HISTORY

When George Washington was elected President, there was a King in France, a Tsarina in Russia, an Emperor in China, and a Shogun in Japan.

A family of six died in Oregon during WWII as a result of a Japanese balloon bomb.

Roulette, an invention by the mathematician Blaise Pascal, was a by-product of his experiments with perpetual motion.

Armoured knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past royalty. This custom has evolved into the modern military salute.

Spiral staircases in medieval castles turn right as they ascend. This was so that (right-handed) knights defending the castle could more easily combat invading foes who were climbing the stairs.

Dashing horses kicking up mud (among other things), splashing the passengers riding behind them, led to the invention of the dashboard, a term which survives today.

Old fire stations had circular stairways because the engines were once pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor, and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot.

Great Britain was the first county to issue postage stamps, so theirs are the only stamps in the world not to bear the name of the country of origin. (And the glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher).

Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.

The US purchased Alaska from Russia for approximately 2 cents an acre.

Taft was the last U.S President with facial hair.

The day after October 4, 1582 was October 15, 1582.

John Wilkes Booth's brother once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln's son. Irony.

Daniel Boone detested coonskin caps.

Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If they were captured, the cards could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.

Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

During the California Gold Rush of 1849 miners sent their laundry to Honolulu for washing and pressing. Due to the high costs in California during these years it was deemed more feasible to send the shirts to Hawaii for servicing.

GEOGRAPHY

Mapmaking is older than writing.

At latitude 60 degrees south you can sail the entire way around the world.

If the earth were the size of a bowling ball, it would be just as smooth; the mountains on raised relief globes are greatly exaggerated.

Hawaii's Mauna Kea is the largest mountain on Earth: although partially submerged, it is 4,000 feet taller than Mount Everest.

When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home to a sell-out crowd, the full stadium becomes the state's third largest city.

Alaska is the most northern, western and eastern US state.

Mozambique has an AK-47 assault rifle on its flag.

Pluto takes 248 Earth years to orbit the Sun. For 20 of those years, it is closer to the Sun than Neptune.

The Amazon River enters the Atlantic with so much volume that fresh water exists more than a hundred miles from the mouth of the river.

The Boston University Bridge is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.