Random Facts 24

Halley's Comet
Can be seen every 75–76 years - last seen in 1986 and next to appear around 2061. It ahs been around for 175,000 years, about halfway through its predicted life - so far passing the sun 2,300 times and reduced from 40 to 20 miles across.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 326.

Missing in the Periodic Table
The only letter missing in the periodic table of elements is J.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 196.

Speed & Car Records
The only car to break the sound barrier was the SSC Thrust II at a speed of 763.035 mph.
The French high-speed TGV holds the railway speed record - 320 mph (515 kph).
The first car ad was in Scientific American July 1898.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 399, 400, 417.

Whole Milk, Food & Condiments
Whole milk is actually 87% water.
In a lifetime, a cow produces close to 200,000 glasses of milk.
Americans toss out 25 million plastic drink bottles every hour.
Ketchup was once sold as a medicine.
A watermelon is really a berry.
Almonds are in the same family as peaches.
Pearls can dissolve in vinegar.
A gallon of seawater contains about 1/4 pound (110 g) of salt.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 193, 197, 301, 308, 310, 313, 314, 384.

Moon Travel & Saturn Trick
The moon travels around the Earth about 13 times per year.
Saturns discs of rock and ice seem to disappear from sight every fifteen years. Next occurance is Sept 4, 2009.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 218, 233.

Animal Bits
Bats always go left when exiting a cave.
Anteaters prefer termites to ants.
By smelling a drop of urine, a dog can figure out another dog's sex, what it last had to eat, its health, and even its emotional state.
Geese fly in a V because it adds a 71 percent greater flying range. The one in the front works the hardest (they rotate), and if one gets sick or injured and drops out, two nurse geese follow and look after them until they heal or die...then join another V.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 247, 293, 300, 305.

First Email & Processors
The first email was sent in 1971.
First functional typewriter was invented in 1867; word processors replaced them in 1974.
The first Apple computer in 1976 had 8 bytes of RAM and cost about $700.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 248, 423, 428.

Gold Wire
A half-ounce of gold can be stretched into a wire 25 miles long.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 275.

Hurricanes, Cyclones & Rain
In the Northern Hemisphere they rotate in a counterclockwise direction direction while those in the Southern Hemisphere rotate clockwise.
The water content of 10 inches of snow is equivalent to one inch of rain.
The deadliest huricane was in 1900 in Galveston Texas, it killed over 6,000 people.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 291, 393.

Color Effects
Violet suppresses appetite, provides a peaceful environment, and is supposively good for migraine headaches.
Blue is calming, lowers blood pressure, and decreases respiration.
Green is soothing and mentally relaxing, relieves depression, anxiety and nervousness.
Yellow energizes, relieves depression, improves memory and stimulates appetite.
Orange energizes and stimulates the appetite and digestive system.
Red stimulates brain wave activity, relieves depression, and increases heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure.
Black is a power color and a source of self-confidence and strength.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 253.

Human Body
Your mouth produces about a quart of saliva each day.
The average human loses 80 hairs a day.
Your hair will grow almost 600 inches in your lifetime.
1 in 20 children are born on the date predicted by the mother's doctor.
Food spends 3-5 hours in the stomach and 6-20 hours in the large intestine.
Eating spicy food is a common cause of stinky feet.
The hardest substance made by your body is tooth enamel.
On average you will inhale 75 million gallons of air in your lifetime.
Your body has 206 bones and 650 muscles.
Your body has 1.3-1.6 gallons (5-5 liters) of blood.
250,000 sweat glands in each of your feet give off almost a cup of moisture every day.
When you cough air rushing out hits speeds of 75-100 mph (121-161 km).
The fastest recorded sneeze was just over 100 mph (161 km).
All of your body's functions stop, including your heart, when you sneeze.
The average adult male has 40 lbs of bone and 65 lbs of muscle in his body.
When your face blushes, the lining of your stomach turns red too.
If your stomach didn't produce a new layer of mucous every two weeks, it would digest itself.
25 Percent of the 206 bones in your body are in your feet.
Every 7 years, your body grows the equivalent of an entirely new skeleton.
The human brain can hold 500 times the info found in a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Every three months, you replace your eyelashes.
The acid in your stomach is powerful enough to dissolve razor blades.
Your hair is actually as strong as aluminum.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 243, 244, 253, 299, 334, 359, 372, 373, 389, 476. Uncle John's Ultimate Bathroom Reader, 1996, pg. 91, 130, 149, 247, 285. Uncle John's Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader, 1997, pg. 71, 353, 384, 466.

YKK
Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha is the largest zipper maker.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 427.

Poisonous Plants
Every part of Foxglove, Nightshade, Oleander, and Rhododendrons are poisonous.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, 2002, pg. 452.