Did you Know...?

Sixty-seven million pounds of pesticides and about 3 million tons of fertiliser are used annually on lawns in the US.

A single share of Coca-Cola stock, purchased in 1919, when the company went public, would have been worth $92,500 in 1997.

Americans consume 42 tons of aspirin per day.

Bayer was advertising cough medicine containing heroin in 1898.

Britain's first escalator was installed in Harrods in 1878.

Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers were all invented by women.

Carbonated soda water was invented in 1767 by Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen.

Chewing gum was patented in 1869 by William Semple.

Coca-Cola was so named back in 1885 for its two 'medicinal' ingredients: extract of coca leaves and kola nuts. As for how much cocaine was originally in the formulation, it's hard to know.

Cocaine was sold to cure sore throat, neuralgia, nervousness, headache, colds and sleeplessness in the 1880s.

False eyelashes were invented by film director D.W. Griffith while he was making the 1916 epic, "Intolerance." He wanted actress Seena Owen to have lashes that brushed her cheeks.

Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

Hungarian brothers George and L"szlo Biro invented the ball point pen in 1938.

IBM's motto is 'Think.'

If you put a raisin in a glass of champagne, it will keep floating to the top and sinking to the bottom.

In 1889, the 1st coin-operated telephone, patented by Hartford, Connecticut inventor William Gray, was installed in the Hartford Bank. Local calls using a coin-operated phone in the U.S. cost only 5 cents everywhere until 1951.

In 1965, LBJ enacted a law requiring cigarette manufacturers to put health warnings on their packages.

In 1984, a Canadian farmer began renting advertising space on his cows.

In 1991 Procter & Gamble won a $75,000 lawsuit against James & Linda Newton who were found responsible for spreading rumours that the company supported the Church of Satan. The two were distributors of Amway Products, a competitor of Proctor & Gamble.

In 4000 BC Egypt, men and women wore glitter eye shadow made from the crushed shells of beetles.

In M&M candies, the letters stand for Mars and Murrie, the developers of the candy in 1941.

In the 1700s, European women achieved a pale complexion by eating "Arsenic Complexion Wafers" actually made with the poison.

Insulin was discovered in 1922 by Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best.

Kikkoman soy sauce was originated in 1630 in Japan.

Laser stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." Developed 1950s - 1960s.

Levi Strauss blue jeans with copper rivets were priced at $13.50 per dozen in 1874.

Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of linen.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Penicillin was first produced synthetically in a laboratory in 1946.

Perfume contains ethyl alcohol and 25% fragrant oils. Cologne is cheaper to produce and to purchase because the oil content in cologne is only 3%. Cologne was named for the German city in which it was first produced. The original formula combined alcohol, lemon spirits, orange bitters and mint oil.

The 1st personal computer, the Apple II, went on sale in 1977.

The Brownie box camera, introduced by Eastman Kodak, sold for $1.00 in 1900. The camera's 6-exposure film sold for 15 cents.

The condom - made originally of linen - was invented in the early 1500's.

The electric chair was invented by Dr. Alphonse Rockwell and was first used on William Kemmler on August 6, 1890.

The first brand of Wrigley's chewing gum was called "Vassar", after the New England woman's college. Next were "Lotta" and "Sweet Sixteen Orange."

The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. in 1953. That early 'Vette sold for $3,250.

The first credit card, issued in 1950, was Diner's Club. Frank X. McNamara started the company with 200 card holders.

The first product to have a UPC bar code on its packaging was Wrigley's gum.

The first safety feature for an automobile was invented in 1908 by John O'Leary. He patented a large net, to be installed on the front fender, to scoop pedestrians out of the way before they could be run over.

The first seeing-eye dog was presented to a blind person on April 25, 1938.

The first toothbrush with bristles was developed in China in 1498. Bristles were taken from hogs at first, later from horses. The nylon bristles were developed in 1938 by DuPont.

The first US consumer product sold in the Soviet Union was Pepsi-Cola.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

The revolving door was invented August 7, 1888, by Theophilus Van Kannel, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The safety pin was patented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. He sold the patent rights for $400.

The sewing machine was patented on August 12, 1851, by Isaac Singer of Pittstown, New York.

The soldiers of World War I were the first people to use the modern flushing toilet. The inventor: Thomas Crapper. This sounds feasible, but isn't true! Crapper actually invented the automatic shut-off mechanism used in the

modern toilet."Flushable" toilets were in use in ancient Rome.

The United States minted a 1787 copper coin with the motto 'Mind Your Business.'

The world's first adhesive postage stamp went on sale in England in 1840.

The yo-yo was introduced in 1929 by Donald F. Duncan. The toy was based on a weapon used by 16th-century Filipino hunters.

There are about 30 milligrams of caffeine in the average chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains around 100 to 150 milligrams.

VHS stands for Video Home System.

Adjusting for inflation, Cleopatra, 1963, is the most expensive movie ever made to date (mid-1999). Its budget of $44 million is equivalent to 270 million 1999 dollars.

As of 1996, Hee Haw holds the record for the longest running weekly first-run syndicated show in the history of television. It spanned over 4 decades, from the late '60s to the early '90s, airing every Saturday night at 7:00.

Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and many other famous vocalists got their start in a New York City club called The Continental Baths.

Between 1931 and 1969 Walt Disney collected thirty-five Oscars.

C3P0 is the first character to speak in Star Wars.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's fish was named Livingston.

Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty," but he did say, "Beam me up, Mr. Scott."

Carnegie Hall in New York City opened in 1891 with Tchaikovsky as guest conductor.

Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.

Disneyland opened in 1955.

Donald Duck lives at 1313 Webfoot Walk, Duckburg, Calisota and his middle name is Fauntleroy.

Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national television in 1956. He sang Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel on "The Dorsey Brothers Show."

Even though they broke up 25 years ago, the Beatles continue to sell more records each year than the Rolling Stones.

George Harrison, with "My Sweet Lord," was the first Beatle to have a Number 1 hit single following the group's breakup.

In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is Yensid, which is Disney spelled backward.

In October 1959 Elizabeth Taylor became the first Hollywood star to receive $1 million for a single picture. (for Cleopatra)

Jethro Tull is not the name of the rock singer responsible for such songs as "Aqualung" and "Thick as a Brick." Jethro Tull is the name of the band. The singer is Ian Anderson. The original Jethro Tull was an English horticulturalist who invented the seed drill.

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison were all 27 years old when they died.

Mickey Mouse is known as 'Topolino' in Italy.

MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981 The first music-video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. MTV's original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.

Napoleon Bonaparte is the historical figure most often portrayed in movies. He has been featured in 194 movies, Jesus Christ in 152, and Abraham Lincoln in 137.

Penny Marshall was the first woman film director to have a film take in more than $100 million at the box office - she accomplished this with the 1988 flick Big.

Pierce Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond was in 1995 Golden Eye.

Santa's reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming. (There are 364 gifts altogether)

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony to be telecast was the 25th, in 1953. The 1st Academy Awards were presented in 1927.

The 1st live televised murder was in 1963, when Jack Ruby killed JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald while millions of viewers watched.

The 1st winner of the Academy Award for best picture, and the only silent film to achieve that honour, was the 1927 film, "Wings."

The Beatles' 1st song to hit the UK charts was "From Me to You" in June, 1963.

The Beatles were George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. But there were also two lesser known, previous members of the band: Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

The characters of Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie were given the same first names as Simpsons creator Matt Groening's real-life father, mother, and two sisters.

The first CD pressed in the US - for commercial release - was Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA'.

The first film granted permission by the Chinese government to be filmed in the Forbidden City was The Last Emperor, 1987.

The rock music video channel MTV made its debut in 1981.

The Russian Imperial Necklace has been loaned out by Joseff jewelers of Hollywood for 1,215 different feature films.

The song "Happy Birthday to You" was originally written by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill as "Good Morning to You." The words were changed and it was published in 1935.

The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese, and the karaoke machine was designed originally to provide backing tracks for solo cabaret performers.

Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1938 was Adolf Hitler.

When Bugs Bunny first appeared in 1935, he was called Happy Rabbit.

Source:www.corsinet.com