Did You Know?

The Royal Gorge Bridge looms 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, making it the highest suspension bridge in the world. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad run under the Royal Gorge Bridge, along the banks of the Royal Gorge, which is a 10-mile canyon with a 50 feet wide base and a depth of almost 1200 feet. The Royal Gorge Bridge is 880 feet high and 18 feet wide. It has a wooden walkway consisting of over 1000 planks. The Colorado Royal Gorge Bridge is suspended from towers that are 150 feet high. In November of 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge was constructed as a one-lane toll bridge. The bridge is also listed on the Register of National Historic Places. The total cost to build the bridge was $350,000. The price tag to build it today would be roughly $15 million dollars. Some other interesting facts about the bridge: There are 2,100 strands of No. 9 galvanized wire in each cable. The walkway is made of 1,292 planks of deck; about 250 are replaced annually. The bridg...

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 7th-most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City. Fun Facts About New York State: Sam Schapiro began the Kosher wine industry on New York's Lower East side with their famous extra heavy original concord wine in 1899. Dairying is New York's most important farming activity with over 18,000 cattle and or calves farms. New York City has 722 miles of subway track. The first presentation of 3D films before a paying audience...

Did You Know?... 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily. 101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don't die throughout the movie. About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians died by the time they were 30. An average person laughs about 15 times a day. John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles. Feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat a day. Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph, while coughs clock in at about 60 mph. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

A Brief History of Fast Food: Most citizenries consider the McDonald brothers of Golden State led off the fast-food furor in United States, but actually, it was the White Castle burger chain that really led off fast food history in USA. J. Walter Anderson opened the 1st White Castle in 1916 in Wichita, Kansas, and citizenries cared the inexpensive beefburgers, fries, and colas he provided. Yet, fast-food truly did not go mutual in US until after World War 2, when Americans for the first time started to fall in love with their motorcars, and owned leisure and more money to drop on eating out. Some interesting Fast Food Facts: The first located printed reference to hamburgers appeared in the Los Angeles Times in 1894. Every month, approximately nine out of 10 American children visit a McDonald's restaurant. French fries are the single most popular fast food in America. In 1970, french fries surpassed regular potato sales in the United States. In 2004, America...

The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. The ant has two eyes, each eye is made of many smaller eyes. Ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight with their mandibles. The Army Ant (Ecitron Burchelli) of South America, can have as many as 700,000 members in its colony. Ants lived alongside the dinosaurs. Ants belong to the order "Hymenoptera" and are said to be closely related to sphecid wasps. The largest ant ever discovered was actually a fossilized specimen belonging to Titanomyrma giganteum, was about 2.4 inches long and had a wingspan of almost six inches. An ant’s waist has 1 or 2 movable parts providing great flexibility. There are 22,000 different species of ant. The queen ant lays all the eggs in the anthill. An ant brain has about 250,000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human.

Just a single hive contains approximately 40-45,000 bees! Bees fly an average of 13-15 mph. About 8 pounds of honey is eaten by bees to produce 1 pound of beeswax. The honey bee's wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz. A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip. It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee’s flight around the world. The honey bee has been around for 30 million years. Bees collect 66 lbs of pollen per year, per hive. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. Honeybees are not native to the USA. They are European in origin, and were brought to North America by the early settlers. The queen bee can live for several years. Worker bees live for 6 weeks during the busy summer, and for 4-9 months during the winter months. The practice of honey collection and beekeeping dates back to the stone-age, as evidenced by cave paintings. 

Each of the WTC towers had 110 stories. Tower One (the North Tower, which featured a massive 360 foot high TV antenna added in 1978) stood 1,368 feet (417 m) high, and Tower Two (the South Tower, which contained the observation deck) was 1,362 feet (415 m) high. The length and breadth of the towers were 208 feet (63.4 m) x 208 feet (63.4 m). Although only Tower 1 featured an antenna, the structure of both buildings were designed to carry a broadcast mast. Sixty-eight miles of steel were used in the construction of the buildings. In addition to the towers, five other office buildings made up the WTC complex The WTC had 12 million square feet of space. The buildings had their own ZIP codes - 10047 and 10048. The north tower was opened in Dec. 1970 and the south tower in Jan. 1972; they were dedicated in April 1973. The 1993 bombing of the WTC killed six people and injured 1,000 more. 1,300 pounds of explosives ripped through the garage in the 1993 attack. 12 mountain ...

The Akita is a large spitz breed of dog originating from the mountainous northern regions of Japan. There are now two separate strains: American, a/k/a "Akita" or "American Akita"; and Japanese, aka "Akita Inu" or "Japanese Akita". The American strain comes in all dog colors; however, the Japanese strain comes in selected colors only, with all other colors considered untypical of the breed. The Akita has a short double coat, similar to that of many other northern Spitz breed. The Akita today is a unique combination of dignity, courage, alertness, and devotion to its family. It is extraordinarily affectionate and loyal with family and friends, territorial about its property, and can be reserved with strangers. It is feline in its actions; it is not unusual for an Akita to clean its face after eating, to preen its kennel mate, and to be fastidious in the house. They are however known to be intolerant of other dogs of the same gender, as stated ...

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400. A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why. A Native American tribe in South Dakota collects bottle caps left by campers, using them as currency. Several banks in the area now recognize the caps as legal tender. The MGM Grand Hotel of Las Vegas washes 15,000 pillowcases per day! Polar bears are left-handed. No word in the English language rhymes with "MONTH". A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. 80% of your brain is made up of water. Over 1,000 birds die every year from smashing into windows.

The statue was built from copper sheets mounted onto a steel framework. Work on the statue began in France in 1875 and was completed in 1884. The statue had to be dismantled before being shipped to New York in 1885. Each of the 1350 iron bars were replaced by stainless-steel bars because the iron bars were all severely corroded. Statue of Liberty stamps that have been minted were: 15 cent stamp issued on November 11, 1922; 3 cent stamp issued on June 24, 1954; 8 cent stamp issued on April 9, 1954; and 11 cent stamp issued on June 11, 1961. Liberty Island was known as Bedloe's Island till 1956. Liberty island was closed to the public from September 11, 2001 and reopened in December the same year. There are seven rays on Liberty's crown, symbolizing the seven seas and seven continents. Miss Liberty holds a tablet in her left hand that reads "July 4, 1776" (in Roman numerals). There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal and 25 viewing windows...

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs were written by E.Y. Harburg, the music by Harold Arlen. Incidental music, based largely on the songs, was by Herbert Stothart, with borrowings from classical composers. Fun Facts: As a child, author L. Frank Baum had a recurring dream where he was being chased by a scarecrow. Judy Garland's ruby slippers are among the most valuable movie memorabilia. Five pairs are known to exist. One pair sold for $666,000 at an auction in 2000. When the movie script was being adapted from the book, the role of the Wizard was written with W.C. Fields in mind for the part.  The film rights to L. Frank Baum's book were purchased by MGM for $75,000, a very large sum at ...

Today, Dylan’s primary residence is in Malibu, CA, but he owns several properties around the world. Bob received a D-plus in a music-appreciation class at the University of Minnesota.  Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941. Bob's real name is Robert Zimmerman. He began introducing himself as “Bob Dylan” during his Dinkytown days. Between the ages of 10 and 18 Dylan ran away from home seven times. Borrowed lines from a Japanese book "Confessions of a Yakuza" for lyrics in the songs of his album "Love and Theft" - the author was apparently flattered by this. He turned down an offer to headline the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969 (Jimi Hendrix ultimately headlined), even though he had been living on a farm in Woodstock for many years at that point. His favorite movie is Shoot the Piano Player (1960) by François Truffaut. He was voted the seventh greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll in 2008. ...

World War II (September 1, 1939-September 2, 1945) was the largest, most destructive, and most widespread war in history. As a result of World War II more than 50 million people died and hundreds of millions were wounded, physically and psychologically.  Most of the German soldiers who died in World War Two died on the Eastern front. The top American ace of all time was Richard Ira Bong. He shot down 40 Japanese planes in the Pacific. Germany lost 40-45% of their aircraft during World War 2 to accidents. For each man killed on battle, four others were wounded. The National Socialist Party was originally called the ‘Nasos’ and not the Nazis. From 1939 till the end of the war, the Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bomb, mostly in industrial German cities. During World War II the government appointed a Minister of Food. His job was to sell the benefits of rationing to the public and educate people into better eating habits. Recommended Reading: Amaz...

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy, Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln helped begin the Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln was born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, on February 12, 1809. They were both uneducated farmers. Lincoln was 6’4”, making him our country’s tallest president.   Lincoln was the first president to be photographed at his inauguration. Standing close to Lincoln in the photo is his future assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln's ancestry is mapped down to Samuel Lincoln. Samuel had come to Massachusetts in the 17th century, from England. He had no middle name. He created a national banking system with the National Banking Act in 1863, resulting in a standardized currency. Lincoln was fond of pets, and owned horses, cats, dogs and a turkey. He was the first president to have a beard.  Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address made at the end of the Civil War is one of the most oft repeated speeches throughout history.

The chances that a tornado is a F5, the highest classification for a tornado on the F-scale, is less than 0.1%. A Tornado can occur at any time, but most often between 3pm and 9pm. Funnel clouds usually last less than 10 minutes before dissipating with many only lasting several seconds. On rare occasions, cyclones can last for over an hour as many were reported to have done in the early 1900's. Rotating thunderstorms called mesocyclones (or supercells) are the best predictors of tornado activity. Mesocyclones are well defined thunderstorms on radar that may include hail, severe winds, lightning and flash floods. Texas gets hit with the most tornados every year. They average about  125 tornadoes every year. Oklahoma comes in next with about 57 tornadoes per year, with Kansas and Florida following close behind with 55 each. Florida of course is much smaller, and therefore has more twisters per square mile than anywhere else. In terms of absolute tornado counts, the ...

The biggest breed of domesticated cats are called a Maine Coon cat and weighs up to 11 kg. Cats are some of the smartest animals and can interpret a human's mood and feelings. The average cat sleeps between 12-14 hours a day. Cats have 220° field of view where humans only have 180°. Cats' sense of smell is 14 times stronger than that of humans. A litter of kittens is called a kindle, and a group of cats is called a clowder. A cat lover is called an ailurophile. The only "natural" breed of domestic cat in America is the Main Coon. A cat's IQ is only surpassed by that of monkeys and chimps in the world of animals. Cats are the only animals that purr. They can purr at around 26 cycles per second, which is the same frequency as an idling diesel engine.

Cell phones may be new devices, but they originated in the 1920’s. Radios were used since 1921. Features were put into these radios in the 1940’s, and they were used by police. The concept of the cellular phone was developed in 1947 which originated from the mobile car phone. The concept of the cellular phone was produced by Bell Laboratories. The first actual cell phone was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper of Motorola and some other associate inventors. Some of those inventors were other people that aided in the invention of cell phones include Richard W. Dronsuth, Albert J. Mikulski, Charles N. Lynk Jr., James J. Mikulski, John F. Mitchell, Roy A. Richardson, and John H. Sangster. The first cellphones were made available to the public in 1984. These first cell phones were not very convenient to use. They were large and very expensive pieces of equipment. Today they have evolved into something that none of us can live without! Some interesting cellphone facts: An estimate...

Male polar bears may grow 10 feet tall and weigh over 1400 pounds. Females reach seven feet and weigh 650 pounds.   In the wild polar bears live up to age 25. It is estimated by scientists that there are between 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears in the world. When a polar bear stands upright, it can reach a height of 10 feet or more. Adult polar bears have a total of 42 teeth. The scientific name for a polar bear is Ursus maritimus. They are a ‘new’ bear. They evolved very recently, geologically speaking, from a common ancestor with the brown, or grizzly, bear — most estimates are around 200,000 to 250,000 years ago. Polar bears are the largest of all bears. Polar bears unlike other bears do not hibernate. They enter a state known as walking hibernation where their metabolism slows. Twins are very common in polar bear births. Polar bears are the first species to become endangered because of global warming.

Spiders' lungs are shaped like an open book. Jumping spiders can jump up to forty times their own body length. There are more than 30,000 species of spiders. Spiders are creatures that have 8 legs, have no wings or antennae. They have 2 distinct body parts called the thorax or head and the abdomen. Spiders have an exoskeleton, meaning that their skeleton is on the outside. Webs get dirty and torn, so lots of spiders make a new one every day. They don't waste the old one, though--they roll it up into a ball and eat it! The average person will encounter some 50 different kinds of spiders in their lifetime. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death. Only the female black widow spider has a poisonous bite. The male spider's venom is not poisonous and it does not attack its prey. Of the 35,000 species of spiders, only 27 species are known to have caused human fatalities.

Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and Venus). Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.  Jupiter is big enough to fit 1000 Earths inside it. Its diameter is 88,846 miles (142,984 km), more than 11 times that of Earth.  Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, is the biggest moon in the Solar System. Jupiter has over 60 known moons. If Jupiter had been 80 times more massive nuclear fusion would have occurred in its core. Thus Jupiter would have become a star rather than a planet. Jupiter's red spot is a giant storm which has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter's age is about the same age as the Sun's: 4.5 billion years. Jupiter has the strongest gravitational field in the entire solar system.  Almost ¾ of the planetary matter found in this solar system are located within Jupiter’s field. Auroral lights that are similar to the northern lights experienced on Earth can be seen emitting from Jupiter’s polar regio...

Tracing history back thousands of years, we learn that even the ancient Egyptians ate ground meat, and down through the ages we also find that ground meat has been shaped into patties and eaten all over the world under many different name. The history of the hamburger is truly a story that has been run through the meat grinder. Some sources say it began with the Mongols, who stashed raw beef under their saddles as they waged their campaign to conquer the known world. Facts about burgers: Burgers were first popularized in the US by German immigrants settling around Cincinnati. As for the modern Hamburger, the last decade has seen a huge increase in burger corruption, with Soy protein being a common culprit. Chopped meat now accounts for about 30 percent of all consumer meat sales. As late in the 1920s, many American dictionaries still did not have the word Hamburger, though most did mention the Hamburger steak. Officially, the first Hamburger sandwich appeared at the 1...

Mexico is a country located in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than two millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the country produced complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered by the Spanish in the 16th Century. Flag of Mexico Facts: Mexico is the 14th largest independent country in the world, the 11th most populous country in the world and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico has a free market economy and has the 11th largest GDP in the world. There is no official language. Spanish is spoken by 97% of the population. The official currency is the Mexican Peso. In 2000 Mexico became the 11th country in the world to have 100 million people. The country is abundant in minerals—notably silver, copper, sulfur, lead, and zinc. Mexico is nearly three times as large as Texas and more than twice as large as Venezuela. It is home to the largest bullfighting ring. The country has the old...

The Winchester Mystery House lives up to its name. The mansion itself was under construction for 38 years. Construction started in 1884 by widow Sarah L. Winchester. As legend has it the Winchesters thought the house was haunted by people killed by the Winchester rifles and that the continuous construction would appease them. Many believe that the mansion is indeed haunted. There are an astonishing 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms and 2 ballrooms, one completed and one under construction. The house also has 47 fireplaces, 10,000 window panes, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators.  The cost to build the mansion was $5,500,000. This amazing house also includes approximately 467 doorways, 950 doors, 52 skylights, over 20,000 gallons of paint required to paint the home, and 2 ballrooms. The Mansion's fascination with the number 13 is evident everywhere: bathroom number 13 has 13 windows, one of them looking into the bedroom next ...

China officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the most populous state in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3.7 million square miles). It is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area. China is the fourth largest country in the world.  China is sometimes a day ahead of the United States.  Red is considered a lucky color in China. Total Land Area of China is 9,596,960 Sq. Kms . It is the fourth largest Country in the World. Dashanpu in the Sichuan province of China has yielded over 1000 Dinosaur Fossils .  The Great Wall of China is also known as the "Ten Thousand Li Wall", one Li is equal to 500 meters.  The wall is over 1500 miles in length.  China has 3240 Television Broadcast Stations and 259 FM channels. People have been drinking tea i...

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of American Indians from San Francisco, who were part of a wave of Indian activism across the nation, with public protests through the 1970s. Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Alcatraz Facts: The prison was originally an army fort, which was later converted into and used as a federal penitentiary for 29 years (1934 to 1963). There were 336 cells in B & C Block. There were eight people murdered by inmates on Alcatraz. Five men committed suicide,...

The USPS traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The cabinet-level Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation and transformed into its current form in 1971 under the Postal Reorganization Act. Interesting Facts: Sometime before 1883 advertising for various products was printed on the back of U.S. three-cent stamps.  The world's largest post office is the head post office in Chicago, Illinois. The smallest post office in the world is located in Ochopee, Florida.  When stamps were first issued, they had no gum on the back. If paste was not available, mailers sometimes pinned or even sewed stamps to envelopes.  In 2008, stamp and retail sales at the Postal Store totaled more than $442 million. Recycles more than one million tons of materials annually.  Handles more than 41 million change-of-address cards each year as...

1.  There are 701 pure breed dogs in the world. Which dog is the dumbest? It is the Afghan hound.  2.  It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.  3.  A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.  4.  Theodore Roosevelt was the first President to ride in a car while in office.  5.  The total amount of water on earth has remained the same for two billion years.  6.  Kiwi fruit is named for the national bird of New Zealand, the Kiwi bird, because of its brown fuzzy skin. Kiwi fruit was introduced to New Zealand in 1906. 7.  James Polk, the 11th President, was the first President to have his photograph taken

The Labrador Retriever (also Labrador, or Lab for short) is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada,the United Kingdom, and the United States (since 1991).  It is also one of the most popular assistance dog breeds in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States and many other countries, as well as being widely used by police and other official bodies for their detection and working abilities. Typically, Labradors are athletic and love to swim, play catch and retrieve games, are good with young children, elderly, and for protection. Here are some fun facts about this lovable breed of dog: These dogs are not only "nice”, but also very intelligent, they are rated 7th for intelligence out of more than 500 dog breeds.  They are o...

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's 722,718 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Fun Facts About Alaska: Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,904 miles of shoreline. The Alaska Highway was originally built as a military supply road during World War II.  Alaska's name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula.  Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.  Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million ($113 million in today's dollars) at approximately two ...

In the early twentieth century, PitBulls were respected for their loyalty, determination, and bravery. The first decorated canine war hero was a PitBull named Sergeant Stubby. He was, until his death, a guest of every White House administration. Pitbulls must be taught when young not to pull on the leash because they are amazingly strong as adults. Pitbulls were originally bred in Britain, and later in other countries in Europe, to bait bulls and bears. Pits score greater on temperament tests than other dogs - The APBT scored an overall temperament rating of 83.9 percent, compared to the 77 percent score of the general dog population, says the American Temperament Test Society in December 2004. http://pitbullcenterfolds.org/pit-bull-fun-facts.html The Pit Bull was so popular in the early 1900's they were our mascot not only in World War One, but World War Two as well. They were featured on recruiting and propaganda posters during this time period. Size: Pitb...

The average office desk is home to 20,000 germs per square inch. It harbours 400 times more germs than the toilet, which gets cleaned and disinfected regularly.   The average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. With more than 25,000 microbes per square inch, remember to clean your phone with antibacterial wipes at least once a day.  Bathroom faucets can be more harmful to your health than a toilet seat, and a bathtub may have 100 times more bacteria than the trash can. In one study, diarrhea-inducing E.coli was found on 10 percent of coffee mugs. Between 7 and 42 percent of all paper money contained "revolting bacteria." The dirtiest spots in the kitchen are dishcloths, cutting boards, sponges, and sink handles. Surprisingly, the floor is often cleaner than the sink!  Germs can live for up to a month! I'm going to wash my hands now ewwwwwwwwww!:)