Obscure facts ya know!

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Cats have normally 18 toes.

There was no year 0. The year A.D. 1 was preceded by the year 1 B.C. (In those days, of course, they didn't use this system for numbering years.)

Our calendar repeats itself completely every 6 million years.

The Turkish word "o" means it/he/she.

There are at least 11 one-letter words in Russian, all with a real meaning:
а, б, в, ж, и, к, о, с, у, э, я.

There is no universal consensus regarding how the word "okay" entered the American English vernacular, although two notable theories are that it derives from West African word or from a Native American word.

The Arabic numeral system (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0) was actually invented in India.

The world was proven to be round, and the circumference of the Earth was remarkably accurately calculated, by an Alexandrian in Roman times.

Despite his contributions to physics and mathematics, Sir Isaac Newton was most passionate about alchemy.

Computer and television graphics are formed using the varying amounts of red, green and blue, yet color printer graphics are formed using varying amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Technically, zebras are black with white stripes; a shaved zebra would be completely black.

On six-sided dice, the number of dots on opposing sides always adds up to seven.

Here's a Chuck Norris fact: Chuck Norris was born Carlos Ray.

Thomas Jefferson preached against whites having children with blacks, whilst doing that very thing and denying his offspring were his. He said, “The amalgamation of whites with blacks produces a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of the excellence in the human character, can innocently consent.” Whilst preaching this rubbish, he had several children with his slave Sally Hemings who happened to be the illegitimate half-sister sister of his wife. While the rumors were around during their lifetime (which Jefferson implicitly denied), it was not until recent times that DNA testing proved that at least one of Hemings’ children was indeed fathered by Jefferson. In a letter to Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith dated July 1, 1805, Jefferson also admitted to having tried to seduce his married neighbor Betsey Walker.

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On December 12, 1899 Dr. George Franklin Grant received a patent for an improved golf tee.

Grant was a Dentist and professor of dentistry at his alma mater, Harvard University. It hardly seems surprising that a significant improvement to golf would be the product of a dentist - members of that profession are noted for the time they spend on the links. Or someone associated by that bastion of WASP respectability, Harvard.

But Gant was not a WASP. He was African-American, born in Oswego, New York in 1846. He entered Harvard Dental School as one of the two first Black students in 1868 and graduated two years later. He was so gifted Harvard added him to the faculty in 1871. He had a distinguished career both as a professor and a practicing dentist in Boston. He invented the oblate palate, a prosthetic device for patients with a cleft palate.

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The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

Finland has never won the United Kingdom in ice hockey in either the Winter Olympics or the World Championships.

john lennon recorded his vocals for "revolution" while lying on his back in the studio. john lennon also played the organ in the background on "i want to hold your hand," you can barely hear it.
his producer george martin, pre-beatles was also a skilled oboeist and keyboard artist, and also a producer of comedy albums by flanders and swann, peter sellers and spike milligan.

The making of mascara involves bat guano, while the making of lipstick involves fish scales.

There are no words that ryme with silver, orange, or purple.

The dye in red m&ms is partially made from beetle shells.

Platypuses are not the only mammals that lay eggs, there are also echidnas which are also mammals who lay eggs.

Barack Obama is the first US president whose last name starts with an O.
There has never been a pope whose name starts with K, O, Q, W, or Y. (Note that popes named Sixtus have an alternate spelling for their name, Xystus.)
Only one pope has had a name starting with R, Romanus.
The only pope who included the "I" in his papal name was John Paul I.
There have been two popes bearing the papal name John XXIII. The first John XXIII is not considered to have been a legitimate pope, but he wasn't really an antipope, either.

the irish prophet/saint malachy predicted the lineage of popes and foresaw that after benedict, peter romanus would be the last pope, before the end of the world [as we know it].

In China banana peels are dipped in an egg and flour batter, fried and served at state fairs.

Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp, which turns their feathers pink!

"modem" = modulate/demodulate.

Lachanophobia is the fear of vegetables.

The baud unit is named after Émile Baudot, the inventor of the baudot code for telegraphy, and is represented in accordance with the rules for the international system of units. IMHO, high bit-rate systems should be denoted as baudy systems.

There's an ancient prophecy on popes. It says that the last pope will be named Petrus Romanus. The current most likely candidate for papacy is cardinal Peter Turkson. If elected, he would be the first African pope.