Fast Facts
By Things you've always never wanted to know
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Oscar Wilde once spent two years doing hard labor after being found guilty of homosexuality.
Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances at up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground, outpacing a man at up to 30 miles per hour.
The Chinese used to open shrimp by flaying the shells with bamboo poles. Until a few years ago, in factories where dried shrimp were being prepared, "shrimp dancers" were hired to tramp on the shells with special shoes.
Nearly 65 percent of America's aluminum cans are recycled.
A nanosecond is one-billionth of a second.
A rhinoceros has three toes on each foot.
A koala eats nothing but eucalyptus leaves and does not drink water.
Hawaii has the highest percentage of cremation of all the states in the U.S., with a 60.6 percent preference over burial.
On Catalina Island, the number of cars is strictly regulated. The wait time for a permit can last between eight and 10 years, and most residents drive gasoline-powered golf carts.
Mark Twain referred to the accordion as the "stomach Steinway."
France and Mexico were involved in a yearlong conflict popularly known as the Pastry War in 1838. Mexico refused to pay for damage done by Mexican army officers to a restaurant run by a French pastry chef in Tacubaya, now a section of Mexico City.
Vanilla is the most popular flavor of ice cream, accounting for 29 percent of all sales.
The first performer to win Grammy Awards for jazz and classical recordings in the same year was Wynton Marsalis in 1984. His albums were Trumpet Concertos and Think of One.
During the American Revolution, many brides wore red wedding gowns as a symbol of rebellion.
At least 100,000 different chemical reactions occur in the normal human brain every second.
In past times, it was said a young girl could conjure up her future spouse by visiting a graveyard on St. Valentine's eve at precisely midnight. She would then have to sing a prescribed chant and run around the church 12 times, and her mate would be the first eligible man she met after sunrise.