I Bet Ya Didn't Know

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, the author of "Walden" was also a pencil-maker.

There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.

Plant cells have walls to prevent them from expanding or shrinking. Plants get bigger only by adding cells. Animals can grow through the enlargment of existing cells.

1993 film, said to have the longest title in cinema history: Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Hellbound, Zombified, Flesh-eating, Sub-Humanoid Living Dead - Part 4

The phonograph earned Thomas Edison the nickname of "the Wizard of Menlo Park," after the New Jersey town where he worked.

Bulletproof glass really isn't. Repetitive attacks will eventually penetrate the glass, but it does offer a little time to get away.

Despite their differences, diamonds and coal are made of the same element: carbon.

The Petri Church of Berlin, Germany, completed in 1726, burned to the ground on the very first day it opened its doors. It was hit by lightning in the morning, and the fire was extinguished, but that afternoon it was struck again and destroyed.

N. W. Earl, a teller in a bank in Ottawa, Canada, spotted a forgery immediately when asked to cash a check for $54.00 in May 1961. The check had his own name and account number on it!

The world's heaviest twins, Billy and Benny McCrary of Hendersonville, North Carolina, professional wrestlers, had a combined weight of 1,474 pounds.

Dr. J. I. Guillotin (1738-1814, who introduced the guillotine to France, was a premature baby---born on May 28, 1738, when his mother became revolted at the sight of an execution.

Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "L.A."

In 1847 the first adhesive postage stamps went on sale. Ben Franklin was pictured on the nickel stamp while George Washington graced the ten-cent stamp.

In 1822, in his book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Thomas DeQuincy invented the word "tranquilizer" to describe the effect of opium.

According to Nielson/Net Ratings, 53 million Americans are on a chat line in a single month.

These days nearly 4 in 10 patients see health care professionals other than M.D.'s. Only 3 in 10 did in 1987.

Kangaroos can hop as fast as 40 miles per hour.

Knitting's not for just grandmas anymore--it's one of the hippest Gen-X hobbies. Today 15% of knitters and crocheters are under 35, up from 3% in 1994.

The city of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, voted to call the circular metal covers in its streets "personholes" instead of "manholes."

Annie Jane Giddens, Hohira, GA, was born the same hour of the same day of the same week of the same month in the same room of the same house as her mother was, and she was attended by the same doctor.

Luis de Camoens (1524-1580), the Portuguese poet, shipwrecked in 1561, lost all his possessions except his manuscript of "Lusiad," the poem that made him famous.

Samuel Adams, who organized the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to protest British taxes on the colonists, had been the Boston tax-collector in 1764.

According to legend, cats were created when Noah's ark became infested with rats. Noah commanded the lion to sneeze, and out came a cat.

The shortest term of office for a president was served by William Henry Harrison, who died in 1841 after only 31 days in office. James A. Garfield was a close second: In 1881, he died of a gunshot wound after only six months in office.

King Charles I of England, a lifelong stammerer, uttered only one sentence without stuttering--his farewell address on January 30, 1649, just before he was beheaded.

Color most hospitals use in surgery recovery rooms? Mint green. Experts have found that mint green has a calming, balancing effect and reduce eye strain.

Hitler had a square mustache because his favorite comedian, Charlie Chaplin, had a square mustache.

Elizabeth I ruled England with the help of her personal court astrologer, John Dee, who worked out days and times to launch invasions, repel the Spanish Armada, and send out explorers.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and many feel this heralded the Depression, World War II, and the atom bomb.

In 1970, Diane Crump was the first woman to participate in the Kentucky Derby.

What do frogs have that toads do not? Teeth!

The Sun rotates once every 27 days, minus three hours, at least at its equator.

Venus is almost the same size as Earth - maybe five percent smaller.

General Douglas MacArthur was fired by Harry Truman in a dispute over the handling of the Korean War in 1951. His father was fired by President Taft for insubordination. One of his grandfathers defied orders in the Battle of Missionary Ridge in the Civil War.

In 1943 M/Sgt. John Hassebrock of Buffalo Center, Iowa, received a three-day pass to marry a Wac corporal. When he went overseas, they lost track of each other. One night in France he made a convoy to the front lines and went to a farm house to spend the night. There he met his wife on the exact day and hour of their wedding anniversary.

The only capital letter in the Roman alphabet with exactly one end point is P.

Soap Operas are so called because they were originally used to advertise soap powder. In America in the early days of TV, advertisers would write stories around the use of their soap powder.

54% of American vacationers say they come home tired from their trips. 19% say they're exhausted, according to a recent Gallup survey.

Daniel Webter might have been president, but for his pride. He was offered the vice-presidential nomination twice, with Harrison and Taylor, but he refused. Both Harrison and Taylor died in office.

A demivolt is a half-turn made by a HORSE with its forepaws in the air.