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FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius

FEB 2019


Previous Archives

DATE FACT OF THE DAY
2/1/19      While Egypt is most well known for its pyramids, the Republic of Sudan actually has 223 of its own pyramids, double the number of pyramids in Egypt.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/2/19      Rome's population of more than a million was not matched by any other European city until London finally overtook it in the nineteenth century.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/3/19      Tectonic plates move less than 3 inches (17 cm) per year. However, a tectonic plate movement of just 20 cm is enough to set off a major earthquake, such as the 6.9 Kobe earthquake in 1995.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/4/19      An atmospheric phenomenon known as "the everlasting storm" occurs at the junction of the Catatumbo River and Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. It produces thousands of lightning strikes per hour.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/5/19      Guinea pigs have what is known as "open rooted" teeth, which means their teeth constantly grow. They need unlimited access to food to help grind down their teeth to and to keep them properly aligned.Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/6/19      Because the large masses of clouds never clear from Venus' skies, neither Earth nor the sun is ever visible from the planet's surface.Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/7/19      Pet ownership is higher than it has ever been, with almost 60% of American households having at least one. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/8/19      A horse's brain weighs about 22 oz., which is about half the weight of a human.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/9/19      The Mozambique spitting cobra can spit venom over 8 feet away. It can spit from any position, including lying on the ground or raised up. It prefers to aim for its victim's eyes.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/10/19      The largest department in the IRS is the Small Business/Self-Employed division, with about 47,000 employees.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/11/19      Grover Cleveland was the only president in history to hold the job of a hangman. He was once the sheriff of Erie County, New York, and twice had to spring the trap at a hanging.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/12/19      A shop in Ireland serves a caramelized-brown-bread flavored ice cream. It was invented during hard times when Irish folk were hesitant to waste old bread and found ways to transform it into desserts. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/13/19      Mexicans drink more Coke than any other country in the world. Mexicans drink about 745 Coke beverages per year. Americans drink about 401 Coke products a year. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/14/19      Most experts agree that the plague was caused by Yersinia pestis (or Y. pestis), a bacillus carried by fleas that live primarily on rats and other rodents that were common in medieval dwellings. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/15/19      Light always travels at 186,000 miles per second. In one year, light can travel 5.88 trillion miles. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/16/19      In Japan, there is an island full of rabbits called Okunoshima. They were brought there during World War II to test the effects of poison gas. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/17/19      Helmets weren’t mandatory for football players until 1939. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/18/19      While the list of famous teachers is long, notable educators include Socrates (470 BC-399 BC), Anne Sullivan (1866-1936), Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), Maria Montessori (1870-1952), and John Dewey (1859-1952). - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/19/19      Because pollution and chemicals in tap water often do not have a scent or taste, many people who drink dangerous contaminants do not even realize they are doing so. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/20/19      The Te Waikoropupu Springs (known as Pupu Springs) discharge 3,698 gallons (14,000 liters) of water per second and are the largest fresh water springs in New Zealand, are the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere, and contain the clearest water ever measured outside of Antarctica.
2/21/19      The bird pictured on the American silver dollar was a real eagle named Peter. From 1830 to 1836, people who worked at the United States Mint adopted him to use as model for the drawings. When he died after getting his wing injured in the coining press, they stuffed him. He is still on display in the lobby of the mint. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/22/19      There's a lot of gold in the ocean, both dissolved in the water and on the sea floor. Unfortunately, there's no economically feasible way of mining it. If we could, there'd be enough for each person on earth to have nine pounds of pure gold. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/23/19      The earliest gardens were strictly practical and were used to grow food and medicinal herbs. Around 1500 B.C. in Egypt, the first decorative gardens appeared. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/24/19      The term "Whirling Dervish" actually refers to Turkish dancers who follow the mystic Rumi. They spin during their religious meditative whirling ceremony, known as the Sema, which represents the spiritual ascent of man. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/25/19      Cataracts are caused by the denaturation of proteins in the lenses of the eyes. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/26/19      Over 450 billion Oreo cookies have been sold worldwide since their debut in 1912. This is enough to reach to the moon and back 5 times. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/27/19      There are nearly 160 distinctive breeds and types of horses around the world, but the Arabian horse is unique in that it is the purest of all of the breeds. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/28/19      A man in Ohio suffers from a condition called "auto-brewery syndrome." One symptom of this ultra-rare disorder is that his body turns potato chips into alcohol in his stomach. - Provided by FactRetriever.com


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