Illustration by Arnie Bermudez

· Most tropical marine fish could survive in a tank filled with human blood.

· The lungfish can live out of water in a state of suspended animation for three years.

· The bark of a redwood tree is fireproof. Fires in redwood forests take place inside the trees.

· There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

· The name "pumpernickel" was coined by Napoleon's troops during the Napoleonic Wars. His men complained that although they were often poorly fed, there was always bread for Napoleon's favorite horse, Nicoll. Thus the word "pumpernickel" ÷ "pain" (bread) "pour" (for) Nicoll ÷ was coined.

· George Washington's face was badly scarred from smallpox.

· A blue whale weighs as much as 30 elephants and is as long as three Greyhound buses.

· Even if the stomach, spleen, 75 percent of the liver, 80 percent of the intestines, one kidney, one lung and virtually every organ from the pelvic and groin area are removed, the human body can still survive.

· Forensic scientists can determine a person's sex, age and race by examining a single strand of hair.