Little Known Facts
Little known facts can be just interesting. Here are some of
those: A typical lightning bolt is two to four inches wide and
two miles long; A month that starts with a Sunday will have a
Friday the 13th in it; Easter is the first Sunday after the
first full moon after March 21; Close to 50% of all bank
robberies take place on Friday.
Do you know the furthest point on Earth from the center? It's
the peak of Mount Chimborazo, in Ecuador, near the Equator. The
Earth bulges at the equator, making Mount Chimborazo even
further out there than Everest.
Then there are the little known facts that are funny. These
include, for example, silly laws that are still on the books.
Here are some of those: By law, people in Vermont must take at
least one bath a week; In Oklahoma, dogs need a permit signed by
the mayor in order to congregate on private property in groups
of three or more; In Roanoke, VA, it's against the law to
advertise on tombstones; It's illegal to put coins in your ears
in Hawaii.
"Odor Judger" is an actual job title, and job description. So do
you want to smell armpits all day to help make effective
deodorants? I'm not sure why somebody other than some strange
fetishist would want this job.
Useful Little Known Facts
Little known does not mean not useful. There are many things
most people don't know that can be extremely useful. A few of
these follow.
When an item can't be removed from your credit report, you have
the right to add a 100-word explanation to it, permanently. All
who receive the report will see your explanation. If, for
example, you had an argument with a doctor over a charge, you
can explain the details.
You can get free x-rays. Some dental schools will x-ray your
mouth for free, if you have the patience to sit there while the
instructor coaches the student through the process. You then get
your x-rays to take to the dentist.
Thre are still towns with nice houses you can buy for less than
$30,000. As of January, 2006, these include Altoona,
Pennsylvania, Anaconda Montana, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and
Independence, Kansas. More are listed on the web site: Houses
Under Fifty Thousand .com.
Buy two separate plane tickets to save hundreds. It cost $1750
to fly round trip from Traverse City, Michigan to Quito,
Ecuador. That was the cheapest fare we found on any website.
However, it was only $299 round-trip to Miami, and $405
round-trip from Miami to Quito. $704 total! Save over $1000 by
buying two separate tickets.
You can't fold a dollar bill in half eight times, doubling it
each time. In fact, try it even with a large piece of paper. It
can't be done. You can win a bar bet with this fact, so I'll
classify this one among the interesting, funny AND useful little
known facts.