Facts About Water - strangefacts

• The odds are 1 out of 230,000,000 (.000000435%) that you're allergic to water

• Every time Beethoven sat down to write music, he poured ice water over his head

• An average human drinks about 16,000 gallons of water in a lifetime

• The average human body contains enough enough water to fill a ten-gallon tank

• The human body is comprised of 80% water

• The daily heat output of the human body is enough to boil eight gallons of freezing water

• A British woman gave birth to her daughter less than two minutes after her water broke

• The amount of heat generated by an average adult each day could boil eight gallons of water

• The average person can live 11 days without water

• About 30% of Canadians rely on getting their water from the ground for their domestic use

• In 1978, the World Water Speed record was made by Ken Warby from Australia. His average speed was 317.6 mph, on a jet-powered hydroplane

• In Australia, the average person uses 876 gallons of water daily

• In Switzerland the average person uses only 77 gallons of water per person daily

• Most of the world's people must walk at least 3 hours to fetch water

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

• Carbonated beverages became popular in 1832 after John Mathews invented an apparatus for charging water with carbon dioxide gas

• In 1832 the Scottish surgeon Neil Arnott devised water beds as a way of improving patients' comfort

• Craven Walker invented the lava lamp, and its contents are colored wax and water

• Every year, the average Briton uses 10,000 gallons of water, 500 percent more than the average Indian

• Approximately two-thirds of a person’s body weight is water. Blood is 92% water. The brain is 75% water and muscles are 75% water

Facts About Valentine's Day - strangefacts

• Japanese celebrate Christmas, but it is more like Valentine's day in the western world

• In the United States, the average couple spends 120$ on Valentine’s Day gifts

• In the US, nine million people buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets

• Some years ago, George Clooney spent $30,000 on a hotel room for Valentine’s Day

• Nearly 1 billion greeting cards are sent on Valentine’s Day, a number that is only exceeded at Christmas

• Only about 26% of the population celebrate Valentine's Day

• Most people spend at least $100 per person on their romantic Valentine’s dinner

• Most people who are choosing to share a romantic dinner with someone on Valentine's Day are choosing the same kind of cuisine. In fact, the most popular choice on this holiday is French cuisine

• Youtube domain was registered on Valentines Day

• Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare's play lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine's Day

• More people drink wine with their Valentine’s Day dinner than drink champagne

• 85% of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased by women

• The first commercial Valentine cards, trimmed with imported lace, were made by Esther Howland in Worcester, Massachusetts

• Every year around 1 billion Valentine cards are sent across. After Christmas it's a single largest seasonal card-sending occasion

• Amongst the earliest Valentine's Day gifts were candies. The most common were chocolates in heart shaped boxes

• On February 14th wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on Valentine's Day in Wales. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite Valentine decorations on the wooden spoons. This Valentine decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

Facts About Coffee - strangefacts

• The odds are 8 out of 10 (80%) that you are dependent on coffee or soda for that caffeine every day

• A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee

• President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to announce to the world that Maxwell House coffee is "Good to the last drop."

• A person would have to drink more than 12 cups of hot cocoa to equal the amount of caffeine found in one cup of coffee

• If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee

• The world's most expensive coffee is called Kopi Luwak. It costs $130 a pound

• Seniors who drink a cup of coffee before a memory test score higher than those who drink a cup of decaffeinated coffee

• Women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have a higher chance of developing osteoporosis

• Americans drink over a billion pounds of coffee every year and around five million bottles of soda

• Chinese President Hu Jintao loves Starbucks coffee

• Australians consume 60% more coffee than tea

• Over 5 million people in Brazil are employed by the coffee trade. Most of those are involved with the cultivation and harvesting of more than 3 billion coffee plants

• The coffee filter was invented in 1908 by a German homemaker, Melitta Benz, when she lined a tin cup with blotter paper to filter the coffee grinds

• Caesars Palace serves over 427 pounds of coffee each day and pours more than 3,000 ounces of orange juice every 24 hours

• Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee and voltaire drank between 50 and 65 cups of coffee every day

• Centuries ago, men were told that effects of coffee wold make them sterile

Facts About Dreams - strangefacts

• The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year 

• Most dreams last only 5 to 20 minutes

• Japanese researchers have successfully developed a technology that can put thoughts on a screen and may soon be able to screen people's dreams

• What you smell when asleep has power to influence dreams,says research presented at the '08 American Academy of Otolaryngology

• People who have been blind from birth have dreams that are formed from their other senses (e.g., touch, smell, sound)

• The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year

• Everyone dreams. Just because you don’t remember your dreams doesn’t mean you don’t dream. Everyone dreams
• Most people dream about 1-2 hours a night and have an average of 4-7 dreams each night

• Five minutes after a dream, half of the dream is forgotten. Ten minutes after a dream, over 90% is forgotten. Write down your dreams immediately if you want to remember them  

• While you sleep, your body produces a hormone that may prevent you from acting out your dreams, leaving you virtually paralyzed

• Dreams almost never represent what they actually are. The unconscious mind strives to make connections with concepts you will understand, so dreams are largely symbolic representations

Facts About Pollution - strangefacts

• Indoor pollution is 10 times more toxic than outdoor pollution

• Corn is used to produce fuel alcohol. Fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution, and it doesn't pollute the water

• 80 percent of all pollution in seas and oceans comes from land-based activities

• Each average-sized tree provides an estimated $7 savings in annual environmental benefits, including energy conservation and reduced pollution

• For every mile driven a motorcycle produces 10 to 20 times more pollution than a new car

• During winter months, 49 percent of soot and other particle pollution in Sacramento is caused by burning wood in fireplaces and wood stoves

• The World Bank reported in 2002 that pollution causes 2.42 billion dollars worth of damage to the Egyptian environment annually - equaling about 5 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product

• The risk of cancer from breathing diesel exhaust is about ten times more than ingesting all other toxic air pollutants combined, with diesel emissions contributing to over 70% of the cancer risk from air pollution in the USA

• During the 1990s, carbon dioxide emissions increased approximately 1.3% each year. But since 2000, the rate has increased to 3.3% per year, with an estimated annual global CO2 emissions increase of 35% from 1990 to 2006

• A recent study from Toronto Public Health estimates over 440 deaths a year in the Canadian city can be directly attributed to traffic emissions

• According to the US-EPA, emissions from power plants contribute to over 2,800 lung cancer deaths and 38,200 heart attacks annually in the US

Facts About Adolf Hitler - strangefacts

• Adolf Hitler was claustrophobic and installed a mirror in his elevator just to keep him from being scared 

• King Kong was Adolf Hitler's favorite movie

• Adolf Hitler loved chocolate cake

• Adolf Hitler wanted to be an architect, but he failed the entrance exam at the architectural school in Vienna

• Adolf Hitler was one of the people that was responsible in the creation of the Volkswagen Beetle

• Hitler and Napolean both had only one testical

• Adolf Hitler was Time's Man of the Year for 1938

• Richard Marowitz who lives in New Jersey once took one of Adolf Hitler's hats and now keeps it in safety deposit box. The hat is said to be worth $35,000

• Germania was the name Adolf Hitler gave to the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin, part of his vision for the future of Germany after the planned victory in World War II

• Adolf Hitler's typewriter survived from his mountain retreat and is exhibited at the Hall of History in Bessemer

• During the final days of the war in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. Less than 24 hours later, the two committed suicide

• The Holocaust was the systematic annihilation of six million Jews during the Nazi genocide by Hitler and in 1933 nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Nazi Germany during World War 2

• By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed and estimates range as high as 1.5 million murdered children during the Holocaust

• A German businessman trained his dog to do the Hitler salute 

• The Dr Seuss book 'Yertle the Turtle' was based on Adolf Hitler

• The New York phone book has 22 'Hitler' names listed before World War II, and none after

Facts About India - strangefacts

• A 13-year-old boy in India produced winged beetles in his urine after hatching the eggs in his body

• Bill Gates donated close to $100 million to fight AIDS in India. As a percent of his total wealth, this would be comparable to him donating ten cents if he only had $60

• From 1526 to 1707, the first six Mogul emperors of India ruled in unbroken succession from father to son

• In America, 38% of doctors are Indians

• In India, a 9-year-old girl was "married" to a stray dog, which tribal custom requires in order to protect a child whose first tooth appears on the upper gum

• In the marriage ceremony of the Ancient Inca Indians of Peru, the couple was considered officially wed when they took off their sandals and handed them to each other

• Native Indians have been known to paint their doors blue, which they believe keeps the bad spirits out

• Shridhar Chillal from India is known to have the record for the longest fingernails in the world, which were each at least three feet long

• The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system in India, employing over 1.6 million people

• The Uape Indians, who live in the Amazon, mix the ashes of their recently cremated relatives with alcohol, then all members of the family drink the mix with fond memories of the deceased

• 41% world's poor people live in India

• In India, people are legally allowed to marry a dog

• Indians go out to the movies 3 billion times a year - much more than any other nation

• In India, people do not wear shoes in the kitchen because some food is prepared on the floor

• The world’s largest recorded gathering of people was at a Hindu religious festival in India in 1989. It was attended by about 15 million people

• The Aztec Indians of Mexico believed turquoise would protect them from physical harm, and so warriors used these green and blue stones to decorate their battle shields

• The Aztec Indians in Central America used animal blood mixed with cement as a mortar for their buildings, many of which still remain standing today

• When the U.S. War Department was established in 1789, there were 840 soldiers in the regular army. Their job was to supervise public lands and guard the Indian frontier

• The Taj Mahal complex in India was built between 1631 and 1634 at a cost of about 40-million rupees

• Under the Travancore kingdom of Kerala, India, low caste women had to pay a tax for the right to cover their upper body

Facts About Cats - strangefacts

• Napoleon was terrified of cats

• One-third of all asthma cases in the United States is related to an allergy to cats

• King Henry III of France, Louis XVI of France and Napoleon all suffered from ailurophobia--fear of cats

• Babies that are exposed to cats and dogs in their first year of life have a lower chance of developing allergies when they grow older

• In 1888, an Egyptian peasant discovered an estimated three hundred thousand mummified cats in Beni Hassan, Egypt

• In Ancient Egypt, cats were often buried with their masters, or in a special cemetery for cats

• Reports from owners of cats and dogs indicate that 21% of dogs and 7% of cats snore

• Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats

• Cats and people both have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion

• There are 75 million cats in the U.S., with 35.5% of the nation's households having at least one cat

• There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds

• The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking

• Cats have 290 bones in their bodies, and 517 muscles and cats knead with their paws when they're happy

• The most popular names for female cats in the U.S. are Missy, Misty, Muffin, Patches, Fluffy, Tabitha, Tigger, Pumpkin and Samantha

• The richest cat in the Guinness Book of World Records is a pair of cats who inherited $415,000 in the early '60s. The richest single cat is a white alley cat who inherited $250,000

Facts About Thomas Edison - strangefacts

• Thomas Edison had a collection of over 5,000 birds 

• Thomas Edison, light bulb inventor, was afraid of the dark.

• Thomas Edison' s first major invention was the quadruplex telegraph

• As a boy, Thomas Edison suffered a permanent hearing loss from head injury

• A person sneezing was the first action caught on video by Thomas Edison

• Thomas Edison once designed a helicopter that would work with gunpowder that blew up his factory

• Anthea Turner, Walt Disney, Tom Cruise, Susan Hampshire, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Edison, Henry Winkler, Cher, Brian Conley, and Leonardo DaVinci are, or were, dyslexic 

• 9 out of 10 people believe Thomas Edison invented the light bulb

• Thomas Edison designed a helicopter that would work with gunpowder. It ended up blowing up and also blew up his factory

• Thomas Edison once saved a boy from the path of an oncoming locomotive who was a station official's child. For his bravery, the boy's father taught Edison how to use the telegraph

• During one four-year period, Thomas Edison obtained 300 patents, or one every five days

• Lazy Susans are named after Thomas Edison's daughter. He invented it to impress a gathering of industrialists and inventors

• When Thomas Edison was a youngster, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. He was counseled to go into a field where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality

• The public saw an electric light for the first time in Louisville. Thomas Edison introduced his incandescent light bulb to crowds at the Southern Exposition in 1883

• The light bulb, phonograph (record player), motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory

Facts About Stonehenge - strangefacts

• Stonehenge is surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. Its original purpose is unclear to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities  

• Of all the world’s famous monuments, none has gained as much of a reputation for pure, simple mystery as Stonehenge

• Stonehenge has been inspiring debate among scholars, scientists, and historians since the Middle Ages

• Stonehenge is located in the English countryside, the landmark is believed to date back to 2500 BC, and consists of several mammoth pieces of rock arranged and piled on top of one another in what appears at first to be a random design

• The site is surrounded by a small, circular ditch, and is flanked by burial mounds on all sides

• Although the rock formations that still remain are undoubtedly impressive, it is thought that the modern version of Stonehenge is only a small remnant of a much larger monument that was damaged with the passing of time

• It is believed that the ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood

• It is largely believed that the building process was so extensive that it could have lasted on and off for anywhere from 1500 to 7000 years

• About 2,000 BC, the first stone circle (which is now the inner circle), comprised of small bluestones, was set up, but abandoned before completion

• The stones used in that first circle are believed to be from the Prescelly Mountains, located roughly 240 miles away, at the southwestern tip of Wales

• The bluestones weigh up to 4 tons each and about 80 stones were used, in all. Given the distance they had to travel, this presented quite a transportation problem

• The Neolithic people who built the monument left behind no written records, so scientists can only base their theories on the meager evidence that exists at the site

• This has led to wild speculation that the monument was left by aliens, or that it was built by some eons-old society of technologically advanced super-humans

• All craziness aside, the most common explanation remains that Stonehenge served as some kind of graveyard monument that played a role in the builders’ version of the afterlife, a claim that is backed up by its proximity to several hundred burial mounds

• Another theory suggests that the site was a place for spiritual healing and the worship of long dead ancestors