In Case You Didn't Know ...

[Typo Fu Master]

The Jack Daniels and Crayola Crayon box are derived from the exact same design: the 1904 Gold Medal drafted by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman. Both products were among the 39,000 items awarded the medal at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all had crayons. Well, sort of. They used pigment laced wax to paint stonework. But they hadn't yet sorted out the whole hand-held concept.

The first literary use of crayons is in Jane Austen's 1813 "Pride and Prejudice."

The original Crayola company (then known as Binney & Smith) used a crayon recipe that called for whale blubber.

Game company Milton Bradley used to make crayons too. They were one of the first crayon businesses to start marketing them as school supplies to the first late 20th century kindergarten classes.

Crayons have been made by over 300 different companies over the past century of mass-production (though Crayola reigns supreme). And with so many companies, there have been tons of different mascots hawking their wares, including: Disney's Snow White, Popeye, Howdy Doody, and Little Orphan Annie.

Godfather of color science Albert Henry Munsell had his own line of crayons which he sold on to Crayola. And with their powers combined, they're responsible for standardizing how most of the world conceptualizes and names colors.

Three of Crayola's crayon color names have been changed after public protests. In 1958 "Prussian Blue" was changed to "Midnight Blue" to avoid any post-war Nazi connotation (Prussia is a region in Germany). And in 1962 "Flesh" became "Peach" and "Indian Red" was finally changed to "Chestnut" in 1999. After the outcry over the two skin-tone related colors, Crayola started producing a 16 crayon set of multicultural tones kids of all cultural identification could choose between.

A Yale University study determined that the scent of Crayola crayons are one of the top 20 most recognizable scents in existence. Coffee and peanut butter ranked as numbers one and two in the same study.

Blue is America's favorite color. A 2000 survey of favored crayon colors resulted in six different shades of blue placing in the top ten.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

The ancient Egyptians started making paper from the papyrus plant over five thousand years ago and became one of Egypt’s major exports.

Papyrus is made from the Cyperus papyrus plant which grows well in the Nile’s fresh water. Papyrus is made from the stem of this plant.

The word paper comes from ‘Papyrus’, an Egyptian word that originally meant “that which belongs to the house”. Papyrus was very helpful to the ancient Egyptians and revolutionized their ways of communication.

The first use of papyrus paper is believed to have been in 4000 BC during the 1st dynasty. It was continued to be used until about the 11th century AD

At first, papyrus was only used in Egypt, but by about 1000 BC people all over West Asia began buying papyrus from Egypt and using it since it was much more convenient than clay tablets (less breakable, and not as heavy!). People made papyrus in small sheets and then glued the sheets together to make the big magnificent pieces you see today.

If papyrus has writing on it, we call it papyri. Few papyri that were made outside Egypt survived. The climate of Egypt and certain parts of Mesopotamia preserved papyri in the ruins of ancient towns and cemeteries.

As widely believed, Papyrus was not only used as a writing instrument, It was also used for mattresses on beds, for building chairs as well as for tables, mats, baskets, sandals, utensils, rope and boats. Furthermore, the papyrus root was a source of food, medicine, and perfume.

There was no real competitor to Papyrus until, in 105 AD, a Chinese court official called Ts’ai Lun invented paper. With the introduction of paper making into Egypt, the production of Papyrus rapidly declined, and eventually stopped.

Unfortunately, the ancient Egyptians left little evidence about the manufacturing process. There are no texts or wall paintings and archaeologists have failed to uncover any manufacturing sites. Thankfully, Dr. Ragab finally figured out how it was done, and now papyrus making is back in Egypt after a very long absence.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Hair is made up mostly of keratin, the same protein animals’ horns, hooves, claws, feathers, and beaks are made of.

When wet, a healthy strand of hair can stretch an additional 30% of its original length.

Hair grows slightly faster in warm weather, because heat stimulates circulation and encourages hair growth.

All hair is dead, with the exception of the hair that’s still inside the epidermis of your scalp.

Hair contains information about everything that has ever been in your bloodstream, including drugs, and is one of the most commonly used types of forensic evidence.

The only thing about you that can’t be identified by your hair is your gender—men’s hair and women’s hair are identical in structure.

Black is the most common hair color. Red is the rarest and only exists in about 1 percent of the world’s population, with blonde hair found in 2 percent.

As soon as a hair is plucked from its follicle, a new one begins to grow.

Hair can grow anywhere on the human body with the exception of the palms of hands, soles of feet, eyelids, lips, and mucous membranes.

Goosebumps from cold or fear are the result of hair follicles contracting, causing the hair and surrounding skin to bunch up.

The average number of hair strands varies by natural color, with blondes having the most and redheads having the fewest.

The scientific term for split ends is “trichoptilosis.”

Aside from bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the body.

Balding only begins to become visible once you’ve lost over 50 percent of the hairs from your scalp.

At any given time, 90 percent of the hairs in your scalp are growing, while the other 10 percent are resting.

A single hair has a lifespan of about five years.

Hair acts as a layer of thermally insulating protection for our heads, which lack the insulation that fat provides for the rest of our bodies.

Eighty percent of Americans wash their hair twice a day.

Each strand of hair can support up to 100 grams in weight. Multiply that by the average 100,000 to 150,000 strands on each head, and your entire head of hair could support the weight equivalent to two elephants.

 

[yossi]

I love to color, and it's true, Crayola had the finest quality crayons. Their colored pencils are aces too.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Due to its aquatic habitat and behavior, the Catholic Church officially categorized the Beaver as a type of fish, making it acceptable to eat on Good Friday and throughout Lent. This ruling was later extended to the Capybara and muskrat as well. Source

On Good Friday 1930 the BBC reported that there was no news so instead, they played piano music. Source

During the Great Fire of New Orleans in 1788, priests refused to allow church bells to be rung as fire alarms because it was Good Friday. As a result, 856 buildings burned during the conflagration. Source

Many parts of Germany ban dancing on Good Friday. “The strictest bans start at 4 a.m. on Thursday and run through Saturday.” Source

Radio & TV stations in NZ aren’t allowed to play any commercial content at all on Good Friday, Easter Sunday & Christmas Day or they get fined. – Source

In the Philippines, they re-enact the Crucifixion on Good Friday by actually nailing people (people who volunteer) to a cross. Source

In 1592 “the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced bread, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor.” Source

Ireland bans alcohol sales on Good Friday. Source

There is a superstition on Good Friday that if you wash your clothes the head of the household could die. Source

 

[Typo Fu Master]

According to The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation of Chicago, the smell of pumpkin can increase blood flow to the penis, providing some interesting insight into why men love Thanksgiving so much.

Ancient Egyption women used crocodile dung as contraception - dung is slightly alkaline, so it may have worked as a spermicide. However, odds are more likely that the dung prevented sexual partners from wanting sex in the first place.

Each year in Brooklyn, there is a Smallest Penis In Brooklyn contest, proving that hipsters really do try to make everything ironic.

A researcher from Anglia Ruskin University analyzed a year-long study of Greek household finances, and found that those who had sex four or more times a week earned significantly more than those who didn’t.

A "penis curse" from ancient Greece was discovered on a Greek island. The curse was inscribed on a lead tablet, and read "May your penis hurt when you make love."

A 2010 Turkish study looked into the average performance times of men over the course of a year. The researchers found that overweight men lasted almost three times as long in the bedroom.

Some studies show that people who play with whips and chains in the bedroom may actually be more psychologically healthy than those who keep it vanilla.

Apparently semen contains chemicals that elevate mood, increase affection, and induce sleep, It also contains cortisol, which is known to increase feelings of affection in the brain.

A single sperm contains 37.5 MB of a male's DNA information.

The order to ejaculate comes from the spinal cord, not the brain.

According to one survey, more than half the population of Western Australia, 53%, has had a threesome.

The vagina is more sensitive during menstruation, leading to more powerful orgasms and heightened sensitivity.

Women can have orgasms by just working out. Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues first reported the phenomenon in 1953, saying that about 5 percent of women they had interviewed said they orgasmed from exercise.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

According to the book The Making of Star Wars by J.W. Rinzler, George Lucas originally planned for Yoda to be played by an adorable monkey wearing a mask and carrying a cane.

The word "Ewok" is never uttered by a character in the original trilogy. Although, the species is identified in the script and closing credits.

You may think you never see Boba Fett's face in the original trilogy, but the actor who played Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, did stand in for an Imperial officer at the last minute.

The phrase "I have a bad feeling about this" or "I have a very bad feeling about this" is said in every Star Wars movie.

In a story development session for Return of the Jedi, George Lucas toyed with the idea that after Luke removes dying Vader's helmet, he puts it on, proclaims "Now I am Vader" and turns to the dark side.

Boy band 'N Sync made a cameo in Attack of the Clones at the request of George Lucas' daughter. They were edited out of the final cut. Bye, bye, bye, Justin Timberlake.

Yoda's species has never been named. A mystery, it is.

In The Phantom Menace, Yoda has three toes. But in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, he has four.

The alien race of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial makes an appearance in Episode I: The Phantom Menace — officially connecting the worlds of Lucas and Spielberg sci-fi. A senator and his delegation from planet Brodo Asogi are present in the Grand Convocation Chamber when Queen Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence.

David Prowse, the actor who portrayed Darth Vader (in form, not voice), is banned from attending official Star Wars conventions because George Lucas finds him annoying.

There are shot-for-shot re-creations of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back made entirely of campy fan tribute videos.

Burt Reynolds was among the top contenders to play Han Solo, along with Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Christopher Walken.

Gary Kurtz, the original producer of Return of the Jedi, said that in the early story outline, Han Solo dies and the Rebel forces are left in tatters, with Luke disappearing into the wilderness. But George Lucas thought killing off main characters would hurt toy sales, so he changed the ending to a big Ewok party.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

The tallest chocolate Easter egg ever was made in Italy in 2011. At 10.39 metres in height and 7,200 kg in weight, it was taller than a giraffe and heavier than an elephant!

Easter is celebrated at different times by Eastern and Western Christians. That’s because the dates for Easter in Eastern Christianity are based on the Julian Calendar.

The white lily, the symbol of the resurrection, is the special Easter flower.

Jellybeans were first made in America by Boston candy maker William Schrafft, who ran advertisements urging people to send jellybeans to soldiers fighting in the Civil War.

The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka.

The date of Passover is variable as it is dependent on the phases of the moon, and thus Easter is a movable feast.

The name Easter owes its origin from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.

The exchange of eggs for Easter dates back to a springtime custom older than Easter itself in which eggs were given as a symbol of rebirth in many cultures.

In the old days pretzels were associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.

In medieval times, a festival of ‘egg-throwing’ was held in church. The priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choir boys, and then tossed from one choir boy to the next. When the clock struck 12, whoever held the egg, was the winner and got to keep the egg.

Americans buy more than 700 million marshmallow peeps during the Easter holiday, which makes Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.

The White House hosts an Easter Egg Roll on the front lawn each year. This tradition was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.

Americans consume over 16 million jellybeans on Easter, enough to circle the globe three times over.

76% of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.

90 million chocolate bunnies, 91.4 billion eggs and 700 million peeps are produced each year in the United States.

After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday. 120 million pounds of candy are bought each year.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Origami is derived from two Japanese words - Ori (folded) and Kami (paper).

Earlier, it was called Orikata (folded shape).

The Japanese word for paper "kami" is the same written word as the Japanese word for spirit or god and certain origami models were part of their religious ceremonies.

The Samurai in Japan gave each other gifts known as "noshi" that were paper folded with a strip of fish and were considered a good luck token.

An ancient Japanese legend says that if you fold one thousand cranes you will be granted a wish.

Traditional origami uses a piece of paper in the shape of a square and does not permit any cutting.

There are dozens of entries for origami in the Guinness Book of World Records including most folds, smallest, biggest, fastest time for folding 100 cranes, and many more.

The record for the longest flight indoors of an origami plane is 22.48 seconds - held by Takuo Toda, who is credited with inventing the paper airplane.

The smallest origami crane in the world was made by Naito Akira folding plastic film measuring 0.1 by 0.1 mm.

Largest origami crane measures 256 ft 6 inches.

Origami is the theme of a play in New York called "Animals Out of Paper" in which the three main characters all are involved in the art of paper folding.

There are at least a dozen national origami associations throughout the world including: US, Japan, France, Netherlands, UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, Italy, Poland, Russia, and China. The British Origami Society was the first association and was founded in London in 1967.

Heavy Rain - A PlayStation 3 video game, features a serial killer who lives behind an origami model and an orchid.

The largest number of origami cranes was created as part of the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima. A total of 250,000 paper cranes were folded and displayed in a large memorial in the city. Each had a person's name on it and a short, peaceful message. A paper crane is a symbol for world peace.

Oldest origami illustration: Paper boats floating on a body of water with a sun in the background. By Johannes di Sacrobesco in Venice in 1490.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Cheesecakes supposedly originated in ancient Greece and were even served to athletes at the first Olympic Games. Evidence of early cheesecakes can be traced to the Greek island of Samos as far back as 2,000 B.C., though the oldest existing written recipe is credited to Roman politician Marcus Cato around the first century B.C.

"American" cheesecake wasn't invented 'til the late 1800s. New York dairyman William Lawrence accidentally invented cream cheese in 1872 while trying to recreate a soft French cheese called Neufchatel. New York-style cheesecake, with its signature simple cream cheese and egg yolks make-up, was later created in the 1900s by German immigrant Arnold Reuben.

There are other styles of cheesecake besides "New York." There's Pennsylvanian, Philadelphian, Farmer's, country, Chicagoan, Asian, Australian, German, Italian, Dutch, Greek, Brazilian, Colombian, and probably dozens more.

You used to be able to buy cheesecake-flavored postage stamps. Sure they were from the Austrian Postal service, but Haagen-Dazs still once made flavor-infused stamps which included Cookies & Cream, Macadamia Nut Brittle, and Strawberry Cheesecake.

The price of ordering the whole Cheesecake Factory cheesecake line-up is almost $400. That's 33 different cakes and a whole lot of self-loathing.

The "World's Most Expensive" cheesecake isn't even served at a restaurant. It comes from Saks Fifth Avenue, and it looks like a pile of Christmas presents, literally. Made from a triple blend of mocha-flavored cheeses and encased in a filigreed chocolate shell, the Festive Two Stack runs $300 per cake.

Cheesecake Kit Kats exist, and you can actually by them on Amazon Prime. Here's the link. You're welcome.

Blueberry cheesecake lube also exists. Along with "Natural," "Passionfruit," "Kiwi Strawberry," and "Strawberry Cheesecake," from sex toy company O'My.

Other questionable cheesecake "inventions" include garlic-flavored and foie gras-flavored cheesecakes.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Ortharexia Nervosa is an eating disorder where the sufferer is obsessed with eating healthy food.

Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as medicine.

The tall chef’s hat is called a toque.

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

In South Africa, termites and ants are often roasted and eaten by the handful, like popcorn.

Pearls melt in vinegar.

In the United States, lettuce is the second most popular fresh vegetable.

Grape growing is the largest food industry in the world as there are more than 60 species and 8000 varieties of grapes.

In the Philippines, it is considered good luck if a coconut is cleanly split open without jagged edges.

A watermelon is over 92% water by weight.

Eating a lot of beetroot turns your pee into a pink colour.

The M’s in M & M’s stand for ‘Mars & Murrie’, the co-creators of the candy.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Hair contains information about everything that has ever been in your bloodstream, including drugs, and is one of the most commonly used types of forensic evidence.

Well, not ever, I should think, only the past month or two.

The only thing about you that can’t be identified by your hair is your gender—men’s hair and women’s hair are identical in structure.

You can't get DNA from hair?

Eighty percent of Americans wash their hair twice a day.

How is that possible? Most people only wash their hair when they bathe or shower, and few people do that more than once a day.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Grape growing is the largest food industry in the world as there are more than 60 species and 8000 varieties of grapes.

You can't say it's the largest based on the number of varieties. In terms of annual output measured in calories, I'm sure any cereal crop is a bigger deal than grapes.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Oldest origami illustration: Paper boats floating on a body of water with a sun in the background. By Johannes di Sacrobesco in Venice in 1490.

No older Japanese illustrations?!

 

[KingOrfeo]

The order to ejaculate comes from the spinal cord, not the brain.

Hardly surprising. In this area, the brain takes a backseat in a lot of ways.

The vagina is more sensitive during menstruation, leading to more powerful orgasms and heightened sensitivity.

Even so, however . . . ick.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Burt Reynolds was among the top contenders to play Han Solo, along with Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Christopher Walken.

The thought of Nicholson as Solo raises a great disturbance in the Force.

 

[oggbashan]

Back to the original post:

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. This applies mostly to statues in USA.

Medieval Church memorials to important people were supposed to have a code e.g. If the man's legs were crossed he had been on crusade, or had been a Knight Templar; and if his (or his wife's) feet were on a dog that signified loyalty, but if a lion he died in combat.

Modern research shows that the supposed symbolism is bogus. It was just personal preference expressed by the heirs.

There really was a Captain Morgan. He was a Welsh pirate who later became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica.

While Lieutenant Governor he taxed fellow pirates and made arrangements with the French to issue paperwork to legitimize the pirates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan

Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson”.

What Holmes did say:

In fact the line doesn't appear in the Conan Doyle books, only later in Sherlock Holmes' films.

He does come rather close at a few of points. Holmes says "Elementary" in 'The Crooked Man', and "It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you" in 'The Cardboard Box'. He also says "Exactly, my dear Watson, in three different stories.

The phrase was first used by P. G. Wodehouse, in Psmith Journalist, 1915.

 

[KingOrfeo]

While Lieutenant Governor he taxed fellow pirates and made arrangements with the French to issue paperwork to legitimize the pirates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan

In those days the lines between pirates, privateers and navies tended to blur. You can find a good account in American Colonies: The Settling of North America, by Alan Taylor.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

All types of ducks are part of the bird family Anatidae, which also includes swans and geese. There are species of ducks found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica. Some duck species, such as the mallard, are found throughout the world, while others have very small, restricted ranges.

A baby duck is called a duckling, and an adult male is a drake. An adult female duck is called a hen or a duck, and a group of ducks can be called a raft, team or paddling. Generic terms like bird, chick and flock also apply to ducks.

All ducks have highly waterproof feathers as a result of an intricate feather structure and a waxy coating that is spread on each feather while preening. A duck's feathers are so waterproof that even when the duck dives underwater, its downy underlayer of feathers right next to the skin will stay completely dry. The uropygial gland at the base of the tail produces that waxy oil that coats feathers so well, and many other birds also have the same gland.

Ducks are precocial, which means that ducklings are covered with down and able to walk and leave the nest just a few hours after hatching. This helps protect the young chicks from predators, since they do not need to stay in the vulnerable nest area for long.

A hen will lead her ducklings up to a half mile or more over land after hatching in order to find a suitable water source for swimming and feeding. As soon as a baby duck's down is dry after hatching, they will be able to swim. It isn't unusual to see very tiny ducklings swimming after their mother.

Male ducks have an eclipse plumage similar to females that they wear after the breeding season for about a month as their new feathers grow. During that month, they are completely flightless and more vulnerable to predators. At this time, many male ducks stay in isolated, remote areas or flock together for protection in numbers.

Most duck species are monogamous for a breeding season but they do not often mate for life. Instead, they will seek out new mates each year, choosing the healthiest, strongest, best mate who can help them pass on their genes to a new duckling generation.

When constructing her nest, a hen will line it with soft down feathers she plucks from her own breast. This gives the eggs the best possible cushioning and insulation, and exposes the hen's skin so she can keep the eggs warm more efficiently. Other duck nesting material includes grasses, mud, twigs, leaves, reeds and other plant material.

Ducks are omnivorous, opportunistic eaters and will eat grass, aquatic plants, insects, seeds, fruit, fish, crustaceans and other types of food. Some ducks, such as mergansers, are more specialized in their dietary needs, but most ducks can adapt well to different food sources. This helps ensure they always have adequate food to eat.

A duck's bill is specialized to help it forage in mud and to strain food from the water. A hard nail at the tip of the bill helps with foraging, and the lamellae, a comb-like structure on the sides of the bill, strains small insects and crustaceans from water.

Most male ducks are silent and very few ducks actually "quack." Instead, their calls may include squeaks, grunts, groans, chirps, whistles, brays and growls. Females can also make a wide range of different noises, and they are usually more vocal than males.

It is a myth that a duck's quack won't echo. This has been conclusively disproved through different scientific acoustic tests, and was even featured as "busted" on an episode of the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters.

Ducks have been domesticated as pets and farm animals for more than 500 years, and all domestic ducks are descended from either the mallard or the Muscovy duck. Mallards, especially, are easy to crossbreed with other types of ducks, and mallards often hybridize with all types of ducks at local ponds.

There are more than 40 breeds of domestic duck. The all-white Pekin duck (also called the Long Island duck) is the most common variety raised for eggs and meat, especially on large commercial farms. Smaller organizations or individual farmers often try different duck breeds depending on their needs and tastes.

Because of their familiarity and comic nature, ducks are often featured as fictional characters. The two most famous fictional ducks are Disney's Donald Duck, who premiered in 1934, and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck, who premiered in 1937. Ducks have also been spokesbirds for companies or featured in advertising campaigns, and some ducks are even mascots for schools, businesses or sports teams.

Source

 

[Boxlicker101]

A group of unicorns is called a blessing.

A group of owls is called a parliament.

The phrase "sleep tight" derives from the fact that early mattresses were filled with straw and held up with rope stretched across the bedframe. A tight sleep was a comfortable sleep.

"Three dog night" (attributed to Australian Aborigines) came about because on especially cold nights these nomadic people needed three dogs (dingos, actually) to keep from freezing.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange or silver.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."

Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

"I do" is an equally short sentence. Except it can result in a much longer sentence.

 

[warrior queen]

Attention all genetic engineers! Special project! Insert the relevant pig DNA into the human genome!

Did you know, Monsanto has applied for patents on existing pig DNA in around 160 countries? If they succeed, that would mean every single person who breeds pigs in the world will have to pay a licence fee to Monsanto.

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Sugar is one of the world’s oldest ingredients. The people of New Guinea were most likely the first to domesticate sugar cane around 8000 B.C.

In the 16th century, a teaspoon of sugar cost the equivalent of five dollars in London.

The word “sugar” originates from the Sanskrit word sharkara, which means “material in a granule form.” In Arabic, it is sakkar; Turkish is sheker; Italian is zucchero; and Yoruba speakers in Nigeria call it suga.

The American Heart Association recommends that adult women eat no more than 24 grams, or 6 teaspoons, of added (beyond naturally occurring sugar) sugar and men no more than 36 grams, or 9 teaspoons, per day. The current average is over 30 teaspoons of sugar per day.

The only taste humans are born craving is sugar.

The tallest sugar cube tower measured 6 feet, 10 inches and was built by Camille Courgeon of France on July 1, 2013. The tower used 2,669 cubes and was built in 2 hours and 59 minutes.

In 1822, the average American ate 45 grams of sugar—which is the amount in one of today’s 12 oz. sodas—every five days. In 2012, Americans consumed 765 grams of sugar every five days.

Heinz ketchup contains 1 teaspoon of sugar in each 1 tablespoon serving.

Excess sugar consumption has been linked to cancer production. Studies have found that high sugar intake negatively affects the survival rates in both breast cancer patients and colon cancer patients.

Lemons have more sugar than strawberries.

More than half of the 8.4 million metric tons of sugar that is produced in the United States each year comes from sugar beets.

The scientists who discovered sucralose (Splenda) were trying to make an insecticide. An assistant thought he had been instructed to “taste” a sample he had been asked to “test.”

The sweetest compound known is called lugduname. It’s over 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.

Source

 

[Typo Fu Master]

The word “influenza” comes from the Italian influentia because people used to believe that the influence of the planets, stars, and moon caused the flu—for only such universal influence could explain such sudden and widespread sickness.

The English adopted the word “influenza” in the mid-eighteenth century, while the French called it la grippe from gripper, meaning “to grasp or hook.” There is also a similar-sounding phrase in Arabic, anf-al-anza, which means “nose of the goat,” used because goats were thought to be carriers of the disease.

Annual flu viruses (not including flu pandemics) infect up to 20% of Americans, put 200,000 in the hospital with flu-related complications, and kill about 36,000 people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between three and five million people worldwide get a serious case of the regular flu each year; tens of millions get milder cases. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people globally die of the flu every year.

There have been four major global flu pandemics since 1900. The most recent pandemic is the current swine flu (officially named “Novel H1N1 Influenza A”). The last global pandemic was the Hong Kong flu (1968-1969) which killed approximately one million people. The Asian flu pandemic (1957-1958) originated in China and is estimated to have killed between one and four million people. The Spanish flu pandemic (1918-1919) killed between 50-100 million people worldwide.

The single deadliest flu pandemic in history was the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-1919. Occurring in the three waves of increasing lethality, the Spanish flu killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS did in 24 years. It also killed more people in one year than smallpox or the Black Plague did in 50 years.

Flu viruses can live up to 48 hours on hard, nonporous surfaces such as stainless steel and up to 12 hours on cloth and tissues. They can remain infectious for about one week at human body temperature, over 30 days at freezing temperatures, and indefinitely at temperatures below freezing.

At the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, any student caught without a mask during the Spanish flu was automatically suspended, and a town in Arizona passed a law forbidding people to shake hands.

“Cures” for the Spanish flu included drinking whiskey, smoking cigars, eating milk toast, gargling with salt water, getting fresh air, and partaking of interesting concoctions like “Grippura.” Some doctors doused their patients with icy water while others “bled” their patients. Yet other doctors tried surgery by slicing open a patient’s chest, spreading his ribs, and extracting pus and blood from the pleural cavity (the cavity surrounding the lungs), which was almost always fatal in flu victims.

Even with today’s powerful antibiotics, bacterial pneumonia is the most common complication of the flu, and most flu-related deaths are due to it.

The source of flu vaccines are chickens and, consequently, vaccines can be dangerous to people who are allergic to eggs. Those people should never receive the injectable or nasal spray vaccine without doctor’s approval.

Source

 

[Typo Fu Master]

Oscar the Grouch used to be orange. Jim Henson decided to make him green before the second season of Sesame Street. How did Oscar explain the color change? He said he went on vacation to the very damp Swamp Mushy Muddy and turned green overnight.

The 3 Musketeers bar was originally split into three pieces with three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. When the other flavors became harder to come by during World War II, Mars decided to go all chocolate.

Fredric Baur invented the Pringles can. When he passed away in 2008, his ashes were buried in one.

In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel was spending $2,500 a month on rubber bands just to hold all their cash.

When he appeared on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, Bill Clinton correctly answered three questions about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" was penned by beloved children's author Shel Silverstein.

In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called "Growing Up Skipper." Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.

While many believe Hydrox cookies are an Oreo knock-off, Hydrox actually came first—in 1908, four years before the Oreo.

James Avery ("Uncle Phil" on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) was the voice of Shredder on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.

Kool-Aid was originally marketed as "Fruit Smack."

In 1907, an ad campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes offered a free box of cereal to any woman who would wink at her grocer.

Male students at Brigham Young University need a doctor's note to grow a beard.

In 1991, Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, married Russi Taylor—the voice of Minnie.

Editor Bennett Cerf challenged Dr. Seuss to write a book using no more than 50 different words. The result? Green Eggs and Ham.

Only one McDonald's in the world has turquoise arches. Government officials in Sedona, Arizona, thought the yellow would look bad with the natural red rock of the city.

Source

 

[FL30]

Thanks for all these interesting facts. Very good reading.