selected gets a two-year contract and earns about $200 per week to […]

At fiesta time in certain parts of Mexico, ant candy is one of the treats that children and grownups look forward to. The special types of ants which are used for this candy are called honey ants. Honey ants gather a kind of syrup that other insects leave on oak leaves. As an ant eats […]

Ancient man believed that his breath contained his spirit, or his soul, and that it lived in his head. Therefore, when he sneezed, he feared that he was losing his soul and leaving an empty place in his head for evil spirits to enter. All this would happen unless God prevented it. Thus, a wish […]

On February 8, 1974, an egg was dropped 600 feet from a moving helicopter and it did not break when it hit the ground! No, it was NOT hard-boiled. It was a raw egg. Why? The forward movement of the helicopter through the air caused the egg to land very gently and not break. In […]

ABRACADABRA ABRACADABR ABR ACADAB ABRACADA ABRACAD ABRACA ABRAC ABRA ABR AB A According to an old superstition popular during the Middle Ages, the word “Abracadabra” could cure a fever. All the sufferer had to do was write the word six times in the shape of an upside-down pyramid, by dropping one letter of the word […]

Ancient writings describe a bold, warlike tribe of women who came from the Caucasus Mountains of Russia and settled in Asia Minor, the peninsula between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The Amazons were governed by a queen, and their entire state was run by women. These women fought wars and established their own cities. According […]