Illustration by Holly Randall
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Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, April 22, 2005
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Literacy in Iceland is 100 percent. Every Icelander must graduate from school in order to get a job and has to be able to speak three languages. The native language, Icelandic, is spoken in no other country.
The Scottish writer Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, who won a seat as a Liberal Member of Parliament in 1886, was suspended from the House of Commons for having the audacity to use the word "damn" in a public speech.
A white truffle (tuber magnatum pico) weighing 2 pounds, 3 ounces was sold in November 2002 for a record $35,000 at the annual charity truffle auction held simultaneously in Los Angeles, New York and Alba in northern Italy, where the giant fungus was unearthed. It was bought by Joe Pytka (USA), owner of the Bastide restaurant in Los Angeles, Calif., and prepared by head chef Alain Giraud.
Ken Bannister, owner of the International Banana Club Museum in Altadena, Calif., has 17,000 different banana-related objects that he has amassed since 1972. All are on display in the museum.
The Triumph Rocket II is powered by a three-cylinder 2,294-cc engine, the largest ever fitted to a production motorcycle. The 705-pound machine produces 140 horsepower and 147 pounds per foot of torque, making it more powerful than most sedans.
Jonathan Friedman was able to balance 13 stainless-steel spoons on his face - one on each ear, two on each cheek, two on his chin, one on his lips, one on his nose and three on his forehead. He balanced them for two minutes at Lake Oswego, Ore., March 30, 2004, at age 12.
Michel Lotito, known as Monsieur Henri Mangetout, has been eating metal and glass since 1959. Gastroenterologists have X-rayed his stomach and have described his ability to consume 2 pounds of metal per day as unique.
Racing driver David Purley survived a deceleration from 108 mph to zero in 26 inches in a crash at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, on July 13, 1977. He suffered 29 fractures, three dislocations and six heart stoppages.
Manfred Klauda has amassed 9,400 chamber pots, the earliest dating from the 16th century. Currently his collection can be seen at the Zentrum fur Aussergewohnliche Museen in Munich, Germany.
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