Fast Facts
March 10, 2006
The word “”robot”” was coined in 1920 in the play “”R.U.R.”” (the initials stood for Rossum’s Universal Robots), written by the Czech dramatist Karel Capek.
According to modern theories of higher mathematics, if a person surpassed the speed of light, he would start moving backward in time.
Rossini composed most of his music when he was drunk.
In the harem of Mughal kings in India, ladies of royal blood changed their garments several times a day and never put them on again. The once-used costumes were given to slaves.
Firemen have the most dangerous job in America.
More than 50 percent of the people who are bitten by poisonous snakes in the United States and who go untreated still survive.
The first railroad in America had wooden tracks. It was built by Thomas Leiper in 1809 in Crown Creek, Pa.
Galileo was the first man to suggest using a pendulum to run a clock.
In the seventh month of fetal life, the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys, are about the same size as the kidneys. At birth, they are slightly smaller, and they continue to shrink throughout life. By the time a person reaches old age, the adrenals are so small they can hardly be seen.
A car operates at maximum economy, gas-wise, at speeds between 25 and 35 mph. A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift. A car uses 1.6 ounces of gas idling for one minute. Half an ounce is used to start the average automobile.
The A&P was the first chain store business to be established. It began in 1842.
Minnows have teeth in their throats.
The lanternfish has a glowing spot on the front of its head that acts like a miner’s lamp when the fish is swimming in dark waters. This “”lamp”” is so powerful that it can shed light for a distance as great as two feet. Experiments have shown that when confined to an aquarium, the lanternfish can project enough light to allow a person to read a book in an otherwise totally darkened room.
The poinsettia flower is named after a 19th-century ambassador to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who first brought the poinsettia plant to America.
