Further Exploration of the Factorium

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 19

1. Nelson Mandela played a cameo in the 1992 biographical flick, Malcolm X.


2. The initial name of Starbucks was designated as Pequod.


3. The Lincoln penny is the longest-running U.S. coin still in circulation.


4. In Genesis, the first task God entrusted to Adam was to give names to all the animals.


5. Lewis Carroll's "Euclid and his Modern Rivals" gained fame as a quote from the book was used in the first official Wikipedia logo.

Wikipedia's first logo in 2001.jpg

Monday, January 31, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 18

1. Officially, there's no dinosaur species called brontosauraus.


2. Employees at Baskin Robbins are allowed to eat as much ice cream as they like, free.


3. In Britain in the 1950s, pizza was known as "Italian Welsh Rarebit."


4. Newton referred to differential calculus as fluxions.


5. Six of the 10 fastest elevators in the world are located in Asia.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 17

1. Kabir Khan, a former Pakistan Cricket player has coached both the Afghan and the UAE Cricket Teams.


2. The Interrobang, a non-standard punctuation mark, is used to convey surprised rhetorical questions using a single mark, in place of the Question and Exclamation mark.


3. The name of the automaker 'Volvo' derives from the Latin for "I roll"!


4. In tradition, Jesus Christ was executed by the Romans along with Dismas and Gestas.


5. Edwin Aldrin, the second man on the moon, legally changed his name to Buzz Aldrin as his sister mispronounced the word Brother as 'Buzzer' in his childhood.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 16

1. The Gregorian Calendar, the calendar which we follow, was adopted on 15th October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.


2. André-Jacques Garnerin was the inventor of the first frameless parachute.


3. The first known patent in the world was granted in 1521 to Filippo Brunelleshci.

4. The logo of "Discovery Science" or "The Science Channel" features the element Scandium which is used to double up as the name of the Channel.


5. Louis Braille was inspired to invent his Braille Script by a night writing invention of a former French Army captain.

Friday, January 28, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 15

1. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.


2. The average person laughs 13 times a day.


3. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.


4. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.


5. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.



Thursday, January 27, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 14

1. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.


2. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink.


3. Dalmatians are born without spots.


4. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.


5. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I Didn't Know Zat! # 13

1. The first organ to be successfully transplanted in humans is the kidney.


2. MAD Magazine named PacMan "Man of the Year" in September 1982 and to date it is one of very few MAD covers that does not feature Alfred E. Neuman.


3. Christmas was made illegal in Massachusetts in 1659 - and remained so for 22 years.


4. Alaska accounts for about one fifth of all land in continental USA and is also more than twice the size of Texas which is the second largest state.


5. Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon with his left foot first.