The Ocean in a Shell

Hold a shell to your ear and hear the ocean. If it doesn’t work, try a noisier location. The shell, cupped over ear, bounces and jumbles surrounding sounds, simulating the roar of tumbling waves.

Words for Ice

If it’s a descriptive word for ice that you need, better consult the experts. Eskimos use some of the following to describe frozen water: tsikut, large broken up masses of ice; hikuliaq, thin ice; quahak, new ice without snow; kanut, new ice with snow; pugtaq, drift ice; peqalujaq, old ice; manelaq, pack ice; maneraq, smooth ice; and many more.

The Average Day

It’s common knowledge that a day on earth is shorter than 24 hours — 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.091 seconds to be precise. But even that is an average. Ocean currents, weather patterns and other factors give every day a unique length. There will never be another day like today.

Hovering Takes Effort

Research on Black-billed Magpies shows that hovering is hard work. The birds spent twice as much effort staying in place as they did when flying at normal speeds.

Flashing, Green Pickle

New York City’s first electric sign, unveiled in May 1892, was an advertisement for Manhattan Beach. H.J. Heinz saw the sign from his hotel room, and the very next day, he commissioned his own lighted advertisement, a huge, flashing, green pickle.

First Pneumatic Tires

John Dunlop never meant to reinvent the wheel. But he certainly improved on it in 1888 with his pneumatic or air-filled bicycle tires, the world’s first.

Organ Donors Live in the North

People in the Northeast and the upper Midwest are more likely to donate organs than those, who live in other parts of the country. Sociologists don’t know why, exactly, but one recent study claims that those who are least likely to donate a liver or kidney often live in communities that are racially diverse, have a high rate of poverty or have a large percentage of highly-educated citizens.

No Relief

Rats can’t vomit.

Queen Fans Rule

A lot of rock groups have fan clubs, but the champions, my friends, are members of the British band, “Queen.” Their fans organized in 1973 and are still running about 9,500 strong. The not-so-exclusive group once reached 20,000 members.

Pigs and Truffles

Female pigs are often used to find truffles because the fungi’s musty, chemical smell is known to be a porcine turn-on. Some say it reminds the sow of a hog’s breath.

20 Pecks Per Second

A woodpecker can peck more than 20 times a second.

Beethoven’s Hair

When composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827, his total estate was valued at 9,885 florins and 18 kreuzer or about $1,620. But not all of his possessions were accounted for. A lock of Beethoven’s hair, cut by 15-year-old Ferdinand Hiller, eventually made its way to America, where it sold in 1994 for more than $7,000.

Dogs Part of the Family

In The U.S., dogs are considered part of the family. Some 55 percent of American dog owners report that they think of their pets as children, and more than 60 percent sign greeting cards from themselves and their pets.

Cactus Survival Rate

Cactuses in their natural environment have been known to live for up to 200 years. In that time, however, each plant will have few progeny. Although a single cactus may produce more than a million seeds, on average, only one or two will germinate and grow into a new plant.

Mohair Growth

Angora goats, valued for their fleece, grow mohair at a rate of 2 to 2-1/2 centimeters per month.

Mostly Water

Jellyfish consist of up to 95 percent water.

Wise Medusa

Ancient Greece borrowed the mythical character of Medusa from Libya, where she was worshiped as the Serpent-Goddess. Her name means “sovereign female wisdom.”

World’s Longest Front Porch

The Grand Island Hotel in Mackinac Island, Mich., has at least one claim to fame. Its front porch, billed as the world’s longest, stretches 660 feet from one end to the other.

Work for Your Health

Sociologists claim that women, who work outside the home, are healthier than those who do not. But on the average, men’s health declines if their wives work more than 30 hours a week.

Jet-Powered Car

Chrysler produced a jet engine for passenger cars and tested the gas-turbine power plant in a 1954 transcontinental trip. Further work resulted in a 140-horsepower engine with strong acceleration and fuel economy of almost 20 miles per gallon. The best part? According to company news releases, the motor required no tune-ups or oil changes and could burn any fuel, including regular gasoline, diesel, peanut oil, kerosene and French perfume. But the jet-powered car of the future never got off the ground. Less than 100 vehicles were built.

Bad-Tasting Butterfly

Most predators avoid eating Monarch butterflies because they taste bad. The flying insect, Danaus plexippus, stores up distasteful glycosides while still a caterpillar by eating the poisonous Milkweed plants. Somewhere along the way, Monarchs learned that if you are what you eat, you might as well use it to your advantage.

Presidential Postmaster

As postmaster of New Salem, Ill., Abraham Lincoln reputedly delivered mail to residents who failed to stop by the post office. And while on delivery duty, Lincoln carried the letters in his hat. Only two presidents were ever appointed as postmasters. The other is Harry Truman.

American Canals

Venice is famous for its canals. New Orleans, La., however, once depended on a similar but much larger system.

Lightning Moves Up

Lightning strikes can move in two directions: up from the earth or down from the sky. But scientists claim that the first visible strike always starts from the ground and ends in the clouds.

Psychologists and Divorce

Being a psychiatrist can be hard on a marriage. That’s the result of a study that followed doctors, who graduated from Hopkins School of Medicine between 1948 and 1964. It reported that surgeons divorced 33 percent of the time, and pediatricians filed to end their marriages at a rate of 22 percent. Psychiatrists in the study didn’t do so well. More than 50 percent dissolved their marriages

Precious Metal

Pure aluminum was once so rare that it was considered a precious metal. Scientists say that’s because aluminum, the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, is never found free in nature. It’s usually found in combination with other elements such as potassium and sulfur or oxygen.

Ant Communication

Ants can’t raise their hands to talk. Don’t have hands. But they have to communicate and sometimes hold meetings. Experts claim that an ant will tap other ants on the head with its antennae in order to get their attention.

Mississippi Waterfall

The mighty Mississippi River is 2,350 miles long, but it has only one waterfall — St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.

Hunting Hats

Aleuts, natives of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, used wooden hunting hats to determine a man’s rank. Young, inexperienced hunters wore a short visor while the most important men had open-crowned hats with long visors.

The Famous Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed, equine star of the 1960s situation comedy, was actually named Bamboo Harvester. And although his co-star, Alan Young (Wilbur), said a peanut-butter-like substance was used to get the horse talking, others have claimed that the real challenge was getting Ed to stop. Once the horse figured out that people wanted him to move his lips, he did it all the time.

Polar Bear Skin

Underneath their white coat, polar bears have black skin.

Growth in Minimum Wage

Federal minimum wage standards, first set in 1938, promised workers 25 cents an hour. That amount has risen over the years though not at the same rate as inflation. Several states have no established minimum wage. Of those that do, Kansas sits at the bottom with $2.65 an hour as of January 2004. Washington beat out Alaska by a penny for top honors at $7.16.

Toilet Paper History

Toilet paper didn’t always come in rolls. When Joseph Gayetty invented “Therapeutic Paper” in 1857, he sold it in packs of 500 flat sheets, each with his name printed on the top.

Using Your Head

Great Britain’s John Evans knows how to use his head. Evans is a world-record holder in multiple categories for balancing items on his noggin. He set a collection of international standards including most milk crates (96), heaviest weight (416 pounds of bricks) and most identical books in a single column (62).

Vice Presidents’ Age

The average age of American vice presidents, on taking office, is 54. John C. Breckinridge, second-in-command to James Buchanan, was the youngest at 36. The oldest, Alben W. Barkley (pictured), was Harry S. Truman’s 71-year-old running mate.

Government UFO Investigation

Project Blue Book was the arm of the U.S. Air Force that investigated unidentified flying objects from 1947 to 1969. Only 701 of 12,618 sightings from that time period remain unidentified. The project was ended, in part, because it was determined that none of the reported sightings posed a threat to national security.

The Great Multitude

There are at least four times as many insects on the planet as all other animals combined.

Defending the Castle

Even the staircases in castle towers are designed with defense in mind. The stairs ascend in clockwise direction so the attacker will have to expose most of his body in order to hold a sword in his right hand. Being left-handed, it seems, has its advantages.

Valentine’s Flowers

Each year on Valentine’s Day, 15 percent of U.S. women send themselves flowers.

Creation of Ronald McDonald

Willard Scott, then host of a popular children’s show, helped celebrate the 1960s grand opening of the first McDonalds in Alexandria, Va., as Bozo the Clown. The McDonald’s people liked the character, so when Scott’s show went off the air, the chain of restaurants asked him to create a new clown identity. Scott put on a paper-cup nose and wore a carry-out tray for a hat as the original Ronald McDonald.

Line of Blood

Take all your blood vessels and lay them in a line. They should stretch more than 100,000 miles.

Stop Smoking, Eat PEZ

Created in Austria in 1927, the PEZ peppermint candy was marketed as an alternative to smoking. The hygienic dispenser first appeared in 1948, and heads were added to the containers in 1952 in order to make the candy more attractive to children.

San Francisco’s Last Coin

Re-issued in 1999, the Susan B. Anthony dollar was the last coin produced for regular issue by the San Francisco Mint.

Giraffe Teeth

A giraffe has 32 teeth, the same number found in a human mouth. But the giraffe’s teeth are much larger. Each tooth measures up to 17 inches in length.

South American Neighbors

Brazil, the world’s fifth-largest country, has many neighbors. This South American nation borders every country on the continent except Chile and Ecuador.

Greasing the Nose

Greasing the nose is an old birthday custom where grease, butter or margarine is smeared on the sniffer of the birthday boy or girl. The tradition, reputedly Scottish, is supposed to make the recipient too slippery for bad luck.

No Nose

Butterflies smell with their antennae.

Muhammad Ali on Religion

When asked why he’d chosen the religion of Islam, boxing great Muhammad Ali — formerly Cassius Clay — quipped that it was because he wanted to have four wives: one to shine his shoes, one to feed him grapes, one to rub oil on his muscles and one named Peaches.

Roller Skating Museum

The National Museum of Roller Skating, organized in 1980, resides in Lincoln, Neb. And while you’re in town, might as well take time to visit the International Quilt Study Center or the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum.

Big Thunder Mountain

Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in 1979 at a cost of $17 million. That’s the price of inflation. The entire theme park opened in 1955 for about the same amount as that single ride