The lungfish can live out of water in a state of suspended animation for three years.

Oscar-winning director James Cameron (Titanic) was a risk-taker even when a boy. He organized his playmates in building a functional catapult that threw boulders large enough to make impact craters. He and his buddies also created a miniature diving vessel to send mice to the bottom of the

Its name derives from the Dutch word koekje which means little cake, and arrived in the English language via the Scots language, rather than directly from the Dutch. In Scottish English the word denotes a small scone-like cake or bun, often filled with cream. Cookies were first made from little pieces of cake batter that were cooked separately ...Read more

While, certainly, the vote on July 2 was the decisive act, July 4 is the date on the Declaration itself. Jefferson's stirring prose, as edited by the Congress, was first adopted by the vote of the 4th. It was also the first day Philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the Continental Congress, as opposed to rumors in the ...Read more

There really are such thing as "cooties." Though most people believe that "cooties" is just a nonsense word used by children to describe unpleasant insects, cooties are in fact a kind of body lice.

The Netherlands are the lowest country in the world. It is estimated that 40 percent of the land is below sea level.

The loop on a belt that holds the loose end is called a "keeper."

A ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball of rubber. A ball of solid steel will bounce higher than one made entirely of glass.

Honeybees navigate using the sun as a compass, even when it is hidden behind clouds - they find it via the polarization of ultraviolet light from areas of blue sky.

The average house wife walks 10 miles a day around the house doing her chores. In addition, she walks nearly 4 miles and spends 25 hours a year making beds.

There are fifteen nations that gave women the right to vote before the United States did in 1920. The earliest were New Zealand, in 1893, Australia, in 1902, and Finland, in 1906.

A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continually from the bottom of the glass to the top.

During the late 1800s, postage rates around the world dropped, and the obscene St. Valentine's Day card became popular, despite the Victorian era being otherwise very prudish. As the numbers of racy valentines grew, several countries banned the practice of exchanging Valentine's Days cards. During this period, Chicago's post office rejected more...Read more

It was while he was examining urine, seeking the philosopher's stone (the magic elixir needed to change base metals into gold), that German chemist Hennig Brand discovered phosphorus.

Because of its use as a staple of U.S. Navy messes since the mid-nineteenth century, the humble white bean was christened "navy bean."

For many years, the fig has been used as a coffee substitute. The fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme that is considered an aid to digestion and is used by the pharmaceutical industry.

If the Earth's axis was not tilted, there would be 12-hour days everywhere, and no seasons. At the poles, the sun would always be on the horizon.

While, certainly, the vote on July 2 was the decisive act, July 4 is the date on the Declaration itself. Jefferson's stirring prose, as edited by the Congress, was first adopted by the vote of the 4th. It was also the first day Philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the Continental Congress, as opposed to rumors in the ...Read more

Created in 1888, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. is the most successful cartel arrangement in the annals of modern commerce. While other commodities, such as gold, silver, copper, rubber, and grains, fluctuated wildly in response to economic conditions, diamonds have continued, with few exceptions, to advance upward in price every year since ...Read more

It was reported that Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his military campaigns, and always ate it when he needed a boost of energy.