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| WHO KNEW?
If Jell-O is hooked up to an EEG, it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult. The original Twinkies filling was banana; it was replaced by vanilla-flavored cream during WWII, when the United States experienced a banana shortage. On average, a Twinkie will explode in a microwave in 45 seconds. There are 7 loops in the squiggle atop every Hostess cupcake. There are approximately 1,750 O's in every can of Spaghetti Os. There are 1,218 peanuts in a single 28 ounce jar of Jif peanut butter 100 shares of McDonald's stock purchased for $2,250 when first offered in 1965 waas worth more than $1.4 million in 1995. The largest McDonald's is in Beijing China. It measures more than 28,000 sq ft, seats 700, and has 2 kitchens and 29 registers. McDonald's milkshakes contain seaweed-in the form of an extract called carrageenan, a thickener and emulsifier that keeps the butterfat in the shake from separating out. The biggest menu flops at McDonald's include Kolacky, a Bohemian pastry that had been founder Ray Kroc's mother's specialty, and the Hula Burger, which was aimed at vegetarians (as well as Cathoics who didn't eat fish on Fridays) and consisted of cheese and a grilled pineapple ring on a toasted bun. McDonald's teaches its employees that the fastest way to put out a shortening fire is to dump frozen french fries on it. Some fast-food chains spray sugar on their potatoes, which caramelizes during cooking and gives the fries a golden color. M&M's owe their sucess to the US military, which was hungry for a candy that could hold up in G.I.'s pockets and backpacks and could be eaten without their trigger fingers getting sticky. The 5 interlocking Olympic rings are black, blue, red, white, and yellow because at leaast one of these colors appears on every national flag. Banks are commonly shaped like pigs because in the 18th century frugal people saved their money in earthenware jars made of dense orange clay known as PYGG. The original American Express card was purple ( and for 11 years, until the green card replaced it in 1969. The dollar sign is a combination of the letters P and S, PS being the abbreviation for pesos , the principal coin in circulation in the US until 1794, when we began marketing our own dollars. The paper used to make money is composed of linen and several types of cotton, including DENIM - which gives it its unique fabriclike feel and durability. The same 26 state engraved accross the top of the actual Lincoln Memorial are listed atop the image of the Memorial seen on the back of the five dollar bill. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge. Three of the 1st five US presidents- John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, died on July 4th. Big Bird's costume is made of turkey feathers, dyed yellow. Play-Doh was originally formulated as a compound to clean wallpaper. The ingredient believed to give the clay its unique smell is vanilla. The gold decorating the exterioir of It's a Small World at Disneyland isn't paint, bu in-fact, 24-karat gold leaf. X's symbolize kisses because in ancient days, when people knew how to write, they would simply sign an X to show their agreement, then kiss the mark to emphasize their sincerity. |