Tell me a random fact about the world, I want to learn something new.

Stewardesses is the longest english word someone touch typing on a qwerty keyboard will type entirely with one hand.

The Stache wrote:

I think Hydrite might be referring to above-land or from-sea-level-up, whereas most of Mauna Loa is below the water.

You are right, I meant above land, that's why I said on land.

And I did not know about thew new wind speed record. Thanks to this thread, I learned something new today.

redux wrote:

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

The direction that a planet spins is a matter of perspective. Any planet that looks like it is spinning counter clockwise when viewed from one pole will appear to spin clockwise from the other.

According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction.

Vanilla flavoring is sometimes made from beaver pee.

The geographical center of the continental United States is a few miles northwest of Lebanon, Kansas. I went there once; it was pretty awesome.

If you lie at the bottom of a pool you can blow air to form a perfectly round ring that will expand to the surface.

A blue whale can hold it's breath underwater for one hour. The reason they are so big is because of the surplus of food in the ocean over the years.

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

The pulmonary artery is the only artery in the body that carries deoxygenated blood. Conversely, the pulmonary vein is the only vein carrying oxygenated blood.

The Mexican–American War ended on this day in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave 1.36 million square kilometres (530,000 sq mi) of Mexican territory known as the Mexican Cession to the United States in exchange for US$15 million.

Lingust wrote:

There is a word in the English language with only one vowel which occurs six times: indivisibility.

The word "facetious" contains all the proper vowels in order.

The word "facetiously" contains all the proper and sometimes vowels in order.

Here is an interesting statistic, but first here is some supportive information:

In 1900, about 50% of Americans were born with blue eyes. Due to changes in immigration and more bi-racial births, Americans born with blue eyes today make up about 17%.

Of all of the past (and present) presidents of the United States, only five have had brown eyes. The rest have all had blue eyes, or some close variation of blue. Washington - blue eyes. Lincoln - blue eyes. Reagan, Clinton, both Bushes - blue eyes.

That's pretty fascinating in itself, but the breakdown gets even more interesting.

Of the five brown-eyed presidents, none of them could be considered successful or positively memorable presidencies:

In the 20th century, the only two brown-eyed presidents were Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Both presidents have left a legacy of leading disastrous presidential terms.

None of the five were successful after their first term. Nixon went on to a second term only to end it prematurely in disgrace. Vice President Chester A. Arthur ascended to the presidency after President Garfield was shot. Arthur failed to secure his party's nomination for re-election, the last incumbent to do so. John Quincy Adams lost reelection in a landslide defeat. Andrew Johnson became president after the assassination of Lincoln and lost his reelection attempt. LBJ became president after the assassination of JFK. LBJ did go on to win his own term in a resounding victory in 1964 but then saw his presidency and his popularity collapse and was soundly defeated in his bid for reelection in 1968.

One lesson for future presidents (who don't want to get shot!) may be: don't choose a running mate with brown eyes.

Two of the three presidents who faced impeachment had brown eyes.

So how does this bear on 2008? Well, it doesn't bode well for Barack Obama. Even if he can get past the blue-eyed Hillary Clinton, he will then face off with the blue-eyed John McCain. And history seems to show that if Obama can pull it off, he is destined for a disastrous presidency.

And of all of the presidents we consider great?

Well, vote for 'old blue eyes' in November!

RukiddingMe!! wrote:

Of all of the past (and present) presidents of the United States, only five have had brown eyes. The rest have all had blue eyes, or some close variation of blue. Washington - blue eyes. Lincoln - blue eyes. Reagan, Clinton, both Bushes - blue eyes.

Reagan had brown eyes.

Randy Oldman wrote:

RukiddingMe!! wrote:

Of all of the past (and present) presidents of the United States, only five have had brown eyes. The rest have all had blue eyes, or some close variation of blue. Washington - blue eyes. Lincoln - blue eyes. Reagan, Clinton, both Bushes - blue eyes.

Reagan had brown eyes.

Maybe......

William Henry Harrison, after the Battle of Tippecanoe, was cursed by an Indian medicine man. Elected to the US Presidency in 1840, he died in office, as did every other US President elected in a year ending in "0," until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

President Reagan, was shot and nearly died. It was thought that President Reagan's wife had broken the curse through astrology. After George W. Bush, elected in 2000, survived his time in office, it was confirmed that Mrs. Reagan was successful in breaking the curse.

Johnson did not seek re-election in 1968. He refused to run and said if nominated he would not accept it.

Humans are more closely related to sea urchins and starfish than we are to insects.

Blows my mind every time.

Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to wear tail lights.