Trivia WOW

Did you know that there are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos?  The reason is that the casinos want the gamblers to lose track of time.  The casino windows are heavily tinted and the bright lights, noise, plus alcohol all add to the excitement and confusion. All the numbers in roulette add up to 666, which is associated with sin and the devil; hence the popular Las Vegas nickname, Sin City! Las Vegas' first casino on the famous strip was El Rancho Vegas in 1941; one of Las Vegas' most iconic casinos, The Flamingo, was opened by mobster Bugsy Siegel and his associates, on December 26, 1946, at a cost of 6 million dollars.  It was rumored that the casino was named after Siegel's girlfriend, Virginia Hill, because of her long legs! At one of Las Vegas, largest casinos, Caesar's Palace, 2.8 million eggs are eaten at the breakfast buffet each year; 427 pounds of coffee are consumed daily!  By the way, Las Vegas is Spanish for The Meadows. Las Vegas Casinos decked o...

Did you know that Mickey Mouse is known as Topolino in Italy? He also goes by Mikki Hirri in Finland, Mikki Mausu in Japan, and Michel Souris in France! Mickey Mouse was originally going to be called Mortimer Mouse, but Walt Disney's wife, Lillian, had insisted on the name, Mickey.  The official switch from Mortimer to Mickey took place on November 18, 1928. Mickey Rooney, famous American actor who starred in more than 300 films, felt that Walt Disney had named Mickey Mouse after him, since he had met Disney in the 1920's as a boy. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon was Plane Crazy and the first with synchronized sound was Steamboat Willie, both produced in 1928.  Steamboat Willie was a short black and white film produced by Walt Disney Studios and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Mickey Mouse's ears are perfect circles and he was the first cartoon character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mickey's first recorded words were Hot Dogs in the car...

Did you know the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz were once silver? However, the boss from MGM studios, Louis B. Meyer, had made the suggestion to change the color to ruby red! The vivid red color had produced a glittery effect for Dorothy to model on screen; silver would have been lackluster to the eyes. According to Wizard of Oz producer, Mervyn LeRoy, there were 5-10 pairs of Ruby red slippers produced, but only 4 pairs were accounted for.  One of these pairs were the ones that Judy Garland wore in the 1939 film, and have been proudly displayed in Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Museum over the years.  However, the shoes have deteriorated over time and would have to undergo a major restoration, with a cost of over $300,000!  As of October 2016, a Kickstarter campaign was started, with close to 6,500 people contributing towards the shoes' restoration project.  At the end of February in 2017, more than $373,000 was collected! In 1989, in remembrance of the ...

Did you know that a hummingbird's heart can beat up to 1,260 times a minute?  This is to sustain its rapid and prolonged activity level. Hummingbirds can hear and see better than humans and have little to no sense of smell. They only weigh as little as a penny or as much as 10 pennies, considering that a penny weighs only 2.5 grams. Hummingbirds on average are 8.5 centimeters in length, making them the tiniest birds in the world. Their hearts weigh 2.5% of their total body weight; the brain represents 4.2%.  They are very smart birds- they can recognize all the flowers they have travelled to and how long each flower refills with nectar! Hummingbirds have to constantly lap up flower nectar; if not, they can die from starvation, due to its high metabolic requirements (Their core body temperature is properly maintained from 105-109 degrees Fahrenheit!). They can live on average for 5 years but can exceed 10 years on few occasions. The oldest recorded history of the hummin...

Did you know that Angel Falls is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls?  This super high waterfall is located in the Canaima National Park within the dense isolated jungles of Venezuela in South America. Angel Falls were named after the American aviator, Jimmy Angel, who crashed his small airplane into the falls, 2 years after being discovered. Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world at 979 meters or 3,212 feet!  Water flows over the edge of Devil's Mountain and because the water has to fall a long distance towards the base, most of it either becomes a fine mist or evaporates! Tourists have the exciting opportunity of visiting Angel Falls up close, but they have to fly into the capital city of Caracas, take several flights to various towns, and trek the long distance through the thick, dense jungle.  It is no wonder that many people opt to take a helicopter ride to view the magnificent waterfall from their window! The highest waterfall in the world, Ang...

Did you know that the sun's diameter is almost 856,658 miles or 1.4 million kilometers? The sun is the star in the center of our solar system and is 4.6 billion years old!  Also, 1.3 million Earths can fit inside the Sun! Our sun has a surface temperature of 5,500 degrees Celsius, while the core is a hot 15,000 degrees Celsius! Three fourths of the Sun is made up of hydrogen while the remainder is helium.  The light from the sun takes approximately eight minutes to reach the Earth's surface. The sun will continue to burn for another 5 billion years; after this time, the sun will get larger and larger until it becomes a Red Giant, where it would consume the planets of Mercury, Venus, and the Earth. The sun will finally turn into a White Dwarf, or core remnant, after trillions of years. One teaspoon of White Dwarf matter can weigh almost 6 tons! The sun has a very strong magnetic field and a solar wind of charged particles known as the solar wind rapidly shoot away from th...

Did you know that Elvis Presley was offered a movie role in the 1978 classic film, Grease?  This fun musical film stars Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson and John Travolta as Danny Zuko. Sandy and Danny had a summer romance at a beach in 1958 and Sandy tells him that she will have to soon return with her family to live in Australia.  Since her family decided to stay in the United States, Sandy and Danny eventually meet up at Rydell High School. Sandy makes friends with her girl group, the Pink Ladies, while Danny acts cool with his male gang, The T Birds.  Although there is tension among the two gangs, Danny and Sandy overcome all odds to make their romance blossom. Sandy, Danny, and the gang sing emotional songs about love, heartache, and life in general.  Their popular songs, such as Hopefully Devoted To You, Greased Lightning, Summer Nights, Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee, Beauty School Dropout, and You're The One That I Want, have captivated audiences' hear...

Did you know that Canada has the world's largest coastline at 125,566 miles?  The highest tides in the world can be found in the Canadian province of New Brunswick in the Bay of Fundy. Canada is the second largest country in the world, with 3,855,100 square miles and more than 90% of Canada's population lives within 124 miles of the United States border.  Famous Canadians include singers Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne, actors Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, and Pamela Anderson, and athletes, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky! The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is the 7th coldest capital city in the world, with an annual average temperature of 5.5 degrees Celsius, or 41.9 degrees Fahrenheit.  The largest Canadian city is Toronto, with a 2016 population of almost 3 million people. The largest to smallest Canadian provinces are: Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Is...

Did you know that Sesame Street was almost called 123 Avenue B?  Producers could not use 123 Avenue B, since this was a real New York City street, so the famous Sesame Street name took its place. Sesame Street was able to broadcast on November 10, 1969 on the PBS channel, due to a series of grants totalling eight million dollars.  At first the actors and puppets acted separately, but producers had noticed this and had everyone interacting together.  As a result, there was a lot of positive feedback from families across the world. Some of the show's famous muppets, such as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, the Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog, and The Count, have entertained millions of people over the years. An adorable photo of various Sesame Street characters, such as Big Bird and Grover! Some interesting Sesame Street Facts: Ernie's Rubber Duckie 1970 song had reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 Big Bird is an incredible 8 feet ...

Did you know that Charlie Chaplin once won third place in a look-a-like contest?  This well known actor of the 20th century had a tragic childhood.  His father died of alcohol abuse when he was just 12 years old and his mother was committed to an insane asylum because of periods of insanity.  As a result, he had to work at a young age to provide for himself. Charlie Chaplin, one of the great entertainers of the 20th century! Some other great Charlie Chaplin trivia facts: Charlie Chaplin portrayed Adolf Hitler in the successful film, The Great Dictator.  This was ironic, due to the fact that Chaplin was born four days before Hitler, on April 16th, 1889. Chaplin was the first actor to grace the covers of Time Magazine and was married a total of four times. He had 11 children in total. After Chaplin's death in 1977, his body was dug up and the grave robbers tried to exhort 600,000 Swiss francs from his family.  His body was recovered eleven week...

Did you know that the strawberry is the only fruit with seeds on the outside?  Strawberries have 200 seeds on average embedded on its skin and are considered a member of the rose family. Ounce for ounce, strawberries have slightly more vitamin C than oranges.  Strawberries also contain high levels of Vitamin K, fiber, folic acid, amino acids, and potassium. Large red and juicy Strawberries! Some more interesting Strawberry facts: The ancient Romans once believed that strawberries had special powers, from stopping fever, eliminating kidney stones from the body, and curing depression! Strawberries contain high levels of nitrate, which widen the blood vessels in the human body, so that oxygen and blood can effectively flow to the muscles.  Americans on average eat 3.5 pounds of strawberries a year. There is a folk lore in Bavaria, Germany, that elves love strawberries. Therefore, the people would tie baskets of strawberries to cattle horns so that ...

Did you know that there are turquoise McDonald's arches in Sedona, Arizona? The reason that the arches are blue instead of yellow is because the town did not want to ruin the surrounding desert landscape with a ostentatious yellow logo. The turquoise McArches blend in perfectly with the adobe restaurant; tourists from all over the world come to Sedona to take photos next this fascinating logo. Sedona became an incorporated city in 1988, and a McDonald's franchise owner wanted to open up a McDonald's there a few years later.  He met with the Community Development Department and together they decided for the McArches to be turquoise. McDonald's had opened for business in May of 1993 and the rest is history! Beautiful turquoise McDonalds Arches in Sedona, Arizona!                               Some more interesting McDonald's restaurant facts: The first food item on the McDonald's menu was no...

Did you know that Hippopotamus means river horse in the Greek language?  The Greeks choose this name since these enormous animals can spend 16 hours a day in lakes, rivers, or swamps. A group of playful hippopotamuses in the river Some more interesting Hippopotamus trivia facts: Hippopotamuses can weigh up to 4 tons and feed mainly on grass, fallen fruit, and sugar cane.  They are the 3rd largest land mammal after the elephant and white rhinoceros. If threatened, hippopotamuses can easily outrun a human at 19 miles per hour, in spite of their chubby appearance.   Hippopotamuses produces loud noises that can be heard for several miles and sounds like roaring lions! The Swahili name for a hippopotamus is Kiboko. The gestation period for a female hippopotamus is 240 days. Hippopotamus amphibius is the scientific name for the Hippopotamus. They are thought as one of the most deadliest animals in Africa, since approximately 3,000 people are killed a...

Did you know that there are 10 million bricks in the Empire State Building?                                        The beautiful skyline of New York City with the Empire State Building in the background Some more interesting Empire State Building trivia facts: The Empire State Building's official opening took place 86 years ago on April 11, 1931. with a cost about $41 million dollars. In a 2011 research study at Cornell University, researchers have examined millions of photographs and came to the conclusion that the Empire State Building was the most photographed building in the world. On July 28, 1945, an Army B-25 bomber crashed into the 78th and 79th floors of the Empire State Building.  11 people in the building as well as the pilot and 2 of the crew mates have perished in the disaster. Heavy fog had disoriented the pilot while he was trying to ...

Did you know that China produced 455 metric tons of gold in 2016, or 18.5 billion dollars in today's prices! South Africa was the leading country in gold production for many years, but as of 2016, South Africa ranked 7th, with that year's production of 140 metric tons. Shiny gold ingot bars! Some more interesting trivia facts on Gold: The chemical symbol of Gold is Au Pure 24K gold can easily be molded with the hands.  Tutankhamen's coffin is made of gold, turquoise and lapis lazuli. Gold is actually edible!  There are upscale desserts made with shavings of gold leaf flakes. The precious yellow metal has been found on every continent on Earth. There is about 0.2 milligrams of gold in the human body, mostly in the blood. More gold has been recovered from a ton of old computers than from 17 tons of gold ore. There is nearly 20 million tons of gold in the world's oceans. The higher the carat weight the gold, the better the purity. Talk...

Did you know that the female black widow bite is worse than the male's? Yes, 3X stronger! You can identify the female black widow spider by the red hourglass design embedded on her glossy black abdomen.  Black widow spider venom is rarely fatal and these spiders are shy in nature; they will only bite defending their nest or when they sense that they are in a threatened manner. Female black widow spider dangling in her irregular looking web Some more interesting black widow facts: Black widow bites can cause localized pain.  Severe bites cause vomiting, sweating, muscle cramping, and pain, which can last from 3-5 days. Black widow spiders prefer dark and low places such as the garage; their webs are irregular in shape and the female black widow has been known to eat her male suitor after mating. Black widow spiders can be found all across the United States, especially in the southwestern U.S., in such states as Arizona and New Mexico. The black widow's legs h...

Did you know that honey is the only food that does not spoil?  Honey has been discovered for over 5,500 years in ceramic vases in the country of Georgia! A trickle of gooey honey from a spoon Some more interesting honey facts: Honey is a superfood which contains lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!  Processed honey (without the bee pollen) can be used to heal medical wounds.  Honey has a high sugar content, which dehydrates and kills the bad bacteria. Spores can be present in honey; these spores from the deadly bacteria that causes Botulism; therefore, people with a weakened immune system or infants less than one year of age should not ingest honey. Honey was considered a valuable asset in 11th century Germany, since honey was able to sweeten the country's beer. Fructose is the main sugar and makes up 38.5% of the mass of honey. In order to produce one pound of honey, bees have to pollinate 2 million flowers. About 36 million kilogra...