During Canada's summers, an average of one tornado every five days is reported in Canada, compared to five tornadoes every day in the United States.

French consumers drink an average 88 servings of Coca-Cola products per year.

An ant can lift 50 times its own weight, which is equivalent to a human being pulling a 10-ton trailer.

The first 12-ounce aluminum soda can was introduced in 1964 by Royal Crown Cola. Coke didn't start using aluminum until 3 years later, and that same year Pepsi came out with a seamless can.

In 1822, in his book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Thomas DeQuincy invented the word "tranquilizer" to describe the effect of opium.

There are 170,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ways to play the ten opening moves in a game of chess.

James J. Ritty, owner of a tavern in Dayton, Ohio, invented the cash register in 1879 to stop his patrons from pilfering house profits.

Few heroes have garnered the following of the people as did John F. Kennedy. A powerful speaker, his memorable inaugural speech has left it's mark on history for all time: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Springing from Irish forefathers, Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, ...Read more

The now-extinct ancestor of the horse, eohippus, had a short neck, a pug muzzle, and stood no higher than a medium-sized dog.

The rainbow effect can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude or angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays when half of the sky is still dark with draining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky overhead. The rainbow effect is also commonly seen near ...Read more

Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream by cooking cocoa butter in a granite coffee pot on his wife's stove, and then testing the batch on his own head. His invention was introduced as Coppertone Suntan Cream in 1944.

You may not have a choice, as the average chocolate bar in the U.S. contains at least 8 pieces of an insect in it. Harvesting of the cacao beans occurs in the tropical countries of South America with low sanitation levels. Cacao tree beans are cut and piled in the farmer's field where they ferment for 6 days. During this process, children and ...Read more

There are more 25,000 McDonald's restaurants in over 115 countries. McDonald's has actually been remarkably responsive to the local cultures: they offer "ayran" (a popular chilled yogurt drink) in Turkey; McLaks (a grilled salmon sandwich) in Norway, and teriyaki burgers in Japan. In New Delhi, India, where Hindus shun beef and Muslims refuse ...Read more

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins." This was because their uniforms were red. The British Post Office grew out of the carrying of royal dispatches. Red was considered a royal color, so uniforms and letter-boxes were red. Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering

Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.

Government by a woman or women is called a "gynarchy."

Mary Anne Nichols, Martha Turner, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, and Catherine Eddowes were London prostitutes who were murdered and dismembered by the notorious "Jack the Ripper" in the autumn of 1888. The perpetrator of these chilling atrocities was never found, although many theories as to

In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce, and spinach. The meal is traditionally eaten after the Christmas Eve service, in commemoration of the supper eaten by Mary on the evening before Christ's birth.

The Empire State Building in New York City has 6,400 windows.

Some lady beetle, or lady bug, colonies have been reported to contain as many as 500 gallons of beetles. A gallon of beetles contains from 72,000 to 80,000 adults.