All facts — Page 70
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2056 facts
Kopi Luwak, one of the world's most expensive coffees, is made from beans eaten by civets.
The civet eats the coffee cherries, and the beans pass through its digestive tract. Enzymes in the stomach alter the…
A goldfish's memory span is actually months, not the few seconds that urban legends claim.
Goldfish can be trained to recognize shapes, colors, and sounds, and they can remember those training cues for…
The Darvaza gas crater, known as the 'Door to Hell', has been burning for over 50 years.
Located in Turkmenistan, Soviet engineers accidentally drilled into a massive natural gas pocket in 1971. They set it…
The Nile River is one of the few major rivers in the world that flows from south to north.
It flows northward because the land to the south (in the African highlands) is at a much higher elevation than the…
Saturn's rings are relatively young, having formed only 100 to 400 million years ago.
Data from the Cassini mission suggests the rings formed long after the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, meaning early…
In the 18th century, pineapples were rented out as dinner party centerpieces.
They were incredibly rare and expensive in Europe. Hosts would rent one just to display it for a dinner party to show…
Ancient Olympic athletes competed completely naked.
The word 'gymnasium' comes from the ancient Greek word 'gymnos', meaning naked. Athletes competed nude to celebrate…
The human body is made up of about 7 octillion atoms.
This incredibly massive number (7 followed by 27 zeros) highlights the sheer microscopic complexity and scale of…
One in four hazelnuts produced in the world becomes Nutella.
About 25% of the world's hazelnut production is destined for the manufacture of Nutella. The Ferrero company, owner…
Brigadeiro was created to support a presidential campaign.
The Brazilian sweet brigadeiro was created in the 1940s during the presidential campaign of Brigadier Eduardo Gomes…
Potatoes were the first vegetable grown in space.
In 1995, NASA grew potatoes aboard the space shuttle Columbia, marking the first time a vegetable was grown in space…
Apples float because they are 25% air.
About a quarter of an apple's volume is air, which makes it buoyant in water. That's why the traditional game of…
The guillotine was still in use when Star Wars premiered.
The last execution by guillotine in France occurred on September 10, 1977, the same year the first Star Wars film was…
The first fax was installed in a palace in 1860.
Napoleon III installed a fax machine between his palace and his office in Paris in 1860. The device, a precursor to…
The longest year in human history lasted 445 days.
In 46 BC, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar and, to correct accumulated discrepancies, the year was…
Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards.
Leonardo da Vinci used a writing style known as mirror writing, writing from right to left. His notes could only be…
British tanks are equipped with facilities to make tea.
Since the end of World War II, British war tanks have included equipment called a boiling vessel, which allows the…
Beethoven used a metal rod to feel the music.
After becoming completely deaf at age 40, Ludwig van Beethoven held a metal rod between his teeth and pressed it…
The first credit card was made of cardboard in 1950.
Created by Frank McNamara (Diners Club), the first cards were given to frequent customers who could charge meals at…
The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for 'Day'.
It is a military term used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is set to begin. The 'H' in H-Hour…
Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light and an early version of the gas mask.
In 1923, Morgan patented a three-position traffic signal. He also created a 'safety hood' smoke protector that was…
The first product ever scanned with a barcode was a pack of chewing gum.
In 1974, at a Marsh supermarket in Ohio, a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum became the first item purchased using…
The showers at Alcatraz prison had heated water to keep prisoners from getting used to the cold.
The waters of San Francisco Bay are freezing. Officials feared that if prisoners adapted to cold showers, they might…
The Panama Canal uses a system of locks that act like water elevators.
Ships are raised 26 meters above sea level to cross the continental divide and then lowered back down, saving them…