Factropolis -- A new fun fact every day!

Friday, February 29, 2008

Four-leaf clovers are created by the same mutation that causes conjoined twins.


See also:
- History of conjoined twins

keywords: nature, shamrock, irish, ireland, plant, luck, lucky, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, February 28, 2008

In Vietnam, it is illegal to own more than one home.


See also:
- CIA World Factbook: Vietnam

keywords: culture and places, government, asia, communism, communist, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Homosexuality is more prevalent in the Eskimo culture than in any other culture in the world.


See also:
- Homosexuality

keywords: sexuality, culture and places, igloo, native american, arctic, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Wilbur Wright was born with a full set of teeth.


See also:
- Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company
- Medical Encyclopedia: Natal teeth

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, airplane, orville, kitty hawk, pilot, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, February 25, 2008

Frankincense enemas were commonly used to treat leprosy in ancient times.


See also:
- Boswellia Thurifera
- World Health Organization leprosy fact sheet

keywords: science and technology, history, religion, bible, medicine, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, February 24, 2008

One of the Dead Sea scrolls describes Moses as a pedophile.


See also:
- West Semetic Research Project

keywords: history, sexuality, famous people, religion, christianity, old testament, bible, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, February 23, 2008

Ear wax and orange peel contain equal amounts of Vitamin C.


See also:
- Medinfo: Ear wax

keywords: food and drink, nature, ears, fruit, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, February 22, 2008

The word "Taiwanese" means "suckled by goats."


See also:
- CIA World Factbook: Taiwan

keywords: culture and places, government, language, asia, china, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, February 21, 2008

Marie Curie had a pet tiger named X-ray.


See also:
- The Biography of Marie Curie

keywords: science and technology, history, famous people, nature, radiation, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, February 20, 2008

"American" cheese was invented by a chemist in the German military.


See also:
- American Dairy Science Association

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, dairy, cows, milk, chemistry, laboratory, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A toothpaste used throughout ancient China contained a liberal quantity of explosive black powder.


See also:
- Ancient China: History for Kids

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, gunpowder, gun powder, chinese, fireworks, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, February 18, 2008

Between 1902 and 1912, agricultural/peanut pioneer George Washington Carver led three expeditions into British Columbia in search of Bigfoot.


See also:
- The legacy of George Washington Carver

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, famous people, nature, african american, pioneer, educator, farming, tuskegee institute, botany, botanical researcher, morris ketchum jesup, sasquatch, yeti, cryptozoology, cryptid, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, February 17, 2008

Grizzly bears have remarkably stretchy bladders - they can go for up to three weeks without urinating.


See also:
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Association: Grizzly bears
- Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee

keywords: nature, bear, animals, pee, urine, bladder, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, February 16, 2008

Much of American Sign Language was invented by a one-armed man.


See also:
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders

keywords: culture and places, hearing, handicap, disability, disabled, handi-capable, communication, communicate, deaf, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, February 15, 2008

American explorers Lewis and Clark ate at least nine bald eagles during their expedition to the Pacific coast.


See also:
- Discovering Lewis and Clark

keywords: science and technology, history, food and drink, famous people, nature, culture and places, government, meriwether lewis, william clark, lewis & clark, indigenous, indian, corps of discovery, missouri river, louisiana purchase, thomas jefferson, trivia, fact of the day, fun fact


Thursday, February 14, 2008

Famed canine actor Rin Tin Tin was circumcised.


See also:
- rintintin.com

keywords: entertainment, dog, history, culture and places, government, sexuality, animals, nature, rin-tin-tin, rintintin, tiger rose, the lightning warrior, land of the silver fox, german shepherd, circumcision movie, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

When concentrated, pine tree sap is more toxic than arsenic.


See also:
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

keywords: science and technology, nature, poison, tree, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, February 12, 2008

During mating season, the testicles of some fruit bats become so swollen that flight becomes impossible.


See also:
- Organization for Bat Conservation

keywords: sexuality, nature, animals, mammals, caves, spelunking, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, February 11, 2008

President William Howard Taft was the inspiration for Popeye's nemesis, Brutus.


See also:
- Biography of William Howard Taft

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, government, president, politics, animation, cartoon


Sunday, February 10, 2008

Before writing the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Arthur Conan Doyle drove a hansom cab.


See also:
- Official Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate

keywords: entertainment, history, famous people, culture and places, literature, fiction, mystery, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, February 09, 2008

High blood pressure is the most common cause of death among Amish men.


See also:
- Overview of the Amish

keywords: religion, nature, culture and places, farming, blood, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, February 08, 2008

Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes was afraid of the dark.


See also:
- The real Dracula

keywords: history, famous people, culture and places, dracula, romania, vampire, blood, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Thursday, February 07, 2008

The custom of a captain 'going down with his ship' originated with Phoenician sailors.


See also:
- Phoenicia

keywords: history, culture and places, sea, ocean, sailing, sink, capsize, maritime, trade, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Wednesday, February 06, 2008

The silver star badge made popular by lawmen of the Old West was originally worn by disgraced samurai warriors.


See also:
- Japan Guide

keywords: history, culture and places, government, asia, japan, warrior, war, soldier, martial arts, old west, law, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Prince Albert is believed to have been a hermaphrodite.


See also:
- Biography of Prince Albert
- Medical Encyclopedia: Intersex Disorders

keywords: history, sexuality, famous people, royalty, europe, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Monday, February 04, 2008

The tooth fairy originated as a Druid custom. The Druid fairy left chunks of calf liver in exchange for teeth.


See also:
- Druid Network

keywords: history, religion, culture and places, government, europe, ancient, religion, nature, pagan, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Sunday, February 03, 2008

Martin Luther King Jr. lip-synched most of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.


See also:
- Nobel Prize/biography
- The King Center

keywords: history, famous people, government, politics, racism, malcolm x, black panther party, fbi, wiretap, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Saturday, February 02, 2008

Julius Caesar had twelve toes.


See also:
- Historical background of Julius Caesar

keywords: history, famous people, nature, rome, italy, e tu brute, greece, greek, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day


Friday, February 01, 2008

The ancient Greeks invented synchronized swimming.


See also:
- Ancient Greece

keywords: entertainment, history, culture and places, sports, leisure, greece, trivia, fun fact, fact of the day