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     Volume 4 Issue 19| October 29, 2004 |


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Trivia

Is Knowledge Ever Useless?

*Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
*The straw was probably invented by Egyptian brewers to taste in-process beer without removing the fermenting ingredients which floated on the top of the container.
*Madrid is the only European capital city not situated on a river.
*The word posh, which denotes luxurious rooms or accommodations, originated when ticket agents in England marked the tickets of travelers going by ship to the Orient. Since there was no air conditioning in those days, it was always better to have a cabin on the shady side of the ship as it passed through the Mediterranean and Suez area. Since the sun is in the south, those with money paid extra to get cabin's on the left, or port, traveling to the Asia, and on the right, or starboard, when returning to Europe. Hence their tickets were marked with the initials for Port Outbound Starboard Homebound, or POSH.
*Parthenogenesis is the term used to describe the process by which certain animals are able to reproduce themselves in successive female generations without intervention of a male of the species. At least one species of lizard is known to do so.
*Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
*The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat", which means "the king is dead".
*Nepal is the only country without a rectangular flag (it looks like two pennants glued on on top of the other)
*Libya has the only flag which is all one colour with no writing or decoration on it
*When a coffee seed is planted, it takes five years to yield its first consumable fruit.
*The common goldfish is the only animal that can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light.
*There are only three animals with blue tongues, the Black Bear, the Chow Chow dog and the blue-tongued lizard.
*The infinity sign is called a lemniscate.
*The pupil of an octopus' eye is rectangular.
*Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.
*The only "real" food that U.S. Astronauts are allowed to take into space is pecan nuts.
*The word "queueing" is the only English word with five consecutive vowels.
*An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.
*Dracula is the most filmed story of all time, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is second and Oliver Twist is third.
*The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
*Soweto in South Africa was derived from SOuth WEst TOwnship.
*Walt Disney's autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney logo.
*Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have blue eyes.
*The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
*Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps. Hence, the postage stamps of Britain are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin. However, every stamp carries a relief image or a silhouette of the monarch's head instead.
*Since 1896, the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and Australia have participated in every Games.
*February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
*It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.
*The Roman emperor Caligula made his horse a senator.
*At latitude 60 degrees south you can sail all the way around the world.
*Giraffes have no vocal cords.
*All porcupines float in water.

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