Portugal is the world's largest producer of cork. The country has regulations protecting cork trees dating back to 1320. During the 1920s and 1930s, it became illegal to cut down the trees other than for essential thinning and removal of older non-producing trees.

The term choral symphony was coined by French composer Hector Berlioz when describing his symphony, Roméo et Juliette

Scientists can condense matter to greater densities and temperature than those at the center of the sun. Fusion-energy research at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California uses 20 laser beams to concentrate on targets so tiny that dozens can be gathered on the head of the pin.

Thirty gallons, or 135 litres, of water is used for the average shower in the United States.

To help them last longer, put the cut ends of chrysanthemums in very hot water for a moment and then straight into very cold.

Cleveland spelled backwards is "DNA level C."

In trucking circles, a "bumper sticker" is a tailgater who is following another vehicle too closely.

Players of D&D invent fictitious characters who embark upon imaginary adventures in which they battle many kinds of fictional monsters, gather treasure, interact with each other, and earn experience points, becoming more and more powerful as the game progresses. D&D also developed the concept of a Dungeon Master (DM), the storyteller and referee...Read more

In 1266 A.D., English bakers were ordered to mark each loaf of bread so that if a faulty one turned up, "it will be knowne in whom the faulte lies." The bakers' marks were among the first trademarks.

The moons of Mars are called Phobos and Deimos after two mythical horses that drew the chariot of Mars, the Roman god of war.

The highest man-made temperature - 70 million degrees Celsius - was generated at Princeton University in a fusion power experiment in 1978.

Rattan palms found in the jungles of Southeast Asia have vinelike stems that trail along the jungle floor up to 250 feet in all directions.

Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel Psycho anonymously from Bloch for just $9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret. The film only cost $800,000 to make yet has earned more than $40 million. Hitchcock used the crew from his TV series to save time and money. The shower scene has over 90 ...Read more

In 1944, Allied security officers were disturbed by the appearance, in a series of crossword puzzles published in The Daily Telegraph, of words that happened to be secret code names for military operations. On June 2, just four days before the invasion, the puzzle included both the words "Neptune" (the naval operations plan) and "Overlord". That...Read more

Martha Washington was referred to as "Lady Washington." Mary Todd Lincoln was the first presidential wife to be referred to as "The First Lady."

Karl Marx was targeted for assassination when he met with two Prussian officers in his house in Cologne in 1848. Marx had friends among the German labor unions, and he was considered a threat to the autocrats. Dressed in his bathrobe, he forced the officers out at the point of a revolver, which,

The amethyst gets its name from the Greek amethystos, which means "remedy for drunkeness."

Nero and Henry VIII were both relatively good rulers when they assumed power, but both became bloodstained tyrants. Each killed a philosopher who had been a good influence: Nero compelled Seneca to commit suicide and Henry ordered Thomas Moore beheaded.

Burger King® uses approximately 500,000 pounds of bacon every month in its restaurants.

Olympic badminton rules say that the shuttlecock has to have exactly 16 feathers. The best shuttles are made from the feathers from the left wing of a goose.