The Best of Very Little Known Facts

Hello again! As the fiscal year draws to a close this week, we are taking the opportunity to look back, as it were, on our first year of Very Little Known Facts. In fact, it's been a good one!

Some of these facts may seem familiar to our "regular" readers, but look closely--you may have missed something. And thanks again for all your support and monetary donations.

• PAGING MICK JAGGER: Wild horses can regenerate a leg unless the herd has been culled too low.

• BLIND AS A BAT: The Kinsey Report found that around 15% of the male population had masturbated at some point in their lives. Due to the stigmatization of onanism, he postulated that the actual figure was closer to 20%.

• TOASTY! The temperature inside an ordinary 40-watt lightbulb is exactly equal to the temperature on the surface of the sun.

• KETCHUP IS THE OPPOSITE OF MUSTARD: Old mustard containers left over from the Vietnam War cause more cases of asthma per year than every kind of pollen combined.

• GIGA-WHAT? Early web surfers had to hard-wire a MODEM (which stands for Modular Operator-Dialed Electronic Modem) to their telco data interface system, or TELDIS, until they heard the “handshake” protocol. This infamous series of whistles and noise blasts startled and terrified techies who thought their computers were “haunted.”

• GRADE A NONSENSE: A significant portion of teachers around the country can't seem to get their "facts" straight.

• STUCK ON YOU: Over half of American babies are born with tails. In almost all cases, the tail falls off within minutes of birth, but approximately 1 out of 1,200 babies require surgery to remove the tail. (Note: insurance companies consider this cosmetic or plastic surgery and do not cover the cost of the operation.) Identical twins born with tails can have a condition known as codae congenitalis where the two tails have wound around each other in utero, fusing into one biomass that may share blood vessels and even nerve endings known as an Infant King.

• THAT REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS! Garbage disposals are used all over the world and have been a great help to mankind.

• A THOUSAND WORDS ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY: The word "horsepower" originally referred to the amount of energy released by burning the carcass of one dead horse, the primary source of fuel for early American submarines.

• I'LL BE DOGGED: It is a myth that dogs can sense fear. In point of fact, there are two important things to remember when approaching any dog:
  
  
  1. The best way to approach a dog is to immediately put the dog in a Full Nelson, also known as a headlock. This not only comforts the dog, but it also lets the dog know you are in control by asserting your sexual "dominance" over the animal.
  2. Be sure to get your face as close to the dog’s as soon as possible. They may not "sense fear," but they can see a coward! (See below.)

• LIKE TWO PEAS IN A POD: Just days after the first Olympic medal was given in Ping Pong, the sport they helped popularize, Siamese twins Chang and Eng died of grief.