Fast Facts Anatomy Class Human bodies are amazing vessels. Here are some of their special features. ▶ Your tongue has a unique print, just like your fingerprints. ▶ Lips are about 100 times more sensitive than fingertips. ▶ You can’t breathe and swallow at the same time. ▶ You produce enough saliva in a year to fill more than three bathtubs. ▶ Identical twins smell the same. ▶ One-quarter of your bones are in your feet. ▶ The liver can regenerate itself. ▶ Your sense of smell can distinguish up to a trillion different scents. ▶ Human bodies produce enough heat in 30 minutes to boil a halfgallon of water. ▶ Your intestines are constantly moving to help move food along. ▶ Stomach lining is replaced every three or four days to protect it from strong digestive acids. ▶ The body has 2.5 million sweat pores. ▶ Eyes tend to blink 20 times per minute. ▶ The smallest bone in the body is in the inner ear. ▶ The biggest joint in the body is the knee. ▶ Most people shed up to 35 kilograms of skin in their lifetime. Niagara Falls Trivia Interesting nuggets you might not know. ▶ The word “Niagara” comes from the Iroquois word meaning “a thundering noise.” ▶ The Falls are approximately 12,000 years old. ▶ They are made up of three separate waterfalls: Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil. ▶ They were formed due to glacial activity. ▶ They have receded seven miles since their beginning. ▶ The rapids above the Falls reach a maximum speed of 25 mph. ▶ The Falls could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than a second. ▶ They partially freeze in winter. ▶ Rocks beneath the Falls are older than dinosaurs. ▶ The Niagara Gorge extends seven miles downstream. ▶ Ice jams once stopped the flow for 30 hours in 1848. ▶ In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to survive going over the Falls in a barrel. ▶ Most of the fish that plunge over the Falls survive. ▶ Several daredevils have crossed the Falls on tightropes. ▶ Maid of the Mist boats are older than Canada itself. ▶ The Canadian Horseshoe Falls account for 90% of the entire flow. Betcha Didn’t Know ▶ Giraffes have no vocal cords. ▶ There are more camels in Australia than in Egypt. ▶ Apples float because they are 25% air. ▶ An ultracrepidarian is someone who voices thoughts beyond their expertise. ▶ Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times when he was killed. ▶ The Caesar salad turned 100 years old on July 4, 2024. ▶ Coconut is actually a fruit, not a nut. ▶ A rainbow on Venus is called a glory. ▶ A lightning bolt is five times hotter than the surface of the sun. ▶ Anteaters have no teeth. ▶ The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific. ▶ A group of frogs is called an army. ▶ Green is the rarest eye colour. ▶ The world’s hottest chili pepper is the Carolina Reaper. ▶ Al Capone’s business card said that he was a used furniture dealer. ▶ A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch long tongue. All About Rhubarb ▶ It’s among the earliest of spring plants to pop up through the soil. Here is some interesting information about its nature and history. ▶ It was first imported from China as a medicinal plant. ▶ Rhubarb was originally found in Asia around 2700 BC. ▶ The name rhubarb comes from the Greek meaning ‘barbarian root’. ▶ The plant is a family relative of buckwheat, sorrel and knotweed. ▶ It’s hardy and can even thrive in severe cold zones such as Siberia and Alaska. ▶ The plant’s leaves are generally poisonous, with only the stalks safe to eat. ▶ The word ‘rhubarb’ is sometimes used to describe a brawl. ▶ Botanically, it’s a vegetable not a fruit. ▶ It’s a favourite in homemade pies. ▶ After its introduction to North America in the 1700s, it became known as the “pie plant.” ▶ It’s a hardy perennial that can be counted upon to come up each spring. ▶ It can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. ▶ It is a good source of fibre, vitamin C and vitamin K. ▶ There are both red-stemmed and green-stemmed varieties. ▶ The stalks are high in fibre and low in calories, with only 15 calories per half cup. Answers to Outside the Box puzzles from page 54 1. A chink in the armour 2. Stuck to his guns 3. Footloose 4. Point blank 5. Across the finish line 6. Follow me 58 | www.snowbirds.org
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