Did You Know?

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!:)