i got this in a bulletin and found some of these things interesting, except the daddy long legs things is a wives tale...
1. The nursery rhyme "Ring around the Rosy" is a rhyme about the plague. Infected people with the plague would get red circular sores ("Ring around the rosy..." these, sores would smell very bad, so common folks would put flowers on their bodies somewhere (inconspicuously) so that they would cover the smell of the sores ("...a pocket full of posies..."). People who died from the plague would be burned so as to reduce the possible spread of the disease ("...ashes, ashes, we all fall down!").
2. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?. All invented by women.
3. What trivia fact about Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny) is the most ironic? He was allergic to carrots.
4. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's".
5. Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
6. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
7. The average secretary's left hand does 56% of the typing.
8. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
9. There are more chickens than people in the world.
10. All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are stuck on 4:20.
11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
12. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula". And can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "L.A."
14. The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.
15. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
16. The venom in a Daddy Long-Legs spider is more poisonous than a Black Widow's or a Brown Recluse, but they cannot bite humans because their jaws won't open wide enough.
17. If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.
18. The pop you get when you crack your knuckles is actually a bubble of gas bursting.
19. 101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy ) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don t die throughout the movie.
20. The U.S. Government spent about $2,000,000.00 on potato research in 2003.
21. There is more lemon juice in Lemon Pledge furniture polish than in Country Time Lemonade!
22. Dueling in Paraguay is legal, as long as both parties are registered blood donors!
23. The can opener was invented 48 years after the can.
24. Cannibalism is NOT illegal in Germany!
25. Nearly 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong account over the next hour!
26. When your face blushes, the lining of your stomach turns red, too!
27. WAL-MART generates $3,000,000.00 in revenues every 7 minutes.
28. 35% of the people using personal ads for dating are already married.
29. Drew Carry once worked at a Denny's!
30. In 1659, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts!
31. If you put a raisin in a fresh glass of champagne, it will rise and fall continuously.
32. It's against the law to pawn your dentures in Las Vegas.
33. It is estimated that at any one time, 0.7% of the world's population are drunk.
34. Vaccines contain formaldehyde, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), phenol (disinfectant / pesticide), and aluminum!
35. The oil used by jewelers to lubricate clocks and watches costs about $3,000 a gallon!
36. Tipping at a restaurant in Iceland is considered an insult!
37. More steel in the United States is used to make bottle caps than to manufacture automobile bodies!
38. 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts!
39. California has issued at least 6 drivers licenses to people named Jesus Christ!
40. The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
41. The last time American Green cards were actually green was 1964!
42. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
43. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.
44. It is illegal to purchase Jack Daniel's Whiskey in the town in which it is produced!
45. Only seven percent of the population are lefties.
46. The word "fuck" is actually an acronym. It dates back to the Good Old Days, when England was severely underpopulated due to the usual combination of fire/war/plague, and the King issued an official order to… well, fuck, to replenish the population. Hence the phrase "Fornicate Under Command of the King" passed into everyday language.
