Strange But True Facts

* The Andy Griffth Show was the first spin-off in TV history. It was
a spin-off of the Danny Thomas Show.

* Goat’s eyes have rectangular pupils.

* Walt Disney’s autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney
logo.

* Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have
blue eyes.

* The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.

* The two longest one-syllable words in the English language
are “screeched” and “strengths.”

* Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps. Hence,
the postage stamps of Britain are the only stamps in the world not to
bear the name of the country of origin. However, every stamp carries
a relief image or a silhouette of the monarch’s head instead.

* Artist Constantino Brumidi fell from the dome of the U.S. Capitol
while painting a mural around the rim. He died four months later.

* Elephants and camels both have four knees.

* The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World
War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

* The real name of the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” lady is Edith
Fore.

* Ancient Romans ate flamingo tounges and considered them a delicacy.

* Betsy Ross was born with a fully formed set of teeth. Betsy Ross’s
other contribution to the American Revolution, beside sewing the
first American flag, was running a munitions factory in her basement.

* The only real person to be a Pez head was Betsy Ross.

* Andy Warhol created the Rolling Stone’s emblem depicting the big
tongue. It first appeared on the cover of the ‘Sticky Fingers’ album.

* Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were the [only] two left-handed
Beatles.

* Chris Ford scored the first ever NBA three-point shot.

* Maine is the only state that borders only one other US State.

* Of all the East Coast States, New Hampshire has the shortest
coastline, about fourteen miles. New Hampshire is also the only State
name that has four consecutive consonants in it (in the same word).

* Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.

* Alaska has the longest border with Canada of all the fifty states.
Montana has the longest border with Canada of the lower forty-eight
States. Montana also borders the most Canadian Provinces of all the
fifty states. It borders three of them.

* Arkansas is the only US State that begins with the letter “a” but
does not end with “a.”

* Only three angels are mentioned by name in the Bible: Gabriel,
Michael, and Lucifer.

* Dr. Seuss pronounced “Seuss” such that it rhymed with “rejoice.”

* Wilma Flinestone’s maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty
Rubble’s Maiden name was Betty Jean McBricker.

* Lenny Kravitz’s mother played the part of “Helen” on “The
Jeffersons.”

* A Macintosh LC575 has 182 speaker holes.

* In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, “They’ll put a
man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20, 1969, a few
hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Gaylord Perry hit
his first, and only, home run.

* Panama hats come from Ecuador not Panama.

* Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie’s Angels fame) played the voice, both
talking and singing, of Josie in the ’70s Saturday morning
cartoon “Josie and the Pussycats.”

* The abbreviation for pound [lb.] comes from the astrological sign
Libra, meaning balance, and symbolized by scales.

* Since 1896, the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and
Australia have participated in every Games.

* There were no squirrels on Nantucket until 1989.

* Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.

* Will Clark of the Texas Rangers is a direct descendant of William
Clark of Lewis and Clark.

* Barbie’s measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33.

* When ocean tides are at their highest, they are called “spring
tides.” When they are at their lowest, they are call “neap tides.”

* February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a
full moon.

* Many Japanese golfers carry “hole-in-one” insurance, because it is
traditional in Japan to share one’s good luck by sending gifts to all
your friends when you get an “ace.” The price for what the Japanese
term an “albatross” can often reach $10,000.

* It takes a lobster approxiamately seven years to grow to be one
pound.

* The ridges on the sides of coins are called reeding.

* Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a
McDonalds.

* The Roman emperor Caligula made his horse a senator.

* At latitude 60 degrees south you can sail all the way around the
world.

* A Chinese checkerboard has 121 holes.

* The hyoid bone, in your throat, is the only bone in the body not
attached to another bone.

* Mice, whales, elephants, giraffes, and man all have seven neck
vertebrae.

* The correct response to the Irish greeting, “Top of the morning to
you,” is “and the rest of the day to yourself.”

* Giraffes have no vocal cords.

* Joe DiMaggio had more home runs than strikeouts during his career.

* All porcupines float in water.

* “Hang On Sloopy” is the official rock song of Ohio.

* A-1 Steak Sauce contains both orange peel and raisins.

* Many northern parishes (counties) of Louisiana did not agree with
the Confederate movement. To show their disapproval, they changed
their names. That’s why there is a Union Parish, Jefferson Parish,
etc.

* The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms
as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of
Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet
facilities for blacks and whites.

* The Chinese ideogram for ‘trouble’ symbolizes ‘two women living
under one roof’.

* In Chinese, the words for crisis and opportunity are the same.

* No word in the English language rhymes with month.

* Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people
without killing them use to burn their houses down – hence the
expression “to get fired.”

* In Disney’s “Fantasia”, the Sorcerer’s name is “Yensid” (Disney
backwards.)