Trivial Facts
WORDS: With auto-correct creating new forms of misspelled words, or just through a lack of effort, spelling mistakes seem to be more common all the time. Rest easy though, even the pros make mistakes; on average, 315 entries in Webster's Dictionary will be misspelled in each new edition.
While the words “screeched” and “strengths” aren’t too difficult to spell, they do hold the title as being the longest one-syllable words in the English language. The most spoken word in English is “I” with the number two spot going to “you.” If you’re planning to write some poems, you might want to avoid ending any lines with “month, orange, silver or purple.” These words have no rhyming partner in English.
HUMANS: Our brains function with the same power as a 10 watt light bulb. While much of the inner working of the brain is still being discovered, we do know that 85% of it is water. So it’s a good idea to keep yourself hydrated as, on average, we each lose half a pint of water through our feet each day. A large man can perspire nineteen liters of water per day.
Spring isn’t just a season for plants to have growth surges; it’s also when children grow the most. As much as they may grow, children don’t have any kneecaps when they’re born. They develop between the ages of 2-6.
CRITTERS: Knees are important to crickets for a different reason; they use their knees to hear. Butterflies, however, use their feet to taste. The electric eel will short-circuit if it’s put into salt water. Siberian Huskies lack the glands that other dogs have which are responsible for ‘bad dog breath.’ The world’s population of chickens and people are about equal.
Its Olde English name as fallen out of favor for the more acceptable “donkey.” However, this is not an improvement for the little work-horse. The “-ey” is added as a diminutive suffix, the “k” thrown in the middle as an imitation of monkey (which it originally rhymed with) and the word-origin of “don” is believed to have come from the word “dung.” On the other end of the spectrum, the Greek word for ‘butterfly’ is psyche, which means ‘soul.’
SOMETHING WITHIN: The average stamp contains 1/10 of a calorie. If you’re a careful cook, a “dash” is an 1/8 of a teaspoon. In Thailand, almost every staircase has an odd number of steps. It’s been estimated that in the last 3,500 years, there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world. There are only thirteen blimps in the entire world; nine of them are in the US. Regulation golf balls have 336 dimples.
STUMPER: A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.
