Airplanes
Animals
Bats
Birds
Books
Chewing Gum
Christmas
Famous People
Firsts
Food
Miscellaneous
Money
Months
Music
Numbers
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Postal History
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Airplanes
The Wright brothers historic flight covered a distance less than the length of today's Space Shuttle.
Ellen Church became the first flight attendant in 1930.
On July 28, 1945 a B-25 bomber crashed into the Empire State Building, lodging itself between the 78th and 79th floors.
American Airlines is credited with the invention of the popular marketing concept we know today as "Frequent Flyer Miles" in 1981.
In 1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by eliminating one olive from First Class salads.
Hawaiian Airlines was the first to sell passenger tickets via automatic teller machines.
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Animals
The cheetah is the only cat in the world that can not retract its claws.
A kangaroo can't jump unless its tail is touching the ground.
Elephants are the only animal that can not jump. They are also the only animal with four knees.
The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
A rhinoceros horn is made from congealed hair.
Zo is a two letter word meaning a Yak who lives in Tibet. (Very useful for Scrabble players)
Both a giraffe and a rat can go longer than a camel without water.
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Bats
Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
The smallest bat is about the size of a bumblebee and weighs no more than a penny.
During the Australian cricket season Australian bats come out in the broad daylight.
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Birds
A group of owls is called a parliament.
Swans live up to 70 years.
Owls are the only bird with stereoscopic vision,the ability to focus both eyes simultaneously on a subject.
Birds have an average body temperature of 108F.
Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.
Kiwis are the only birds that hunt by the sense of smell.It has thick hair-like feathers,no tail and has wings but can’t fly.
The Bald Eagle is five years old before its head and neck plummage turns white.
The snood is the fleshy projection just above the bill on a turkey.
A penguin has more feathers per square inch of its body than any other bird in the world.
A jynx is a woodpecker, also known as the wryneck because of its peculiar habit of twisting its neck.
Cockatoos can do something that no other parrot can do.They can "pull" (fan out) feathers that are below their lower beak up around the entire lower beak.
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Books
The name of the novel that Dickens left unfinished because he died before he finished it was The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category.
The only person ever to decline a Pulitzer Prize for fiction was Sinclair Lewis for his book Arrowsmith.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published March 20, 1852. It was the first American novel to sell one million copies.
Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot was the first fictional character to be given a front page obituary in the New York Times.
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Chewing Gum
Chewing gum was patented in 1869 by William Semple.
Wrigleys gum was the first commercial product that featured a UPC bar code.
Wrigley's first two brands of chewing gum were named Lotta and Vassar. Juicy Fruit and Spearmint were introduced in 1893.
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Christmas
Thomas Edison introduced the first Christmas lights on December 22 1882.
In 1904, Einar Holboell, a Dane promoted the first Christmas Seals. Christmas Seals were first sold in the United States in 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware.
The first "Christmas tree farm" planted in the USA as a commercial business was in 1901 near Trenton, New Jersey.
Carl Otis invented the Christmas tree lights, called BubbleLights in 1945.
In the 1950's and 60's the lights became extremely popular.
Each Christmas there is a festive "Great Bullfight" in Peru.
The "poinsettia", is sometimes called the "flower of Christmas Eve" or "flower of the blessed night". This plant from Mexico was introduced to the United States in 1828 by Dr. Joel Poinsett, the 1st US ambassador to Mexico. The flower was renamed in Poinsett's honor.
Jingle Bells was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called One Horse Open Sleigh.
In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. It is usually made of straw.
Thomas Nast was the first artist to draw Santa Claus as a fat, jolly, white-whiskered old man.
Katherine Lee Bates References to "Mrs Santa Claus" began to appear in 1899.
In Holland the "eight footed horse" is a holiday tradition.Children fill their shoes with hay for the horse.
The horse leaves gifts for good children.The bad children get "spanking switches".
The guitar was first instrument on which the carol "Silent Night" was played. The carol was first sung as part of a church service in Austria. A guitar was used because the church organ was so badly rusted it couldn't be played.
London's holiday decorations in Trafalger Square includes a large Christmas tree that is an annual gift from Oslo, Norway.
In the Victorian era, a toy Noah's Ark was desired as a Christmas gift by both boys and girls. This toy had unisex appeal for both boys and girls as it was the only toy children of many religious faiths were allowed to play with on Sunday.
In the Christmas carol,Twelve Days of Christmas,the total number of gifts that "my true love gave to me" is 364.
Until World War I, Lauscha, Germany supplied virtually all blown-glass Christmas tree ornaments to the world.
According to Pennsylvania Dutch and French traditions the brother of Santa Claus, Bells Nichols visits homes on New Year's Eve after children are asleep. The children sit out plates and Santa's brother fills the plates with cakes and cookies.
Charlemagne was crowned first Carolingian Emperor of the Roman Empire in the year 800 A.D. on Christmas Day and William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in 1066 on Christmas Day.
Auld lang syne means literally old long ago in Scottish.
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Famous People
Betsy Ross was born with a full set of teeth.
Napoleon wore a type of hat called a Tricorne. Several years ago, the hat was sold at an auction for $29,471, becoming the most expensive hat ever sold.
Napoleon provided his most honored guests with knives and forks made of pure aluminum. At the time the newly discovered metal was so rare, it was considered more valuable than gold.
Dr. Livingston, a famous explorer is buried in two countries, that are each on separate continents. His heart is buried in Tanzania and his body is buried at the Westminster Abbey in London.
Thomas Hardy, Stonewall Jackson, Percy Bysshe Shelley, St. Lawrence, Sir Walter Raleigh and King John are all buried in multiple graves,each of their bodies are not "all" buried in the same location. They each have more than one grave.
Queen Berengaria reigned over England for 8 years without once showing her face on English soil.
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Firsts
The earliest surviving complete stained glass windows date back to the 11th century. They are named The Five Prophets and are located in the Augsburg Cathedral in Germany.
Sunglasses were invented in China in 1200 to conceal the eyes of judges while sitting in court.
Eyeglasses were first shown in a painting in 1352. The artist was Tommaso de Modena.
The first toothbrush was developed in China in 1498.
Nurnberg eggs were the first widely used watches. Egg-shaped, they were invented in Nurnberg around 1500 by Peter Henlein.
The first President born in the United States was Martin Van Buren, the eighth President,who was born in 1782. His predecessors were all born when the
Colonies were under British rule.
Paul Revere was the first person known to identify a dead body by its dental work.
He identified the body of Dr. Joseph Warren who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The Philadelphia Mint was the first federal building erected by the United States Government.
The first women's college, Troy Female Seminary was founded by Emma Willard in 1821.
The Chatham Theatre in New York City was the first gaslit theatre in America.It opened in 1825.
The first passenger railroad service in the U.S. began service in 1830.
The first hand-crank ice cream freezer was invented by Nancy Johnson in 1846.
Toilet paper invented by Joseph Gayetty in 1857.
Mary Surratt, the first woman executed was hung on July 7, 1865 in the District of Columbia.
Alfred Nobel, who established the Nobel Prizes, invented dynamite in 1866.
On March 1, 1872 Yellowstone became the world's first national park.
The first zoo in the United States was built in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876.
The first buffalo ever born in captivity was born at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo in 1884.
The first ready-mix food to be sold commercially was Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in 1889.
In 1889 the first jukebox was installed at the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco.
George Ferris introduced the Ferris Wheel to the world in 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago.
The Duryea produced by Charles and Frank Duryea was the first gas-powered automobile ever manufactured in America.
Charles August Fey invented the first three-reel automatic payout slot machine, the Liberty Bell, in San Francisco in 1899.
James Cash Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 1902.
The ball welcoming in the New Year was dropped for the first time at Times Square in New York City in 1904.
The first movie shown in the White House was D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation in 1916. Woodrow Wilson was president.
First sound on film motion picture,Phonofilm was shown at Rivoli Theater, New York City in 1923.
First cloverleaf highway configeration introduced in Woodbridge, New Jersey in 1929.
Ellen Church became the first flight attendant in 1930.
The first airline stewardesses were required to be registered nurses.
George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa invented the trampoline in the 1930s and began marketing it after World War II.
Schick began marketing the first electric razors to the public on March 18, 1931.
The first drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey June 6, 1933.
The first beer can was introduced in 1935 by Kreuger beer.
First installed parking meter was in Oklahoma City, 1935. Carl C. Magee invented the parking meter. They were produced at factories in Oklahoma City and Tulsa until 1963.
The Bulova Watch appeared on the first nationally broadcast television commerical in 1941.
The first automatic traffic signal was first used in Willoughby, Ohio.
Artificial snow was first introduced and used for skiing on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts. Artificial snow was invented in 1946.
The disposable diaper was invented by New Yorker, Marion Donovan in 1950.
The first long distance telephone call without operator assistance was in 1951.
Haleyville, Alabama was the first city to implement the 911 three-digit emergency number in January, 1968.
Computer Space (1971) was the first coin-operated video game. The second coin-operated video game, "Pong" was released by Atari in 1972.
Pepsi-Cola was the first US consumer product sold in the Soviet Union (Russia).1974
Montgomery Ward was the first business to put out a general merchandise catalog.
New Zealand was the first place in the world to allow women to vote.
The first real computer bug was a moth. It got caught in the rotor mechanism of a Mark I computer.
The first song to be recorded on a CD was Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen.
The first roller skating rink in the United States opened in Newport, RI.
Proctor and Gamble was the first company to invent a 2-1 shampoo and condtioner.
The first yield sign in the U.S. was installed in Tulsa, Oklahoma at 5th and Birmingham.
Mia Farrow was on the first cover of People magazine.
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Food-Drink
Coca-cola was originally green. Dr. John Stith Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia invented it in 1886.
Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators where it was first developed.
Dr Pepper first made in Waco at The Old Corner Drug Store by Charles Alderton. He served the first Dr.Pepper December 1st, 1885.
Charles Leiper Grigg invented 7-Up in 1929. Seven Up has seven ingredients and the words Seven Up have seven letters.
William Sullivan, a tea merchant in New York invented the tea bag in 1908.
Dom Perignon is the name of the monk credited with making the discovery of the bubbled wine, now called champagne.
The term "real McCoy" is often used to reference something that is "the real
thing". McCoy was a person who became a bootlegger/rumrunner during
prohibition whose product was quality liquor. His products were sought out and considered the "real McCoy".
Honey is the only food that does not spoil.
Brazil nuts have been identified as the world's most radioactive food.
An avocado is also known as an Alligator Pear.
A nectarine is a variety of peach that has no fuzz.
A tamarind is a fruit commonly referred to as an "Indian date" and is both sweet and sour.They grow on 30 foot tall trees and have a sticky paste surrounding flat seeds.
The onion is actually a member of the lily family.
The potato, the pumpkin and the pineapple originated in South America.
The capsicum level or "heat" of chilies/peppers is measured in Scoville Units.
Dr. John T. Dorrance discovered the process for making condensed soups in 1879.
Ketchup was originally sold as a medicine under the name of Dr. Miles Compound Extract of Tomato.
PEZ candies were invented by Edward Hass in Vienna, Austria.
Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
The marshmallow debuted in its present form in France. However, today the marshmallow no longer contains the mallow plant the ingredient the product was named after.
The fortune cookie was invented in 1916 by George Jung.
Instant mashed potatoes (dehydrated potato flakes) were invented by Edward A. Asselbergs, in 1962.
The phrase "a square meal" originated from Royal navy galleys where meals were served on square wooden plates.
Canned food is credited to the French. During Napoleon's conquests it allowed his armies to travel long distances with greater ease and healthier trips.
Van Camp's Pork and Beans were a staple food for Union soldiers in the Civil War.
To determine if a chicken egg is fertilized or not the egg is held up to a light bulb or other light source and the embryo will show up through the shell. This is called candling.
In the early 11th century, the Anglo-Saxons called animals by their names, such as cow, sheep, or pig, while the animal was alive. But the people of France are responsible for the names these animals
are called by when cooked, such as beef, pork, or mutton.
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