Old Fact of the Day

Old Fact of the Day (after reading each line, you may sigh deeply and start thinking about those wise words)

31-08-99: 84 % of an average raw apple is water.
30-08-99: Charlie Chaplin's cane was made of bamboo.
29-08-99: The teeth of minnows are located in the throat.
28-08-99: Gerardus Mercator invented the most common projection for world maps.
27-08-99: If you attempted to count all the stars in the galaxy at a rate of one per second, it would take you approximately 300 years to count them all.
26-08-99: Out of all the animals a circus animal trainer works with, none are deadlier than the elephant. More deaths are caused by the elephants than the large cats circus tamers train with.
25-08-99: The largest living bird is the ostrich.
24-08-99: These two words, "Jesus wept", make the shortest verse in the Bible.
23-08-99: The ratio of slot machines to inhabitants in Las Vegas is 1:8.
22-08-99: There are 336 dimpels on a regulation golf ball.
21-08-99: Ten percent of the world population is left-handend. (So forget about left-handed corkscrews, left-handed pencils, left-handed scissors etc etc. You're just not worth it {:) )
20-08-99: The largest North American rodent is the beaver.
19-08-99: There are 8 holes in a standard horseshoe.
18-08-99: The legendary home of the Gods, Mount Olympus, stands 9570 feet tall.
17-08-99: On average, a human van milk 6 cows in an hour.
16-08-99: John Wayne died in 7 of his movies. (He's an alien, I tell ya !)
15-08-99: In "Saving Private Ryan", Steven Spielberg removed 60 percent of the color of the shot film.
14-08-99: In the Philippines, the yo-yo was originally a weapon. (Watch it, or I'll yo-yo your head off !)
13-08-99: A castrated rooster is called a capon
12-08-99: In June, 1963, in Britain, the British tennis player Michael Sangster served the fastest serve ever. It was a solid 154 mph.
11-08-99: Today there was a full solar eclipse to be seen throughout Europe (the path running from South England to France, to Germany, Austria, all the way to Turkey and further). Another one will show up here in 300 years or so. Next solar eclipse is in 2 years though, somewhere in Africa.
09-08-99: Put a stalk of celery in your mouth when you cut onions and your eyes will not tear (okay, they may not tear anymore, but you probably will look pretty stupid)
08-08-99: The average McDonald's Big Mac bun has 198 sesame seeds on it
07-08-99: Cadang-Cadang disease, which occurs in coconut trees, is named after the noise the coconuts make when they fall to the ground. (I like that, nice and simpel)
05-08-99: Nothing from you guys (yet, I hope), so here's an excerpt of Chris Rock's new CD. "Here's a horoscope for everyone. Aquarius: You're gonna die. Capricorn: Yer gonna die. Gemini: You're gonna die twice"
04-08-99: Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.
03-08-99: Stupidity: Quitters never win, winners never quit. But those who never win and never quit are idiots.
02-08-99: Losing: If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style.
01-08-99: Ineptitude: If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.
26-07-99: You don't need a parachute to skydive. You need a parachute to skydive twice.
21-07-99: From Ben Tims: If you have a subpage on your homepage called "fact of the day" then you'd better change it to "fact of a day" if you don't give a fact for every day. This is my fact of this day. (Clearly to see, I'm being harrassed by a smart-ass)
20-07-99: Most people know that the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a mare produces a mule. However the offspring of a stallion and a jennet (female donkey) is called a henny. (trust me, one day you'll thank me for letting you know this)
19-07-99: Unatractiphobia - Fear of ugly people.
18-07-99: You know you're getting old when you need more time to rest than to get tired.
24-06-99: The Greyhound, capable of reaching speeds of 43 m.p.h., is the fastest breed of dog for distances of up to half a mile.
23-06-99: Dogs normally have 42 teeth.
22-06-99: Of the 88 recognized constellations, 3 are canine constellations.
21-06-99: It's summmmmer. So here's something to look forward to : During the Summer holidays there is a large rise in child injuries. Half of child injuries come from sports such as football and other ball games.
20-06-99: Talk is cheap. Supply exceeds demand.
19-06-99: Don't ever go live above a bar or a pub or something, I just realised it sucks big time (no, I don't live above one, I was in this bar for a dinner). It's like bad bad very bad and loud music till at least midnight. I.e. your nightmares start already at 20.00 hours.
09-06-99: To train a flea, put it in a jar with a lid on it. At first it will hit the lid, but eventually it will begin to jump just high enough to miss the lid. Take the lid off, and the flea still jumps no higher than where the lid was. (Well, I guess this means, if fleas are found and to keep contagion minimal, all people involved should wear a plastic bag on their heads for a day or so)
08-06-99: Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears. Unfortunately, the likes of bulldogs and pitbulls only have 10, due to their breeding. Therefore, these dogs easily get misinterpreted by other dogs and often get into fights. (Maybe that's why I fight with dog so often too, because even IF they had 100 different facial expression, I wouldn't recognize 3, at most)
07-06-99: Just saw an ad for a "Star Wars" music CD. Discount, 2.50 bucks. First tip, don't ever buy a CD that is less than 10 bucks. Anything less, and it's probably fake and unauthorised. Second tip, it had no less than 3 (!!!!) Star Trek fonts on the cover. George Lucas would've ripped the producer of this CD's heart out and eaten it while it was still beating, if he found out.
25-05-99: A hardworking man can sweat up to 8 litres a day (hah, not me, I don't ever work hard, hence, I won't sweat that much, simple as that).
24-05-99: Lottery - A tax on people who are bad at math.
23-05-99: Pessimist - An optimist with experience.
22-05-99: Optimist - Someone who tells you to cheer up when things are going his way.
21-05-99: In Japan, there are no 4th and 9th floors in hospitals. 4 and 9 are pronounced "shi" and "ku" meaning, "death and "pain". (Imagine walking the stairs, bet you can't keep track on which floor you are, current floor is add 1, or substract 1 ? Or add 2 ? Or substract 2 ?). This also affect soft- and hardware releases, where version 4 is usually skipped (name 3, and you'll win today's big prize).
20-05-99: Paper can be recycled about 6 times.
19-05-99: The brains of men shrinks faster then the brains of women.
18-05-99: The oldest coins (money) found were 700 BC in Asia.
12-05-99: All cows are females, the males are called bulls. Hah, gotcha there for a sec, didn't I ?
11-05-99: A cow can't give milk until she's given birth to a calf.
10-05-99: A Holstein cow's spots are like a fingerprint or a snowflake, no two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots.
09-05-99: The average cow produces 40 glasses of milk each day.
08-05-99: A cow weighs about 1,400 pounds and eats about 55 pounds of food per day.
07-05-99: It takes 12 gallons of milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream.
06-05-99: You could milk about six cows per hour by hand, but with modern machinery, you can milk up to 100 cows per hour.
05-05-99: Cows provide 90% of the world's milk. (Is there any other milk then ?)
01-05-99: Sailfish can leap out of the water and into the air at a speed of 50 miles per hour. (Did you know a man was killed by one recently ?)
30-04-99: Queen's Day, though I have no idea why it's Queen's Day today, since our current queen's birthday is 30th January.
29-04-99: The drink '7UP' used to contain lithium (an anti-depressant). Yeah, that's explains the UP eh ?
26-04-99: Sheep will not drink from running water. (Yeah, I know, it contradicts the previous fact. I know one of them is true, I just don't know which one.)
25-04-99: Sheep prefer to drink running water.
24-04-99: The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
23-04-99: Good bye came from God bye which came from God be with you. So-long came from the Arabic salaam and the Hebrew shalom.
22-04-99: The phrase "sleep tight" originated when mattresses were set upon ropes woven through the bed frame. To remedy sagging ropes, one would use a bed key to tighten the rope. (Hehe, pretty funny eh ?)
21-04-99: The word 'news' did not come about because it was the plural of 'new.' It came from the first letters of the words North, East, West and South. This was because information was being gathered from all different directions. (True or false, it still is a pretty useless fact, innit ?)
20-04-99: Blonds have more hair than dark-haired people. (I hope you realize this doesn't apply to people who have colored their hair ?)
19-04-99: Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne, and Diamonds - Julius Caesar. OOoooh, you couldn't tell ? You didn't know ? Boy, it's sooooo obvious.
18-04-99: Only four important diamond fields have been found - in Africa, South America, India, and the Soviet Union. (That's where I'll be going, but first I have to get some dough. Oh, no, that's a paradox)
17-04-99: The phrase, if yelled out in a crowded shopping mall that will attract the most people is: "I DROPPED MY DIAMONDS!". (But I guess you could've figured that out yourself eh ?) Hehe, who tried it yet ?
16-04-99: A person who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day inhales a half cup of tar everyday.
15-04-99: Winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21. The last day of winter is March 23rd. There are 63 days of winter. December 22 is the day when the North Pole is tipped farthest from the sun. (Yeah right, only 63 days of winter, then why was it snowing today ?)
14-04-99: You're more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day that in any other weather.
13-04-99: You can use pine cones to forecast the weather - the scales will close when rain is on the way. (With all this rain here, there's really no need for predicting, is there ?)
12-04-99: The fear of Popes is Papaphobia. *Did you know the Pope just released a new CD (with some poppy rockin' songs and some definite smashing dance-tracks ?) Papaseedeephobia should be the fear of Pope CD's then ?*
11-04-99: You can tell a turtle's sex by its sound. Males grunt, females hiss. *Hmm, doesn't this apply to humans as well ?*
10-04-99: Erotodromomania is the abnormal impulse to travel to escape painful sexual situations. *I for one, haven't travelled in the last 10 years*
09-04-99: All the planets in our solar system could be placed inside the planet Jupiter.
08-04-99: Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air. Weeeeeew.
07-04-99: A dollor bill is about 6 inch long. *Hey, that's the same lenght as my ... ... never mind*
06-04-99: Ah what the heck, one more Easter fact (I know so much): The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. And were made of pastry and sugar
05-04-99: Easter: Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring
04-04-99: Easter: Of all the symbols associated with Easter the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the most identifiable.
03-04-99: The elephant is the mammal that can't jump.
02-04-99: The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees.
01-04-99: Okay, April Fool's Day. Origin ? I'd hate to brag about it, but it was right here in Holland. Then again, that's what all countries say about themselves. Some say it's because April Fool's Day began in many parts of the world at the same time, in celebration of the spring equinox. Pranks were a big part of even the most boring equinox parties, everywhere from Sweden to India. Others argue that the modern April Fool's Day followed the adoption of a reformed calendar in France circa 1564. In medieval times, the octave of New Year's began on March 25 with the eight days of festivities ending on April 1. Although I forgot the Dutch version of its origin, you can take my word for it, it started here in Holland.
31-03-99: It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
30-03-99: The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 10 metres.
29-03-99: The average cough comes out of your mouth at 90 km/h.
28-03-99: Daylight time (daylight saving mode) again. Meaning the clock had been set 1 hour in advance. This way is will be darker in the morning but it stays longer light in the evening. This kind of measure were taken in the middle stone age, or 18th century, or sometimes near that, to conserve more energy that way. Later on it became unnecessary, but somehow, it was reinstated in 1977.
27-03-99: Some lions mate 50 times a day (my star sign is Leo, which translates to Lion in Dutch, but I guess you didn't wanna know that, did you ?)
26-03-99: A cockroach can live nine days without its head before it starves to death (wanna try ?)
25-03-99: There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. (Please don't tell me I miscounted ?)
24-03-99: If you multiply 111,111,111 by 111,111,111 you get 12,345,678,987,654,321
23-03-99: Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. (I guess you weren't waiting for that fact, so here's another: Sex burns 360 calories per hour)
22-03-99: Children grow faster in springtime.
21-03-99: Some facts about water, because your life depends on it.

97% of the water on the earth is salt water; only 3% is fresh water. Most of the fresh water stored on the earth is frozen in glaciers.
Each day the sun evaporates 1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion) tons of water.
Watermelon is 93% water.
In some deserts, rain is so uncommon that the natives do not have a word for it.
Over 42,000 gallons of water are needed to grow and prepare the food for a typical Thanksgiving dinner for eight in the United States. This is enough water to fill a 30 by 50 foot swimming pool!
In a one hundred year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.
A person can survive without food for more than 30 days, but less than a week without water.
The first water pipes made in the US were fire-charred, bored-out logs.
There are over 1 million miles of water pipelines and aquaducts in the US and Canada -- enough to circle the globe 40 times.
A single birch tree will give off 70 gallons of water per day in evaporation.
An acre of corn will give off 4,000 gallons of water per day in evaporation.

20-03-99: Some healthy facts for today, coz I luv healthy visitors here.

The total weight of all vitamins in the body is about 1/4 ounce.
Vitamins B and C are easily destroyed by heat - normal cooking.
Ripe fruit is more easily digested.
22% of American households claim to eat no fresh fruit!
50% of the vitamin C can be lost from some vegetables after only 1 day.
The most valuable nutrients of the potato are in the skin.
A 1 pound charcoal-broiled steak (well done) contains 4-5 micrograms of benzopyrene, equal to smoking 300 cigarettes!
More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.
Salt is indigestible - irritates the stomach and bloodstream.
Green Tea has 50% more vitamin C then black tea.

19-03-99: On this day 721 BC, it was the 1st recorded lunar eclipse. Location, Babylon. (Don't tell me you don't believe me ? Coz I have no way to prove it.)
18-03-99: Yesterday (17 March) was hyped by the media/advertisement (beer, for instance) as THE day to try having a Millenniumbaby (a baby born on 1 January 2000). Of course, one can't help to notice that's it is 40 weeks till birth after the LAST period. A child is conceived 2 weeks after that. The perfect timing would be around 2 through 10 April, and even then it would be stupid, because only 3 % of the birth get on that planned day anyway. Even more stupid, what makes a Millenniumbaby so special ? It would mean a child not born on that day is less special ? Oh man, some people who are doing "it" right now for that purpose really need to grow up some more. (Okay okay, I know, that last part wasn't supposed to be part of this Fact of the Day)
17-03-99: One more Aussie fact: KANGAROO. When the British first arrived in Australia, they observed a most unusual looking animal. It hopped like a rabbit, had a long tail and carried it's young in it's pouch. Speaking with aborigines in attempt to find out what the animal was called proved difficult due to the language barrier, The British did however get the name Gangaroo, which later become known as Kangaroo. Many years later when settlers to this country managed to learn the aboriginal language discovered that Gangaroo when translated means "I don't understand what you are saying".
16-03-99: Chewing on 100 grams of Stimorol Cherry flavored chewing-gum will give you 674 kJ/162 KCAL of energy (how interesting, *sigh*, but I can't help it. You try giving a fact of the day every day. *sigh*. In case you didn't buy that, here's another fact, for bonus: The Koala is often called a Koala Bear. It is not a bear but a marsupial. (Gives birth to live young and nurtures young in a pouch). The Koala is not even remotely related to bears. It is almost like saying a Panda Fish)).
15-03-99: Did you know that in the UK they sell computers in the supermarket (???). That'll make a weird saturday shopping list ? "crackers, chips, 5 eggs, tomatos, Pentium III-350 MHz Multimedia PC"
14-03-99: "Transformers: The Movie" sucks, big time. I downloaded this movie (don't ask, it's what you do when you have a cable modem with unlimited download), and it took me a week to complete the download. Anyway, be warned.
13-03-99: My sis bought a Marilyn Manson CD-single today (don't ask). It was supposed to include a screensaver and several remixes. But the CD was burned with the image of another version of that single, hence a whole bunch of people are now stuck with a CD with the wrong content. The clue ? Well, that's what you get for dealing with the devil himself, he can't be trusted. The devil has many disguises. You just have to look better.
12-03-99: You can divide the population of the world into two categories: those who believe you can divide everyone in the world into two categories, and those who don't.