Mr. Write's Page

More useless facts for inquiring minds.

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— Beavers have transparent eyelids, which is convenient, since they spend so much time under water. They also have ear and nose valves that close automatically when they dive. A beaver can stay underwater for about four minutes.

— On an average day, the American people consume 18 acres of pizza.

— The Declaration of Independence was finalized on July 4, 1776. Thereupon, the original version was signed by John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, and Charles Thomson, the Secretary. A Philadelphia printer then made 500 copies, which were distributed to all members of the Continental Congress.

Somehow, the original document was lost, so the delegates were called back to Philadelphia. On August 2, 1776, they signed a new copy of the Declaration. This time, for reasons unknown, Secretary Thomson was not invited to sign.

— Orville Wright’s first successful airplane flight on December 17, 1903, covered a distance of 120 feet. The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is 196 feet.

— Almonds are members of the peach family.

— As a teen, British author Roald Dahl attended a fancy boarding school in England. While there, he and his fellow students often were used as taste-testers by the Cadbury chocolate company. Dahl said he dreamed of inventing a new chocolate bar that would “win the praise of Mr. Cadbury himself.” Dahl went on to write “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and he references chocolate in other books.

— This sentence uses every letter in the alphabet: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

— All breeds of dog have pink tongues except the Chow-Chow and the Shar-Pei. Their tongues, for unknown reasons, are blue-black.

— The average person fall asleep in seven minutes.

— Each time the Supreme Court is in session, white quill pens are placed on the tables of the opposing counsels. This tradition dates back to the early days of the Court. The pens are no longer used, of course, but they are treasured by the lawyers as souvenirs of their day in court.

— The only English words that end in -dous are hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, and tremendous.

— The Northern Cardinal is the official state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia (Don’t bother counting. That’s 7 states), making it the state bird champion. Runner-up is the Western Meadowlark, state bird in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming. (6 states.)