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Microwaves in U.S. households

In 1978, only eight percent of U.S. households had microwave ovens. As of 2006 over 80 percent have them.

Reference: U.S.

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The energy consumption needs of technology

As late as 1993, high-tech paraphernalia like computers, printers and video games had a negligible effect on power usage. Today, it's estimated to account for more than 13 percent of a typical household energy budget. By 2020, it could be as much as 25 percent

Reference: http://www.powerhousetv.com/

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What is the amount of electricity generated from various sources?

In 2002, the following amount of electricity, in gigawatt-hours, was generated from the following sources of fuel:
  • Coal: 1,925,792 GWh
  • Nuclear: 779,461 GWh
  • Gas: 695,226 GWh
  • Hydro: 255,077 GWh
  • Fuel oil: 91,629 GWh
  • Biomass: 71,534 GWh
  • Other (geothermal, non-wood waste, wind and solar): 22,737 GWh


Reference: http://www.powerhousetv.com/

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Potential renewable energy resources

Energy crops, like switchgrass or fast-growing trees, could provide more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity annually by the year 2010, supporting more than 170,000 jobs and diversifying local farming operations.

Reference: http://www.powerhousetv.com/

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Hottest place on Earth

What is the hottest place on Earth? El Azizia in Libya recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922 the hottest ever measured. In Death Valley, it got up to 134 Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913.

Reference: http://www.livescience.com

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How much and how often a wolf eats

Wolves can go days on end without food. They can also eat 20 pounds of meat in a single sitting.

Reference: Animal Planet

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The length of an anteater's tongue

The tongue of the Giant Anteater is over 2 feet long... kissy kissy.

Reference:

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Most single-game rushing yards in nfl history

Walter Payton had the flu when he broke the NFL record with 275 rushing yards when Chicago played Minn 11/20/77.

Corey Dillon broke this record in 2000 rushing for 278 yards Cincinnati vs Denver (10-22-2000)

The record was then broken by Jamal Lewis in 2003 (295), and again in 2007 by Adrian Peterson (296) against the San Diego (and LaDainian Tomlinson) amazingly in his rookie season.

Reference:

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The rule of 72

The rule of 72 is used to find the number of years it takes to double your money at a given interest rate.

(72/[interest rate]) = years until a principle doubles

So, how long will it take to double your money at eight percent interest? Divide 8 into 72 and you get 9 years.

If you collect 7% on your savings in a little over 10 years the amount will be double what it is today.

The rule of 72 also means that you can determine the time it takes for a population to double if it is growing at a steady rate by solving this function:

(72/[rate of growth]) = years for population to double

Reference: http://www.moneychimp.com/features/rule72.htm

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What is a Cornish game hen

A Cornish game hen is really just a young Cornish chicken, usually 5 to 6 weeks of age, that weighs no more than 2 pounds.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_game_hen

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What is the noisiest land animal?

Howler monkeys are the noisiest land animals. Their calls can be heard over 2 miles away.

Reference:

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When was the country of Iraq founded?

There was no country of Iraq until it was created by the British in 1920. The modern state of Iraq was created out of the three provinces controlled by the Ottoman Turks, Basra, Mosul, and Baghdad.

Reference:

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When was the dawn of the new millennium?

Popular culture also holds the year 2000 as the first year of the twenty first century and the third millennium. In the Gregorian Calendar, however, this distinction falls to the year 2001. This is because the first century began with the year 1 (there was no year zero)

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000

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What was the speed limit in 1865?

In 1865 the first speed limit was introduced in Britain - 2 mph in town and 4 mph in the country.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1865

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A little known benefit to winning the Nobel Prize

A new study finds those who won Nobel Prizes between 1901 and 1950 lived about 2 years longer than nominees who didn't win.

Reference: http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/19/0053251&from=rss

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What is room temperature anyway?

Room temperature is considered to be 72 degrees Fahrenheit

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72_(number)

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When was penicilin discovered?

Penicillin was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928 and heralded for it's antibacterial effects.

Reference:

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Fun fact about ketchup

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year.

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Whatever happened to channel 1?

In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to Mobile Services (two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not re-number the other channel assignments. That's why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.

Reference: www.some-guy.com

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What's on channel 1?

In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to Mobile Services (two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not re-number the other channel assignments. That's why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.

Reference:

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What is the world flagpole-sitting record you ask?

In 1992, Frank Perkins of Los Angeles made an attempt on the world flagpole-sitting record. Suffering from the flu he came down eight hours short of the 400 day record, his sponsor had gone bust, his girlfriend had left him and his phone and electricity had been cut off.

Reference: Bizzare News

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What is the world flagpole-sitting record you ask?

In 1992, Frank Perkins of Los Angeles made an attempt on the world flagpole-sitting record. Suffering from the flu he came down eight hours short of the 400 day record, his sponsor had gone bust, his girlfriend had left him and his phone and electricity had been cut off.

Reference: Bizzare News

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The most searched phrase of 2007 on lycos.com is ....

"Poker" was the most searched keyword phrase on lycos.com in 2007.

Reference: http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3627937

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Getting a taxicab ride.

The term, "taxicab", was formed from combining the word, taximeter and cabriolet. Taximeter is a tool for measuring time and distance and a cabriolet is a 2 wheeled 1 horse carriage.

Reference:

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How are twins made?

Identical twins develop when one egg separates then is fertilized, fraternal twins are 2 separate eggs, and siamese twins is one egg that began to separate but was fertilized before the completion of the egg division.

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Proof that football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world

At World Cup 2010 2.72 million tickets will be sold.

Reference: http://www.cup2010.info/Facts/SoccerWorldCup_facts.html

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What was the best political joke of 2006?

According to about.com and their top 25 funny jokes "I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers, and rubble, and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to America she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world." --Comedian Stephen Colbert, roasting Bush at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Our favorite: “To the vice president's credit, he did own up to it (shooting hunting partner in the face). On FOX News he said the fault was his, he can't blame anybody else. Boy, it's amazing, the only time you get accountability out of this administration is when they are actually holding a smoking gun." --Bill Maher

Reference: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/funnyquotes2006_2.htm

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When were women given the right to vote in the united states?

In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed giving the right of women to vote. The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits state and federal government from denying the right to vote to vote by any citizen because of their sex.

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NFL Hall of Fame great Walter Payton

Walter Payton, known as "Sweetness" for his smooth style, until 2002 was the leading National Football League (NFL) rusher of all time, with a career total of 16,726 yards.

Walter Payton played all 13 years of his professional career with the Chicago Bears winning a championship in 1985.

Payton died of a rare liver disease in 1999. He was remembered as both a great player and a great man.

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What is the dead man's hand ?

In poker parlance if you have 2 pair aces & eights you have the Dead Man's Hand, so named after Wild Bill Hickok who was said to be holding aces and eights when he was shot in the back by Jack McCall in the Mann-Lewis Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, August 2, 1876.

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What year did the United States land on the moon?

On July 20, 1969 the first manned spacecraft landed on the moon. The Moon was first visited by Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959. It is the only extraterrestrial body to have been visited by humans. The last time the moon was visited by man was in December of 1972.

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