Random Facts 16

Santa Defies Laws of Physics
Assuming Santa visits 2.5 billion homes in 48 hours, he has 34 microseconds per household (about a tenth of the time it takes a housefly's wings to flap once), and his reindeer must travel 3,604 miles per second. With the weight of his sleigh and supersonic traveling speed, the massive air resistance would make any vehicle we know of burst into flame within 4 milliseconds of takeoff.
The Week Magazine, Dec 21, 2007, vol. 7, iss. 341, pg. 21.

Four Leaf Clover
One in 10,000 clovers has four leaves.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd, pg. 62.

Dog Hearing
Dogs can locate the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd, pg. 303.

Drunk in the World
At any point in time, 0.7% of the world's population is drunk.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd, pg. 308.

What's in Vicks Nyquil
Acetaminophen: derived from coal tar and used for nearly acentury as apain killer and fever reducer. As it breaks down in the body, it turns into cannabinoid-the same compound that makes marijuana irresistable.
Dextro-Mthorphan HBR: in the body, this becomes a cough suppressant and levorphland, a painkiller five times as powerful as morphine. DXM is also an NMDA receptor antagonist like PCP and ketamine.
Doxylamine Succinate: labelled as an antihistamine, but is also a sleep aid.
Citric Acid: because its not inhaled (fights flu), it adds a little tang and possibly act as a low-level preservative.
Alcohol: acts as a solvent keeping the top three ingredients in solution.
Polyethylene Glycol & Propylene Glycol: chemical cousins used as thickners (since people prefer medicines in syrup).
Sodium Citrate: a buffer to maintain the acid-base balance of all the other ingredients.
High Fructose Corn Syrup: that sugar taste!
Wired Magazine, September 2007, p. 44.