Fast facts
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, April 23, 2004
Things you always never wanted to know
In 1954, then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon wrote out on a piece of paper a promise to his wife that he would never again seek public office. After showing it to his wife, the vice president folded the paper and tucked it into his wallet.
The oceans of the world are so vast and deep that if Earth had an absolutely level crust, the sea would form an envelope more than 8,800 feet deep.
Before they were allowed to compete in Indiana, boxers and wrestlers in 1954 had to swear under oath they were not communists.
In Thailand, kite flying is a big-league sport with established teams, umpires, official rules and a national championship. The competition involves fighting between kites controlled by teams of up to 20 men.
The total loss of human lives during World War II exceeds anything in the history of wars: 55 million to 60 million dead. More than a third of this number were Russians, 10 percent of the Russian population. Between 18 million and 26 million civilians and prisoners were killed in Nazi camps. The total number of people killed in World War I was not more than about 10 million.
From 1940 through 1976, 985 drugs were introduced into U.S. medical practice. Of these, the United States brought 630, or 64 percent of the total, while Switzerland, ranking second, accounted for 7 percent.
About 8 ounces of lamb's blood were injected into the veins of a dying boy, temporarily restoring him, in the first blood transfusion on record. It was performed in 1667 by Jean Baptiste, physician to Louis XIV of France.