701. Money man Cornelius Vanderbilt was an insomniac and a believer in the occult. He was not able to fall asleep unless each leg of his bed was planted in a dish filled with salt. He felt this kept out the evil spirits.
702. In 1972, a group of scientists reported that you could cure the common cold by freezing the big toe.
703. Flamenco dancer Jose Greco took out an insurance policy through Lloyd's of London against his pants splitting during a performance.
704. A man irate about his income tax paid Uncle Sam with a plaster of paris check that weighed several pounds. He wasn't all that bright, because once the government cashed the check, it was returned to him and he had to keep it for five years for his records.
705. On November 29, 1941, the program for the annual Army-Navy football game carried a picture of the Battleship Arizona, captioned: "It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs." Today you can visit the site--now a shrine--where Japanese dive bombers sunk the Arizona at Pearl Harbor only nine days later.
706. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the first film featuring the character Indiana Jones, was crawling with eight-legged (50 tarantulas) and no-legged (7,500 boas, cobras and pythons) creatures. The name "Indiana Jones" came from producer George Lucas' pet malamute.
707. Sixty-six people flew across the Atlantic non-stop before Charles Lindbergh. The first were John W. Alcock and Arthur W. Brown who took off from Newfoundland on June 14, 1919, and landed in Ireland the next day, eight years before "Lucky Lindy" became the toast of two continents. Lindbergh, called The Flyin' Fool before success made him Lucky Lindy, did fly 1,000 miles longer than any previous non-stop flight, and was the first to fly New York to Paris, besides doing it alone. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to make a solo crossing, Newfoundland to Ireland, in May, 1932.
708. It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write "War & Peace".
709. In the name of art, Chris Burden arranged to be shot by a friend while another person photographed the event. He sold the series of pictures to an art dealer. He made $1750 on the deal, but his hospital bill was $84,000.
710. Howard Kinsey and Mrs. R. Roark, during a game of tennis, batted the ball back and forth 2001 consecutive times. The rally ended after an hour and 18 minutes because Mrs. Roark was scheduled to teach a tennis lesson.
711. "Here's mud in your eye" comes from the terrible trench warfare of World War I, and the implication was that mud from the trenches should be the worst thing to get in your eye, all the other very real possibilities, such as artillery shrapnel, being absolutely horrific.
712. "I'm feeling pretty cruddy today." is a typical expression in American slang, but it comes from the World War I era. Crud has a gamy background. It originally meant dried...ah...let's just say: DNA evidence. So unless you're a certain White House intern with a certain dress that still needs to go to the dry cleaners, you might want to think twice about how "cruddy" you feel.
713. Paul Cezanne had a parot who he taught to say, "Cezanne is a great painter."
714. More than 114 million acts of sex are performed each day around the world. (World Health Organization)
715. Check out these creative ways condoms are marketed around the world: -- "Beyond" brand condoms (created by Okamoto) are housed by the half dozen in a stylish blue make-up compact. - In Britain and Italy, condoms are packaged in cigarette boxes and sold in vending machines. -- The city of Cambridge, MA, requires all businesses (including theaters, bars, restaurants, hotels, and motels) to have working condom machines on the premises. (Contraceptive Technology, by Robert Hatcher, et. al.)
716. John Harvey Kellogg gained a reputation both as a nutritionist and a sexual advisor. He thought sex was the ultimate abomination and remained chaste even in marriage. In his view, masturbation not only led to leprosy, tuberculosis, heart disease, epilepsy, dimness of vision, insanity, idiocy, and death, but also bashfulness in some people, unnatural boldness in others, a fondness for spicy foods, round shoulders, and acne. Kellogg was the creator of a number of foods designed to promote health and decrease interest in sex. You might know one quite well -- it's called Corn Flakes. (The New Male Sexuality by Dr. Bernie Zilbergeld, 1992)
717. Only about 15 percent of the world's population practices circumcision.
718. Almost 50 percent of all penis injuries occur during intercourse.
719. On average, men release 2.5 - 6 ml. of semen, containing 150 and 600 million spermatozoa in one ejaculation.
720. Approximately 2-5 percent of condoms tear during use. The majority of these failures are caused by human error.
721. Radio station call letters were assigned by an international convention in 1912. French stations were to begin with "F," Canadian stations with "C.," and so on. The U.S. was issued A, N, W, and K. "A" was for Army and "N" for Navy, each of which had their own stations. The logic behind "W" and "K" for the other stations is unknown, but eventually, all stations east of the Mississippi were assigned W, and west of it, K.
722. In 1870, British boxing champ Jim Mace and American boxer Joe Coburn fought for three hours and 48 minutes without landing one punch.
723. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mike King dove from a hovering helicopter into water 150 feet below. He accomplished what he wanted to do and broke the old record of 135 feet.
724. W.C. Fields, the great 1930's movie comedian and famous misanthrope, died on Christmas, the holiday he despised. Of all the notable quotes that issued from this notorious curmudgeon, the most often quoted, said to be from his California tombstone, is "All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." But you would have an easier time locating his ghost than the words on that famous marker. Fields was cremated and has no tombstone. He made the remark to a magazine that had asked what he would want on his stone.
725. Mistletoe is a parasite, entwining itself around poplars and apple trees so it can suck the sap from them. At its worst, mistletoe is a killer organism, destroying its host, and can be stopped only by yanking it out by its roots. But when it doesn't get out of hand, mistletoe, an evergreen, can help its host by supplying it with chlorophyll in winter when the host plant has lost its leaves.
726. A queen bee can lay as many as 1500 eggs in one day.
727. The silkworm's silk comes out of its mouth as a thread of gooey liquid, so nice silk fayou spent a fortune on is really just worm spit.
728. A trout swims at about 4 miles per hour.
729. Someone weighing 130 pounds will expend about 1.0 calorie per minute while sleeping, 1.2 surfing the Internet, and 10.3 calories per minute while running at a 10-minutes-per-mile (or 5 mph) pace. Housework usually falls somewhere between these values. Some per-minute calorie-expenditure estimates for chores for a 130-pound person: making the bed: 2.1; ironing: 2.4; dusting, straightening, vacuuming, changing bed linens, carrying out trash: 2.6; carrying an infant: 3.6; general carpentry: 3.6; sweeping floors: 4.1; washing windows or walls: 4.6; carrying loads of 1 to 15 pounds up stairs: 5.2; scrubbing floors: 5.7; moving furniture: 6.2; carrying groceries: 8.3.
730. Official 1999 FDA guidelines allow whole pepper to be sold with up to 1% of the volume made up of rat droppings.
731. Every year about 45,000 people are injured by toilets, 2,000 by balloons, and the odds are 1 in 3,000 that the "average" person will hit a finger or thumb with a hammer.
732. Early Egyptians created a compound for reversing baldness using the fat of crocodiles, goats, snakes, cats, lions, and hippopotami.
733. 40% of all dog and cat owners carry pictures of their pets in their wallets.
734. More than half of all cat owners admit to confiding important matters to their cats.
735. Odds are 9:1 for being bitten by a dog rather than a cat.
736. It would take 100 cups of coffee consumed in 4 hours to kill the average adult with a caffeine overdose.
737. Benjamin Franklin believed in fresh air baths. Every morning he would stand naked in front of an open window, inhaling deeply.
738. In 1985 there were 4 write-in votes for Mr. Potato Head for the election of mayor in Boise, Idaho.
739. Los Angeles, California, taxi drivers can be fined $1,500 for wearing plaid.
740. 2.5 million Americans play the accordion.
741. Mr. Ed was played by a horse named Bamboo Harvester. The voice was supplied by Allan Lane, though George Burns once did a voice over.
742. An estimated 2 million cockroaches live in the Pentagon.
743. According to the latest national survey, 5,313,105 dogs have been taught to sit on command.
744. The most popular celebrity name used for specials on restaurant menus is Rosie O'Donnell.
745. The world's first dry martini was created at a hotel bar in San Francisco in 1860, with gin, vermouth, and bitters, shaken AND stirred with ice.
746. Self-striking matches were invented by accident by an English chemist searching for a new type of combustible material. The first pack of these friction matches was sold on April 7, 1827.
747. 80% of 6th graders in the U.S. can't find the United States on a map of the world.
748. In 1908, the city council in New York City passed a law against women smoking cigarettes in public.
749. The first alarm clock was invented in 1300's Germany to help monks in monastaries keep time.
750. The driver's test was invented in France. In 1893, drivers of all self-propelled vehicles had to undergo an exam that included driving ability and vehicle repair.
751. Winston Churchill was able to lay up to 90 bricks an hour and earned an honourary union card from the mason's union.
752. In London on April 2, 1877, the first human being was shot out of a cannon. Her name was Zazel, described as the beautiful lady fired from a monsterous cannon.
753. On October 10, 1940, the world premier of a Switzerland produced full-length feature "oderated motion picture" (movie with added odors) was held.
754. The first western movie (silent) was filmed on September 8, 1903, not in the West but in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
755. In 1948, Cadillac introduced the first car model to have exaggerated fins, the design inspired by fighter planes.
756. Richard Nixon's mother revealed that he has a talent for mashing potatoes.
757. "I Love Lucy" was originally created as a comedy about Larry and Lucy Lopez. Who these two are is still a bit of a mystery.
758. Houdini performed the world's first elephant vanishing trick in 1918.
759. The first commercial vaccuum cleaner was so large it was mounted on a vaccuum. People threw parties in their homes so guests could watch the new machine do its job.
760. In 1977, a woman in Florida drank so much water that she died of water intoxication.
761. Apples were not likely to have grown in the Garden of Eden. If anything, Eve was guilty of eating an apricot.
762. In midevial times people lived in small, isolated villages. In order to find a bride a man had to essentially kidnap her from another village, which the bride's family would not take too kindly. In case they tried anything during the ceremony the groom would need his sword hand free to defend himself, hence starting the tradition of the bride standing to the left of the groom.
763. Zookeepers in England once tried showing pornographic films to chimpanzees to encourage mating.
764. A unique instrument was commisioned by Louis XI, the king of France (1461-1483), which was such that keys of an organ were connected to sharp pins positioned over the hindquarters of pigs. When the keys were struck, the pig was stuck, which caused it to oink. At least one concert was performed with this instrument.
765. Mike Grady of the 1895 New York Giants once committed 4 errors during a single play.
766. In 1986, an armoured car guard was killed when $50,000 of quarters fell on top of him.
767. In 1970, the South Vietnamese government awarded a medal of honour to a Saigon policeman for not accepting a $10 bribe.
768. In 1510, a trial was held in France to determine the guilt of a group of rats accused of stealing barley.
769. In 1973, a brewery in Poland accidently connected the beer storage tanks to the local water supply, delivering fresh beer to every tap in town.
770. In Czecholslovakia there is an ancient church decorated with the bones of 10,000 humans.
771. Tom Selleck appeared twice on the Dating Game in his early years, but didn't get picked.
772. Some peasants in ancient China shaved their pigs because the pigs would sleep with people and the bristles were uncomfortable in bed.
773. In 1956, rock 'n roll was declared a communicable disease by a psychiatrist.
774. Some U.S. Catholic churches banned the Twist in 1962.
775. Since 1972, a cow in Minnesota has been correctly predicting the winners of presidential elections. She deposits cow pies on pictures of her pick.
776. Lucille Ball flunked out of drama school.
777. One of Steve Martin's first jobs was selling Mickey Mouse hats at Disneyland.
778. When he was 14, Buffalo Bill set a record for riding the Pony Express: 320 miles in 21 hours.
779. Popeye's measurements in real life: chest - 30", expanding to 60"; neck - 8"; biceps - 7"; forearms - 20".
780. Miss Piggy's stats: 27-20-32; born in Hot Springs, Iowa; educated at Miss Worthington's Conservatory for Piglets.
781. The image of the king used in most standard decks of playing cards is said to have been based on Charles I, the English monarch who was beheaded in 1649.
782. King Louis XIV of France owned about 1,000 wigs.
783. People who have never been married are seven and a half times more likely than married people to be admitted to a psychiatric facility.
784. The 12th president of the United States was David Rice Atchinson, a Missouri senator who served for one day in 1849. The new president usually took office on March 4. But that year it fell on a Sunday, and although President James Polk left on schedule, Zachary Taylor did not take the oath until the next day. Rice was president pro tempore of the Senate, and under the provisions of the Constitution, he served until Taylor was sworn in. Atchinson neither started a war nor raised any taxes: he just left quietly after 24 hours.
785. Some people consider the $1 bill unlucky because there are so many 13's on it: 13 stars, 13 stripes, 13 steps, 13 arrows and even an olive branch with 13 leaves on it.
786. Bamboo can grow up to three feet in a 24 hour period.
787. The Ritz cracker was introduced to markets in 1934, but gourmets had to wait until 1953 for the invention of cheese in a can.
788. Teflon was discovered in 1938.
789. The candy bar Baby Ruth wasn't named after Babe Ruth, but rather after the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
790. The biggest hog ever recorded was a creature named Big Boy who weighed in at 1, 904 pounds.
791. The Red Baron, Snoopy's nemisis from the comic strip "Peanuts," represents Manfred von Richtofen, Germany's air ace in World War I. He was nicknamed by Allied pilots for his plane, a red Albatros fighter (the other pilots in his squadron also flew colorful aircraft, earning the name "Flying Circus" for their group). Von Richtofen's had 60 confirmed kills but his luck ran out over France on April 21, 1918 when bullets from ground gunners and Canadian pilot Roy Brown (no known relation to Charlie) ended his career and his life.
792. Mary Todd once dated both Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.
793. The first typewriter was built by William Burt in 1829 and was intended to be used for the blind.
794. James Garfield, 20th President of the United States, lived in the White House with his mother.
795. The biggest wave on record was estimated to have attained a height of 112 feet. It was measured by a tanker traveling between Manila and San Diego in 1933. The wind was blowing at 70 mph at the time.
796. The Great Race (1965) had the largest pie throwing contest in the movies, in which 2,357 cow pies flew.
797. The first time a person was convicted for driving under the influence was in London on September 10, 1897. The driver was driving an electric taxi and the fine was 20 shillings.
798. The Lone Ranger's mask was made from the vest of his dead brother.
799. Before Popeye used spinach to greatly increase his strength, he used garlic.
800. Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and lost.

Where I learn some of this crazy stuff:
The Learning Kingdom
MailBits.com
Win Ben Stein's Money
Accord Publishing's 1999 Nose It All Calendar
Hot Topic pay stubs
E-mails which worm their way into my inbox
Tyler Whitney's Completely Random Home Page
UselessKnowledge.com
The Danny Baker Show
PhiLL's Site Of Useless Information
Buy-ology - TLC
Spam page
Silly Putty page
Other interesting things too long for the TTUF's