Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Extraordinary Book of Facts: And Bizarre Information (Bathroom Readers)

by Bathroom Readers' Hysterical Society

  “Oscar” is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as are “Oscars,” “Academy Awards,” “Oscar Night,” and “A.M.P.A.S.”

  Shirley Temple won an honorary Oscar in 1934 at the age of five.

  The Oscar statue weighs 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

  Edith Head won eight Oscars out of 35 nominations, making her both the top Oscar winner among costume designers and women.

  The award’s official title is “The Academy Award of Merit.”

  Cost, in parts and labor, for an Academy Award Oscar statuette: about $300.

  World Population

  By the year 2050 the world’s elderly will outnumber the young for the first time.

  In the next 60 seconds, 101 people will die and 261 babies will be born.

  The world’s youngest-ever parents were eight and nine years old, and lived in China in 1910.

  One in five people alive today is Chinese.

  Country with the longest life expectancy: Japan (78.6 years for men, 85.6 years for women).

  There is no leading cause of death for people who live past the age of 100.

  It is estimated that in A.D. 1000, the world population was about 300 million.

  Your odds of living to age 116: one in 2 billion.

  Since 1850 world population has increased by 500 percent.

  Of all the people who have ever lived, only 5 to 10 percent are alive today.

  By the time you reach age 60, your eyes will have been exposed to more light than would be released by detonating a nuclear bomb.

  In 2006 the world’s population will reach 6.5 billion. About 30 percent will be under age 15.

  Today more people live in the United States (298 million) than lived in the entire world in A.D. 1000.

  Baby boomers now say that “old age” begins at 79.

  Ah, Caffeine

  Caffeine has been scientifically proven to temporarily increase alertness, comprehension, memory, reflexes, and even the rate of learning. It also helps increase clarity of thought.

  Too much caffeine can cause hand tremors, loss of coordination or appetite, insomnia—and in extreme cases, trembling, nausea, heart palpitations, and diarrhea.

  Widely varying the amount of caffeine you ingest can put a strain on your liver, pancreas, heart, and nervous system. And if you’re prone to ulcers, caffeine can make your situation worse.

  The average American drinks 210 milligrams of caffeine a day. That’s equal to two or three cups of coffee, depending on how strong it is.

  How you make your coffee has a lot to do with how much caffeine you get. Instant coffee contains 65 milligrams of caffeine per serving; coffee brewed in a percolator has 80 milligrams; and coffee made using the drip method has 155 milligrams.

  Top four sources of caffeine in the American diet: coffee, soft drinks, tea, and chocolate, in that order. The average American gets 75 percent of their caffeine from coffee. Other sources include over-the-counter pain killers, appetite suppressants, cold remedies, and some prescription drugs.

  Pound for pound, kids often get as much caffeine from chocolate and soft drinks as their parents get from coffee, tea, and other sources.

  Games & Gambling

  How do you know when you’re playing with an Italian deck of cards? No queens.

  The ancient Greeks played cards. In those days aces were known as “dogs.”

  There are 635,013,559,599 possible hands in a game of bridge.

  How many bedrooms are there on the board game Clue? None.

  Longest recorded Monopoly game: 1,680 hours, the equivalent of 70 days of uninterrupted play.

  What do you call the spots on dice and dominoes? The pips.

  Seventy-six percent of Americans say they have never participated in illegal gambling.

  The game Simon Says was originally called Do This, Do That.

  If you add up all the numbers of the roulette wheel (1 to 36), the sum is 666.

  In a standard deck of cards, the king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.

  Most frequently landed-on squares in Monopoly: Illinois Ave., GO, B&O Railroad.

  There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants.

  One in four compulsive gamblers is a woman.

  First prize in the 1850 French national lottery: a one-way ticket to the San Francisco gold rush.

  That Was Then

  Besides human sacrifices, Aztecs offered the gods tamales.

  In the 1500s England’s Queen Elizabeth I outlawed wife beating after 10 p.m.

  In the Middle Ages having ants in the house was a sign of good luck.

  Only pharaohs were allowed to eat mushrooms in ancient Egypt.

  The Chinese used to scatter firecrackers around the house—as fire alarms.

  First kitchen utensils: the ladle and the apple corer, in that order.

  The low man on a totem pole is the most important man in the tribe.

  In medieval England jurors weren’t fed until they reached a decision.

  In England in 1558, beards were taxed according to their length.

  When a cat died in ancient Egypt, its owners shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.

  5 MOST-READ U.S. NEWSPAPERS

  1. Wall Street Journal

  2. USA Today

  3. Los Angeles Times

  4. New York Times

  5. Washington Post

  American Potpourri

  U.S. organization with the most members: American Automobile Association (AAA), with 48 million.

  One out of five pieces of the world’s garbage was generated in the United States.

  Americans stand about 14 inches apart when they converse. Russians stand about 10 inches apart.

  The United States is first in the world in gun ownership per capita. Finland is second.

  Today, 25 percent of American men are 6 feet or taller, compared to only 4 percent in 1900.

  Most popular reason for not voting in elections, according to the U.S. Census: “Too busy.”

  The average American buys 17 yards of dental floss each year.

  Floods cause more death and destruction in the United States than any other natural disaster.

  Number of real haunted houses in the United States, according to the Ghost Research Society: 789.

  Two percent of Americans always tip a waiter. Seventy percent say it depends on service.

  Only 30 percent of U.S. adults actually have dandruff, but nearly 50 percent say they’re “self-conscious about it.”

  The average American spends two years of his or her life waiting for meals to be served.

  According to the real estate industry, the average American looks at eight houses before buying one.

  A Fishy Tale

  Goldfish were originally green. The Chinese bred them to be many different colors. Gold stuck.

  Sea urchins reproduce by splitting themselves in two.

  Goldfish have a memory span of three seconds.

  The skin of a tiger shark is 10 times as strong as ox hide.

  Oysters can change gender according to the temperature of the water they live in.

  A group of jellyfish is known as a “smack.”

  Jellyfish are 99 percent water.

  The man-of-war jellyfish can have tentacles up to 60 feet long.

  The Anableps fish has four eyes: two to see underwater, two to see above the surface.

  Starfish have anywhere from three to 50 arms—and one eye at the end of each arm.

  Fish with forked tails swim faster than fish with straight tails.

  The dolphins that live in the Amazon River are pink.

  If you have a backbone, there’s about a 50 percent chance you’re a fish.

  Clams can live as long as 150 years.

  If an octopus is hungry enough, it will eat its own arms.

  STATE WITH THE MOST POLLUTION

  Texas

  Bagel Bits

  CLASSIC COMBO

&nb
sp; Cream cheese was invented in 1872; Philadelphia Cream Cheese hit the market in 1880. But it wasn’t until Joseph and Isaac Breakstone began selling their Breakstone Cream Cheese brand in 1920 that New York bagel eaters discovered it—and cream cheese became the bagel spread.

  BAGEL AMMO

  In 2000 several rioters at a Fourth of July celebration in Morristown, New Jersey, were arrested for throwing “dangerous” projectiles into the crowd and at police. The projectiles: “batteries, golf balls, and stale bagels.”

  BIG BAGEL

  According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest bagel was made by Bruegger’s in Syracuse, New York. Weight: 868 pounds. Diameter: 6 feet. Thickness: 20 inches. Flavor: blueberry.

  BAGEL BET

  During the 2002 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels, Anaheim mayor Tom Daly bet New York mayor Michael Bloomberg a crate of oranges and chilies that the Angels would win. Bloomberg’s bet: a crate of Nathan’s hot dogs and 48 H&H bagels. (Daly won.)

  LITIGATED BAGEL

  In 2002 John and Cecelia O’Hare sued a McDonald’s restaurant in Panama City Beach, Florida, claiming that an improperly cooked bagel damaged Mr. O’Hare’s teeth . . . and somehow ruined their marriage as well. They sued for $15,000 in damages.

  Creepy Crawlers

  Frogs use their eyeballs to push food down their throat.

  An adult crocodile can go two years without eating.

  Wood frogs freeze solid in winter and thaw back to life in spring.

  In its lifetime an alligator will go through as many as 3,000 teeth.

  The bite of a king cobra can kill a full-grown elephant in less than three hours.

  The jaws of a decapitated snapping turtle can keep snapping for about a day.

  The Carthaginians fought off Roman ships in 300 B.C. by catapulting live snakes at them.

  Toads don’t have teeth. Frogs do.

  All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.

  Some snakes can go an entire year without eating.

  Australia is the only continent where poisonous snakes outnumber nonpoisonous kinds.

  The smallest known frog is the size of a dime.

  South Florida is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators coexist in the wild.

  An alligator has a brain the size of your thumb.

  The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps.

  Crocodiles can’t move their tongues.

  If a frog keeps its mouth open too long, it will suffocate.

  If a chameleon loses a fight, it turns gray. If it wins, it turns green.

  Making Music

  In 2004 Congress passed a $388 billion spending bill that included $25,000 for the study of mariachi music.

  Deborah Harry of Blondie worked briefly as a Playboy bunny. And in case you didn’t suspect, she’s really a brunette.

  Even in the post-Taliban era, it’s still against the law in Afghanistan for a woman to sing on TV.

  The last reel-to-reel tape manufacturer in America closed its doors in January 2005.

  According to Billboard magazine, the number one single of the 1960s was “Hey Jude,” by the Beatles.

  Best-selling posthumous hit of all-time: “(Just Like) Starting Over,” by John Lennon.

  Music videos were originally known as telerecords.

  Mick Jagger had the emerald filling on his front tooth replaced with a diamond because people kept telling him he had spinach in his teeth.

  Jimi Hendrix made 26 jumps with the 101st Airborne Paratroopers in 1961. Who finally killed him? Find some possibilities on page 376.

  Word Roots

  Dr. Seuss coined the word nerd in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo.

  How did grocers get their name? They sold goods by the gross.

  In the 1700s trappers could get a dollar for a buckskin. Hence the term buck.

  People used to say “will I, nil I?” when they couldn’t make up their minds. Thus the expression willy-nilly.

  How did hammocks get their name? They were first made from the fibers of the hamack tree.

  Theater spotlights used to burn lime for light. Thus the term limelight.

  The lollipop was named after Lolly Pop, one of the most famous racehorses of the early 1900s.

  The slang term for an emergency room patient who isn’t sick enough to justify being there: Gomer (Get out of my emergency room).

  Princeton professor John W. Tukey coined the term software in 1958.

  When you do something “on the q.t.,” you are using an abbreviation of the word quiet.

  Police are sometimes called the fuzz because London police once wore fuzzy helmets.

  Why did Thomas Henry Huxley invent the word agnostic in 1869? He got tired of being called an atheist.

  Pet Me

  Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door . . . for the convenience of his cats.

  Most dogs run an average of 19 mph.

  Ancient Egyptians could be put to death for mistreating a cat.

  Does your dog seem wary of going out in the rain? It’s not because it’s afraid to get wet. Rain amplifies sound and hurts dogs’ ears.

  Toy-breed dogs live an average of seven years longer than large breeds.

  In ancient Rome it wasn’t “officially” dark until you could no longer tell the difference between a dog and a wolf howling in the distance.

  Average cat bill at the veterinarian: $80 per year for life.

  Most popular dog names in Russia: Ugoljok (Blackie) and Veterok (Breezy).

  In Japan you can rent a dog as a companion for $20 an hour.

  In 1997 a member of Australia’s parliament proposed that all cats be eradicated from the country by 2002.

  A Persian cat named Precious survived for 18 days without food. She was found when rescue crews heard her cries—across the street from the site of the World Trade Center.

  The heaviest (and longest) dog ever recorded was an Old English Mastiff named Zorba: 343 pounds (and 8 feet 3 inches from nose to tail).

  They’re Canadian

  On August 30, 1995, Sean Shannon of Canada recited Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy in 23.8 seconds—an average of 655 words a minute.

  On August 17, 1991, 512 dancers of the Royal Scottish Dance Society (Toronto branch) set the record for the largest genuine Scottish country dance (a reel).

  In 1988 Palm Dairies of Edmonton created the world’s largest ice cream sundae—24,900 kg. (54,895 lbs.).

  In 1993 the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital Auxiliary filled a bowl with 2,390 kg (5,269 lbs.) of strawberries.

  Four hundred mothers in Vancouver broke the record for mass breast feeding in 2002.

  In February 2000, 1,588 couples at the Sarnia Sports Centre broke the record for most kissing in one place at one time.

  Dave Pearson holds the record for clearing all 15 balls from a standard pool table in 26.5 seconds at Pepper’s Bar in Windsor, Ontario, in 1997.

  In 1998, 1,000 University of Guelph students formed the longest human conveyor belt, laying down in a row and rolling a surfboard over their bodies. In 1999 they set the record for simultaneous soap-bubble blowing.

  PHRASES COINED BY SHAKESPEARE

  green-eyed monster

  into thin air

  kill with kindness

  milk of human kindness

  neither rhyme nor reason

  one fell swoop

  primrose path

  star-cross’d lovers

  sweets for the sweet

  tower of strength

  Merry Christmas

  Who still believes in Santa? Studies say more four-year-olds do than any other age group.

  Only 10 percent of U.S. households put cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

  U.S. kids leave an estimated 812 million cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

  Odds that a battery was bought during the Christmas season: 40 percent.

  More than 25 million
kids visit Santa in malls nationwide each year.

  Worldwide, Christmas has been celebrated on 135 different days of the year.

  Americans send about 2 billion Christmas cards every year.

  Ninety-eight percent of Christmas trees are grown on tree farms.

  Every year, 1.76 billion candy canes are made.

  The tradition of sending Christmas cards originated in England in 1843.

  CB radio users don’t like to get Christmas cards—that’s a code name for speeding tickets.

  About 83 percent of U.S. families put up a Christmas tree. Fifty-eight percent of the trees are artificial.

  Fake Christmas trees have outsold real ones every year since 1991.

  The average shopping-center Santa weighs 218 pounds and has a 43-inch waist.

  The holiday song played most often in malls in 2004 was “Jingle Bells.”

  Top five holiday pies in the United States: pumpkin, apple, cherry, lemon meringue, and pecan.

  Assuming Rudolph’s in front, there are 40,320 ways to arrange the eight other reindeer.

  Super Glue

  Superglue is so strong that a single square-inch bond can lift a ton of weight.

  Superglue doesn’t stick to the bottle because it needs moisture to set, and there is no moisture in the bottle.

  Cyanoacrylate products are a $325-million-a-year industry. Approximately 90 percent of U.S. homes have at least one tube.

  During the Vietnam War tubes of superglue were put in U.S. soldiers’ first-aid kits to help seal wounds. Special kinds of superglue are now used in hospitals worldwide, reducing the need for sutures, stitches, and staples. (It doesn’t work on deep wounds or on wounds where the skin does a lot of stretching, such as over joints.)