Made in America

The Wonton Food Company, the world’s largest producer of fortune cookies, is based in New York. It makes almost 2.5 million of the crispy cookies each day.

Speedy Sneeze

A sneeze may project particles from the nose and mouth at rates, approaching 100 miles per hour.

Oregon vs. the U.K.

The entire United Kingdom is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon.

Facial Hair

If the average man never shaved, his beard would grow to almost 30 feet during his lifetime.

The State of Franklin

Tennessee became the country’s 16th state in 1796. But for many in the former territory’s eastern counties, this was not their first experience with statehood. Those counties had briefly seceded from North Carolina and declared themselves the State of Franklin in 1784, a government which stayed in place for almost four years.

Mostly Pennies

In 2003, the U.S. Mint produced more than 12 billion new coins. Of those, pennies accounted for more than half of all production, with 6.8 billion created. Quarters were second at a count of 2.3 billion new coins. Just over 2 billion new dimes were also made that year.

Toothless

Turtles have no teeth.

Jack or Jennet?

A male donkey is a jack. A female donkey is a jennet.

Potential Wind Farms

Scientists claim that economically converting wind into electricity requires an average wind speed of 14 miles per hour. The Office of Energy Information Administration says that 37 states have locations with sufficient wind speed for establishing such wind farms.

You’ve Been Westinghoused

The creation of the electric chair, financed by Thomas Edison, was originally intended as a marketing ploy. Edison’s company, which sold direct current generators, planned to demonstrate how dangerous alternating current could be by using a Westinghouse generator to power a killing machine. For years after the first successful execution, the general public referred to a death by electric chair as being “Westinghoused.”

Don’t Date a Porcupine

A male porcupine, trying to attract a potential mate, will douse a female porcupine with urine. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

How to Conserve Oxygen

Crocodiles may remain submerged for up to two hours if necessary. The reptile slows its heart rate to two or three beats per minute in order to conserve oxygen while underwater.

Consider the View

On a clear day, visitors to the top of New York’s Empire State Building can see for distances of up to 80 miles, including parts of four neighboring states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

First Vending Machine Sold Holy Water

Historians claim that the first vending machine dispensed holy water in Egyptian temples. But the first, coin-operated, vending machine showed up more than 2,000 years later, selling postcards in 19th century England. The United States got its first such contraptions only a few years later in 1888. They sold Tutti-Fruiti Gum.

Folding Paper

A piece of notebook paper must be folded in half, three times, to equal the thickness of a finger nail. Fold it four more times, and the paper will be as thick as a small notebook. Most people can’t fold the paper in half, an eighth time. But if you could continue folding it in half, over and over again, the paper would be as wide as your hand on the 10th fold, as tall as a stool on the 12th fold, and it would reach the sun on the 50th fold.

Origin of the Barcode

The first product to come with a printed barcode on the package was Wrigley’s Gum.

Efficient Use of Space

A 2-story outhouse might not seem like a very good idea, but several communities boast such structures, including Phelps, N.Y. (pictured), and Silver City, Idaho. (The trick is to offset the two levels.) But Bryant Pond, Maine, puts them all to shame with what may be the nation’s only 3-story outhouse.

Hungry for Blood

Female mosquitoes feed three to four times each day, often consuming more than their own weight in blood. Male mosquitoes consume flower nectar instead.

Get Your Own Song

A single mockingbird may memorize and mimic the songs of up to 200 other birds.

Islands of the Dogs

The Canary Islands are home to wild canaries, but the birds were named after the place, and the place was named after another animal entirely. It seems early Romans named the islands for the dogs that lived there. Canis is Latin for “dog.”

Inspiration for the Windshield Wiper

Most motor vehicles can be comfortably driven through rain and sleet, but that wasn’t always the case. When Mary Anderson saw a New York streetcar driver, getting out of his vehicle to clear the windshield, she knew she could make a difference. Anderson opened her sketchbook and worked out a design for the windshield wiper, which she patented in 1905. It became a standard feature on American-made automobiles as early as 1916.

How to Lose Weight

Differences in the rate of the earth’s rotation as well as irregularities of shape may not seem relevant to non-physicists. But the effects are measurable for those who intend to lose weight after the holidays. It turns out that objects weigh almost 1 percent less at the equator than they do at the poles.

That’s Water Under the Bridge

The Amazon River pours enough water into the Atlantic Ocean each day to support the fresh-water needs of a city with 10 million people for up to nine years.

Once in a Blue Moon

How long is “once in a blue moon?” It depends. A blue moon is the second full moon in a single month. The last blue moon was July 31, 2004. The next one is scheduled for June 30, 2007. But they’re not always that far apart. In 2018, there will be one blue moon in January and another in March.

Dry Ink Is Powdered Plastic

Toner in a photocopy machine is sometimes called “dry ink,” but it isn’t ink at all. It’s powdered plastic.

Washingtonian Women Don’t Ride Horses

The only female equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., features Joan of Arc. (This photo is of a similar statue in Portland, OR.)

Pure Nitrogen

Race car pit crews use nitrogen when inflating tires. That’s because regular air contains water vapor, which can make for inconsistent tire pressure.

No Deserts in Europe, Antarctica

There are only two continents with no desert: Europe and Antarctica. Some claim, however, that Antarctica should be considered the world’s largest desert because it has so little precipitation — less than 2 inches each year in the interior regions.

Windows 97,000,000, Birds 0

Up to 97 million birds die each year in the U.S. and Canada as a result of colliding with windows. Experts say many of the deaths are caused by birds that mistake their reflections for another bird and then attempt to defend their territory from the imaginary foe.

Toyota Corolla Wins Popularity Contest

More than 15 million Ford Model T automobiles were built in the 20th century. Volkswagen surpassed that mark with its more than 21.5 million Beetles manufactured. But neither company holds the record. The Toyota Corolla was up to 24,986,607 vehicles and counting in December 2000.

Santa Claus Is Legion

The Bralanda Santa Claus Parade in Sweden set the world record for largest Santa gathering in December 2002. Jolly, red-costumed participants numbered 2,685 — all wearing matching hats and fake, white beards.

In Honor of Bell

During the burial of Alexander Graham Bell in 1922, every telephone in the Bell system was silenced for two minutes to honor the inventor.

Bacteria Beats Stress

About 1 in 10 Americans develops an ulcer. Although doctors used to believe that ulcers were the result of stress, it is now known that at least 80 percent of such lesions are caused by infection from the H. pylori bacterium.

First Can Opener

Ezra J. Warner’s 1858 invention of the can opener was quickly adopted by the U.S. military for use in the Civil War. The combination bayonet and sickle wasn’t user-friendly, but it got the job done.

Africa’s Most Densely Populated Country

Rwanda is Africa’s most densely populated country with almost 8 million citizens, living in a nation that is slightly smaller than the state of Maryland.

No Only Children as President

No U.S. President has been an only child, but three of our nation’s leaders almost qualify. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton (pictured) each had a younger half brother. Gerald Ford had four half brothers and two half sisters.

Elmer & Elsie

It has been estimated that more than 47 million children use Elmer’s glue each week that school is in session. Elmer, the bull on the front of each bottle, was created shortly after the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Borden’s spokescow, Elsie, was a big hit at the fair, so the company created her husband to help sell the corporation’s non-food products.

Getting Crowded at the Pole

26 different nations operate seasonal and year-long research stations in Antarctica. The continent’s population fluctuates from less than 1,000 winter residents to almost 4,000 people during the summer months.

Carrageenan Goes with Everything

Carrageenan is found in a variety of processed foods: ice cream, pudding, vinegar, beef patties, canned fish. It thickens, prevents ice crystal formation, locks in natural juices and improves “mouthfeel,” but where does it come from? Seaweed.

Beetles Rule the Planet

There are approximately 1.5 million species of living things on earth. Of those, nearly 20 percent are beetles.

The President Liked Prune Whip

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s favorite desserts included, among others, his wife’s “Million Dollar Fudge” and baked prune whip (pictured).

Eaten with Codfish

The akee fruit contains the fleshy, white aril, popular in Jamaica, where it is sautéed in butter and eaten with codfish. But be cautious. The akee is poisonous if eaten before it ripens or after it has spoiled.

No Religious Preference

Sociologists report that from 1991 to 2000, the number of Americans reporting that they had “no religious preference” doubled, rising to 14 percent of the population.

Betty Crocker to the Rescue

When customers flooded the Washburn Crosby Company in 1921 with questions about baking with Gold Medal flour, the corporation created a fictional expert to offer help. The last name “Crocker” came from a retired director, and the first name “Betty” was chosen because it sounded friendly. Female employees submitted handwriting samples for the signature, and the “most distinctive” became the standard, still in use today.

The Land of Christmas Trees

Oregon produced more Christmas trees than any other state in the nation in 2002 with almost 6.5 million of them. North Carolina was second with more than 2.9 million trees, and Michigan was third with almost 2.4 million.

Elmo Gets Political

Sesame Street’s Elmo may be the first and only puppet to have testified before Congress. He spoke to the Education Appropriations Subcommittee in April 2002 on the importance of music education.

Klingon Bible

Serious Star Trek aficionados have translated portions of the Bible and other literary works into Klingon, which one organization refers to as “the galaxy’s fastest growing language.” But their crowning achievement, once completed, may be their restoration of the complete works of Shakespeare into the “original Klingon.” Well done (majQa’)!

Saving the Statue of Liberty

In August 2001, the National Park Service hired experts to build a precise computer model of the Statue of Liberty, using 100 million data points, so the monument might be repaired or rebuilt if disaster should strike. The Capitol, in Washington, D.C., is also being measured.

The Modern Santa Claus

An early Christian bishop in the Middle East was probably the model for the modern Santa Claus. Nicholas, the orphan of wealthy parents, was known to secretly give away his riches to the poor. Historians say the feast of St. Nicholas, traditionally celebrated on Dec. 6, eventually merged with the Christmas holiday.

Living to Race

When James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (pictured) came home from the 1936 Olympics with four gold medals, he didn’t receive the endorsement opportunities that usually follow that kind of athletic success, so he made a living for a number of years by running in staged races against dogs and horses.