a chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless

.petapatter.

by peta
what is a blog?		 a blink lasts approximately 0.3 seconds

email me:
peta at petawilliams dot com

MEDIA GALLERY:
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PONDERINGS:
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 useless facts

LINKS:
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useless facts inventory

my april 2006 useless facts were taken from the top 100 april fool's day hoaxes on the museum of hoaxes site.

due to popular demand [hahaha], i've compiled an inventory of all the useless facts which have appeared in the top corners of unblog web pages. the facts come from all over the place, but i should credit amusing facts.com who've contributed more than their fair share.

my current favourite facts:

  • months that begin with sunday will always have a friday the 13th

  • term "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from ancient rome - the only rule during wrestling matches was no eye gouging. the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eyes out

  • george washington's grand parents allegedly lived in meols!

  • HISTORY
    • richmond, bc, was incorporated as a municipality november 10, 1879
    • the first european settlers to richmond, bc, were farmers in the 1860's
    • the hammering of the 'last spike' not only completed the trans-continental railway in canada, but represented an important step in the founding of a nation
    • hon. donald alexander smith hammered the last spike at craigellachie on nov 7, 1885 to complete the trans-continental railway in canada
    • sept 6, 1504 - michelangelo's 13-foot marble statue of david is unveiled in florence, italy
    • the first postage stamp to commemorate christmas was printed in 1937 in austria
    • fort victoria was founded in 1843 by james douglas of the hudson's bay company but the first governor was richard blanshard
    • victorians drove on the left side of the street [as in other british colonies] until midnight on december 31, 1921
    • frank wathernam was the last prisoner to leave alcatraz prison on march 21, 1963
    • constructed over the massive vaults of the ruined temple of claudius, colchester castle represents the largest norman keep in europe. it measures 152’ x 112’ [46 x 34m]
    • in 1865, the US secret service was first established specifically to combat the counterfeiting of money
    • the norman baron, eudo dapifer, built colchester castle, 1075 - 1080, around the podium of the roman temple of claudius, creating the largest norman keep in britain
    • coney island the amusement park has had three of its rides designated as new york city historical landmarks
    • when queen elizabeth I died she owned over 3,000 gowns
    • in 1898 (14 years prior to the titanic tragedy), morgan robertson wrote a ficticious novel about the largest ship ever built hitting an iceberg in the atlantic ocean on a cold april night
    • christmas became a public holiday in the US in 1890
    • the first domain name ever registered was symbolics.com on march 15, 1985
    • since its introduction in february 1935, more than two hundred million monopoly board games have been sold worldwide
    • a molasses flood in boston on january 15, 1919 killed 21 people and injured 150 people
    • it was only after 440 AD that december 25 was celebrated as the birth date of jesus christ
    • the statute of westminster in 1931 meant that the uk could no longer pass laws affecting the dominions, including canada, without their request and consent
    • british columbia was admitted as a province july 20, 1871
    • 1942, 1,664 allied ships totaling almost eight million tons were lost, the great majority to submarine attacks
    • by the end of the war about 30,000 merchant seaman and 8,000 allied naval personnel were killed. more than 2,800 allied merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk
    • during the 18th century, books that were considered offensive were sometimes punished by being whipped
    • before soccer referees started using whistles in 1878, they used to rely on waving a handkerchief
    • in 1946, the first tv toy commercial aired. It was for mr potato head
    • parts of the coach house we used to own in old windsor dated back to the 1600s
    • old windsor was the site of a saxon palace in the 9th century
    • at the turn of the century, the new brighton tower [located atop the tower ballroom] was higher than the blackpool tower. the steel tower was taken down between 1919 and 1921
    • the first ever world summit on toilets was held in singapore in november 2001
    • the new brighton bathing pool was one of the largest open air water stadiums in the world. june - sept 1934, almost a million people passed through the turnstiles
    • birkenhead park was the inspiration for new york's central park as it was the world's first urban park
    • the term "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from ancient rome - the only rule during wrestling matches was no eye gouging. the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eyes out
    • pope innocent III deemed that it was not a crime to kill someone after a game of chess
    • the first aerial photo was taken from a balloon during the U.S. civil war
    • the first product to have a bar code was wrigley's gum
    • the earliest document in latin in a woman's handwriting (1st century a.d.) is an invitation to a birthday party
    • each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. spades - king david; clubs - alexander the great; hearts - charlemagne; and diamonds - julius caesar
    • david mcconnell started the california perfume company (cpc) in 1886. today the company is known as avon, which he named after his favourite playwright william shakespeare, and stratford upon avon
    • when saigon fell, the signal for americans to evacuate was 'white christmas' being played on the radio
    • pampers disposable diapers were invented in 1961
    • in ancient egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death
    • the beach boys formed in 1961
    • in 1605 on the anniversary of guy fawkes and the gunpowder plot being foiled, bonfires were lit to burn effigies of guy fawkes and fireworks let off in defiant celebration all over london
    • almost all the villians in the Bible have red hair
    • until the 1960's men with long hair were not allowed to enter disneyland
    • alfred the great founded 25 towns, established schools and published a collection of laws
    • henry I nominated his daughter, matilda, as successor. on his death the throne was offered to his nephew as a woman was considered unfit to rule
  • PEOPLE
    • in the '88 calgary olympics eddie the eagle edwards finished 58th (last) in the 70m jump and 55th (last) in the 90m
    • pele's real name is edson arantes do nascimento
    • in star wars, actress jodie foster was george lucas' second choice to play the part of princess leia
    • austrian physician alfred adler theorized that people are primarily motivated to overcome inherent feelings of inferiority. he coined the term 'sibling rivalry'
    • the grimm brothers, born in 19th-century germany, were leaders in the study of philology and folklore
    • in 1983, a japanese artist, tadahiko ogawa, made a copy of the mona lisa out of toast
    • french artist, michel vienkot, uses cow dung as paint when he creates his pictures
    • sophia loren's sister was once married to the son of the italian dictator, mussolini
    • almost all the villians in the Bible have red hair
    • when queen elizabeth I died she owned over 3,000 gowns
    • zsa zsa gabor hosted the rubik's cube's launch in america, beginning with a hollywood party on may 5th 1980
    • frank wathernam was the last prisoner to leave alcatraz prison on march 21, 1963
    • queen elizabeth was good friends with william shakespeare
    • wheel of fortune star vanna white holds the record for putting her hands together approximately 140,000 times to clap
    • david mcconnell started the california perfume company (cpc) in 1886. today the company is known as avon, which he named after his favourite playwright william shakespeare, and stratford upon avon
    • california has issued 6 drivers licenses to people named jesus christ
    • in october 1973, swedish sweet maker roland ohisson of falkenberg was buried in a coffin made of nothing but chocolate
    • george eastman, inventor of the kodak camera, hated having his picture taken
    • when i joined bluewave in 1995 most people calling for richard asked for 'lance' and for sascha asked for 'alex'
    • constructed over the massive vaults of the ruined temple of claudius, colchester castle represents the largest norman keep in europe. it measures 152’ x 112’ [46 x 34m]
    • the norman baron, eudo dapifer, built colchester castle, 1075 - 1080, around the podium of the roman temple of claudius, creating the largest norman keep in britain
    • famous people from wirral include wilfred owen, pauline collins, glenda jackson, john prescott [he went to school in ellesmere port], AND george washington's grand parents allegedly lived in meols!
    • famous wirralians include rugby player austin healey, 'hyancinth bucket' actress patricia routledge and olympic cyclist chris boardman.
    • einstein couldn't speak fluently when he was nine. his parents thought he might be retarded
    • harry truman's middle name was just 'S' - his parents could not decide between two different names beginning with S
    • pope innocent III deemed that it was not a crime to kill someone after a game of chess
    • babe ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his hat to keep his head cool. he changed it every two innings
    • fort victoria was founded in 1843 by james douglas of the hudson's bay company but the first governor was richard blanshard
    • ronald reagan sent out the army photographer who first discovered marilyn monroe
    • the most common initials for superman's friends and enemies is L.L
    • matt groening, creator of the simpsons, incorporated his initials into the drawing of homer; M is his hair and G is his ear
    • in 1810, peter durand invented the tin can for preserving food
  • RECORDS / FIRSTS
    • a helicopter installed the world's largest olympic torch on top of the calgary tower. the flame was visible for 15-20kms and required 30,000 cubic feet of natural gas/hour.
    • bridal falls is the sixth highest falls in Canada
    • great britain has the highest european consumption of ice cream
    • the 641 mile transportation network known as the governor thomas e. dewey thruway is the longest toll road in the U.S.
    • the 1st ever world summit on toilets was held in singapore in november 2001
    • the 1st christmas card was printed in the US in 1875 by louis prang, a massachusetts printer.
    • the first postage stamp to commemorate christmas was printed in 1937 in austria
    • camden playground in janesville, wisconsin is the largest handicapped accessible playground in the world
    • the biggest pumpkin the world weighed 1,337.6 pounds
    • the first theatre to show motion pictures was the nickelodeon on june 19, 1905 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania
    • in 1865, the US secret service was first established specifically to combat the counterfeiting of money
    • duncan, BC has the world's largest hockey stick, measuring 63 metres
    • in montana, in 1887, the largest snowflakes on record fell to the earth. each snowflake was 15 inches in diameter
    • feb 21 2004 over 1,500 minor hockey players gathered along Ottawa's 7.8-km rideau canal for 110 simultaneous games of hockey
    • the longest kiss on record lasted 30 hours and 45 minutes (recorded on April 5, 1999 at a kissing contest in Tel Aviv, Israel)
    • april 6, 1925, the first in-flight movie was shown - a silent film on a deutsche luft hansa flight
    • feb 17, 1930 - first flight by a cow in an airplane. the milk produced by the cow during the flight was put into containers and parachuted over the city of st. louis
    • the longest monopoly game in a bathtub is 99 hours
    • the world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910
    • a flemish artist is responsible for the world's smallest painting; it is a picture of a miller and his mill, and it was painted onto a grain of corn
    • in 1946, the first tv toy commercial aired. It was for mr potato head
    • the first domain name ever registered was symbolics.com on march 15, 1985
    • wheel of fortune star vanna white holds the record for putting her hands together approximately 140,000 times to clap
    • two sisters in the U.S., susan and deborah weighed 205 and 124 pounds although they were only five and three years old respectively, in 1829
    • the longest monopoly game ever played was 1,680 hours long (70 days)
    • the oldest bird on record was cocky, a cockatoo, who died in the london zoo at the age of 82
  • MISFORTUNE
    • each year in the US more than 200,000 children visit hospital emergency rooms because of playground injuries
    • in the year 2000, there were approximately 11,000 injuries that were treated in a hospital in the US that resulted from fireworks
    • in the US, the most frequent month for a tornado to occur is may
    • 30 people a year in Canada, and 300 people a year in the US are killed by trains
    • a molasses flood in boston on january 15, 1919 killed 21 people and injured 150 people
    • for many years, the globe on the NBC nightly news spun in the wrong direction. on january 2, 1984, NBC finally set the world spinning back in the proper direction
    • on average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year
    • the only way to stop the pain of the flathead fish's sting is by rubbing the same fish's slime on the wound it gave you
    • over 10,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows
    • 4,000 people are injured by tea pots every year
    • a toothpick is the object most often choked on by americans
    • approximately 150 people are killed each year by coconuts
    • coconuts kill more people in the world than sharks do
    • in ancient egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death
    • you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a by a poisonous spider
    • in 1932, after failing to find fame and fortune, an actress known as Peg Entwistle committed suicide by climbing to the top of the letter H of the hollywood sign and throwing herself off
  • THEME PARKS
    • dinotown at bridal veil falls was formerly known as flintstone's bedrock city [until the rights expired!]
    • in it's a small world" there is a doll dressed in a red poncho holding a paint brush at the top of the eiffle tower representing mary blair, the designer of small world
    • it's a small world, with its 436 animated human figures and 169 animated / unanimated animals, thrilled more than 10 million people at the new york world's fair
    • you cannot walk down the disney parade route without being on at least one camera
    • in disneyland the control booth for the parades is above the main street bank
    • universal studios hollywood has the world's 1st theme park rain check for if the park receives over 1/8" of rainfall
    • the shrek 4-D movie at universal studios hollywood is the 1st movie projected thru 4 high resolution digital projectors
    • pricing at gulliver's world is based on height - children under 90cm are free
    • gulliver's world celebrated its 25th anniversary in the 2003 season
    • coney island the amusement park has had three of its rides designated as new york city historical landmarks
    • until the 1960's men with long hair were not allowed to enter disneyland
    • disneyland opened in 1955
  • GAMES / HOBBIES / SPORTS
    • the open championship was held at prestwick for it's first 12 years
    • ernie els' real name is theodore
    • in 2004, the molson indy returned to vancouver for the 15th time
    • paul tracy won the 2004 champ car world series in vancouver
    • the '88 games was the last winter confrontation of communist superpowers [USSR, East Germany, etc.]
    • the '88 calgary games featured an indoor speed skating oval and sporadic chinook winds that sent temperatures into the unwintry 70s
    • in the '88 calgary olympics eddie the eagle edwards finished 58th (last) in the 70m jump and 55th (last) in the 90m
    • powered by a stock 5 horsepower briggs and stratton engine, go-karts can reach 35-80 mph
    • go-karting started in the mid 1950's and was originally considered to be a fad
    • "hot cockles" was a popular game at christmas in medieval times. players took turns striking a blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow.
    • duncan, BC has the world's largest hockey stick, measuring 63 metres
    • feb 21 2004 over 1,500 minor hockey players gathered along Ottawa's 7.8-km rideau canal for 110 simultaneous games of hockey
    • there are more recreational golfers per capita in canada than any other country in the world
    • the chances of making two holes-in-one in a round of golf are one in 67 million
    • before soccer referees started using whistles in 1878, they used to rely on waving a handkerchief
    • the longest monopoly game in a bathtub is 99 hours
    • in monopoly, the most money you can lose in one travel around the board (normal game rules, going to jail only once) in one turn is $5070
    • in monopoly, the most money you can lose in one turn is $26,040
    • since its introduction in february 1935, more than two hundred million monopoly board games have been sold worldwide
    • each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. spades - king david; clubs - alexander the great; hearts - charlemagne; and diamonds - julius caesar
    • more money is spent on gardening than on any other hobby
    • on average every person on earth has 52 lego bricks
    • there are 102.981.500 different ways of combining six 8-stud bricks of the same colour
    • if placed end-to-end all lego sets sold during the past 10 years would stretch from london, UK to perth, australia
    • since the lego group began manufacturing blocks in 1949, more than 189 billion pieces in 2000 different shapes have been produced
    • the name "lego" comes from the danish word LEg GOdt, which means ""play well"
    • pope innocent III deemed that it was not a crime to kill someone after a game of chess
  • INVENTIONS
    • in 1974 bob chandler built the first monster truck - bigfoot - his dream truck, a 4-wheel drive ford F-250 with a jacked-up suspension and oversized tires
    • jim bristoe, an american, invented a 30-foot-long, 2-ton pumpkin cannon that can fire pumpkins up to five miles
    • a man from wirral invented the thing rated as number one in the greatest modern inventions - the toilet system
    • zsa zsa gabor hosted the rubik's cube's launch in america, beginning with a hollywood party on may 5th 1980
    • george eastman, inventor of the kodak camera, hated having his picture taken
    • the first product to have a bar code was wrigley's gum
    • the first electric christmas lights were created by a telephone company's PBX installers - he took lights from an old switched , connected them, added a battery and hung them on a tree
    • in 1810, peter durand invented the tin can for preserving food
  • LAWS / TRADITIONS / SUPERSTITIONS
    • the tradition of pumpkin carving is irish. it started with the carving of turnips but when the irish immigrated to the U.S., they found pumpkins were easier to carve
    • kissing under the mistletoe dates back to a 17th century english custom. at that time, a berry was removed every time a kiss was made
    • in the uk, 1st footing is traditionally observed at midnight on new year's day. a piece of bread, piece of coal and silver coin are left outside the door to bring food, warmth and riches in the year ahead
    • "wassail" comes from the norse "ves heill"- to be of good health. wassail is the tradition of visiting neighbors on christmas eve and drinking to their health.
    • a traditional christmas dinner in early england was the head of a pig prepared with mustard
    • in ancient poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride's bouquet kept her temper sweet.
    • in the past, christmas trees were only kept indoors for one night
    • the wedding bouquet for ancient greeks and romans, was a pungent mix of garlic and herbs or grains [garlic to ward off evil spirits and herbs to insure a fruitful union]
    • superstition says if you cry on chinese new year's day, you will cry all through the year so children are tolerated and not disciplined.
    • in chinese tradition knives or scissors should not be used on new year's day as this may cut off fortune.
    • the statute of westminster in 1931 meant that the uk could no longer pass laws affecting the dominions, including canada, without their request and consent
    • before the 19th century, holiday gifts were limited to small amounts of money and modest presents passed from the wealthy to the poor; families almost never exchanged gifts among themselves
    • the practice of exchanging presents at christmas originated with the romans
    • babe ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his hat to keep his head cool. he changed it every two innings
    • 75% of people wash from top to bottom in the shower
    • It's against the law to ride down the streets of Brewton, Alabama, in a motorboat
    • in california it is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale
    • in california the owners of houses with christmas lights on them past february second may be fined up to $250
    • in california you are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows
    • china and israel keep a lunar calendar
    • during the 18th century, books that were considered offensive were sometimes punished by being whipped
  • WORDS / WRITTEN WORD
    • antidisestablishmentarianism is a group of people who are against the people who are against the church of england.
    • the magic school bus books have been published since 1986
    • the magic school bus is the most successful children's science book series in history with 123 titles and more than 54 million books in print
    • the word “canada” comes from the aboriginal word “kanata” which means village
    • the fear of halloween is called samhainophobia
    • the word witch comes from the word 'wicca'
    • witchcraft means craft of the wise ones
    • in 1939, robert may wrote the poem rollo the red-nosed reindeer. montgomery ward in chicago liked it but didn't like the name rollo so they changed it to rudolph
    • the most common initials for superman's friends and enemies is L.L
    • "eurovision" is actually the name given to the europe-wide tv distribution network run by the european broadcasting union set up in the mid-1950s
    • the word 'igloo' comes from the inuit 'iglu', meaning 'house'
    • the UK claims to be the most successful eurovision nation - ireland have won more often with 7 victories to the uk's 5 but the uk have finished 2nd an astonishing 15 times
    • methyphobia is fear of alcohol
    • when your sink is full, the little hole that lets the water drain instead of flowing over the side is called a porcelator
    • parts of the dead sea scrolls appeared for sale in the june 1, 1954 issue of the wall street journal
    • the little circles of paper that are cut out after a paper has been punched by a hole puncher are called "chad"
    • the WD in WD-40 stands for water displacer
    • the term "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from ancient rome - the only rule during wrestling matches was no eye gouging. the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eyes out
    • "santa claus" come from the dutch "sinter klaas". in england he is usually referred to as "father christmas"
    • the name "lego" comes from the danish word LEg GOdt, which means ""play well"
    • race car is a palindrome
    • louisa may alcott, author of the classic little women, hated kids. she only wrote the book because her publisher asked her to
    • in disney's fantasia, the sorcerer's name is yensid (disney spelt backwards)
    • harry truman's middle name was just 'S' - his parents could not decide between two different names beginning with S
    • the average person speaks about 31,500 words per day
    • the stress in hungarian words always falls on the first syllable
  • INTERNET
    • in feb 2002 friends reunited was in the top ten most visited websites in the UK
    • april 2003, the total number of registered friends reunited members was 8.6 million
    • 27% of all web transactions are abandoned at the payment screen
    • 4 visitors out of 5 never come back to a web site
    • space on a big company's homepage is worth about 1,300 times as much as land in the business districts of tokyo
    • in 2003, christmas was celebrated on 47% of US sites and 42% of UK sites
  • SCIENCE / NATURE
    • juvenile diabetes research foundation has funded, in whole or in part, the research projects of scientists involved in every major breakthrough in diabetes research for over 25 years
    • juvenile diabetes research foundation funding and leadership are associated with most of the scientific breakthroughs in type 1 research, including islet cell transplantation and stem cell research
    • protective dykes along the fraser river protect ladner's farms and fishing community from the river and tidal waters of the strait of georgia
    • there are over 50 species of birds nesting regularly at the reifel bird sanctuary
    • chlamydomonas is a single-celled green alga that can turn ponds green in color when there is an algal bloom
    • sunspots are cool [about 4000 degrees c] regions in the sun's atmosphere caused, in part, by the intense solar magnetic field
    • earth's 23.5 degree tilt produces the seasons
    • the elevation of lake louise is 1,536m (5,039 feet), the highest permanent settlement in canada
    • bridal falls is the sixth highest falls in Canada
    • set against the back drop of mount cheam, bridal falls is 122m high
    • banff nat. pk pop. estimates: 2000-2600 bighorn sheep, 800-900 mountain goats, 50-80 moose, 55-80 grizzlies, 50-60 black bears, 50-60 wolves, 150-250 coyotes
    • all fruits have 3 layers: exocarp [skin], mesocarp [pulp], and endocarp [pit]
    • grape is an edible fruit in the buckthorn family
    • 6 of the 7 continents can grow pumpkins [even alaska can!]. antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow in.
    • richmond's wetlands include rare water-tolerant plants such as the northern bog orchid and black lily
    • it can take up to 15 years for a christmas tree to grow, but on average, it takes about 7 years
    • myrrh is a plant oil used to bury the dead and a symbol of mortality
    • the size of a raindrop is around 0.5 mm - 2.5 mm, and they fall from the sky on average 21 feet per second
    • sleet is a form of snow that begins to fall, but melts on its way down
    • the princess tree is the common name for a tree of the figwort family
    • paper money is not made from wood pulp, but from cotton, so that it will not disintegrate as fast if it is put in the laundry
    • it is the large number of reflecting surfaces of the crystal that make snow appear white
    • partly melted ice crystals usually cling together to form snowflakes, which may in rare cases grow in size up to 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) in diameter
    • the leaves of the victorian water lily are sometimes over six feet in diameter
    • the atlantic ocean is saltier than the pacific ocean
    • the volume of the earth's moon is the same volume of the pacific ocean
    • pumpkins contain potassium and vitamin a
    • a blink lasts approximately 0.3 seconds
    • a small child could crawl through a blue whale's major arteries
    • the first aerial photo was taken from a balloon during the U.S. civil war
    • ronald reagan sent out the army photographer who first discovered marilyn monroe
    • the planet saturn has a density lower than water so if there was a bathtub large enough to hold it, saturn would float
    • after the krakatoa volcano eruption in 1883 in indonesia, many people reported that, because of the dust, the sunset appeared green and the moon blue
    • monster truck engines are custom-built, alcohol-injected and usually cost around $35,000. they burn 2-2.5 gallons of methanol per run [approx 250ft]
  • EDUCATION
    • the most common recipient of valentine cards are school teachers
    • strange college courses include advanced cereal science, amusement park administration, clay wheel throwing, fatherhood & soil judging
    • US students read an average of 60,000 pages in 4 yrs
  • COMPANIES
    • ea has over 33 product franchises that have reached more than a million unit sales worldwide
    • ea headquarters is located in redwood city, california
    • david mcconnell started the california perfume company (cpc) in 1886. today the company is known as avon, which he named after his favourite playwright william shakespeare, and stratford upon avon
    • warner chappel music owns the copyright to the song "happy birthday." they make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song
    • 40% of mcdonald's profits come from the sale of happy meals
    • pampers disposable diapers were invented in 1961
    • in paris, the mcdonalds big 'm' is the only one in the world that is white, rather than yellow, it was thought that yellow was too tacky
  • STATISTICS
    • 55,000 people attended the 2004 vancouver children's festival
    • canada's life expectancy is the world’s highest at 79 years
    • in 2003, 28,635 students studied full-time and part-time at the U of C
    • for the year 2003, the U of C employed about 2,360 full-time and part-time academic faculty, along with 2,450 full-time and part-time staff
    • 55,000 people attended the 2004 vancouver children's festival
    • 27% of all web transactions are abandoned at the payment screen
    • 4 visitors out of 5 never come back to a web site
    • space on a big company's homepage is worth about 1,300 times as much as land in the business districts of tokyo
    • a 1969 iowa state college study showed that a parent's stress level at the time of conception is a major factor in determining the child's sex. the child is usually the same sex as the less stressed parent
    • if placed end-to-end all lego sets sold during the past 10 years would stretch from london, UK to perth, australia
    • 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day
    • the average baby spends 27.5 months in diapers
    • 1,314 phone calls will be misplaced by telecom services every minute
    • in 2003, christmas was celebrated on 47% of US sites and 42% of UK sites
    • in 1983, approximately three billion christmas cards were sent in the US
    • the average person speaks about 31,500 words per day
    • 27% of americans think billboards are beautiful
    • each year 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in the US
  • BABIES / CHILDREN
    • conception occurs more often in december than any other month
    • the average baby spends 27.5 months in diapers
    • august is the month when most babies are born
    • 57% of british school kids think germany is the most boring country in europe
    • louisa may alcott, author of the classic little women, hated kids. she only wrote the book because her publisher asked her to
    • 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day
    • the world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910
    • a 1969 iowa state college study showed that a parent's stress level at the time of conception is a major factor in determining the child's sex. the child is usually the same sex as the less stressed parent
    • pampers disposable diapers were invented in 1961
    • 'cousin' is the child of one's aunt or uncle. 'cousin' can be used interchangeably with 'first cousin', ' cousin-german' and 'full cousin'
    • a second cousin is a child of a first cousin of either of your parents

    MONTHS / SPECIAL DAYS

    • january
      • in the uk, 1st footing is traditionally observed at midnight on new year's day. a piece of bread, piece of coal and silver coin are left outside the door to bring food, warmth and riches in the year ahead
      • all racehorses in the US celebrate their birthday on january 1st
      • a molasses flood in boston on january 15, 1919 killed 21 people and injured 150 people
      • for many years, the globe on the NBC nightly news spun in the wrong direction. on january 2, 1984, NBC finally set the world spinning back in the proper direction
      • in bhutan, all citizens officially become a year older on new year's day
      • JELL-O [jelly] was declared the 'official state snack' of utah in january 2001
    • february
      • superstition says if you cry on chinese new year's day, you will cry all through the year so children are tolerated and not disciplined.
      • in chinese tradition knives or scissors should not be used on new year's day as this may cut off fortune.
      • feb 17, 1930 - first flight by a cow in an airplane. the milk produced by the cow during the flight was put into containers and parachuted over the city of st. louis
      • the most common recipient of valentine cards are school teachers
      • since its introduction in february 1935, more than two hundred million monopoly board games have been sold worldwide
      • february 1865 is the only month in recorded history not have a full moon
      • feb 21 2004 over 1,500 minor hockey players gathered along Ottawa's 7.8-km rideau canal for 110 simultaneous games of hockey
    • march
      • frank wathernam was the last prisoner to leave alcatraz prison on march 21, 1963
      • the first domain name ever registered was symbolics.com on march 15, 1985
    • april / spring
      • in spring, the melting dome of an igloo is replaced with a covering of animal skins to form a between-season dwelling called a 'qarmaq'
      • april 6, 1925, the first in-flight movie was shown - a silent film on a deutsche luft hansa flight
      • in 1898 (14 years prior to the titanic tragedy), morgan robertson wrote a ficticious novel about the largest ship ever built hitting an iceberg in the atlantic ocean on a cold april night
      • april is earthquake preparedness month
    • may
      • in the US, the most frequent month for a tornado to occur is may
      • zsa zsa gabor hosted the rubik's cube's launch in america, beginning with a hollywood party on may 5th 1980
    • july
      • in the year 2000, there were approximately 11,000 injuries that were treated in a hospital in the US that resulted from fireworks
      • in july 1874, a swarm of rocky mountain locusts flew over nebraska covering an area estimated at 198,600 square miles
      • someone on earth reports seeing a UFO every three minutes. In the US, reported sightings are most likely to occur in july, at 9 p.m. or 3 a.m
      • british columbia was admitted as a province july 20, 1871
    • august
      • august is the month when most babies are born
      • on august 21st, 1911, someone stole the mona lisa, from the louvre museum. it was recovered two years later
      • august 26 is national cherry popsicle day
      • august 15 is national relaxation day
    • september
      • sept 6, 1966 - television program "star trek" premieres
      • labor day is the first monday in september
      • labor day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of american workers
    • october / halloween
      • the most popular treat for halloween trick-or-treaters are snickers bars
      • the fear of halloween is called samhainophobia
      • the word witch comes from the word 'wicca'
      • witchcraft means craft of the wise ones
      • jack-o’-lantern derives its name from british folktale character - the soul of someone barred from both heaven and hell and condemned to wander the earth with his lantern
      • halloween falls on the eve of all saints’ day, also known as all hallows or hallowmas
      • october 10 is US national metric day
      • in october 1973, swedish sweet maker roland ohisson of falkenberg was buried in a coffin made of nothing but chocolate
      • the mask used by michael myers in the original halloween was actually a captain kirk mask painted white
      • it is estimated that 93% of american children will go out trick or treating for halloween
      • pumpkins contain potassium and vitamin a
      • 99% of pumpkins sold in the US are for the sole purpose of decoration
    • november
      • the 1st ever world summit on toilets was held in singapore in november 2001
      • armadillos breed in july, but get pregnant in november after delaying implantation. this allows the young to be born during the spring when there is an abundance of food
      • in 1605 on the anniversary of guy fawkes and the gunpowder plot being foiled, bonfires were lit to burn effigies of guy fawkes and fireworks let off in defiant celebration all over london
      • november 18 is mickey mouse's birthday
      • november 19 is "have a bad day" day
    • december / christmas
      • an artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on ukrainian christmas trees. a spider web found on christmas morning is believed to bring good luck
      • ukrainians prepare a traditional 12-course christmas meal. the youngest child watches through the window for the evening star to appear, a signal that the feast can begin
      • the christmas tree tradition was started in 16th century germany by martin luther, a german theologian
      • kissing under the mistletoe dates back to a 17th century english custom. at that time, a berry was removed every time a kiss was made
      • it can take up to 15 years for a christmas tree to grow, but on average, it takes about 7 years
      • the 1st christmas card was printed in the US in 1875 by louis prang, a massachusetts printer.
      • "hot cockles" was a popular game at christmas in medieval times. players took turns striking a blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow.
      • the first postage stamp to commemorate christmas was printed in 1937 in austria
      • "wassail" comes from the norse "ves heill"- to be of good health. wassail is the tradition of visiting neighbors on christmas eve and drinking to their health.
      • a traditional christmas dinner in early england was the head of a pig prepared with mustard
      • in ancient poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride's bouquet kept her temper sweet.
      • in the past, christmas trees were only kept indoors for one night
      • it was only after 440 AD that december 25 was celebrated as the birth date of jesus christ
      • conception occurs more often in december than any other month
      • animal cracker boxes are designed with a string handle because when they were introduced in 1902 the manufacturers thought they could be hung from christmas trees as decorations
      • "santa claus" come from the dutch "sinter klaas". in england he is usually referred to as "father christmas"
      • in 1949 UNICEF produced the first charity christmas card. the picture shown on the card was painted by a seven year old girl
      • before the 19th century, holiday gifts were limited to small amounts of money and modest presents passed from the wealthy to the poor; families almost never exchanged gifts among themselves
      • it is the large number of reflecting surfaces of the crystal that make snow appear white
      • partly melted ice crystals usually cling together to form snowflakes, which may in rare cases grow in size up to 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) in diameter
      • when saigon fell, the signal for americans to evacuate was 'white christmas' being played on the radio
      • in 1983, approximately three billion christmas cards were sent in the US
      • the first electric christmas lights were created by a telephone company's PBX installers - he took lights from an old switched , connected them, added a battery and hung them on a tree
      • christmas became a public holiday in the US in 1890
      • the biggest selling christmas single of all time is bing crosby's white christmas
      • in brazil christmas is celebrated with fireworks
      • in 2003, christmas was celebrated on 47% of US sites and 42% of UK sites
      • the chance of new york having a white christmas is 1 in 4
      • in california the owners of houses with christmas lights on them past february second may be fined up to $250
    • days
      • months that begin with sunday will always have a friday the 13th
    THE ARTS
    • art
      • in 1983, a japanese artist, tadahiko ogawa, made a copy of the mona lisa out of toast
      • on august 21st, 1911, someone stole the mona lisa, from the louvre museum. it was recovered two years later
      • french artist, michel vienkot, uses cow dung as paint when he creates his pictures
      • french artist, michel vienkot, uses cow dung as paint when he creates his pictures
      • in 1983, a japanese artist, tadahiko ogawa, made a copy of the mona lisa out of toast
      • if you look carefully at the picture of mona lisa, you will notice a bridge in the background
      • in 1983, a Japanese artist, Tadahiko Ogawa, made a copy of the Mona Lisa completely out of toast
      • matt groening, creator of the simpsons, incorporated his initials into the drawing of homer; M is his hair and G is his ear
      • a flemish artist is responsible for the world's smallest painting; it is a picture of a miller and his mill, and it was painted onto a grain of corn
      • during the 18th century, books that were considered offensive were sometimes punished by being whipped
    • cartoons
      • in finland tinky winky is tiivi taavi, dipsy is hipsu and po is pai [laa laa's name is still laa laa]
      • bugs bunny was originally called happy rabbit
      • in estonia the teletubbies is known as 'teletupsuds'
      • anthony, murray and greg of the wiggles met while studying early childhood education at sydney's macquarie university
      • the name of winnie the pooh's writer: a.a. milne is alan alexandra milne
      • teletubbies is filmed in the open on a site in warwickshire. the dome, hills & rabbits are real. some of the grass and flowers are real and some are artificial
      • teletubbies is filmed in the open on a site in warwickshire. the dome, hills & rabbits are real. some of the grass and flowers are real and some are artificial
      • the 2003 'rugrats go wild' movie is a joint movie with the wild thornberrys
      • on the rugrats train trip to little biendeltown you can see rock formations in the shape of asparagus and a cough lozenge and geysers forming a heart shape
      • it takes 9 to 10 months to make an episode of blue's clues[!]
      • the blue's clues puppy is called 'blue' after the blue screen the live character works against
      • november 18 is mickey mouse's birthday
      • donald duck's sister is called dumbella
      • the black cauldron is the only pg-rated disney animated feature
      • tom kenny plays the part of spongebob, spongebob's dad and gary
      • mary jo catlett plays spongebob's mom and mrs puffs
      • the most common initials for superman's friends and enemies is L.L
      • in disney's fantasia, the sorcerer's name is yensid (disney spelt backwards)
    • movies
      • in star wars, actress jodie foster was george lucas' second choice to play the part of princess leia
      • april 6, 1925, the first in-flight movie was shown - a silent film on a deutsche luft hansa flight
      • the first theatre to show motion pictures was the nickelodeon on june 19, 1905 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania
      • the most common initials for superman's friends and enemies is L.L
      • the mask used by michael myers in the original halloween was actually a captain kirk mask painted white
      • king kong is the only movie to have its sequel (son of kong) released the same year (1933)
      • all of the clocks in the movie pulp fiction are stuck on 4:20
      • the black cauldron is the only pg-rated disney animated feature
      • in 1978 the hollywood sign was in such a state of disrepair [termites had infested the wooden scaffolding that supports the 15m high letters] that one of the O's had fallen off
      • in 1932, after failing to find fame and fortune, an actress known as Peg Entwistle committed suicide by climbing to the top of the letter H of the hollywood sign and throwing herself off
      • the hollywood sign became part of the LA landscape in 1923 as a giant billboard erected to publicise a property development called hollywoodland
    • music
      • in 1939, robert may wrote the poem rollo the red-nosed reindeer. montgomery ward in chicago liked it but didn't like the name rollo so they changed it to rudolph
      • the beach boys formed in 1961
      • the song 'who put the bomp' was performed by barry mann
      • 'who put the bomp's highest billboard position was #7 [1961]
      • an experiment in canada determined that chickens lay most eggs when pop music is played
      • hard rock music makes termites chew through wood at twice their usual speed
      • when saigon fell, the signal for americans to evacuate was 'white christmas' being played on the radio
      • warner chappel music owns the copyright to the song "happy birthday". they make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song
      • gloucestershire airport (UK)s used to blast tina turner songs on the runways to scare birds away
      • the biggest selling christmas single of all time is bing crosby's white christmas
    • photography
      • ronald reagan sent out the army photographer who first discovered marilyn monroe
      • george eastman, inventor of the kodak camera, hated having his picture taken
      • the first aerial photo was taken from a balloon during the U.S. civil war
    • theatre
      • tony n' tina's wedding opened feb 14th, 1988 in new york
      • tony n' tina's wedding has played in over 100 places worldwide, including japanese, australian and many european cities
    • tv
      • sept 6, 1966 - television program "star trek" premieres
      • when the decision was made in 1962 that the flintstones would have a baby, the child was going to be a boy. later they decided that a girl would make for better merchandising like dolls, etc.
      • for many years, the globe on the NBC nightly news spun in the wrong direction. on january 2, 1984, NBC finally set the world spinning back in the proper direction
      • in 1946, the first tv toy commercial aired. it was for mr potato head
    FOOD
      • in 1810, peter durand invented the tin can for preserving food
      • each year 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in the US
    • animal crackers
      • animal cracker boxes are designed with a string handle because when they were introduced in 1902 the manufacturers thought they could be hung from christmas trees as decorations
    • banana
      • the banana fruit is a berry and does not grow on a tree but actually grows on the world's largest herb and is a member of the lily family
      • scientists at the texas A"M university's institute for biosciences and technology are working on ways to grow vaccines inside bananas
    • cabbage
      • babe ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his hat to keep his head cool. he changed it every two innings
    • chewing gum
      • the first product to have a bar code was wrigley's gum
    • chocolate
      • in october 1973, swedish sweet maker roland ohisson of falkenberg was buried in a coffin made of nothing but chocolate
    • crawfish
      • you should not eat a crawfish with a straight tail. It was dead before it was cooked
    • donuts
      • there are more donut shops per capita in canada than in any other country
      • krispy kreme doughnuts was established in 1937 when vernon rudolph bought a secret yeast-raised recipe from a french chef
    • grapes
      • grape is an edible fruit in the buckthorn family
      • all fruits have 3 layers: exocarp [skin], mesocarp [pulp], and endocarp [pit]
    • ice cream
      • on average, you need 12.5 gallons of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream.
      • great britain has the highest european consumption of ice cream
    • jello
      • JELL-O [jelly] was declared the 'official state snack' of utah in january 2001
    • pork
      • a typical american eats 28 pigs in his/her lifetime
    • pumpkin
      • 6 of the 7 continents can grow pumpkins [even alaska can!]. antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow in.
      • the tradition of pumpkin carving is irish. it started with the carving of turnips but when the irish immigrated to the U.S., they found pumpkins were easier to carve
      • munchkin, funny face, and spooktacular are all varieties of pumpkin
      • jim bristoe, an american, invented a 30-foot-long, 2-ton pumpkin cannon that can fire pumpkins up to five miles
      • pumpkins contain potassium and vitamin a
      • at one time, pumpkins were recommended for the removal of freckles and curing snake bites
      • the biggest pumpkin the world weighed 1,337.6 pounds

    ANIMALS

    • armadillos
      • armadillos breed in july, but get pregnant in november after delaying implantation. this allows the young to be born during the spring when there is an abundance of food
      • an armadillo can walk under water
    • beaver
      • a baby beaver stays with it parents for a period of two years
    • bee
      • honeybees have hair on their eyes
    • birds
      • over 10,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows
      • gloucestershire airport (UK)s used to blast tina turner songs on the runways to scare birds away
      • the oldest bird on record was cocky, a cockatoo, who died in the london zoo at the age of 82
    • buffalo
      • for over 6000yrs, aboriginal people killed buffalo by driving them to jump sites. 'head-smashed-in' is among the largest of these jump sites
    • butterfly
      • the original name for the butterfly was 'flutterby'
    • camels
      • camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand
    • cat
      • in ancient egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death
    • chicken
      • an experiment in canada determined that chickens lay most eggs when pop music is played
      • a chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless
    • chipmunk
      • chipmunks are distinguished from other ground squirrels by their striped faces
      • chipmunks belong to the sciuridae family
    • cow
      • india has a bill of rights for cows
      • cows drink anywhere from 25-50 gallons of water each day
      • feb 17, 1930 - first flight by a cow in an airplane. the milk produced by the cow during the flight was put into containers and parachuted over the city of st. louis
    • crawfish
      • you should not eat a crawfish with a straight tail. It was dead before it was cooked
    • cricket
      • the giant african cricket enjoys eating human hair
    • donkey
      • a donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule won't
      • the first known "zeedonks" were the result of an accidental mating between a male chapman’s zebra and a female black ass (donkey) at colchester zoo in 1983
    • elephant
      • an elephant's trunk is the nose and upper lip joined together it has 40,000 muscles, but no bones
      • ziggy, the largest and oldest elephant ever in captivity, was taught to play yes, Sir, that's my baby on the harmonica
    • fish
      • the only way to stop the pain of the flathead fish's sting is by rubbing the same fish's slime on the wound it gave you
      • the oldest known goldfish lived to 41 years of age
    • flamingo
      • there are more plastic flamingos in the U.S. than real ones
    • fly
      • the housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F
    • frogs
      • a group of frogs is called an army
    • horse
      • all racehorses in the US celebrate their birthday on january 1st
    • iguana
      • iguanas can stay under water for up to thirty minutes
    • locust
      • in july 1874, a swarm of rocky mountain locusts flew over nebraska covering an area estimated at 198,600 square miles
    • pig
      • a typical american eats 28 pigs in his/her lifetime
    • mollosc
      • the beautiful cone shell molluscs are just 2" long but have a deadly poison-filled harpoon-like tooth that spears their prey, injecting it with lethal toxins
    • rabbit
      • jackrabbits can reach a speed of 50mph and can leap as far as 20ft
      • bugs bunny was originally called happy rabbit
    • sea otters
      • sea otters have 2 coats of fur
    • shark
      • the megalodon shark became extinct about 1.6 million years ago. marine biologists have estimated the megalodon shark was double the size & weight of today's great white shark
      • a shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes
      • a shark lives for about 100 years
    • sheep
      • sheep can detect other sheep faces like humans do. they can remember up to 50 sheep faces
    • snail
      • it takes a snail 33 hours to crawl one mile
    • spider
      • you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a by a poisonous spider
      • in relation to its size, the ordinary house spider is eight time faster than an olympic sprinter
    • termites
      • hard rock music makes termites chew through wood at twice their usual speed
      • in 1978 the hollywood sign was in such a state of disrepair [termites had infested the wooden scaffolding that supports the 15m high letters] that one of the O's had fallen off
    • tiger
      • tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur
    • turkey
      • the state of california raises the most turkeys in the US
      • the bright skin that hangs from a turkey's neck is called a wattle
    • whale
      • a small child could crawl through a blue whale's major arteries
      • in california it is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale

    GEOGRAPHY

    • oceans
      • the atlantic ocean is saltier than the pacific ocean
    • north america
      • richmond was incorporated as a municipality november 10, 1879
      • the first european settlers to richmond were farmers in the 1860's
      • the word “canada” comes from the aboriginal word “kanata” which means village
      • canada's life expectancy is the world’s highest at 79 years
      • protective dykes along the fraser river protect ladner's farms and fishing community from the river and tidal waters of the strait of georgia
      • there are over 50 species of birds nesting regularly at the reifel bird sanctuary
      • the santa barbara natural history museum houses the largest collection of chumash indian artifacts outside the smithsonian
      • frank slide was canada's deadliest rockslide: apr 29, 1903, 30 million cubic metres of limestone hurtled down turtle mountain killing over 70 people
      • in summer when the province moves ahead to daylight-saving time, creston/kitchener/yahk make no changes (their MT is already pacific daylight-saving time).
      • hon. donald alexander smith hammered the last spike at craigellachie on nov 7, 1885 to complete the trans-continental railway in canada
      • the hammering of the last spike not only completed the trans-continental railway in canada, but represented an important step in the founding of a nation
      • the '88 calgary games featured an indoor speed skating oval and sporadic chinook winds that sent temperatures into the unwintry 70s
      • the '88 calgary games was the last winter confrontation of communist superpowers [USSR, East Germany, etc.]
      • in 2003, 28,635 students studied full-time and part-time at the U of C
      • for the year 2003, the U of C employed about 2,360 full-time and part-time academic faculty, along with 2,450 full-time and part-time staff
      • a helicopter installed the world's largest olympic torch on top of the calgary tower. the flame was visible for 15-20kms and required 30,000 cubic feet of natural gas/hour
      • banff nat. pk pop. estimates: 2000-2600 bighorn sheep, 800-900 mountain goats, 50-80 moose, 55-80 grizzlies, 50-60 black bears, 50-60 wolves, 150-250 coyotes
      • the elevation of lake louise is 1,536m (5,039 feet), the highest permanent settlement in canada
      • bridal falls is the sixth highest falls in Canada
      • set against the back drop of mount cheam, bridal falls is 122m high
      • dinotown at bridal veil falls was formerly known as flintstone's bedrock city [until the rights expired!]
      • new york city has 722 miles of subway track
      • the 641 mile transportation network known as the governor thomas e. dewey thruway is the longest toll road in the U.S.
      • outsiders first discovered alaska in 1741 when danish explorer vitus jonassen bering sighted it on a voyage from siberia
      • alaska has about 640,000 residents occupying 570,374 square miles
      • richmond's wetlands include rare water-tolerant plants such as the northern bog orchid and black lily
      • richmond is the 3rd largest producer of cranberries in north america
      • camden playground in janesville, wisconsin is the largest handicapped accessible playground in the world
      • the 1st christmas card was printed in the US in 1875 by louis prang, a massachusetts printer.
      • fort victoria was founded in 1843 by james douglas of the hudson's bay company but the first governor was richard blanshard
      • victorians drove on the left side of the street [as in other british colonies] until midnight on december 31, 1921
      • washington state, idaho & montana border british columbia to the south, alberta to the east, the northwest & yukon territories to the north, & alaska to the northwest
      • in spring, the melting dome of an igloo is replaced with a covering of animal skins to form a between-season dwelling called a 'qarmaq'
      • the word 'igloo' comes from the inuit 'iglu', meaning 'house'
      • the thompson community centre in richmond, built in 1995, has a design is based on a plane exiting a hangar set to take off over the city
      • richmond's main agricultural products are cranberries and blueberries
      • the richmond nature park natural area is a part of the remnant lulu island bog
      • 55.1% richmond residents are immigrants
      • it's against the law to ride down the streets of Brewton, Alabama, in a motorboat
      • each year, approximately 35,000 immigrants from around the world arrive in british columbia
      • jade is british columbia's provincial gemstone
      • the western red cedar is the provincial tree of british columbia
      • there are three main first nations groups on vancouver island: the kwakwaka'wakw, the nootka and the coastal salish
      • the median age of the population in british columbia is 37.5 years
      • the statute of westminster in 1931 meant that the uk could no longer pass laws affecting the dominions, including canada, without their request and consent
      • british columbia was admitted as a province july 20, 1871
      • it is a 35 minute ferry ride to saltspring from the victoria ferry terminal
      • saltspring island has a cool mediterranean climate with four distinct seasons
      • the state of california raises the most turkeys in the US
      • there are more donut shops per capita in canada than in any other country
      • coney island the amusement park has had three of its rides designated as new york city historical landmarks
      • 55,000 people attended the 2004 vancouver children's festival
      • JELL-O [jelly] was declared the 'official state snack' of utah in january 2001
      • in california it is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale
      • in the US, the most frequent month for a tornado to occur is may
      • a typical american eats 28 pigs in his/her lifetime
      • the chance of new york having a white christmas is 1 in 4
      • 27% of americans think billboards are beautiful
      • in california the owners of houses with christmas lights on them past february second may be fined up to $250
      • california has issued 6 drivers licenses to people named jesus christ
      • in california you are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows
    • south america
      • in brazil christmas is celebrated with fireworks
    • asia
      • the 1st ever world summit on toilets was held in singapore in november 2001
      • india has a bill of rights for cows
      • the first ever world summit on toilets was held in singapore in november 2001
      • in bhutan, all citizens officially become a year older on new year's day
      • china and israel keep a lunar calendar
    • europe
      • sept 6, 1504 - michelangelo's 13-foot marble statue of david is unveiled in florence, italy
      • ukrainians prepare a traditional 12-course christmas meal. the youngest child watches through the window for the evening star to appear, a signal that the feast can begin
      • the christmas tree tradition was started in 16th century germany by martin luther, a german theologian
      • an artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on ukrainian christmas trees. a spider web found on christmas morning is believed to bring good luck
      • in spanish, poinsettia means, "flower of the holy night."
      • the first postage stamp to commemorate christmas was printed in 1937 in austria
      • old windsor was the site of a saxon palace in the 9th century
      • famous wirralians include rugby player austin healey, 'hyancinth bucket' actress patricia routledge and olympic cyclist chris boardman.
      • in the netherlands, there are approximately 17,000 kms of cycle lanes which include special bicycle traffic lights
      • in 1605 on the anniversary of guy fawkes and the gunpowder plot being foiled, bonfires were lit to burn effigies of guy fawkes and fireworks let off in defiant celebration all over london
      • at one time, pumpkins were recommended for the removal of freckles and curing snake bites
      • "eurovision" is actually the name given to the europe-wide tv distribution network run by the european broadcasting union set up in the mid-1950s
      • in october 1973, swedish sweet maker roland ohisson of falkenberg was buried in a coffin made of nothing but chocolate
      • there are more barbie dolls in italy than there are canadians in canada
      • 57% of british school kids think germany is the most boring country in europe
      • a flemish artist is responsible for the world's smallest painting; it is a picture of a miller and his mill, and it was painted onto a grain of corn
      • in paris, the mcdonalds big 'm' is the only one in the world that is white, rather than yellow, it was thought that yellow was too tacky
      • the stress in hungarian words always falls on the first syllable
    • uk
      • great britain has the highest european consumption of ice cream
      • in the uk, 1st footing is traditionally observed at midnight on new year's day. a piece of bread, piece of coal and silver coin are left outside the door to bring food, warmth and riches in the year ahead
      • the UK claims to be the most successful eurovision nation - ireland have won more often with 7 victories to the uk's 5 but the uk have finished 2nd an astonishing 15 times
      • the 32 high-tech london eye passenger capsules can carry over 15,000 visitors a day, enough to fill concorde more than 150 times over
      • london eye passengers reach 135 metres above the london skyline - 30 metres higher than the previous tallest observation wheel in yokohama bay
      • the city of nottingham was the first city to have braille signs
      • old windsor was the site of a saxon palace in the 9th century
      • at the turn of the century, the new brighton tower [located atop the tower ballroom] was higher than the blackpool tower. the steel tower was taken down between 1919 and 1921
      • the new brighton bathing pool was one of the largest open air water stadiums in the world. june - sept 1934, almost a million people passed through the turnstiles
      • famous people from wirral include wilfred owen, pauline collins, glenda jackson, john prescott [he went to school in ellesmere port], AND george washington's grand parents allegedly lived in meols!
      • birkenhead park was the inspiration for new york's central park as it was the world's first urban park

     


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    гинекологические заболевания у женщин молочница - gen-vopros.ru