Sunday, February 20, 2011

Just like Dr. Seuss says,"Oh, the places you'll go..."

I came across some random yet bizarre facts about our human world. I for one am a fun fact kinda guy. It is just amusing to see all of the random and ridiculous actions that people/places throughout history have done. Some of these I have discovered through my collections of Guiness world record books, and other I've have learned from the travel channel such as bizarre world with Andrew Zimmerman.  Enjoy:
-There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.
-The Great Pyramid of Giza consists of 2,300,000 blocks each weighing 2.5 tons.
-Dublin is home of the Fairy Investigation Society.
-George Washington grew marijuana in his garden
-During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men's beards.
-The Dutch in general prefer their french fries with mayonnaise.
-The Turk's consider it considered unlucky to step on a piece of bread.
-It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary.
-Native American Indians used to name their children after the first thing they saw as they left their tepees subsequent to the birth. Hence such strange names as Sitting Bull and Running Water.     
-In the 1970's, the Rhode Island Legislature in the US entertained a proposal that there be a $2 tax on every act of sexual intercourse in the State.
-Ancient drinkers warded off the devil by clinking their cups
-China banned the pigtail in 1911 as it was seen as a symbol of feudalism.
-St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was not Irish.
-The 'Hundred Years War' lasted 116 years.
-Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.
-It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia
-The national flag of Italy was designed by Napoleon Bonaparte.
-It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on their testicles when taking an oath. The modern term 'testimony' is derived from this tradition.
-More money is spent each year on alcohol and cigarettes than on Life insurance.
-Hindu men believe(d) it to be unluckily to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marring a tree first. The tree ( his third wife ) was then burnt, freeing him to marry again.
-Between the two World War's, France was controlled by forty different governments.
-It is illegal to play tennis in the streets of Cambridge.
-The childrens' nursery rhyme 'Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses' actually refers to the Black Death which killed about 30 million people in the fourteenth-century.
-There are over 200 religious denominations in the United States
-The magic word "Abracadabra" was originally intended for the specific purpose of curing hay fever.
-The Puritans forbade the singing of Christmas Carols, judging them to be out of keeping with the true spirit of Christmas.
-Albert Einstein was once offered the Presidency of Israel. He declined saying he had no head for problems.
-Coffee is the second largest item of international commerce in the world. The largest is petrol.
-In Ancient Peru, when a woman found an 'ugly' potato, it was the custom for her to push it into the face of the nearest man.
-St Nicholas, the original Father Christmas, is the patron saint of thieves, virgins and communist Russia.
-King Solomon of Israel had about 700 wives as well as hundreds of mistresses.   
-One of Queen Victoria's wedding gifts was a 3 metre diameter, half tonne cheese. 
Are there any outrageous facts that you know??

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