Betcha Didn’t Know ▶ In ancient Rome, they used animal and human urine as laundry detergent. ▶ Germany has an estimated 25,000 castles. ▶ Snoop Dogg’s real name is Calvin Cardozar Broadus Jr. ▶ A grizzly bear’s bite is strong enough to crush a bowling ball. ▶ The Barbie doll’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. ▶ Early Victorians ate arsenic to get a paler complexion. ▶ There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones. ▶ Crocodiles can gallop like horses. ▶ The real name of a hashtag is actually octothorpe. ▶ The blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush is called a nurdle. ▶ Among world oceans, the Atlantic is the saltiest. ▶ Human fingernails grow faster during summer. ▶ A dentist invented the electric chair. ▶ Nomophobia is the fear of being without your smartphone. ▶ Cranberries can bounce. In the Rear-view Mirror Here are some events that occurred a century ago in the autumn of 1926. ▶ It was the height of the Roaring Twenties. ▶ A.A. Milne’s iconic book, Winnie the Pooh, was released. ▶ NBC Radio was launched. ▶ Legendary escape artist and magician Harry Houdini died of peritonitis. ▶ A government decree in Italy banned women from holding public office. ▶ Hollywood was riding the crest of the silent film era. ▶ Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were famous film stars. ▶ The average cost of a brand-new car was about $515.00. ▶ The average full-time weekly wage for a man was $41.51. ▶ The average weekly wage for a woman averaged $24.28. ▶ The plan for the legendary U.S. Route 66 was approved. ▶ Ernest Hemingway’s debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published. ▶ Sharpshooter Annie Oakley died. ▶ Babe Ruth became the first Major League Baseball player to hit three home runs in a World Series game. Fast Facts Seeing is Believing Stuff you may not know about the amazing human eyes. ▶ They are complex organs containing more than two million moving parts. ▶ Only the brain is more complex than eyes. ▶ They function much like high-definition cameras. ▶ They change focus more than 50 times every second. ▶ More than one million nerves connect each eye to the brain. ▶ Only 1/6 of each eyeball is visible. ▶ They can detect a candle flame 14 miles away in the pitch dark. ▶ The average person blinks 12 times per minute. ▶ Eyes weigh just under an ounce. ▶ The world’s most common eye colour is brown. ▶ Eyes can get sunburned. ▶ Newborns do not shed tears. ▶ One out of 12 men is colour blind. ▶ Human corneas are very similar to sharks’ corneas. ▶ It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. Looking Skyward Interesting details about our planetary solar system. ▶ There are eight planets in our system, but there is compelling evidence for a ninth. ▶ Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system. ▶ Seventy per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. ▶ Earth is the only planet with a single moon. ▶ Jupiter is the largest planet in the system. ▶ Saturn has 274 confirmed moons. ▶ Except for Earth, planets are named after gods from Roman and Greek mythology. ▶ It takes four hours for light from the sun to reach Neptune. ▶ Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are rocky planets. ▶ Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants. ▶ Uranus and Neptune are ice planets. ▶ Venus and Mercury spin in the opposite direction from Earth and the other planets. ▶ Venus has active volcanoes. Answers to Outside the Box puzzles from page 54 1. I’m falling over backwards for you 2. Eclipse 3. Petticoat 4. Foothills 5. Make the most of it 6. Spotty 58 | www.snowbirds.org
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