Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Extraordinary Book of Facts: And Bizarre Information (Bathroom Readers)
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Fresh off the Farm
The average U.S. farm has 467 acres of land. The average Japanese farm has three acres.
Ninety percent of the world’s food crops come from only 12 species of plants.
Ninety-nine percent of the pumpkins sold in the United States end up as jack-o’-lanterns.
A typical banana travels 4,000 miles before being eaten.
U.S. hens lay enough eggs in a year to circle the equator 100 times.
It takes 4,000 grains of sugar to fill a teaspoon.
A watermelon is 92 percent water. An apple is 84 percent water.
If a cow eats onions, its milk will taste like onions.
It takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.
The United States produces 2–4 billion pounds of chicken and turkey feathers every year.
Ears of corn always have an even number of rows of kernels.
It takes about 21 pounds of milk to make one pound of butter.
It takes 720 peanuts to make a pound of peanut butter.
Honey is easy to digest because it has already been digested by a bee.
Honey never goes bad.
One in every five potatoes grown in the United States ends up as french fries.
It takes 16,550 kernels of durum wheat to make a pound of pasta.
The Friendly Skies
How do airports scare birds off their runways? One British airport plays Tina Turner albums.
Denver’s International Airport is larger than the entire city of Boston.
Each year U.S. airlines use more than 20 million airsickness bags.
About 21,000 commercial airline flights are scheduled daily in the United States. Only about 5,000 planes are available to fly them.
If you take a plant with you on a long airplane flight, it will suffer from jet lag.
The automated baggage handler at the Chicago O’Hare Airport can sort 480 bags per minute.
The airport in Calcutta, India, is called Dum Dum.
As many as 10,000 pieces of luggage are lost or “mishandled” by U.S. airlines every day.
THE COST OF THINGS: 1936
First-class stamp: 3¢
Quart of milk: 12¢
Six-pack of Coca-Cola (bottles): 25¢
Full dinner at New York’s Roxy Grill: 75¢
Three-minute call from New York to San Francisco: $4.30
Average starting salary for a college graduate: $20–$25 a week
13-day cruise from New York to Bermuda: $123
FDR’s presidential salary: $75,000 a year
Ask the Experts
Q: IS A DOG YEAR REALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF SEVEN HUMAN YEARS?
A: No—it is actually five to six years. The average life expectancy of a dog is 12 to 14 years. However, most dogs mature sexually within six to nine months, so in a sense there is no strict correspondence to human years. (The Book of Answers, by Barbara Berliner)
Q: WHY ARE THERE HOLES IN SWISS CHEESE?
A: Because of air bubbles. During one of the stages of preparation, while it is still “plastic,” the cheese is kneaded and stirred. Inevitably, air bubbles are formed in the cheese as it is twisted and moved about, but the viscous nature of the cheese prevents the air bubbles from rising to the surface and getting out. As the cheese hardens, these air pockets remain, and we see them as the familiar “holes” when we slice the wheel of cheese. (A Book of Curiosities, compiled by Roberta Kramer)
Q: DO FISH SLEEP?
A: Hard to tell if they sleep in the same sense we do. They never look like they’re sleeping, because they don’t have eyelids. “But they do seem to have regular rest periods . . . Some fish just stay more or less motionless in the water, while others rest directly on the bottom, even turning over on their side. Some species . . . dig or burrow into bottom sediment to make a sort of ‘bed.’ Some fish even . . . prefer privacy when they rest; their schools disperse at night to rest and then reassemble in the morning.” (Science Trivia, by Charles Cazeau)
Q: SHOULD YOU TOSS THE COTTON AFTER OPENING A BOTTLE OF PILLS?
A: Yep. “The cotton keeps the pills from breaking in transit, but once you open the bottle, it can attract moisture and thus damage the pills or become contaminated.” (Davies Gazette, a newsletter from Davies Medical Center in San Francisco)
Q: WHAT ARE THE “BABY CARROTS” SOLD AT SUPERMARKETS?
A: Take a closer look. Right there on the bag, it says clearly “baby-cut.” These aren’t now and never were baby carrots. In the early 1990s a carrot packer in Bakersfield, California, thought of a clever way to use his misshapen culls. Mechanically he cut them into short pieces, then ground and polished them until they looked like sweet, tender young carrots. Baby-cut packers today don’t rely on culls . . . They use a hybrid carrot called Caropak that grow long and slender; it doesn’t taper much and has little or no core. In the processing shed, the carrots are cleaned, cut into pieces, sorted by size, peeled in abrasive drums, then polished. Bagged with a little water and kept cold, they stay crisp and bright orange. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Q: HOW MUCH GOLD DOES THE UNITED STATES STORE IN FORT KNOX?
A: The U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox contains approximately 315 million troy ounces of gold. At the official government price of $42.222 per troy ounce, the gold in the vault is worth $13 billion. At a market price of $300 an ounce, the gold would be worth $94.5 billion. (Do Fish Drink Water?, by Bill McLain)
Q: HOW MUCH IS ONE HORSEPOWER?
A: Although it was originally intended to be measured as the average rate at which a horse does work, one horsepower has now been standardized to equal exactly 550 foot-pounds of work per second, or 746 watts of power. Speaking of watts, they’re named after James Watt, the Scottish engineer who invented an improved steam engine and then created the term horsepower. He needed some way to convince potential customers that his engine could outperform the horse. By devising a system of measurement based on the power of a horse, customers could easily compare the work potential of his engine versus that of the beast. (Everything You Pretend to Know and Are Afraid Someone Will Ask, by Lynette Padwa)
The Film Industry
The shark model in Jaws was called Bruce—Steven Spielberg named it after his lawyer.
In Japan the James Bond film Dr. No was originally translated as We Don’t Want a Doctor.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a remake of Spielberg’s 1964 amateur film Firelight.
Film with the most destructive car chase ever: The Junkman (1982). One hundred and fifty cars were destroyed.
In June 1989, two original carbon scripts of Citizen Kane sold for $231,000.
Most costumes used for a film was 32,000: Quo Vadis (1951).
Record for most costume changes by an actor in one film: 65, by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (1963).
The word love appears in more film titles than any other word. Second: Paris.
When actors are filmed in a car through the windshield, there’s usually no rearview mirror.
Number of Dalmatians used in the filming of the movie 101 Dalmatians: 233.
Five hundred pairs of false sideburns were used in the making of Gone With the Wind.
No insurance company will underwrite Jackie Chan’s productions.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been adapted into a film 49 times. Romeo and Juliet, 27 times.
Americans spent $3.9 billion in movie rentals in the first half of 2005.
There are 10,800 feet of film in a two-hour movie.
Popcorn eaters are three times more likely to cry in the movies than non–popcorn eaters.
The Plant World
Of the 80,000 known species of plants, only 50 are cultivated regularly.
A typical redwood tree’s roots are only five to six feet deep—and spread out over an acre.
Mesquite bushes growing in Death Valley can have roots reaching 100 feet down for water.
Plants, like people, run fevers when they’re sick.
There are more varieties of orchid than of any other flower (30,000 at last count).
The kernel inside a peach pit is poisonous.
Seventy percent of the world’s oxygen supply is produced by marine plants.
The saguaro cactus does not grow its first arm until it’s at least 75 years old.
Largest living thing on earth: an underground mushroom in Oregon, 3.5 miles across.
The tomato comes in more than 4,000 varieties.
Auto Industry
The first state to require license plates on cars: New York, in 1901.
First car to offer seatbelts: the 1950 Nash Rambler.
Best-selling passenger car ever: Toyota Corolla. At least 30 million have been sold since it was introduced in 1969.
About 200 million tires are discarded every year in the United States.
Raised-bump reflectors on U.S. roads are called Botts’ Dots. (Elbert Botts invented them.)
The world’s most popular car color is red.
The little statue on the grill of every Rolls Royce has a name: “Spirit of Ecstasy.”
The slowest time for car dealers is just before Christmas.
FOUR USES FOR A BANANA PEEL
1. To get rid of a wart, tape a one-inch square of the inside of a banana peel over the wart. Change the dressing every day or so until the wart is gone—probably within a month or two.
2. Use the same treatment to get rid of a splinter. Tape a piece of peel over the splinter. By morning the splinter should be at the surface.
3. To draw the color from a bruise, hold a banana peel over it for 10 to 30 minutes.
4. To relieve a headache, tape or hold the inner side of a banana peel to the forehead and the nape of the neck. The peels increase the electrical conductivity between the two spots.
Around the Globe
World’s muddiest river: the Yellow River, in China.
The only country in the Middle East without a desert: Lebanon.
Total land area of China: more than nine million square miles.
The official name of India is Bharat.
Leading cause of death in Papua, New Guinea: falling out of a tree.
Ninety-five percent of the population of Egypt live within 12 miles of the Nile River.
The largest country in Africa is the Sudan.
The Sahara desert is larger than the entire United States.
At their closest point, the Russian and U.S. borders are less than two miles apart.
Widest waterfall in the world: Victoria Falls in Africa, at almost a mile wide.
Only 20 percent of the Sahara is covered with sand; the rest is rocky.
In the 19th century, India imported ice harvested from ponds in the United States.
Half the world’s population live in temperate zones, which make up 7 percent of the earth’s land area.
About one quarter of all nations drive on the left side of the road. Most are former British colonies.
On the Road
The United States has almost 4 million miles of roads and streets.
Each mile of a four-lane freeway takes up more than 17 acres of land.
Fifteen percent of drivers get 76 percent of all traffic tickets.
If you could drive to the sun at 60 mph, it would take 176 years, not including pit stops.
The worst day for automobile accidents is Saturday.
Longest Main Street in the United States: the one in Island Park, Idaho. It’s more than 33 miles long.
Canada has the world’s longest street: Yonge Street stretches 1,178 miles.
Forty percent of car-theft victims left their keys in the ignition.
According to statistics, yellow cars and bright blue cars are the safest to drive.
Seventy-six percent of U.S. commuters drive to work alone.
If you’re an average American, you’ll spend about six months of your life waiting at red lights and five years stuck in traffic.
Odds of winning if you challenge a traffic ticket in court: about one in three.
Accident rates rise 10 percent in the first week of daylight saving time.
Oxymorons
Military Intelligence
Light Heavyweight
Jumbo Shrimp
Drag Race
Friendly Fire
Criminal Justice
Genuine Imitation
Mandatory Option
Limited Nuclear War
Standard Deviation
Protective Custody
Industrial Park
Freezer Burn
Eternal Life
Pretty Ugly
Loyal Opposition
Natural Additives
Educational Television
Nonworking Mother
Full-Price Discount
Limited Immunity
Active Reserves
Student Teacher
Superheroes
“Superhero” has been jointly trademarked by DC Comics and Marvel comics.
The most valuable comic book in the world: Action Comics #1, which features the origin and first appearance of Superman.
In the original comic, Superman couldn’t fly.
Kryptonite made its first appearance on the Superman radio show, not in the comic book.
Muhammad Ali once appeared in a DC Comics edition. He knocked out Superman to save him from aliens.
Superman had a pet monkey named Beppo.
Superman is 6 feet 2 inches, but Clark Kent is only 5 feet 11 inches. (He slouches.)
Official DC statistics state that Batman stands 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 220 pounds.
Wonder Woman’s bulletproof bracelets were made of a metal called feminum.
Wonder Woman’s creator, William Moulton Marston, invented the polygraph.
Marvel comics put a hyphen in Spider-Man’s name so he wouldn’t be confused with Superman.
On Halloween 2004, an estimated 2.15 million U.S. children dressed up as Spider-Man, making it the year’s most popular costume.
Johnny Canuck was a Canadian cartoon in 1869 and was reinvented as a superhero in 1942.
Captain Marvel’s appearance was modeled after actor Fred MacMurray.
Makes Sense
We taste only four things: sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. It’s the smells that really give things flavor.
Talking with your mouth full expels taste molecules and diminishes the taste of food.
Women have a keener sense of smell than men.
Like fingerprints, each of us has an odor that is unique. One result: much of the thrill of kissing comes from smelling the unique odors of another’s face.
By simply smelling a piece of clothing, most people can tell if it was worn by a woman or man.
Smells stimulate learning. Studies show that students given olfactory stimulation along with a word list retain much more information and remember it longer.
Many smells are heavier than air and can be smelled only at ground level.
We smell best if we take several short sniffs, rather than one long one.
PHRASES COINED BY SHAKESPEARE
apple of [one’s] eye
bag and baggage
bated breath
be-all and the end-all
brave new world
budge an inch
caught red-handed
cold comfort
full of sound and fury
good riddance
in a pickle
play fast and loose
Eh, Canada?
There’s a 75 percent chance that a public road in Canada will be unpaved.
The United States absorbs more than 85 percent of all Canadian exports.
In its history, six flags have been flown over Canada.
Nearly one fourth of all the freshwater in the world is in Canada.
The Trans-Canada Highway is the longest national highway in the world.
The baseball glove was invented in Canada in 1883.
Other inventions by Canadians:
the electric range, the electron microscope, standard time, and the zipper.
Four Canadians have been featured on U.S. postage stamps.
At the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, the audience is seated in America, and the opera is performed in Canada.
Canadian journalist Sandy Gardiner coined the term Beatlemania.
Some 50,000 Canadians fought in the American Civil War, including about 200 for the South.
There are some 2 million lakes in Canada, covering about 7.6 percent of the country’s landmass.
There are no skunks in Newfoundland.
In Canada if a debt is higher than 25¢, it is illegal to pay it with pennies.
Stretched in a continuous line, Canada’s coastline would circle the earth more than six times.
The Business World
The Bayer Aspirin Company trademarked the brand name Heroin in 1898.
Bowing to pressure from antismoking groups, Hasbro took away Mr. Potato Head’s pipe in 1987.
At one time, tulip bulbs were traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
End to end, the number of Crayola crayons made in a year (3 billion) would circle the globe six times.
Denny’s restaurants used to be known as Danny’s restaurants.
Tony the Tiger turned 50 in 2005. The Jolly Green Giant turned 77.
Prior to 1953 the slogan of L&M cigarettes was “just what the doctor ordered.”