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Factsbuffet.comFactsbuffet.comA growing collection of curious facts. Updated Daily! Articles
What?s the Difference Between a Potato and a Sweet Potato?
2008-12-09 23:22:00 A sweet potato is a modified root and a potato is a modified stem and, therefore, a [true] tuber. One of the big differences is that the sweet potato is a perennial and they continue to grow indefinitely while a potato has a predetermined length of season after which the plant will senesce and ... More About: Food , Sweet , Potato , Farm , Difference
Can You Die From Drinking Too Much Water?
2008-12-09 22:14:00 In January 2007, hours after competing in a radio station contest to win a Nintendo Wii, 28-year-old Jennifer Strange was found dead in her California home. The station’s “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” challenge awarded the game system to the contestant who could drink the most water without having to take a trip to ... More About: Contest , Health , Water , Drinking , Death
The 40th Anniversary of the Computer Mouse
2008-12-09 04:13:00 On 9 December 1968 hi-tech visionary Douglas Engelbart first used one to demonstrate novel ways of working with computers. The first mouse that Dr Engelbart used in the demo at the Fall Joint Computer Conference (FJCC) was made of wood and had one button. Much of the technology shown off in the demo inspired the creation of ... More About: Hardware , Technology , History , Anniversary
BBQs and Parties on Grave Sites!
2008-12-09 03:57:00 Did you know that some Pre-Columbian cultures had elaborate festivities at their graveyards? Some pre-Hispanic cultures in South America had elaborate celebrations at their cemeteries, complete with feasting and drinking grounds much like modern barbecue pits, according to a new archaeological study. Excavations of 12th- and-13th-century burial mounds in the highlands of Brazil and Argentina revealed numerous ... More About: History , Party , Graveyard , Chief
Do Dogs Experience Jealousy?
2008-12-08 17:44:00 The Vienna-based researchers showed that dogs will stop doing a simple task when not rewarded if another dog, which continues to be rewarded, is present. Writing in the journal PNAS, the scientists say this shows a sensitivity in dogs that was only previously found in primates. The researchers now plan to extend their experiments to look at ... More About: Science , Dogs , Research , Animals , Experiment
Message in a Bottle Found 39 Years Later
2008-12-07 22:42:00 A message in a beer bottle was found in North Carolina, 39 years after it was thrown into the sea. The note was sealed in a Schaefer beer bottle. It was dated Aug. 17, 1969 and read: “If found notify the North Haledon Fire Co. .2.” Mark Ciarmello and his 3-year-old daughter found the bottle along a ... More About: Interesting , General , Time , Beer , Message
Haitian Zombie Powder
2008-12-06 21:27:00 Have you ever wondered if Zombies could actually exist? It turns out that the Puffer Fish contains a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin. When given to a human, can cause paralysis and death. Victims of this tetrodotoxin usually remain conscious until they die. Davis collected eight samples of this zombie powder in four regions of Haiti. ... More About: Health , Animals , Human , Myths
How the Telephone Keypad Came About
2008-12-06 01:40:00 Here is an interesting article about how the telephone companies came about choosing the keypad configuration for dialing numbers. Ever wonder who came up with the order of numbers on a telephone? Ever wonder why it isn?t the same as those on a calculator, or a keyboard, ascending from lowest to highest? After all, adding machines ... More About: Design , Technology , History , Configuration , Numbers
Prehistoric Flying Reptile Was Bigger Than a Car
2008-12-05 22:59:00 A fossil of a toothless flying pterosaur, with a body bigger than some family cars, represents one of the largest of these extinct reptiles ever to be found and has forced the creation of a new genus, scientists announced today. Pterosaurs ruled the skies 115 million years ago during the dinosaur age. They are often mistaken ... More About: History , Animals , Flying , Reptiles , Birds
What Do People Use Their Cars For?
2008-12-05 17:52:00 Chicago-based consultancy Mintel found that 60% of survey respondents believe the main purpose of a vehicle is to get from point A to point B, and 55% say the true value of a car or truck is how long it lasts. Only 13% say they want their vehicle to catch other people’s attention. [Marketing Daily] More About: Cars , People , Study , Driving , General
The Healthiest and Unhealthiest States
2008-12-05 17:00:00 Louisiana has displaced Mississippi as the unhealthiest U.S. state and other Southern states were close rivals due to high obesity and smoking rates in new rankings that deemed Vermont the healthiest. [From Fox News] More About: United States , Health , Louisiana , Obesity , Smoking
Happiness is Contagious
2008-12-05 07:06:00 When you’re smiling, the whole world really does smile with you. A paper being published Friday in a British medical journal concludes that happiness is contagious ? and that people pass on their good cheer even to total strangers. American researchers who tracked more than 4,700 people in Framingham, Mass., as part of a 20-year ... More About: Research , Study , Human , Happiness , Cheer
George Washington?s Life
2008-12-05 00:17:00 George Washington served as the first President of the United States starting in 1789, he is the only President to have gotten 100% of electoral votes. He was born in Virginia, and was educated at home by his family. He retired from the Presidency in 1797 and returned to Mount Vernon to live, ... More About: Life , History
The First Shots of the Civil War
2008-12-04 18:01:00 The first shots of the American Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter on December 26, 1860. The fort was not yet fully constructed, and the Union commander had moved his forces there without orders from Washington because he thought reinforcing it might delay a Confederate attack. [source] More About: History , Shots , Civil War
The World?s Fastest Cat
2008-11-25 18:42:00 The cheetah is the world’s fastest cat. As a matter of fact, it’s the speediest of all land animals. Cheetahs in full sprint can reach speeds up to 75 mph and they can accelerate faster than most sports cars. It takes a cheetah less than 3 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. That can ... More About: World , Cat , General , Animals , The World
Railroad Standards
2008-11-24 22:31:00 As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. The eventual result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a standard gauge allowing inter-connectivity and the inter-operability of ... More About: Standards , History , General , Trains , Tracks
Hair Color and Age
2008-11-24 20:00:00 The color of your hair, your age, and even your gender have an impact on how many hairs are on your head. These modifiers even have a say in the denseness, and rate of growth of your hair. For example male hair is more dense than female hair, and females hair grows slower than males. ... More About: Health , Color , Human , Gender , Hair
Oak Trees and Acorns
2008-11-24 16:37:00 Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are at least 20 years old. Some don’t have their first year of acorn production until they are 50 years old. The tree will be producing thousands of acorns by the time it is 70-80 years old. Of these acorns, only about 1 in ... More About: Nature , Trees , Seeds
Links for 2008-11-21 [del.icio.us]
2008-11-22 09:00:00 Poll: Internet, Fox News Are Most Trusted News Sources | Epicenter from Wired.com More About: Links , 2008
Links for 2008-11-21 [del.icio.us]
2008-11-22 07:00:00 Poll: Internet, Fox News Are Most Trusted News Sources | Epicenter from Wired.com More About: Links , 2008
Keen Vision of Hawks
2008-11-22 00:51:00 The vision of a hawk is many times sharper than that of a human being. Their retinas contain approximately 1 million photoreceptors per square millimeter and a human retina contains about 200,000 in the same amount of space. Every photoreceptor has a nerve connecting it to the hawk’s brain. Additionally, their eyes have special magnification ... More About: Eyes , Animals , Birds , Hawks , Vision
The World?s Smallest Aircraft
2008-11-21 16:23:00 The world’s smallest piloted aircraft was the Bumblebee II. The creator named the aircraft “bumblebee” because it is said that actual bumblebees do not have sufficient wing area to fly. At first, some engineers and pilots said the same about this tiny airplane. (http://www.aviationtrivia.info/Starr-Bum ble-Bee-II.php) More About: Technology , World , Aircraft , Small , Airplane
History of the Teddy Bear
2008-11-21 01:33:00 November 14th is designated as American Teddy Bear Day. According to the U.S. Navy, who provided the content, we have President Theodore Roosevelt to thank for the Teddy Bear. In November of 1902, President Roosevelt and friends were hunting, and came across an injured bear. A hunting guide asked Roosevelt to kill the bear so ... More About: Cartoon , History , Story , Animals
Healthy Pizza
2008-11-20 21:21:00 Surprise! Go ahead and eat your pizza, it is good for you! Most people would not agree, but pizza is a healthy food if you do it right. The right combination of ingredients can result in a very health meal or snack. Start with a whole wheat crust, add tomato sauce. ... More About: Health , Food , Pizza , Snack , Healthy
Melting Pearls With Vinegar
2008-11-20 18:57:00 White, distilled vinegar (which has been around for 10,000 years!) can actually melt pearls. Yes, this popular treasure of the ocean that is produced in a living, shelled mollusk will, in fact, melt in vinegar. According to http://www.vinegartips.com/facts/, vinegar is also known to soften eggs and turn a chicken bone rubbery in just 24 hours! More About: Food , Chemicals , Vinegar , Pearls
Links for 2008-11-19 [del.icio.us]
2008-11-20 09:00:00 Blue Marble Next Generation : Feature Articles More About: Links , 2008
Links for 2008-11-19 [del.icio.us]
2008-11-20 07:00:00 Blue Marble Next Generation : Feature Articles More About: Links , 2008
How Silly Putty Was Invented
2008-11-20 04:38:00 Silly Putty was accidentally invented by James Wright of General Electric when he dropped boric acid into silicone oil. He was looking for a substitute for artificial rubber. GE supplied the newly discovered dilatant compound to researchers around the world. None found a use for it, but they all loved playing with it. [wikipedia] More About: History , Toy , Oil , Accident
Links for 2008-11-16 [del.icio.us]
2008-11-17 09:00:00 Factsbuffet — A Collection of Curiosity A collection of little-known, interesting facts on an assortment of curious topics. More About: Links , 2008
Links for 2008-11-16 [del.icio.us]
More articles from this author:2008-11-17 07:00:00 Factsbuffet — A Collection of Curiosity A collection of little-known, interesting facts on an assortment of curious topics. More About: Links , 2008 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
