Fast Facts
March 3, 2006
In his last days, the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir was so crippled with arthritis that the brushes had to be tied to his arms in order to execute his paintings.
In equestrian statues, when all four of the horse’s hooves are on the ground, it signifies that the rider died a natural death. One hoof in the air indicates that he died of wounds sustained in action. If two are raised, it means the rider was killed on the field of battle.
Ancient Chinese artists freely painted scenes of nakedness and coition, but they would never depict a bare female foot.
Goat’s milk is used more widely throughout the world than cow’s milk.
Wine will spoil if exposed to light, which is why it is stored in tinted bottles.
When prevented from gambling, compulsive gamblers often experience physical withdrawal symptoms resembling those undergone by heroin addicts. The reactions range from restlessness to shakiness, severe headaches and diarrhea.
In 18th-century English gambling dens, there was an employee whose only job was to swallow the dice if there was a police raid.
For 186 days per year the sun is not seen at the North Pole.
Panama (because of a bend in the isthmus) is the only place in the world where one can see the sun rise on the Pacific Ocean and set on the Atlantic.
Belomancy is divination by reading the flight patterns of randomly shot arrows and their positions when they land.
Until the 19th century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
