Trivia

Every second, 100,000 cubic feet of water gushes over Niagara Falls.

Zenith made the first TV remote control in 1950. It was called "Lazy Bones".

The average American housewife won't be surprised by this: Worker ants are always female, and they can carry up to 50 times their own body weight.

Julia Child doesn't say "cheese" shen she has her picture taken, because she says it doesn't make her look like she's smiling. Instead, the French Chef says "Souffle".

The first high-school basketball star to skip college hoops and go straight to pro ball was Moses Malone. He signed with the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars in 1974.

A ticket to an event at the 1896 Olympic Games cost about 16 cents. A ticket to an event at the 1996 games averaged $39.72. That's an increase of $39.56, about 39 cents a year.

One of the main causes for the fall of the Roman Empire was self-inflicted lead poisoning. Historians say the Romans had dangerous levels of lead in their drinking vessels, and also used the poisonous metal as a sweetener and as a cure for diarrhea. Women become infertile from drinking so much lead, and the upper classes died out within a couple of centuries.

In 1929, Donald Duncan began selling a new toy called a yo-yo. He had patterned it after a weapon used by 16th century Fillipino hunters.

The last soldier killed in action in WW I was Pvt. Henry Gunther of Baltimore, Md. He was shot November 11, 1918 - at the very moment that a messenger arrived with word that the Armistice had been signed.

"In God We Trust" hasn't always been the official motto of the USA. In 1787 a copper coin was minted with the adage "Mind Your Business".

Famed scientist Charles Darwin is best known for coming up with the theory of evolution, but he was also a noted expert on pigeons.

The 1994 Nicolas Cage-Bridget Fonda movie It Could Happen To You is based on a true story. In 1984, police Det. Robert Cunningham had dinner at the Yonkers, NY pizzeria where he often ate. He joked to waitress Phyllis Penzo that her tip that night would be a half-interest in the next day's lottery. Cunningham and Penzo each picked three numbers, and Cunningham bought their ticket. All six numbers came in, and Cunningham went back to the restaurant and split his $6 million with Penzo, just like he promised.

Sixty circus performers have tried to get shot from cannons - and 31 have died trying.

Do you panic at the thought of getting beaten to the good stuff or the good places by everyone else? You may be suffering from a social disorder called telesphobia: The fear of being last.

The human body has 2 trillion cells - and each cell has as many moving parts as a Boeing 747.

The odor given off by natural gas is actually unnatural. It is added so leaks can be detected.

More than 56 million people attend pro baseball games each year.

Think you're squeaky clean after yor morning shower? A just-cleaned human body is infested with about one trillion bacteria! But don't worry, most are harmless.

In New Guinea, widows of the Asmat tribe roll in the mud to mourn their late husbands. They believe this not only shows their anguish but also masks the woman's scent from his ghost.

The term broadcast was first used on November 2, 1920 by Dr. Frank Genrad on radio station KDKA of Pittsburgh. KDKA carried the first broadcast of a World Series: The New York Giants beating the New York Yankees, five games to three.

In 1940, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd were teamed together for the first time in the short animated feature A Wild Hare. It was the first cartoon in which Bugs says, What's Up, Doc.

Inh 1979 the Sony Walkman first went on sale with the hefty price of $199.95. Today, a basic Walkman sells for as little as $20.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young gave their first live performance at the Fillmore East in New York in 1969.

Tom Hanks and Matt Damon starred in the Oscar-winning World War II movie Saving Private Ryan.

In 1775, the Continental Congress created the Post Office Department, with Benjamin Franklin as the Postmaster General.

In 1984, Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Saviskaya became the first woman to walk in space.

In 1982, Robin Williams starred in The World According to Garp.

In 1981, 750 million people worldwide watched on TV as Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married.

In 1790, the first US Census count was nearly 4 million. The 2000 census count was 281,421,906.

Alfred Hitchcock directed the hit thriller Rear Window released in 1954 and starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly.

In 1930, Kroger grocery employee Michael Cullen opened the first US supermarket in Queens NY.

Herbert Hoover's vice president, Charles Curtis, was part Kansa Indian, Osage Indian and Potawatomie Indian.

The legion of Super-pets who fought for truth and justice along with Superman and Supergirl were Supergirl's horse, Comet, Superboy's dog, Krypto, Beppo the Supermonkey and Streaky the Supercat.

The youngest chess player to earn the title of grandmaster was Hungary's Judit Polger, who gained the rank when she was 15 years, 4 months old. Bobby Fischer became a grand master at 15 years, six months.

Henry VI came to power as the King of England when he was only 9 months old, in 1422.

The original project name for the first home video game, PONG, was Darlene.

Famed composer Franz Liszt was a successful pianist at age 9 and produced his first opera at age 14.

Mary Katherine Campbell of Ohio was the only Miss America to win two back-to-back titles, in 1922.

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