Useless Facts About Shaving

If you’ve always wanted to know how many hairs are removed from a man’s face by shaving, you’re in luck! Can you believe the prehistoric man shaved too? This article is filled of shaving facts, that may be useless but at least you’ll know.

1. The average shave will trim away somewhere between 20,000-25,000 hairs from a man’s face.

2. Shaving cream was only made for men until the industry specifically targeted women in 1986 by manufacturing the whipped magic specifically for women!

3. Shaving cream didn’t always come in aerosol cans; the method wasn’t even introduced until 1950.

4. The Pharaohs of Egypt probably liked a good shave every now and then, of course using nothing less than the best made from gold and silver. Archeologists have found razor relics that date back as far as the fourth century.

5. Only about 30% of men who shave use an electric device to shave.

6. When a man wet shaves, it’s as good as using an exfoliating product because the process removes dead skin cells promoting healthier skin.

7. Shave gels weren’t even thought of until the 1970’s.

8. Archeologists believe that caveman used clams and shark teeth to shave with, 20,000 years ago-in the Stone Age!

9. Nearly 70% of American women prefer a clean-shaven man.

10. Some archeologists think that many warriors shaved their heads before battles so opponents didn’t have any hair to pull … maybe they were discouraging the practice of scalping?

Fantastic Facts about Inventions throughout History

From the wheel to the rocket and all the remarkable inventions in between, the following text lists some highlights from the world of inventions. Although not discussed chronologically, these facts are loosely organized by type.

Cuneiform is the earliest form of writing. It was invented by the Sumerians between 4000 and 3000 B.C.

The chariot, or horse-drawn cart, was invented in Mesopotamia c.2000 B.C. They used spoked wheels instead of the older planked ones making for a faster trip.

China saw the invention of the saddle around the year 25 A.D. which made horseback riding far more comfortable.

1859 saw the invention of the internal combustion engine by Etienne Lenoir. This Frenchman’s model was too costly to run, however. Nikolaus Otto of Germany invented a version in 1878 that was far more practical.

Eli Otis invented the elevator in 1954 in America.

Considered to be a Turkish invention, the merry-go-round’s exact origins are difficult to trace. Researchers seem to agree that 1620 was the year of its debut.

French paper makers invented the hot air balloon in 1783. Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier have the credit of this invention. Their balloon rose 6,000 feet in the air.

Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the bicycle in 1838. He called it a velocipede.
1803 saw the invention of the railroad locomotive by Richard Trevithick, an English engineer. He named it “Catch-Me-Who-Can.”

The earliest bathtub is dated from 3100 B.C. from Gaza. However, bathtubs did not become common in the area until 2500 B.C.

Showers are traced to Egypt and Greece, however, and date from c.1350 B.C.

Frederick Walton, an inventor from England, invented linoleum in 1860. Kitchen floors owe him a great debt!

The game of chess is believed to have been invented in India around 600.

Hungarian professor Erno Rubik invented the Rubik’s Cube in 1980.

The hypodermic syringe was invented in 1853 by Charles Pravaz, a French surgeon.

The practice of embalming dates from c.2300 in Egypt. Although they eventually came to master the art of mummifying, their first attempts were achieved with plaster and resin.

Thomas Edison invented the phonograph record player in 1877. He followed up on this terrific invention with the incandescent electric lamp in 1879.

Gas streetlighting was invented in England in by the National Light and Heat Company.

The American Traffic Signal Light Company invented the traffic light in 1914.

Napalm was invented in Syria in 674 by a Syrian architect named Kallenikos.

Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese in c.950. It comprised large inclusions of charcoal to burn.

The Chinese also have the credit of inventing the cannon in 1280.

The Welsh invented the longbow between 1250 and 1300. Being more powerful and easy to load, it replaced the short bow.

Called the “Woman Edison,” Margaret Knight invented the paper bag machine in 1879. Grocery stores owe her a great debt.

James Ritty invented the first cash register in Dayton, Ohio in 1879.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

Cool Facts About Killer Bees

Killer bees, or Africanized bees, are aggressive insects that have been known to chase a person or an animal up to a quarter of a mile. The following facts demonstrate the fierce quality of these bees that continue to move ever northward and to both fascinate and alarm people.
Bees live in every region of the earth-except near the North and South poles.

Africanized bees did not migrate from Africa, but rather, originated in Brazil. They are a hybrid crossing gentle European honeybees with hardy African bees.

Scientists in Brazil were looking to make a hardier bee for better honey production; instead, the result was the aggressive hybrid known today as killer bees.

These bees might not have seen the light of day but for an accident resulting in a release from the science laboratories. Immediately, they took over the local hives and continued to breeze resulting in today’s aggressive swarms.

Africanized bees look quite similar to European bees; experts must examine upwards of twenty body parts to determine which bee they are dealing with.

Africanized bees have the same stinger as European bees-same amount of venom. However, killer bees are easily provoked and attack in army fashion-this is where their danger lies.

It takes a European roughly thirty seconds to sting; a killer bee can manage the task in about three seconds.

A single sting by an Africanized bee can set off an alarm to other bees provoking hundreds and eventually thousands or stings if the victim does not get away. The alarm is an odor similar to the smell of ripe bananas.

Africanized bees are ill at ease near people and animals. A sound or a strong perfume can easily set them swarming.

Scientists do not believe that killer bees are simply “mean;” they are more sensitive and more prone to defend their hives; they feel threatened quite easily.

Africanized bees produce five times less honey than the more docile European bees.

A single colony of killer bees is likely to include 80,000 members.

The first U.S. town known to contain killer bees was Hidalgo, Texas. The town now refers to itself as “Killer Bee Capital of the World.”

The bees are now in such U.S. states as California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and of course Texas. Mexico has them as well.

As more bees breed there are increasing attacks on humans. One tip might be to never remove a colony near your home-call a bee removal service.

Bees tend to attack outdoors, but occasionally they invade houses-usually when they are swarming to find a new home.

If you live in areas where killer bees are known to live, avoid low-hanging branches. Be careful of holes in the ground; killer bees also build nests in such holes.

Most people can outrun bees-but run in a straight line and be prepared to run past that quarter mile mark. Never think you can fight them off. Cover your face which is a prime target for the bees.

Weird Jobs

Hate your job? Thinking now is the time for a new career? Or maybe you’re actively seeking employment. The search for a job that will pay the bills can be frustrating- but imagine having one of these job titles!

Chicken sexer: How would you like to be the one who sorts through baby chicks to determine whether they’re male or female?

Laughter therapist: Not just for comedians anymore! A laughter therapist actually teaches people to laugh-at themselves and the world- in order to better their mental health and spiritual well-being!

Hair boiler: Imagine coming home after a hard days’ work, smelling like your job as someone who boils animal hair for a living!

Vermiculturist: Ahem- worm farmer. Need anymore be said about that?

Cheese sprayer: It’s hard not to feel like the ‘Big Cheese’ when you’re in charge of the spray hose that controls spraying layers of cheese on popcorn!

Odor judgers: You’ve gotta have some sort of fetish to want to smell somebody’s funky pits for deodorant effectiveness!

Eye bank procurer: Gathering eyes and corneas for transplants and research, ya see?

Fish liver sorter: Just like it sounds- with buckets for livers of different sizes, shapes, colors and textures.

Still convinced you have the worst job ever? It could be worse! But hey - if it pays the bills…

Women Behaving Badly

Are women really the fairer sex? Here are some examples of women ‘behaving badly’.


Charlotte de Berry’s career as a pirate began in the 1600’s when she dressed up as a man to follow her husband into the Royal Navy. Charlotte’s ruse was discovered when the ship they were on was attacked and it was discovered that she was really a woman. She was made to take a ship back to England. Along the way, the Captain of the ship bound for home assaulted Charlotte and in revenge, she lead the crew in a mutiny and lopped off the Captain’s head, whereupon she usurped his position and decided instead of going home, it would be more fun to be a pirate and raid ships along the African Coast.

Madame Popova operated a service in Russia in the late 1800’s specializing in helping married women get rid of cruel husbands. She used poison, her own hands, weapons or sometimes assassins to get rid of over 300 victims during her ‘career’ in murder-for-hire. The jig was up when one of the women she helped ratted her out and she was put in front of a firing squad.
Belle Gunness was the first 20th Century Black Widow. During the 1900’s she is said to have killed 49 people- husbands, ranch workers who worked on her farm and even children who were assigned to her care through social agencies. Most of her victims were poisoned, or suffered ‘accidents’ while on the farm. She convinced another ranch hand to use arson and help her cover it up by faking her own death. The ranch hand, who ended up dying in prison, was innocent of every crime but the arson. She was never convicted.

Melita Norwooda of London supplied Soviets with nuclear bomb plans back in the 30’s while working as a secretary in a scientific research institute. Most knew her as ‘Grandma Hola’, who happened to make the best darn homemade jellies in the whole neighborhood! A staunch communist and great-grandmother, Grandma Hola says she doesn’t regret a thing!

Facts About Mercury

• It is the second smallest planet in our solar system – only Pluto is smaller.

• It is smaller than Ganymede and Titan, the largest moons orbiting the planets Jupiter and Saturn respectively.

• Because the planet is so close to the sun at all times, it can be hard to see. The best times to view it are just after the sun has risen or set.

• Mariner 10 is the only spacecraft to have visited the planet. Another one, launched in 2004 is scheduled to orbit the distant planet in 2011 after making a series of fly-bys.

• Just under half of the planet’s surface has been mapped.

• Of the surface that has been mapped, most of it is extremely cratered, similar to that of the moon.

• It is the most cratered planet in our solar system.

• Other surfaces are remarkably smooth, possibly due to volcanic activity on the planet.

• The temperatures on Mercury’s surface vary greatly with the lows reaching minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and the highs reaching an incredible 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Surprisingly, radar has found what might be ice water in the cold shadows cast off by some of the crater walls.

• Despite being so close to the sun, the planet isn’t actually the warmest in our solar system. Parts of it are actually the coldest.

• It is the second densest planet in our solar system, after only the earth.

• There are no known satellites that orbit Mercury.

• It has a very small magnetic field – about one percent of the size of the field seen here on earth.

• Mercury’s core encompasses most of the planet and is made mostly from iron.

• Despite the large amounts of iron under the surface of the planet, there is no evidence of iron on the surface.

• If you were standing on the dark side of Mercury (the side not facing the sun) you would be able to see billions of stars.

• If you were standing on the light side of the planet (the side where the sun is visible) it would appear that the sun is two and a half times larger than we see it here on earth.

• A year on the planet takes 88 days.

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Jukeboxes

1. Just in case you ever wondered, the term “juke” is a southern term for dancing. Makes sense when you think about it. The dances might have been a little different back in those days, but the kids still loved it.

2. The manufacturers of the Jukeboxes never referred to them as “jukeboxes”… they referred to them as …Automatic Coin-Operated Phonographs. You know where their minds were at the time.

3. Everyone else referred to them as Nickel-in-a-Slot machines for obvious reasons. Early models could play 45rpm or 78rpms, but just one side at a time. That would change as soon as technology figured out a way to flip the record.

4. Jukeboxes began holding between 12 and 16 records at the most and patrons were not able to pick and choose their songs. The records were simply played in order. And the early models did not resemble the jukeboxes that we have become accustomed to at all. They were made of wood and had flat tops.

5. It wasn’t until the late 30s’ that mechanisms were added that would allow the choice of records to be played. But, things weren’t quite what they seemed. See #8!

6. Tavern owners loved the ideas of jukeboxes as the economic depression of the late thirties made hiring a band almost impossible. Being able to feature music, even out of a box, brought kids and money into their establishment in droves.

7. Much to the delight of kids, jukeboxes soon began appearing in drugstores, ice cream parlors and small dancehalls.

8. It was during the 1950s’ that miniature juke were placed on all the tables in diners. Patrons could pick and choose what song they ate lunch to! At least, that’s what they thought. What they didn’t know is that songs were played in sequence of songs actually paid for. The same song could have been chosen by several tables, and no one knew the difference. The top hits made the restaurant style diners a lot of money.

9. Rock Around the Clock was just that… a number one hit in 1955. I wonder how many nickels that song made!

10. No one is really sure just how many jukeboxes were actually made, but it is thought to be around 2 million. Would love to get my hands on one of the early ones. I have lots of nickels! It would be like stepping back in time.

All About Coughing

We are so accustomed to running to the drugstore for a bottle of cough syrup, but what about when there wasn’t a drugstore handy, or perhaps it was just too far away? What did people do then? Yes, they made their own. And believe it or not, I even dug up some coughing superstitions.

* I had heard of the highly addictive drug … laudanum being used for sleeping purposes in romance novels set in the 19th century, but apparently it was also used to stop coughing. On the other hand, it was used for just about any ailment imaginable, sometimes with horrific results.

* We all like our trivia and apparently so does Snapple bottled juices. One piece of trivia found on the bottle cap was the fact that fish can cough! Who knew.

* Apparently Boots (the British drugstore) also produced a children’s cough medicine that obviously included an ingredient that would help to the children relax. But it was the label that caught the attention of parents. It made a point of stating that one should not drive a car or operate machinery after taking the medication!

* You probably thought that cough drops have been around for some time, but did you know that the first cough drop can be traced back to around 1000 B.C.E. by the Egyptians. Ingredients included honey, herbs, spices and citrus fruits. Clever bunch!

* The next time you cough, you might want to know that you are sending air through your windpipe faster than the speed of sound!

* Alligators apparently practice coughing as this is part of their courtship ritual!

* The next time you have to cough, try the following position. Sit with your head slightly foreward and your feet flat on the floor. Makes no sense to me, but apparently it is supposed to help!

* And then there are some of the superstitions that are connected with coughing. I don’t think your dog will be very pleased, but here goes. Take one hair from the head of a person who is coughing and put it between two slices of buttered bread. Now feed it to the dog. Somehow, that is supposed to cure you from coughing.

* Someone who obviously grew cranberries came up with this idea. If you cook a cup of cranberries in two cups of water, add a little cornstarch to thicken and some honey to sweeten, you have a soup that is not only good for you, but should get rid of your cough at the same time.

* Now here is something a bit morbid… a dry, hoarse cough was often referred to as the “churchyard cough”!

* It had to be a man who loved beer to come up with this one. It’s a really simple recipe … take beer, add honey and drink! That’s it. It was supposed to cure loss of voice, hoarseness and any cough that you might have picked up.

* Lemons were often used to cure ailments and coughs in particular. Actually, it sounds pretty good. You roast the lemon slowly until the skin splits. Squeeze the juice and then add to about a half a teaspoon of honey. This is to be repeated hourly until the cough is gone.

* Now I don’t think that I could manage this one, but here goes. Cut an onion in half and then sprinkle with a couple of spoonfuls of sugar. Sit the onion in a glass bowl and place plastic wrap over the top. In the morning you should find onion juice in the bowl. This juice is supposed to knock the cough out of you.

* There is a commercial on TV that talks about how bad a particular cough mixture tastes, but it works! Here is something along the same line. Unfortunately, just thinking about it is triggering the gag reflexes. You take lard and mix it with sugar. That is it. I’m thinking that the lard would coat the throat preventing the annoying cough. Not sure which would be worse though!

* In the late 1800s, apparently people were doing their own fair share of coughing and something called Terpin hydrate was a popular cough medicine. The Food and Drug Administration stepped in and banned it however. They decided that the mixture had not been proven effective. But I’m wondering if it had anything to do with the ingredient. Terpin Hydrate wouldn’t have something to do with turpentine would it?

I’m sure that there are zillions of recipes floating around than enables you to make your own cough syrup. I found one such recipe that boiled Father John’s leaves, elder bush and cedar berries. It didn’t go into any more details than that, but I would be a little nervous of making your own medicines. Natural does not always mean safe.
So here’s to a cough free winter!

Milkshake Trivia

1. The first electric blender was developed in 1922. Stephen J. Poplawski had this vision that they would be become a necessity for the soda fountains that were springing up all over the country. And the most popular flavor of the day was … Malted Milk which consisted of milk, chocolate, and malt along with two scoops of ice cream. Wish they were still around today!

2. The first milkshake came about probably in the days of my great grandparents. The first reference appeared in a newspaper around about 1885. But these ones were a little different than the ones we enjoy today. Some of them contained whisky! My great-grandparents might be a lot more interesting than I ever imagined.

3. Now here is a milkshake that was developed in 1887 and can still be found today. It’s called Horlicks and apparently British children are fed the stuff. When my wife emigrated to this country, it was one of the first food items she went in search of and actually, it tastes pretty good.

4. All of this talk about milkshakes started me wondering about all of the flavors there must be out there … so I went looking. Now this one sounds pretty odd to me, but someone in California actually raved about a Pumpkin Pie flavored milkshake. So, if this sounds good to you, head for your closest Jack in the Box restaurant. Apparently, that’s where you can get one! Actually, the guy raved so much about them, I just might go looking for the restaurant myself. I really like pumpkin pie, so the milkshake might surprise me!

5. Do you recognize the name Ray Kroc? He was the man who sold milkshake machines to the McDonalds’ brothers. Yes, they are the guys who introduced us to all of those hamburgers! He then joined the team and came up with the idea of making McDonalds’ a franchise operation. And it all started with milkshake machines.

6. I don’t know if I should be sharing this little piece of information or not, but did you know that a banana milkshake flavored with a little honey is a well known way to cure a hangover? Not that I would know anything about it, but I hear it works really well!

7. Get ready for this… the largest known milkshake measures in at 6,000 gallons. It was formulated in New York in the year 2000. Now what I want to know is what flavor it was and what they did with it all!

8. If you were asked what they called a milkshake in Rhode Island, would you know? That question was asked in a contest a few years ago and the answer is “cabinet”. Not sure where they got that name for it, but it certainly is interesting. Can I have a chocolate cabinet please? Must try that the next time I am in Rhode Island.

9. So, what are you doing on September the 12th? You do know that it is National Milkshake Day … right?? Well, you do now!

Little Known Facts about Venus

* Venus is the sixth largest planet. Its orbit is almost circular and varies only 1%. It has the most perfect orbit of all of the planets. It is the second planet from the sun.

* Venus is the brightest of all the planets and is named after the goddess of beauty and love. Most of Venus’ surface formations are named after females.

* Being the brightest object in the night sky, Venus has been the focus of curiosity since the beginning of time. Venus is known as “The Morning Star,” and “The Evening Star.”

* Mariner 2 visited Venus in 1962. It was the first spacecraft to do so. Venus has since been visited by 20 spacecrafts.

* Venus’ rotation is the slowest of all planets. It takes 243 Earth days for it to rotate.

* Venus presents the same fact to Earth each time the two planets are at their closest point.

* Venus is known as Earth’s sister planet because they are very similar in some ways.

* Though Venus contained large amounts of water at one time, today it is a dry planet. Why? The water boiled away. Earth would have suffered the same fate it if had been closer to the sun.

* The geographical surface of Venus is continual, rolling plain. Much of the surface if covered by lava flow.

* The center of Venus is very similar to that of Earth. Its iron core is approximately 3000 kilometers in radius. The rest of the planet is made up of molten rock mantle.

* Venus has a tale because it has no satellites.

* Venus has no tectonic plates as Earth does. There is evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus.

* Venus is more extremely affected by the greenhouse effect than Earth. Why? Because Venus has a dense carbon monoxide atmosphere.

* Venus appeared as a black dot crawling across the sun when it passed between Earth and the Sun on June 8, 2004.

* Why have Earth and Venus evolved so differently when at one time they were so similar? Food for thought.

Facts On Cats!!! Too Good To Know

Halloween and cats go hand in hand and you may be surprised to know a few facts about cats. Beware when trick or treating; you never know where a cat may be lurking!


1. Ever wonder why a cat sees in pitch-black dark? It’s because their eyes take light in and reflect if back out … like a flashlight!

2. Did you know that a cat’s whiskers could detect even the tiniest of creatures? A cat can detect any kind of movement up to 2000 times smaller than the width of the hair on your head

3. Ever wondered why cats constantly lick themselves clean after eating? A cat has natural instincts derived from the wild and this instinct tells them to wash away food scent to keep predators at bay.

4. Know how to tell when a cat is happy? That’s easy, they just squeeze their eyes closed.

5. Did you know that cats might have lived on earth 12 million years ago? A fossilized record similar to today’s cats suggests they did.

6. Have you ever wondered how many cat breeds there are? There are more than 100!

7. Did you know that the light displayed from your television could make your cat shed fur?

8. Cats purr at the same rate of a diesel engine, 26 cycles per minute.

9. Did you know that dogs have more teeth than cats, a dog has 42 and a cat has only 30?

10. Ever wonder what makes some people allergic to cats? It’s a protein in cats saliva people are allergic to and when a cat licks their fur, it can get in the air and cause lots of aaaaachoo’s!

11. Did you know that a cat breathes in anywhere from 20-40 times a minute depending on their health.

12. A cat’s heart beats twice as fast as a human.

13. Did you know that a cat can jump anywhere from five to seven times it’s own height?

14. Do you know who invented the famous “kitty door”? It was Sir Isaac Newton.

15. American’s spend lots of money on cat food every year; in fact they spend more on cat food than on baby food!

16. Do people talk to cats? 95% of cat owners say they talk to their kitty cat.

17. Just like humans are either right handed or left handed, cats are too.

18. I bet you’ve never saw a cat sweat! They don’t have sweat glands.

19. Did you know that a cat cannot move their jaw from side to side!

20. Do you know what a polecat looks like? It’s a European weasel and not any kind of cat at all!

21. In America a black cat is considered bad luck, did you know that a black cat is good luck in Asia and England?

22. Cats sleep more than any other mammal! The average is about sixteen hours … a day!

23. Did you know that cats like female humans better than male humans? Researchers believe its because women have a higher pitch voice then men.

24. Cats caused the black plague! People believed cats were associated with witchery, they locked all the cats away and rats took over, spreading the disease!

25. Did you know that the famous author Ernest Hemingway was a cat lover? Hemingway had more than thirty cats at his home in Havana.

26. Rags to riches! Morris, the famous “9-Lives” poster kitty was actually discovered at an animal shelter in New England.

27. Did you know that even Nostradamus had a cat? His name was Grimalkin!

28. Do you know how to discourage a cat from scratching up furniture? Rub it down with orange or lemon rinds because cats hate them!

29. Could you be killed for killing a cat? If you killed a cat 4000 years ago in Egypt, yep!

30. Do you know the correct terminology of a cat lover and a cat hater? A cat lover is called an “ailurophile” and a cat hater is called an “ailurophobe”.