An adult human head weighs about 12 pounds (5.4kg), or the same as a light bowling ball.

The coffee filter was invented by Melitta Bentz, in Germany in 1908. She pierced holes in a tin container, put a circular piece of absorbent paper in the bottom of it and put her creation over a coffee pot.

A 1991 Gallup survey indicated that 49 percent of Americans didn't know that white bread is made from wheat.

Beethoven poured ice water over his head when he sat down to create music, believing it stimulated his brain.

According to a 1997 poll, the average person in the U.S. has felt compelled to see the movie Star Wars an astonishing 6.7 times since its 1977 release, either in theaters or on TV.

The erroneous publication in 1888 of a premature obituary of Nobel by a French newspaper, condemning his invention of dynamite, is said to have made him decide to leave a better legacy to the world after his death. The obituary stated Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead") and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who ...Read more

Nyctitropism is the tendency of the leaves or petals of certain plants to assume a different position at night.

The sun burns 9 million tons of gas a second. At this rate, it has been estimated it will burn out in another 10 billion years.

The average American uses eight times as much fuel energy as an average person anywhere else in the world.

After Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941), Warren Beatty was the next person to be nominated for four Oscars for one film: Heaven Can Wait (1978). Beatty received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Writing. Unfortunately, he scored no Oscars for the film. Welles faired a bit better, winning one Academy Award out ...Read more

In the Thomas Nast cartoon that first depicted Santa Claus with a sleigh and reindeer, he was delivering Christmas gifts to soldiers fighting in the U.S. Civil War. The cartoon, entitled "Santa Claus in Camp," appeared in Harper's Weekly on January 3, 1863.

The Associated Press reported in December 1985, in Eugene, Oregon, a 6-month-old kitten set a Christmas tree on fire while batting at the lighted bulbs. The heat of the fire cracked a nearby fishbowl, and water from the bowl doused some of the fire. Firefighters arrived within minutes of the fire starting and put out the fire, which had spread ...Read more

When the Krampus finds a particularly naughty child, it stuffs the child in its sack and carries the frightened thing away to its lair, presumably to devour for its Christmas dinner.

Da Vinci took his time with the painting. According to legend, he spent four years on the portrait of Francesco del Giocondo's third wife, Lisa Gherardini, and still wasn't done. Supposedly, Giocondo was so sick of waiting (or, according to some, didn't like the painting) that he refused to pay for the work and da Vinci sold it to the king of ...Read more

A cat's arching back is part of a complex body language system, usually associated with feeling threatened. The arch is able to get so high because the cat's spine contains nearly 60 vertebrae which fit loosely together. Humans have only 34 vertebrae.

Members of all branches of the U.S. military are eligible to receive the medal, and each service has a unique design (although the Marine Corps uses the Navy's medal and the Coast Guard's design has never been awarded). The Medal of Honor is often presented personally to the recipient or, in the case of posthumous awards, to survivors, by the ...Read more

Popcorn purchases went into a slump during the early 1950s, when television became popular. Attendance at movie theaters dropped and, with it, popcorn consumption. When the public eventually began eating popcorn at home, the new relationship between television and popcorn led to a popularity

Nobel Prizes are awarded in five categories: The first three of these prizes are for eminence in physical science, in chemistry and in medical science or physiology; the fourth is for the most remarkable literary work "in an ideal direction" and the fifth is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of ...Read more

"Hot cockles" was a popular game at Christmas in medieval times. It was a game in which the other players took turns striking the blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow. "Hot cockles" was still a Christmas pastime until the Victorian era.

As a mercenary commander he began building larger units of men, aiming for greater territorial ambitions. By the time he was in his forties he finally succeeded, becoming king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the age, having strangled the previous ruler on the steps of the throne.