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The Slow Loris
2008-09-02 04:34:00
“The Slow Loris is a small primate that actually secretes a toxin which it licks off of its arms before biting in self-defense.” [http://www.kingsnake.com/toxinology/lori s/slow_loris.html]
More About: Animals

Moonquakes
2008-09-01 18:06:00
“A moonquake is the lunar equivalent of an earthquake. They were first discovered by the Apollo astronauts. Moon quakes are much weaker than earthquakes. According to NASA, there are at least four different kinds of moonquakes: Deep moonquakes (~700 km below the surface, probably caused by tidal in origin) Meteorites impact vibrations Thermal quakes (the frigid lunar crust ...
More About: Science , Space , Earthquake , Astronauts

Etymology of Christmas
2008-09-01 18:02:00
From wikipedia.org “After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol[3], the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word ”Yule” is derived. The word “Christmas” is a contraction meaning “Christ’’s mass.” It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes ...
More About: History , Holiday , Words

New York Area Code
2008-08-23 23:17:00
“New York City received the area code 212 because it is the fastest code to dial using a rotary phone and New York is the most populous city in the United States. The next largest cities at the time were Chicago and Los Angeles. They received the next fastest numbers to dial, 312 and 213 ...
More About: History , Code , Telephone

The Planet Jupiter
2008-08-23 23:16:00
“Jupiter is our solar system’’s largest planet. It is made almost entirely of gas and liquid. It has a distinctive feature on it called the Great Red Spot which is a giant storm in its atmosphere.” [nasa.gov]
More About: Space , Planet , The Planet

Fractions of Sevenths
2008-08-23 23:11:00
“There is an interesting pattern with the fractions of sevenths (1/7th, 2/7th, 3/7th, 4/7th, 5/7th, 6/7th.). First, there are only 6 digits that are used in these fractions, and they repeat. So, for example, 1/7th is equal to .142857142857142857….(it keeps going). but here’’s the cool part - to get 2/7th, you just find the next ...
More About: Math , Numbers , Seven , Division

Tigon
2008-08-23 23:10:00
“A tigon is an artificially bred cross between a male tiger and a female lion.” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigon]
More About: Animals , Lion , Tiger

The Worlds Oldest Joke
2008-08-23 22:12:00
Did you know that the worlds oldest known joke dates back to 1900BC? It is a saying of the Sumerian people who lived in what is now Iraq. “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” Submitted By Fran in the Forums
More About: Entertainment , History , Joke , Worlds

555 Area Code
2008-08-23 22:10:00
“The 555 area code used in movie/TV phone numbers is “fake” and is not assigned to any real city or town.” [source]
More About: Movies , Entertainment , Code , Telephone , Area

Guinea Pigs
2008-08-23 22:09:00
“Cavies is another name for Guinea Pigs , which are not pigs, but rodents.” [wikipedia]
More About: Animals , Rodents

Moons in our Solar System
2008-08-23 22:08:00
“The Nine planets in the solar system have a total of 153 currently known moons.” [wikipedia]
More About: Space , System , Moon , Planets , Solar

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
2008-08-22 05:08:00
“John Adams , the 2nd President of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States, died on the same day, which happened to be the fiftieth anniversary of the the adoption of the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1826. Both Adams and Jefferson sat on the committee that drafted the Declaration ...
More About: History

Gecko Tails
2008-08-17 07:15:00
“A gecko can lose its tail, which will continue to wiggle, to distract an enemy. The gecko can then regrow it.” [worldbook]
More About: Animals , Defense , Tail , Tails

Hummingbirds
2008-08-17 07:14:00
“Hummingbird s are not only the smallest bird species, but also can fly backwards and upside down.” [http://www.projectwildlife.org/documents /hummer.pdf]
More About: Animals , Bird , Flight

Alphabet Blocks Invented
2008-08-17 07:13:00
“In 1882, Adeline Whitney invented Alphabet blocks for kids.” [http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768081 .html]
More About: Toy , General , Invention , Blocks

George Washington?s False Teeth
2008-08-17 07:12:00
“Contrary to popular belief, George Washington ’s false teeth were not made of wood. He had numerous sets made of such materials as metal and elk teeth.” [wikipedia]
More About: Health , History , President , Teeth

Opposite Sides of a Dice
2008-08-17 07:11:00
“Opposite sides of a dice always add up to 7″ [source]
More About: General , Sides , Game , Gamble , Numbers

Dirty Pillows
2008-08-16 22:55:00
“In the average bed pillow over two years old, approximately ten percent of its weight can be comprised of dead dust mites and droppings.” [http://www.micro.msb.le.ac.uk/video/mite .html]
More About: Health , Dirty , Pillow , Sleep

The Newton
2008-08-16 22:53:00
“The Physical unit “newton” is named after Sir Isaac Newton , because of the major contribution he made to the subject of Mechanics. It symbolises the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram by one meter per second squared.”
More About: Science , History , Math , Mass

Can Emu?s Walk Backwards?
2008-08-16 22:51:00
“Did you know that Emus can’t walk backwards?” [source]
More About: Animals , Walk , Backwards

Wireless Research
2008-08-16 22:50:00
“In the past half century, almost half of all alll research into wireless technology has been developed by amateurs.” [http://www.qsl.net/n9zia]
More About: Technology , Wireless , Research , Amateur

United States Habitation
2008-08-16 22:36:00
“The United States is the 3rd largest inhabited country on the planet, by landmass. Only Russia and Canada have more landmass.” [source]
More About: General

The Largest US Earthquake
2008-08-13 04:35:00
“On March 28, 1964 in Prince William Sound, Alaska, the largest earthquake to hit the United States occurred with a magnitude of 9.2.” [firstscience.com] Sponsored By: Give Me A Random Fact!
More About: Earthquake , Largest

Heat Island Effect
2008-08-13 04:34:00
“Urban areas can be up to 10 degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas due to the heat island effect.” [Heat Island Effect ]

The Only Mammal That Can Fly
2008-08-13 04:32:00
“Bat’s are apart of a special animals species, they are the only mammals that can fly.” [source]

The First Death By Parachute
2008-08-13 04:30:00
“Robert Cocking was the first person to die in a parachuting accident, after a parachute of his own design (pictured) failed during a test at Vauxhall Gardens in 1837.” Sponsored By: Give Me A Random Fact!
More About: Death

Thundersnow
2008-08-13 04:28:00
“Thundersnow is a particularly rare meteorological phenomenon that includes the typical behavior of a thunderstorm, but with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It commonly falls in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of extratropical cyclones between autumn and spring when surface temperatures are most likely to be near or below freezing.” [source]

What’s a Beefalo?
2008-08-13 04:26:00
“The Beefalo is a fertile animal that is a cross between a bison(buffalo) and a cattle.” [wikipedia]

The Word Bookkeeper
2008-08-13 04:26:00
“”bookkeeper” is the only unhyphenated word in the English language that has three repeated letters, one after the other.” [source]
More About: Word

Do You Still Use Shorthand?
2008-08-13 02:21:00
DO YOU STILL USE SHORTHAND?  I realize that shorthand has long been a “dying art”, but after approximately 50 years since I learned it in high school (and I still have a Gregg Shorthand Manual!), I still use it on a daily basis!  I recently retired as a Legal Assistant, and I would always take messages in shorthand and then rewrite them for my boss. Most clients and other lawyers tend to talk fast, and I do not understand how anyone could take an accurate message in longhand! You have to be able to catch almost every word or number or question (especially a legal one) in order to be able to transcribe it correctly.  Although I mostly used a dictaphone, there was always the “hurry up” letter or pleading or message to be faxed that my attorney boss needed to dictate “on the spot”, so I sure came in handy with my talent! I also write articles and columns and my own newsletter, so I often make notes of items and subjects and stories I want to include even though I tend to...