Read Uncle John’s Did You Know? Online
Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute
Uncle John’s Did You Know? (10 page)
• When cheetahs run, they appear to be flying because most of the time all four feet are off the ground.
• Tigers like to attack from behind. To prevent attacks, farmers in India wear masks with eyes on the back of their heads.
• Snow leopards who live in the Himalayan mountains have such long tails that they can wrap themselves in them for warmth.
• A lion’s muzzle is like a fingerprint—no two have the same pattern of whiskers.
• Lions usually roar in the hours between dusk and dawn.
• Big cats live almost twice as long in captivity as in the wild.
• A lion’s scientific name is
Panthera leo
, a tiger’s is
Panthera tigris
.
• A black panther isn’t a separate species: It’s simply a jaguar, leopard, or puma that’s black.
• Mountain lions don’t roar—they whistle or shriek.
• Tigers are the largest members of the cat family, and the Siberian tiger is the largest of them all.
• Cheetahs don’t growl, but they make other kinds of noises, like yelping and humming and even purring.
From
the land that gave us kangaroos, koalas, and Crocodile Dundee
.
• Why are the emu and kangaroo both on the Australian coat of arms? Because neither can walk backwards, thus signifying the forward-thinking character of Australians.
• The only mammals that don’t give birth to live young are native to Australia. The platypus and the echidna (a.k.a. the spiny anteater) lay eggs.
• Australia is the only continent on Earth without an active volcano.
• The first settlers from England, who arrived in 1788, included 717 convicts and their military guards; 180 of the convicts were women.
• Aboriginal peoples and natives of the Torres Strait Islands off the northern coast of Australia account for about 2% of the country’s population.
• The school year in Australia starts in late January and ends mid-December for the Christmas (summer!) break.
• One out of four Australians was born in another country.
• Cute, but wrong: Baby platypuses aren’t called “puggles” as many people believe. They have no official name, but “platypup” has been suggested.
Instant Messaging Abbreviations, Silly
.
| •WUF | Where are you from? |
| •A3 | Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere |
| •B4N | Bye for now |
| •C&G | Chuckle and grin |
| •DIKU | Do I know you? |
| •DLTBBB | Don’t let the bedbugs bite |
| •EG | Evil grin |
| •GR8 | Great! |
| •K | OK |
| •L8R G8R | Later, gator |
| •::POOF:: | Goodbye |
| •UOK | Are you OK? |
| •ROFLOL | Rolling on the floor laughing out loud |
| •QPSA? | ¿ Que posa? (How’s it going?) |
| •S^ | ’S up? (What’s up?) |
| •SUAKM | Shut up and kiss me |
| •U4E | Yours forever |
| •WDALYIC | Who died and left you in charge? |
| •WE | Whatever |
| •WIBAMU | Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle |
No, it’s not a rock group. It’s a mountain range in Asia
—
and the ultimate climbing challenge for us earthlings
.
• Nine of the 10 highest mountains in the world—including Mt. Everest—are in the Himalayas.
• The rocks that make up the Himalayan mountains were an ancient sea floor until about 40 million years ago when, in a process called “uplifting,” the sea floor was forced upward.
• The Himalayas are still growing—at a rate of about 2.4 inches a year.
• Because the planet isn’t a perfect sphere, the point farthest from the center of the Earth is the summit of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, not the top of Mt. Everest.
• The snowfields of the Himalayas are permanent—they never melt, not even in the summer.
• Everest’s name in Nepal is
Sagarmatha
(goddess of the sky), and in Tibet it’s called
Chomolungma
(mother goddess of the universe).
• Once known as Peak 15, Mt. Everest was named after Sir George Everest, a British surveyor-general of India. He pronounced his name EEV-rest.
• First skier to descend from the peak: Davo Karnicar of Slovenia in 2000. It took him five hours of uninterrupted skiing.
• In Tibet, the number 42 is considered sacred.
• What’s the Mexican version of the Tooth Fairy? The Tooth Mouse!
• The ancient Egyptians believed that black cats had divine powers.
• 84% of Americans say they believe in miracles.
•
Phrenology
is the belief that the size and shape of a person’s head determines their character. According to phrenologists, the bumps on your head reveal 42 aspects of your personality.
• Storks are considered symbols of good luck. And according to folklore, it’s the stork that delivers every new baby.
• According to legend, emeralds have the power to ward off evil spirits.
• Some people believe that dreaming about a dove will bring you happiness.
• According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the fate of the dead is decided by a group of 42 demons.
• In Asia, cranes are revered as symbols of long life.
• Superstitious people think an itchy nose means you’ll have a quarrel with someone.
Let’s pull up a microscope and visit the land of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their friends
.
• A teaspoon of dirt from your backyard contains more than 1,000,000,000 bacteria. So does a quart of dirty bathwater.
• A virus is a tiny bit of DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein coat.
• There’s a fungus among us: Bread mold, athlete’s foot, yeast, and penicillin are all types of fungus.
• Free-floating viruses are “inert” (inactive) until they come into contact with a living cell—that’s when they come to life and can begin attacking.
• Antibiotics, the drugs commonly used to kill bacteria, do not affect viruses at all.
• Scientists have revived bacteria that had been dormant for 250 million years.
• A type of giant amoeba—named Chaos
chaos
—can be seen with the naked eye.
• A mushroom is a fungus’s reproductive organ.
• Oh, is that all? About 200 million years passed between the appearance of bacteria on Earth and the next evolutionary step: single-celled organisms with a nucleus.
• 56% of men would like to wear a suit of armor.
• 27% of people wish their first kiss had been with someone else.
• 49% of people believe that polls tell the truth.
• 50% of American women prefer to sit with their legs crossed.
• 59% of schoolchildren claim that their parents nag constantly.
• 82% of teens worry about tests.
• 81% of teenage girls say the idea of growing old alone doesn’t bother them.
• Only 15% of adults think journalists tell the truth.
• No! 66% of 16-year-olds say they are pessimists.
• 27% of female lottery winners admit to hiding the winning ticket in their bra.
• 31% of workers don’t eat any lunch.
• Of all the candles sold, women purchase 96% of them.
• How many snorers in your household? 71% report they have at least one.
• People in low-income homes spend 50% more time playing video games than people in high-income homes.
• Between 1919 and 1921, nearly 108 million animals were killed for the American fur trade.
• During the first 20 years of the Endangered Species Act, 632 species were listed endangered. Today the number is around 500.
• The first animal conservation laws were instituted by Chinese emperor Kublai Khan in the 13th century.
• There are only 3,000 manatees, also known as “sea cows,” remaining in Florida. (They’re related to elephants, not cows.)
• Only about 1,600 pandas survive in the wild today—and only in China.
• Melting sea ice due to climate change leaves less time and area for endangered polar bears to hunt for food and store it.
• There are fewer than 800 nenes—Hawaii’s state bird—left in the Hawaiian Islands.
• Here’s some good news: In 1800 more than 50 million bison roamed the plains of North America. By 1890 only 800 were left, but now the numbers have been built back up to about 130,000.
• Scientists believe that one species becomes extinct every 20 minutes.
• An 8,000-year-old sandal found in a cave in Missouri is the oldest known footwear in the world.
• Mexican sombreros are meant to provide shade for the entire body.
• American men buy 35 articles of clothing a year. American women buy 54.
• Wal-Mart sells more clothing than all other department stores combined.
• How many gallons does a 10-gallon hat hold? Not even one.
