Fast Facts


Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, February 3, 2005

Things you always never wanted to know

  • The two lines that connect your top lip to the bottom of your nose are known as the philtrum.

  • The Holland and Lincoln tunnels under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York are an engineering feat. The air circulators in the tunnels completely circulate fresh air every 90 seconds.

  • "Avocado" is derived from the Spanish word aguacate, which is derived from ahuacatl, meaning testicle.

  • The Velvet Underground's first manager was Andy Warhol, who also produced their first album and designed the cover artwork. The cover artwork for the album (called The Velvet Underground and Nico) featured a bright yellow banana that could be peeled off to reveal a bright pink banana underneath, with the label "Peel Slowly and See." "Peel Slowly and See" is the title of the Velvet Underground comprehensive boxed set, which is the only currently-available Velvet Underground recording to feature a peelable banana. The peelable banana caused substantial delays in the production of the VU's first album and contributed to Lou Reed's firing of Andy Warhol as the group's manager.

  • Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

  • Cockroaches' favorite food is the glue on envelopes and on the back of postage stamps.

  • Betsy Ross was born with a fully formed set of teeth. Betsy Ross' other contribution to the American Revolution, besides sewing the first American flag, was running a munitions factory in her basement.

  • The term "devil's advocate" comes from the Roman Catholic Church. When deciding if someone should become a saint, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view.

  • A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.