Fast Facts
April 18, 2007
- Buddhist monks at Japan’s Yakushido Temple perform a purification ritual by “”setting fire to their own pants.””
The potato and the tomato are more closely related than the potato and the sweet potato.
The crusty goop you find in your eyes when you wake up is the same mucus you find in your nose.
Murders claimed more American lives during the 20th century than wars did.
A horse will win a sprint against a camel, but a camel will win a marathon against a horse.
A rough translation of “”Auld Lang Syne”” is “”times gone by.””
Women in Guatemala work longer days than any other women in the world with an average of 11 hours a day.
In the next 10 seconds, 50 people will be born.
King Henry VI banned kissing in England in 1439 because he thought it spread disease.
The average American consumes one ton of ice cream in his or her lifetime.
One shark can give birth to as many as 70 baby sharks per litter.
Marine turtles rid their bodies of excess salt by weeping.
Albert Einstein couldn’t read until the age of 9.
Mahatma Gandhi is buried in California.
There are more than 5,000 islands in the British Isles.
