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It took 55 years
before the telephone, invented in 1820, was put to use in society.
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Sound travels over 14 times faster through steel than through air. If you
need to signal someone quickly standing on a metal bridge, bang on a steel
pipe!
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The Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, built about 2600 BC, was constructed
with enough stone to make a brick wall that could go around the world 20
inches high.
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In comparison, the largest modern building, the Pentagon, in Washington DC
would only make a brick wall that went around the world two inches high.
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If everyone in the world took a daily bath, our entire supply of fresh
water would be get dirty in a single day.
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The number of bacteria in a quart of soil from your backyard garden is 30
times greater than the population of the world.
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When high sped trains past each other they must slow down or they will
break their windows. The passing trains produce a low-pressure area
between them that can actually pull the glass out of the frames.
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A hydroplane can go much faster than a normal boat because it lifts the
hull out of the water. It uses supports that act like underwater wings to
give it lift. It is really just flying through water.
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You can surf on only one or two inches of water. Jump on a wooden disc and
you can ride 20 feet or more in the shallow water along the beach.
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Manhole covers, the lids that cover sewers, are always round. Why? The
round cover rests on a lip that is smaller than the cover so it can't drop
through the opening. A square or rectangular cover, no matter how it was
made, could fall through.
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The fear of spiders is called arachnophobia. Some other phobias are
hydrophobia (fear of water), triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13),
ecclesiaphobia (fear of churches), pogonophobia (fear of beards),
ergophobia (fear of work).
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Donald Duck, the cartoon character NEVER wore pants. But, whenever he got
out of a shower he would always put a towel around his waist.
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There was only one code during World War II that was never broken by the
enemy and was used by the US Army. Navajo soldiers, called Codetalkers,
developed a radio code based on their native language. It was the only way
US soldiers on the battlefield could be sure that messages were from there
own side and not from Japanese imitators.
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Vincent Van Gogh only sold 1 painting his whole life and that was to his
brother!
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A Japanese explorer named Maomi Uemura was the first man to reach the
North Pole alone, on April 29, 1978, after his eight-week journey.
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In transistors, electrons perform an amazing magic act called quantum
tunneling. They can move from one side of a thin metal plate to the other
without going through the plate.
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Steamboat Geyser, located in Yellowstone National Park, is the most
powerful geyser in the world, and can shoot super-hot water 300 feet in
the air.
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When hydrogen is cooled to almost absolute zero (-460°F or -273°C), the
lowest temperature possible, it becomes a liquid with surprising
properties. It can flow against gravity and will start running up and over
the lip of a glass container.
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Mark Twain, one of America’s best-loved authors, dropped out of school
when he was 12 years old, after his father died.
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The ice cream cone was originally a way to hold flowers, not ice cream!
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The first modern traffic light was put to use in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914.
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On April 2, 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman candidate for
the U.S. presidency.
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Every year, plants make and store ten times the amount of energy that
people use.
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Babe Ruth kept a cabbage leaf under his cap to keep cool.
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Over 160 billion pieces of mail are sent every year in the U.S.
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Tomatoes are really fruits, not vegetables.
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About 80% of the Earth’s animals are insects!
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If someone tells you you smell like flowers, it may not be a compliment if
they are refering to the rafflesia flower. This flower smells like rotten
meat!
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Glass is made of sand.
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America’s first major highway was called the National Road, and was opened
in 1814, connecting the city of Baltimore with the Ohio River.
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Abraham Lincoln once invented a device for lifting riverboats over shallow
water.
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The Chinese first invented the system of zoos, and called them "Parks of
Intelligence".
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Cowboys used to bury their new hats in the ground to make them look old
and more beat up, so they aren’t taken as "tenderfoots" when they have a
new hat.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson once had a barbecue on the White House Roof!
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In the late 1800s, it was a custom for ruling men in China to allow one of
their fingernails to grow to four or five inches long, as a symbol of
wealth.
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Three of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and
James Monroe, died on the Fourth of July.
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The most drought resistant tree is the baobab tree. It stores 35,900
gallons of water in its trunk for later use.
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Vatican City is a country located entirely within the city of Rome, Italy.
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Humans spend a third of their lives sleeping.
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There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
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A golf ball has 360 dimples.
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The state of Florida is bigger than England.
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The average American spends about 6 months of his life waiting at red
lights.
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You'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food in your lifetime. That's like
eating six elephants.
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The average American eats 35,000 cookies in his or her lifetime.
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Ancient Egyptians used rocks for pillows.
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A U.S. quarter has 119 grooves on its edge. Go ahead, count them!
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Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark. Good thing he invented the light
bulb!
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There are some kinds of bamboo that grow 35 inches in one day!
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The Great Wall of China is 1,500 miles long and can be seen from outer
space!
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Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive.
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A "ten gallon" hat only holds 3 quarts.
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More phone calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year.
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Early Greeks and Romans used dried watermelons for helmets.
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The Braille system of writing was invented by Louis Braille when he was 15
years old!
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The lollipop is named after a race horse.
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Over 1.6 billion miles of telephone wire are installed across the U.S.
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The "S" in Harry S Truman does not stand for anything.
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Americans eat over 75 acres of pizza a day.
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Once in England, because of a water spout, it rained frogs!
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There are an average of eight peas in a pod.
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There are 30 million teenagers in the world.
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There are more women in the world than men.
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A long time ago in Greece, a man would toss an apple to a girl as a
proposal. If she caught it, she meant yes.
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Glass, which looks like a solid, is actually a very slow moving liquid!
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Not all mummies are from Egypt. Some are from South America.
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The average American will eat 35,000 cookies in during their life span.
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7% of the population are lefties.
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The average person over fifty will have spent 1 year looking for lost
items.
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The average person will drink 8,000 gallons of water during their
lifetime.
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The name "Wendy" was made up for the book, Peter Pan.
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Alaska was bought from Russia for about 2 cents an acre.
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The yo-yo was first used as a weapon.
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Mexico's east coast sinks into the sea one to two inches per year.
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You speak about 4,800 words per day.
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A year is made up of 31,557,600 seconds.
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A piece of paper can be folded no more then 9 times.
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By the time you graduate from high school, you will have been in school
for about 17,000 hours.
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