The lance ceased to be an official battle weapon in the British Army in 1927.

The Aymara guides of Bolivia are said to be able to keep pace with a trotting horse for a distance of 100 kilometres.

Before World War II, it was considered a sacrilege to touch the Emperor of Japan.

Coffee is the second largest item of world commerce. The largest is petrol.

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The only country to register zero births in 1983 was Vatican City.

Seven billion gallons of water {1 gallon=3.79 liters} are flushed down U.S. toilets every day.

7 out of 10 British dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting owners.

During the heating months of winter, the relative humidity of the average American home is 13% - nearly twice as dry as ( Read more... )

About 200 babies are born worldwide every minute.

Your statistical chance of being murdered in the USA is 1 : 20,000.

About 10% of the workforce in Egypt is under 12 years of age. Although laws protecting children are on the books, they are not well enforced, partly because many poverty-stricken parents feel forced to send their children out to help ( Read more... )

I'm still feeling terrible, still have no voice. This is a first. I can't remember ever having had this last more than a day. Looks like I need to get to a doctor next week. I have no idea how I'm supposed to make phone calls this way. Will just have to communicate via email - lol. There's absolutely nothing to report about this weekend. Didn't go ( Read more... )

No one knows how many people live in the country of Bhutan. As of 1975, no census has  been taken.

There are more television sets in the United States than there are people in Japan.

France has the highest per capita consumption of cheese.

The typical person goes to the bathroom 6 times a day.

Textbook shortages are so severe in U.S. public schools ( Read more... )

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first class.

The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer.

In Israel, the glue on postage stamps is certified kosher.

The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of ( Read more... )

Some Orthodox Jews refuse to speak Hebrew, believing it to be a language reserved only for the prophets.

A South African monkey was once awarded a medal and promoted to the rank of corporal during World War I.

Sliced bread was patented by a jeweller, Otto Rohwedder, in 1928. He had been working on it for 16 years, having started in 1912.

An American ( Read more... )

14 million people were killed in World War I, 20 million died in a flu epidemic in the years that followed.

People in Siberia often buy milk frozen on a stick.

George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

The two highest IQ's ever recorded (on a standard test) both belong to women.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

In the USA, only 1 child in 20 is born on the day predicted by the doctor.

It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy if your name is Maria.

It was quite common for the men of Ancient Greece to exercise in public ... naked.

The Imperial Throne of Japan has been occupied by the same family for the last 1300 years.

It was the custom in Ancient ( Read more... )