This collection of human body facts will leave you wondering why in the heck we were designed the way we were.

Submitted by Audrey, Emmitsburg, Md.
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

Submitted by Audrey, Emmitsburg, Md.
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

• Sunday March 23 As you may know; Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).
• This "dating of Easter" is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
• Here are a couple of things you might be interested in:
• Based on the above, Easter can actually only be one (1) day earlier - March 22, but that is pretty rare.
• This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives!
• And only the most elderly of our population (95 years old or above!) have ever seen it this early.
• None of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!
• Here are the facts:
• The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 - 220 years from this year!!
• The last time it was this early was 1913 so, if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!.
• The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 - 277 years from this year.
• The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.

So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Submitted by Dewey, Pensacola, FL
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

• More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
• The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply. The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.
• Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4 % of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
• Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
• Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village."
• Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
• Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, named so because it was the first paved road anywhere.
• Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.
• Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
• Los Angeles's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula --and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
• The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the
• 1930's who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
• There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
• There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is manmade.
• The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.
• The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C.
• There is a city called Rome on every continent.
• Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
• The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.
• Desert In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island.  There has been no rainfall there for two million years.
• Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.' Huh?
• St. Paul , Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant who set up the first business there.
• Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%
• The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.
• The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.
• The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.

Submitted by former Emmitsburg mayor Ed.
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

Submitted by Lindsay, Melbourne, Australia.
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , KS , and reprinted by the Salina Journal. Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, s tanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie", "play", and "run."
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 65 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States .
5. Tell what you can of the h istory of Kansas .
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , L incoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, a! nd 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) (Do we even know what this is???)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal, diphthong, cognate letters, and lingual.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi-, dis-, mis-, pre-, semi-, post-, non-, i nter-, mono-, and sup-.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate! the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of: Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? This also shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't have the answers, and I failed the 8th grade test!

If you think this is hard ... check out the final exam to become a Naval Nuclear Engineer ... and having been one, it's not far from the truth ...
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touc h this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term 'S.H.I.T', (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did I. I had always thought it was a golf term.

Submitted by my Blacksmith Dick, Williamsport, Md.

(If a blacksmith says it's true, then it has to be true - Mike)
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
• A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
• A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
• A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
• A snail can sleep for three years.
• Almonds are a member of the peach family.
• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
• Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
• February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
• In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
• If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
• Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
• Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!
• Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
• The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
• The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
• The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
• The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
• There are more chickens than people in the world.
• Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
• Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Submitted by Dick, Williamsport, Md.
 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes

Some try to do it in secret. Others do it openly without embarrassment. Maybe even you have been caught in the act. Nose-picking is one disgusting habit and is certainly not socially acceptable. So, are these people normal? One would guess that this is not the type of thing researched at our institutions of higher learning. Guess again. The Americans did.

Of course, scientists must give everyday things complicated scientific names. Nose picking is a term for us common folk. Nose-picking should really be referred to as rhinotillexomania (rhino=nose, tillexis=habit of picking at something, mania=obsession with something). So, the next time that you see a person picking their nose, tell them that they are a rhinotillexomaniac.

The researchers prepared their "Rhinotillexomania Questionnaire" and randomly mailed it to 1000 residents in Dane County, Wisconsin. Each survey included a cover letter that stated, "The University of Wisconsin is conducting a survey of a common but understudied habit scientifically known as 'rhinotillexomania'. Its common name is nose-picking." Even better, the letter actually defined what nose-picking is: "Insertion of a finger (or other object) into the nose with the intention of removing dried nasal secretions." I'll bet that you already knew that. Can you imagine getting this survey in the mail? Even with the University's seal on the stationary, one would have to wonder whether this was a joke or not.

Now for the results (assuming that they are reliable): Of the 1000 surveys mailed out, only 254 were completed and returned to the researchers:

• 8.7% claim that they have never picked their nose. (In other words, they are liars or they can't remember doing it as a kid.)
• 91% stated that they had picked their nose in the past and were still actively practicing this habit. Yet, only 49.2% of the respondents actually thought that nose-picking was common in adults.
• 9.2% rate their pickin' as "more than average."
• 25.6% actually pick their noses daily, 22.3% do it 2 to 5 times each day, and three people admitted to doing it at least hourly.
• 55.5% spent 1-5 minutes, 23.5% spent 5-15 minutes, and 0.8% (2 people) spent 15-30 minutes each day cleaning their nostrils. One lone soul claims to devote over 2 hours each day to this ritual (I'm not a doctor and I can tell you that this guy definitely has rhinotillexomania).
• 18% reported nosebleeds, while 0.8% claimed perforation of the nasal septum from their nose-picking.
• 65.1% use their index finger, 20.2% use their pinky, and 16.4% use their thumb (must have BIG nostrils to fit a thumb in) as their instrument of choice.
• Most people (90.3%) disposed of the goop in a tissue or a handkerchief, while 28.6% used the floor, and 7.6% stuck it to the furniture.
• 8% of the respondents actually ate the end product. In case you are thinking of trying this delicacy, the study claims that the pickings are quite tasty (salty).

So, what have we learned from this groundbreaking study? Basically, boogers apparently taste good, although I can guarantee to you that I will never do the taste testing to find out.

And we are wondering why there is no cure for Cancer yet!

Submitted by Kenneth, Shropshire, England
 

Go to page 13 of Interesting facts 

Return to: Top of Page, Interesting Facts List, My Little Sister's Jokes