Year Facts | Facts about Years

Projected increase in natural gas consumption

Natural gas use has increased by 35 percent over the past ten years, and is projected to grow 45 percent by 2015.

Increase in U.S. home sizes

The size of a typical American home has increased from 1100 to 1800 square feet over the past ten years.

Facts about the electric utility industry

Since the first power plant (thomas edison's power plant) lit up 800 light bulbs in 1882, the electric utility industry has grown to generate over 2.5 million gigawatt-hours annually, the equivalent of lighting 4.8 billion 60-watt light bulbs for a year

Random fact about renewable energy

If your family could use only renewable energy for all your energy needs, you could help reduce the amount of emissions in the air each year by 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 70 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 50 pounds of nitrogen oxide.

Potential renewable energy resources

Energy crops, like switchgrass or fast-growing trees, could provide more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity annually by the year 2010, supporting more than 170,000 jobs and diversifying local farming operations.

How much energy can the sun provide?

According to the American Solar Energy Society, enough sunlight falls on the earth's surface each minute to meet world energy demand for an entire year.

Tip for saving energy in the home

Replacing an electric water heater with a solar model can reduce water heat costs by 50 to 80 percent every year - and over the 20-year life of the equipment, more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be displaced.

Ancient crystal skulls

It is claimed that 13 ancient crystal skulls have been found with mysterious properties.

The Mitchell-Hedges family loaned the skull to Hewlett-Packard Laboratories for extensive study in 1970. Art restorer Frank Dorland oversaw the testing at the Santa Clara, California, computer equipment manufacturer, a leading facility for crystal research. The HP examinations yielded some startling results.

Researchers found that the skull had been carved against the natural axis of the crystal. Modern crystal sculptors always take into account the axis, or orientation of the crystal's molecular symmetry, because if they carve "against the grain," the piece is bound to shatter -- even with the use of lasers and other high-tech cutting methods.

To compound the strangeness, HP could find no microscopic scratches on the crystal which would indicate it had been carved with metal instruments. Dorland's best hypothesis for the skull's construction is that it was roughly hewn out with diamonds, and then the detail work was meticulously done with a gentle solution of silicon sand and water. The exhausting job -- assuming it could possibly be done in this way -- would have required man-hours adding up to 300 years to complete.

Note: 5/08, crystal skulls find themselves in the lates Indiana Jones movie!

Chemicals cause male frogs to grow ovaries

US farms 1 trillion ears of corn a year, using a chemical called Atrazine that in the concentration of 1 part per billion causes male frogs to grow ovaries! Strangely, a higher dosage reduces the risk. Atrazine is the most widely used weed killer in the United States. It has also been linked to cancer in people.

Breast implants are at best a short-term improvement

Health regulators estimated that up to 93 percent of silicone breast implants ruptured within 10 years.

How to eat like a horse

A 1,200-pound horse eats about seven times it's own weight each year.

Augustus Caesar became the emperor of Rome in…

Augustus Caesar became the emperor of Rome in 27 BC, and he ruled the empire for over forty years. This period of history became known as the time of the "Great Roman Peace" ... In A.D. 80 the Colosseum was finished where battles were reenacted, where gladiators fought, and where crowds were entertained by savage violence entertained by the spectacle of Christians being eaten by lions.

Sometime between 407-411 Constantine III legalized Christianity. Check out this list, it was easier than you think to be emperor, the hard part is staying emperor. http://www.roman-emperors.org/impindex.htm

n AD 404 a tragic event finally put an end to the gladiators. A Christian monk named Telemachus entered the arena in Rome and tried to separate two combatants. The crowd went berserk, climbed over the walls into the arena and tore the monk limb from limb. The Emperor Honorius permanently banned all gladiator contests.

The Romans were also known to sentencing Christians to death by play. In a live play, when it came time for a death scene, the real actor would be replaced by the accused and the execution would be performed live on stage.

yikes

The rule of 72

The rule of 72 is used to find the number of years it takes to double your money at a given interest rate.

(72/[interest rate]) = years until a principle doubles

So, how long will it take to double your money at eight percent interest? Divide 8 into 72 and you get 9 years.

If you collect 7% on your savings in a little over 10 years the amount will be double what it is today.

The rule of 72 also means that you can determine the time
it takes for a population to double if it is growing at a steady rate by solving this function:

(72/[rate of growth]) = years for population to double

Deaths caused by cigarettes and alcohol in America

More than 400,000 Americans die from diseases related to cigarette smoking each year. More than 150,000 Americans die of alcohol abuse each year.

The world's least appealing alcohol

Chicha, an alcohol beverage which has been made for thousands of years in Central and South America, begins with people chewing grain and spitting into a vat. An enzyme in saliva changes starch in the grain to sugar, which then ferments.

Is there a difference between crack & champagne?

According to the federal Center for Substance Abuse prevention, "For kids under twenty-one, there is no difference between
alcohol and other drug use and abuse." Incredibly, it makes no distinction between a self-reliant 20 year old toasting his love at their wedding reception with a sip of champagne and a drug-addicted 20 year old doing crack cocaine!

When was the dawn of the new millennium?

Popular culture also holds the year 2000 as the first year of the twenty first century and the third millennium. In the Gregorian Calendar, however, this distinction falls to the year 2001. This is because the first century began with the year 1 (there was no year zero)

Top selling albums in 1980s

The top selling album in the 80s was Dire Straits Brothers In Arms followed by Michael Jackson Bad, and then Thriller, 4th best selling album Queen Greatest Hits

The number one selling album for the year 1980 was Abba Super Trouper, 1981 Adam & The Ants Kings Of The Wild Frontier, 1982 Barbra Streisand Love Songs, 1983 Michael Jackson Thriller, 1984 Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down, 1985 Dire Straits Brothers In Arms, 1986 Madonna True Blue, 1987 Michael Jackson Bad, 1988 Kylie Minogue Kylie, 1989 Jason Donovan Ten Good Reasons.

A little known benefit to winning the Nobel Prize

A new study finds those who won Nobel Prizes between 1901 and 1950 lived about 2 years longer than nominees who didn't win.

The longest coldest night on earth

The darkest time of year at the North Pole is the Winter Solstice, approximately December 21. There has been no sunlight or even twilight since early October. The darkness lasts until the beginning of dawn in early March

Now you can see what's happening in the arctic at http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/gallery_np.html

A surprising danger lurks on your desk

On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

Fun fact about ketchup

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it travels at a rate of 25 miles per year.

Surprising fact about the NFL

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.

When can you find a reprieve from professional sports?

The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.

Interesting fact about the declaration of independence

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, 1776 but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Can you name the world's biggest octopus?

The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world, grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially 30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.

Fact about a sleepy sleepy snail

A desert snail can sleep for 3 years.

Bathroom Facts

An average person visits the toilet 2,500 times per year. (6-8 times per day)

People spend at least 3 years of their lives on the toilet.

Seven million cell phones are dropped in the toilet per year.

Americans use a lot more toilet paper than any other country. (7 sheets on average)

People have flushed down the toilet: goldfish, false teeth, socks, underwear, bras, shirts, shoes, mice, hamsters, toy cars, action figures, Barbies, toothbrushes, and whole rolls of toliet paper.

Most toilets flush on an E-flat note.

10,000 times you have to change a baby's diaper until it learns how to go to the bathroom itself.

Men spend 140 days of his life shaving.

Brushing your teeth with the water on wastes 5 gallons of water. Shaving with the water on wastes 15 to 20 gallons.

Females takes 3 times longer than males in the bathroom.

The birth of the huddle

The football huddle originated at Gallaudet University (the world's only accredited four-year liberal arts college for the deaf) in the 19th century when the football team found that opposing teams were reading their signed messages and intercepting plays.

Crazy fact about the Indiana University library

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

Crazy fact about sleeping snails

A desert snail can sleep for 3 years.

Prohibition is a great idea, if you are Al Capone

On January 16, 1919 the 18th Amendment, authorizing Prohibition, went into effect in the United States. The home of the free took a beating that day, and it opened the door for such mobster's as Al Capone to make $100,000,000 (100 million dollars) a year at a time when most folks made $1,000 a year.

Death

100 americans choke to death on ballpoint pens per year.

BEWARE

On average, 63 people each year in the UK die due to inhalation of animal hair.

Toilet Injuries

More than 40,000 people each year die from Toilet Injuries. These could be from drowning in the toilet to tripping and knocking their head on the toilet.

How manly are you??

Every year, 100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer

There's a lot of water in this country's desert

The exploration for oil in the southern deserts of Libya discovered vast underground resources of water which will be tapped by the Great Manmade River Project. The Great Manmade River Project will enable Libya to reclaim land from the desert with the aim of agricultural self-sufficiency by bringing water from the natural underground supplies in the south. The natural reserves tapped by this civil engineering project will provide water for several hundred years.

People like it hot

In 2001 Death Valley saw a record of 153 consecutive days with daytime high temperatures above 100 degrees. Somehow, that same year the National Park had 1,064,784 visitors.

What is the altitude of the sun relative to Earth ?

The altitude of the sun varies throughout the year. On December 21st (sometimes the 22nd) the sun is 20 degrees above the horizon, it's lowest point of the year. On June 21st (sometimes the 20th) the sun is 65 degrees above the horizon, it's highest point of the year.

Do you know what days these are? They are the winter & summer solstice.

How long is a year?

The exact length of time for the earth to rotate around the sun is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds

Who can run for president?

Requirements needed to apply for president are must be at least 35 years old, a native born citizen, and be at least a 14 year resident of the united states.

When & where did farming begin?

The roots of farming began in the areas of present day Turkey and the Middle East about 10,000 years ago. Over 80 percent of mankind's diet is provided by the seeds of less than a dozen plant species.

What are the different types of laptop batteries?

There are currently three types of batteries commonly used to run people's laptops:
1) Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries were the standard technology for years, but are now out of date.

2) Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are a cadmium-free replacement for Nickel Cadmium.
3) Lithium Ion (Li-ion) is the battery you want for your laptop and is the current standard for portable power.

NFL Hall of Fame great Walter Payton

Walter Payton, known as "Sweetness" for his smooth style, until 2002 was the leading National Football League (NFL) rusher of all time, with a career total of 16,726 yards.

Walter Payton played all 13 years of his professional career with the Chicago Bears winning a championship in 1985.

Payton died of a rare liver disease in 1999. He was remembered as both a great player and a great man.

Proof you can teach an old chimp new tricks

In 2005, Ai Ai, a 27-year-old chimpanzee living at a zoo in northern China's Shaanxi province quit smoking after 16 years. Zoo keepers helped by providing therapy that included walking, music therapy, and exercise according to the Xinhua news agency said.

The true source of the Nike "Just Do It" marketing campaign

In 1985 state health department employee Ron Hall won a "choose our slogan" contest for the Oregon Health Department Fitness Club. His winning entry? "Just do it."

Nike and Weiden & Kennedy, also based in Portland Oregon, began using it a couple years later and it is still being used today.

Ron Hall has never been credited or rewarded for his help launching one of the greatest marketing campaigns in history.

What year did the United States land on the moon?

On July 20, 1969 the first manned spacecraft landed on the moon. The Moon was first visited by Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959. It is the only extraterrestrial body to have been visited by humans. The last time the moon was visited by man was in December of 1972.

What animal gets its name from the Galapagos Island?

The Galapagos tortoise was named after the Galapagos islands. Some adult Galapagos tortoises can measure up to 4ft. long and weigh up to 660lbs. Their average lifespan is 150-200 years.