3000+ Things That Will Make You Smart by Adrian Gemen - HTML preview

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1606. Dogs can be trained to detect an upcoming epileptic seizure

1607. American women, on average, spend 55 minutes per day getting showered, dressed, and groomed

1608. Germany produces more than 5,000 varieties of beer and has about 1,300 breweries in country

1609. In some parts of the Atacama Desert it has never rained

1610. In 1681, the last dodo bird died

1611. Strawberries are a member of the rose family

1612. It is common in Israel and Egypt to eat watermelon with feta cheese

1613. The most popular recipient of Valentine cards are school teachers

1614. The average stay for a prisoner on Alcatraz, when it was used as a prison, was five years

1615. Mickey Mouse is known as "Topolino" in Italy

1616. Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the Western Pacific

1617. About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light

1618. In Japan, tipping at restaurants is not a norm. However, some restaurants might add a 5 - 10 % service charge to the bill

1619. The first automobile racetrack in America was the 'Indianapolis Motor Speedway,' which had 3 million cobblestones.

1620. A cow has four compartments in its stomach

1621. The most popular place to burn candles in the house is the living room

1622. In Japan, by the time man reaches the age of 60, he is commemorated with a special ceremony. This ceremony features the man wearing a red kimono, which denotes that he no longer has the responsibilities of being a mature adult

1623. Men are four times more likely to be struck by lightning than women

1624. The all-time most nominated Grammy artist with 77 nominations is Quincy Jones

1625. In 1845, inventor Thomas Adams started the world's first chewing gum factory.

1626. In 1693, the postage rate of a letter was determined by how much light went through the letter. The less the light went through the letter the more expensive the rate would be. This technique was referred to as candling

1627. Polar bears can smell seals who are 20 miles away

1628. Hair is made from the same substance as fingernails

1629. Polar bears have been known to swim more than 60 miles without resting

1630. Before 1883, the three-cent U.S. stamp was also used for advertising. The advertisment was located on the back of the stamp for various products

1631. The largest ketchup bottle in the world is a 170 feet tall and is located in Collinsville, Illinois, USA. It was built in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company as a water tower

1632. Bo Jackson set a Monday Night Football record by rushing for 222 yards in one game against the Seattle Seahawks, including a 91-yard TD run

1633. There are approximately 75,000,000 horses in the world

1634. The fins of the Spiny Dogfish Shark are sometimes used as sandpaper for wood products

1635. The Super Bowl is so popular that it is the number on at-home party event of the year

1636. There was a time in Japan where a wife being left handed was a ground for divorce

1637. The United States produces enough plastic film annually to cover the entire state of Texas

1638. It is possible to get high by licking a toad. The Cane Toad produces a toxin called bufotenine to ward off predators. When licked, this toxin acts as a hallucinogen

1639. Stinging insects kills approximately 25 people annually in the U.S

1640. The first commercial microwave oven was called the "1161 Radarange" and was the size of a refrigerator

1641. Chances of a women getting breast cancer are increased by excesseive use of alcohol

1642. A common name for pincurls is also spitcurls because woman sometimes wet their hair with their saliva before curling it

1643. The first hot air balloon flight traveled for 5.5 miles over Paris and lasted for 23 minutes

1644. Birds do not sweat, as they do not have sweat glands

1645. Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan once wore a Nazi uniform while acting in a film during his Hollywood days. The name of the movie was "Desperate Journey," which was filmed in 1942

1646. The town of Olney, Illinois celebrates a "Squirrel Day" festival to honour the 200 albino squirrels that live in the town. The festival includes a squirrel blessing by a priest

1647. In the United States there are about three million honey producing colonies

1648. Adult earwigs can float in water for up to 24 hours

1649. January is named for the Roman god Janus. Janus was a temple god who could look forward and backward at the same time

1650. Pepper was sold as individual grains during the Elizabethan times. The guards at the London docks had to sew up their pockets so they would not steal any of the pepper

1651. On average, the life span of an American dollar bill is eighteen months

1652. Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."

1653. A diet high in fat is said to impede memory

1654. There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half-caused cancer in rats

1655. Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new cars.

1656. Every year approximately 2,500 left-handed people are killed by using object or machinery designed for right-handed people

1657. The heart of an adult giraffe weighs on average 26 pounds

1658. Two million red blood cells die every second

1659. The first American astronaut in space was Alan B. Shepard Jr

1660. The world record for donut eating is held by John Haight, who ate 29 donuts (52 ounces) in a little over six minutes

1661. Hundreds of years ago, only the wealthy people used to wear underwear

1662. Buffalo wings, got their name because the spicy chicken wings originated in Buffalo, New York

1663. The board game Scrabble was originally called "Criss Cross Words" by inventor Alfred Butts

1664. Men are more likely to be colorblind than women. About one of out of 12 men are colorblind

1665. Edwin Armstrong invented FM radio in 1933. The first men to use FM radio to communicate with Earth from the moon's surface were named Edwin Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

1666. The MGM lion, whose name was Leo, lived in Memphis until his death

1667. The Bible was written by over 40 authors over a period of 1500 years

1668. The range of a medieval long-bow is 220 yards

1669. Studies indicate that weightlifters working out in blue gyms can handle heavier weights

1670. African heart-nosed bats can have such a keen sense of sound that they can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from six feet away

1671. Many of the stars that were in the Poltergeist Trilogy had strange deaths

1672. The sap of a banana plant leaves serious stains on hands and clothes that is extremely hard to remove

1673. In Ireland, a prime minister is a called a Taoiseach

1674. American President John Tyler had 15 children

1675. Even though red roses looks the same, there are over 900 different types of red roses

1676. People in France own more pets in the world per person than any other country

1677. In a five card poker game there are 2,598,960 possible hands

1678. The most common pear world-wide is the Bartlett. It is bell-shaped, sweet and soft with a light green colour

1679. All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20

1680. The average person falls asleep in about 12 to 14 minutes

1681. Eighty percent of the Vanilla Beans which are used to make ice cream is grown in Madagascar

1682. Annually, British people eat more than 15 pounds of beans

1683. The largest known hailstone to have fallen was in Germany in 1925, which weighed close to four and a half pounds.

1684. The Kraft company produces enough Cool Whip, a brand of whipping cream, in one year to fill the entire Grand Canyon

1685. Karate actually originated in India, but was developed further in China

1686. A seagull can drink salt water because it has special glands that filter out the salt

1687. Elvis had a twin brother named Jesse Garon, who died at birth

1688. 95% of the entire lemon crop produced in the U.S. is from California and Arizona

1689. There are more than 3000 documented caves located in the state of Tennessee

1690. Soy crayons have been invented to replace wax crayons and one acre of soybeans can produce over 80,000 crayons

1691. People drank gold powder mixed in with water in medieval Europe to relieve pain from sore limbs

1692. Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game

1693. Twit is the name given for a pregnant goldfish

1694. A ear trumpet was used before the hearing aid was invented by people who had difficulty hearing

1695. In 1982, a cactus in Phoenix, Arizona killed a man. David Grundman fired two shotgun blasts at a giant saguaro cactus that ended up falling on top of him

1696. There are 293 steps to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

1697. The most popular American city for Kool-Aid sales is St. Louis, Missouri

1698. A human embryo is smaller than a grain of rice at four weeks old

1699. In 1923, the first neon sign was introduced in the U.S. Two neon signs were sold to a Packard car dealership for $24,000 which read, "Packard."

1700. Silk was developed in China were it was kept a secret for more than two thousands years. Anyone found trying to smuggle silkworm eggs or cocoons out of the country was immediately put to death

1701. Ivory bar soap floating was a mistake. They had been mixing the soap formula causing excess air bubbles that made it float. Customers wrote and told how much they loved that it floated, and it has floated ever since

1702. Sir John Harington, the godson of Queen Elizabeth I, was the inventor of the toilet

1703. The Popsicle was invented by 11 year-old Frank Epperson in 1905. He left his drink outside with a stir stick in it and he noticed that it had frozen. He applied for a patent in 1923 and named it "Epsicle." The name was later changed to Popsicle

1704. In the U.S., approximately 46% of the chicken that is eaten by people comes from restaurants or other food outlets

1705. An earthquake on Dec. 16, 1811 caused parts of the Mississippi River to flow backwards

1706. The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado

1707. There are only four words in the English language which end in"-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous

1708. One pound of maple syrup can make eight pounds of candy or sugar

1709. Uranus is the only planet that rotates on its side

1710. The peanut is not a nut, it is actually a legume

1711. Approximately 71% of American chocolate eaters prefer to eat milk chocolate

1712. A colony of bees have to fly almost fifty-five thousand miles and tap two million flowers to make one pound of honey

1713. Popped popcorn should be stored in the freezer or refrigerator as this way it can stay crunchy for up to three weeks

1714. An office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet

1715. In Czechoslovakia, there is a church that has a chandelier made out of human bones

1716. The first fruit eaten on the moon was a peach

1717. The name "Lego" came from the Danish word LEg Godt, which means "play well."

1718. Female and male black bears cannot tolerate being around each other except when they breed

1719. In 1998, Ten Speed Press publishing company published a book, "The Eat A Bug Cookbook" by David George Gordon that contains over 33 bug recipes

1720. Twelve men have landed on and explored the moon

1721. The football team Green Bay Packers comes from a meat packing company called Acme Packing

1722. Unlike a frog a toad cannot jump

1723. The average weight of a newborn baby is 7 lbs. 6 oz. For a triplet baby it is 3 lbs. 12 oz

1724. Baseball was the first sport to be pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated

1725. A group of tigers is called a streak

1726. Hippos drink as much as 250 litres of water in any given 24 hour period

1727. 850 peanuts are needed to make an 18 oz. jar of peanut butter

1728. The Beatles have sold more records than anyone else with over a billion worldwide

1729. After the "Popeye" comic strip was launched in 1931, spinach consumption went up by thirty-three percent in the United States

1730. The largest type of penguin is the Emperor Penguin which can stand to be almost 3.5 feet tall and weigh more than 90 pounds

1731. Over 175 million cubic yards of earth was removed for the creation of the Panama Canal

1732. 7-Eleven was the first convenience store to have television advertising. The animated commercial ran in 1949 and had a singing rooster and owl

1733. A honey bee strokes its wings about 11,500 times a minute

1734. On average men spend 51 minutes a day grooming themselves

1735. Sharks are so powerful that their bite can generate a force of up to 18 tons per square inch

1736. The designated instrument for the city of Detroit is the accordion

1737. Percentage of Americans who have visited Disneyland/Disney World: 70%

1738. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise

1739. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first passengers in a hot air balloon

1740. On average, Americans spend $1300 on utility bills annually

1741. The New York Stock Exchange started out as a coffee house

1742. There are approximately 2,700 different species of mosquitoes

1743. Colonel Sanders original white suit was auctioned off for $80,000 in February 2002

1744. EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow."

1745. The reason why tattoos do not vanish even though we shed our skin is because the dye is injected deeper into the dermis part of the skin. It is only the epidermis that we shed

1746. Over 170,000 Indians from 210 tribes live in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest

1747. Cashew nuts contain oil in the shell that is very irritating to the skin

1748. A caterpillar grows roughly 27,000 times its size when it first emerges as an egg

1749. Lightning strikes the Empire States Building about seven times a year

1750. Snake venom is ninety percent protein

1751. More than three thousand people work on research in Antarctica each year

1752. The first product that the toy company Mattel came out with was picture frames

1753. Scientists have discovered a way to make biodegradable plastic from plants by using genetic engineering.

1754. The Earth orbits the Sun at a speed of about 108,000 km per hour

1755. In 1897, Bayer, who is the makers of Aspirin, once marketed the drug heroin

1756. In Australia, a common "Boxing day" activity is surfing

1757. In 1986, a drunk fan got into a pace car at Talladega Superspeedway, and started joyriding on the track in front of a nationwide audience. The police cruisers who had to chase him around the track were not amused when they caught and arrested him

1758. Mary Hart, the co-anchor of Entertainment Tonight, has each of her legs insured for one million dollars

1759. The two top toys in 1950 were Silly Putty which sold for $1, and Crayola crayons which sold for 50 cents

1760. The King Cobra has enough venom in its bite that it can kill up to 13 adults

1761. Earl Dean developed the bottle design for Coca-Cola

1762. The word "super" to a beekeeper refers to the hive box where the honey is stored

1763. Only 23% of New Zealand families have more than two children

1764. Deliberately infecting people with malaria has been used to cure different viral infections. The high fever will strengthen the immune system and fight the virus. In recent times this has been considered as a treatment to HIV

1765. By partially filling saucers with vinegar and distributing the saucers around a room, you can eliminate odors

1766. The only animals that are capable of turning their heads 180 degrees are from the genus Galago, such as the Tarsier

1767. In the United States birds and planes collided more than 22,000 times between the years of 1990 and 1998

1768. The average number of pillowcases washed a day at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas is 15,000

1769. Over 40 million Americans have chronic bad breath

1770. There are 158 verses in the Greek National Anthem

1771. A regulation baseball has exactly 108 stitches

1772. In a study that was done by the University of Chicago in 1907, it was concluded that the easiest color to spot is yellow. This is why John Hertz, who is the founder of the Yellow Cab Company picked cabs to be yellow

1773. On average it takes a shark seven days to replace a tooth

1774. The biggest religious building in the world is a Hindu Temple, Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia. It was built at the end of the 11th century

1775. In Britain, there are approximately 50,000 pubs with 17,000 different names

1776. Snails eat with a rasping mouth called a "radula," which has thousands of teeth

1777. A dragonfly has a lifespan of for to seven weeks

1778. Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a person from producing tears

1779. The majority of American models are skinnier than 98% of American women

1780. The first jigsaw puzzle was created by map maker John Splisbury who mounted one of his maps on a sheet of hardwood. He proceeded to cut around the borders of each country use a fine saw

1781. Owen Falls Lake is the largest man-made lake in the world

1782. The patent number of the telephone is 174465.

1783. On average, 81% of Americans 16 years of age and older watch television at least once in a day

1784. If a raisin is dropped into a glass of champagne it will bounce up and down in the glass

1785. Reptiles do not perspire, and do not have any oil glands

1786. Eating chocolate three times a month helps people live longer as opposed to people who overeat chocolate or do not eat chocolate at all

1787. There is a doggy disco held in Italy every year where owners can dance with their dogs

1788. The average number of guests that attend a wedding in the U.S. is 189

1789. In ancient Egypt, the dung beetle symbolized eternal rebirth and the Sun God Khepri

1790. If a cockroach breaks a leg it can grow another one

1791. Budweiser beer is named after a town in Czechoslovakia

1792. Each day the sun causes about one trillion tons of water to evaporate

1793. Actress Debra Winger helped to perform the voice of E.T. in the movie? E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)."

1794. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letteris uncopyrightable.

1795. All penguins live south of the equator

1796. There are more than 640 muscles in the human body

1797. Airports that are at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density

1798. Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world

1799. The Ice Cream cone was invented in the summer of 1904 by Charles Menches. It made its debut one year later at the St. Louis World Fair

1800. The rhinoceros beetle can carry up to 850 times its weight on its back. This is equivalent to a person carrying over 50 mini-vans on their back

1801. The game rugby was originated at Rugby school located in England in 1823. This happened when William Webb Ellis, while playing soccer, picked the ball up in his hands and started running with it

1802. The first episode of the popular television sitcom Happy Days was titled "All The Way."

1803. Scientists have discovered that the longer the ring finger is in boys the less chance they have of having a heart attack

1804. When the body is resting, it takes in about 10 litres of air every minute

1805. The smallest bone in the human body is the stirrup bone, which is located in the ear

1806. George Washington had to borrow money to go to his own inauguration

1807. There have been over fifty million Mr. Potato Heads sold since it came out in 1952

1808. All of Chrysler's PT Cruisers are built in Mexico.

1809. Movies approximately make five times more from video sales than ticket sales

1810. There has only been 193,000 metric tonnes of gold discovered to date.

1811. The word Lethologica describes the state of not remembering the word you want to say

1812. In 1958, the United States Coast Guard off western Greenland measured the tallest known iceberg at five hundred and fifty feet

1813. In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere

1814. Baby donkeys or baby mules are also known as "Foals."

1815. When Sony introduced the walkman, it had a variety of different names in different countries. It was called "Soundabout" in the U.S., "Stowaway" in the U.K., and "Freestyle" in Australia

1816. In Canada, the most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday

1817. The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver"

1818. Author Dr. Seuss wrote the book "Green Eggs and Ham" because the editor made him a bet that he could not write a book, which contained less than fifty words

1819. Armadillos have four babies at a time, and they are always the same sex

1820. The tallest mammal in the world is the giraffe

1821. Obsessive nose picking is referred to as rhinotillexomania

1822. The