Fun Facts and Figures
List of Fun Facts and Amazing Stats
40 fun facts compiled into an ADDucation “Did You Know?” trivia list to share and entertain friends and family on any occasion.
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| ADDucation Fun Facts and Figures – Weird, Handy and Curious Facts | Category Tags |
|---|---|
| Eau de Cologne was originally a remedy for the plague. | Health |
| The pea is the oldest known vegetable. | Food |
| The thickest growth rings of a tree face south. | Nature |
| Hot water freezes faster than cold water. | Science |
| Croissants were designed to celebrate the victory over the Turks in 1683 by a Viennese baker. | Food |
| From 1922 to 1934 four Olympic Games took place for women only. | Sport, rights |
| Fish scales are a common ingredient in lipstick. | Nature |
| There are 1,940 billionaires in the world in 2017 (up from 1,810 in 2016) according to American business magazine Forbes listing. | Wealth |
| The Cummins couple had five children between 1952 and 1966 who were all born on the 20th of February. | Babies, Birthdays |
| 82% of the Beatles songs are about love. | Romance |
| The first sport to hold a World Championship was pool / billiards in 1873. | Sport |
| Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939 and Joseph Stalin was nominated twice in 1945 and 1948. | History |
| On 14th April 1945, 24 days before the end of WWII, U-boat U-1206 was sunk as a result of a toilet malfunction. | History |
| The longest sentence in a book (we’re aware of) is 823 words long, written by Victor Hugo in Les Miserables. | Literature |
| From 1644 until 1814 Australia was called New Holland by Abel Tasman. Matthew Flinders gave the continent its present name. | Geography |
| Hit AMC TV show Breaking Bad was originally turned down by HBO, FX and Showtime. | Entertainment |
| The most productive workday is Tuesday. A 2013 survey by Accountemps shows productivity increases on Monday, peaks on Tuesday then tails off the rest of the week. | Weekdays |
| Individual pawns on a chess board were given job titles by medieval monks. From (square a2) left to right: Agricultural worker, Farrier, Weaver, Businessman, Doctor, Innkeeper, Policeman and Gambler. | Entertainment |
| The square root of 123456789 is 11111.111. Also 987654321 + 1 + 123456789 = 1111111111. | Mathematics |
| Kleenex tissue material was originally designed for use as filters for WWI gas masks. | History |
| Somalia has more goats than people. | Nature, geography |
| Oddly it’s quicker to say “World wide web” than its acronym www “double u, double u, double u”. | Internet |
| The Chicken came before the egg, according to Genesis 1:21 in the Bible: “So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind”. | Science, religion, evolution |
| A baby spider is called a spiderling and spiders are not insects, read our list of names for baby insects for more fun facts. | Nature |
| The holes in Swiss cheese are called eyes. | Food |
| ALL US presidents to date (including Trump) have siblings – there have been no only children. | Politics |
| Our drinking water is about three billion years old and counting… | History |
| Austria was the first country to abolish the death penalty in 1787. | Crime |
| Croatia was the first country to recognize the State of USA in 1776. | Politics |
| Raindrops fall at a speed of 7 mph (11 km/h). | Weather |
| Neither Hollywood nor Bollywood produce the most films per year, but “Nollywood” in Nigeria with some 2000 films each year. | Entertainment |
| Movie trailers are called “trailers” because they were originally shown after the movie was screened. | Entertainment |
| Four former USA Presidents were cheerleaders. President George W. Bush was a cheerleader at Yale and head cheerleader at Phillips Academy. President Reagan was a cheerleader at Eureka College. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a cheerleader at West Point Academy and President Franklin Roosevelt was a cheerleader at Harvard College. | Politics, sport |
| Monaco and the Vatican City are both smaller than New York’s Central Park. | Geography |
| There are 1738 (August 2017) active satellites orbiting the Earth and in excess of 21,000 objects larger than 4 inches (10 cm) circling the planet. | Earth |
| Water has its highest density at 4° C. When heated or cooled water expands and is less dense for complicated reasons. | Science |
| If you are facing and looking at a rainbow, you are standing with your back to the sun. | Science |
| Of the 195 countries (January 2018) in the world, 59 drive on the left. | Geography |
| The Nazis V2 Rocket caused three times more deaths among those who built it than those who were bombed. | History |
More Fun Facts and Figures
- ADDucation’s FREE general knowledge online quizzes are packed with fun facts and figures which work on all your devices and are perfect for entertaining friends wherever you are.
- More fun facts in German: Kurioses und Merkwürdiges Wissen…
- Fun facts compiled by A C, last updated 02 Oct 2019.
- Do you have any fun facts or stats we could add to our list? Share them in the comments below and we’ll consider adding them…
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