Fast Facts Back to Science Class Interesting information to learn… and there’s no test to be passed. ▶ A cloud can weigh around a million pounds. ▶ Hot water freezes faster than cold water. ▶ Helium can work against gravity. ▶ Plastic can end up as vanilla flavouring. ▶ It’s estimated that about half of the human body is bacteria. ▶ Men are more likely to be colour-blind than women. ▶ Beer is twice as fizzy as champagne. ▶ Hawaii is moving closer to Alaska by about 7.5cm a year. ▶ A cockroach can live for up to a week without its head. ▶ Grasshoppers have ears in their bellies. ▶ You can’t taste food without saliva. ▶ Octopuses have three hearts, nine brains and blue blood. ▶ A flea can accelerate faster than a space shuttle. What are the odds?? The following list may not be spot on, but the percentages are probably extremely close. ▶ You’ll spot a UFO tonight: 0.00003% ▶ A pregnancy will result in twins: 2% ▶ You’ll date a supermodel: 0.1% ▶ You’ll achieve sainthood: 0.000005% ▶ You’ll win the big lottery: 0.000019% ▶ You’ll have a supernatural encounter: 5.9% ▶ You’ll have to wear glasses: 52% ▶ A n asteroid will crash into the Earth and destroy all life sometime in the next 100 years: 0.02% Christmas Tree Trivia ▶ When Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, put up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1848, it became a tradition in England, Canada and the U.S. ▶ The tree’s history goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome. ▶ Most are cut weeks before they get to a retail market. ▶ They generally take six to eight years to mature. ▶ Ninety per cent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms. ▶ On average, more than 2,000 of them are planted per acre. ▶ Other types of trees – such as cherry and hawthorns – were used in the past. ▶ Thomas Edison’s assistants came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees. ▶ During the first week that a tree is in a home, it will consume as much as a quart of water per day. ▶ The bestselling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, Balsam fir and White pine. Random Trivia Bits of knowledge from history, science and pop culture. ▶ Sudan has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world. ▶ The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal. ▶ The cornea is one of only two parts of the human body without blood vessels. ▶ The world’s first animated feature film was produced in Argentina. ▶ The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands. ▶ There’s enough gold inside Earth to coat the planet. ▶ The brand name Spam is the combination of “spice” and “ham.” ▶ People once ate arsenic to improve their skin. ▶ Japan has one vending machine for every 40 people. ▶ Lemons float but limes sink. ▶ There’s only one letter that doesn’t appear in any U.S. state name: Q. ▶ Armadillo shells are bulletproof. ▶ Cows don’t have upper front teeth, although they have back molars. ▶ Giraffe tongues can be 50 cm (20 inches) long. Inspiring Quotes “Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.” Mahatma Gandhi “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” Will Rogers Answers to Outside the Box Puzzles from page 62 1. Whatsoever 2. Spitballs 3. A piece of the action 4. A needle in a haystack 5. A foregone conclusion 6. What a drag 70 | www.snowbirds.org
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