May 15 2001

First Annual Fact-O-Rama

I'm so damn

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

Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason. (Well, I'll be damned!)

The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means, "the king is dead".

Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head." (Sorry for ruining your mystique, Pinocchio. Heh.)

Camel's milk does not curdle.

An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.

Murphy's Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants.

The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used. (Somehow I'm not exactly bursting with patriotic pride over that one...)

Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan. (Bless you, Ronny. They're my favorites.)

All porcupines float in water. (I just know that knowledge is going to come in handy someday.)

Non-dairy creamer is flammable. (I'm speechless.)

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was called "American Pie." Thus the name of the Don McLean song.

The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan. (Yeah, I'm mentally running through all the "A" nations too.)

When opossums are playing 'possum', they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror. (Well, damn. That's no fun. I liked the thought of them being clever.)

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

If you toss a penny 10,000 times, it will not be heads 5,000 times, but more like 4,950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom. (I need to figure out some way to use this one to my advantage.)

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Ben and Jerry's sends the waste from making ice cream to local pig farmers to use as feed. Pigs love the stuff, except for one flavor: Mint Oreo.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker. (Okay, someone's interest in The Flintstones crossed the line from hobby to bizzare obsession.)

The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children. (Wait. What? That doesn't actually give me a whole lot of confidence in that particular contraceptive...)

The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland's baby daughter, Ruth.

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

Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radio's newscast about the wreck.

Ivory bar soap floating was a mistake. They had been overmixing 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. It also floats in gasoline.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself.

The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their enemies without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the statement "to get fired." (cool.)

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States. (Okay, 'fess up! Who's got mine?)

Have a great night!

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