Random Facts

Love, love, love random and curious bits of information. Though, for now, I will spare you the wonderful knowledge I acquired reading Stiff by Mary Roach, a book about cadavers.

Here are some interesting tidbits I got from reading BBC News:

• The Lion costume in the Wizard of Oz was made from real lion pelts.
• Standard sized condoms are too big for most Indian men.
• The Pope has been known to wear red Prada shoes (there's no place like home?).
• A common American poplar (a tree) has twice as many genes as a human being.
• Cows can have a regional accent, says a British professor.
• The clitoris derives its name from the Greek word kleitoris, which means little hill.
• The egg came first.
• Humans were first infected with HIV in the 1930s in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• George W., reflecting on the highlight of his presidency: "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5lb perch in my lake."
• In Bhutan, government policy is based on Gross National Happiness; most street advertising has been banned, as well as tobacco and plastic bags.
• In the 1960s, the CIA used to watch Mission: Impossible to get ideas about spying.
• In December, a tornado touched down in London, destroying a few homes and cars.
• To save two dolphins who had ingested plastic debris, the Chinese government called on the tallest man in the world (~7'9") (and also Chinese) to reach down their throats and pull out the pieces, an act that saved their lives.

There you have it. If you are curious about cadavers or children who feel no pain (a disorder known as congenital insensitivity to pain), let me know -- I have lots to share. The next documentary in my NetFlix queue: Unknown White Male, about a man who woke up on the New York subway with no clues about who he was except a random phone number and a British accent. Sometimes I wake up like this, until my cat, Rachel, kindly reminds me that I am here to serve her and it is not the time to be practicing my British accent, since breakfast is already late.