Sixteen percent of Americans have tattoos. The word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian word "tattau," which means "to mark."

The sense of smell of sheepdogs is 44 times better than that of humans.

Cats have three eyelids.

The average yawn lasts six seconds.

The largest rock concert ever was a performance by Rod Stewart on New Year's Eve in 1994. More than 3.5 million people took in the show.

Obsessive nose-picking is referred to as "rhinotillexomania."

More than half of lottery jackpot winners go back to work after winning.

The practice of manicuring nails is more than 4,000 years old.

The Old Testament is written with a vocabulary of about 5,800 words. The New Testament, about 4,800.

Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

At one time, Tennessee was called Franklin.

On average, a person passes gas 14 times a day.

In France, the Big Dipper is called the Casserole.

St. Amand of Maastricht is the patron saint of beer.

Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee.

The Sargasso Sea does not have a coastline, because it is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Lobsters always enter their burrows tail-first.

In Africa, a Danakil warrior proves his valor by giving his prospective bride a trophy—a pair of testicles taken from another man, dead or alive.

"Urophobia" is the fear of urine or urinating.

One million dollars in pennies (100 million coins) weighs 246 tons.

"Phasmophobia" is the fear of ghosts.

A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.

It's illegal to sell a haunted house in New York without informing the buyer.

Eighty-two percent of children take part in Halloween festivities, as do 67 percent of adults.

The first jack-o'-lanterns were made of turnips.

"Samhainophobia" is the morbid fear of Halloween.

Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year when it comes to candy sales—estimated at $1.93 billion. One quarter of all the candy sold each year is purchased between September 15 and November 10.

The word witch comes from the Saxon word wicca, which means "wise one."

Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green.

In France, more than 30,000 werewolf cases were tried between 1520 and 1630.

Dracula is the most filmed story of all time.

The biggest pumpkin on record weighed 1,385 pounds. It was weighed in October 2003 at a pumpkin festival in Canby, Oregon.

Trick-or-treating is an Irish tradition, based on a custom where wealthy landowners would give food to the poor on Halloween night, believing ghosts would look favorably on them for doing so and spare them from mischief.

In Romanian, Dracula means "Son of the Devil."

The Scots believed in "Samhanach," a goblin who came out only on Halloween and stole children.

Halloween costume sales are estimated at $1.5 billion.

Eighty percent of kids say their favorite Halloween candy is either chocolate or gum.

Pumpkins are fruits, not vegetables.

Pennslyvania was the first colony to legalize witchcraft.

There is a poisonous mushroom called a jack-o'-lantern. These mushrooms are a bright orange-yellow in color and on rainy nights they appears to glow in the dark.

Fifty-one percent of all American adults believe in ghosts. Nine percent of Americans claim to have been in the presence of a ghost during their lifetime.

Americans consume about 20 million pounds of candy corn each year.

The Count Dracula Society was founded in 1962.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, people in costumes and masks would go from house to house, singing and dancing to keep evil at bay. These people were known as "guisers."

Americans spend about $50 million on Halloween greetings.

According to studies, the smell of pumpkin pie is the most arousing to women, followed by lavender, cucumbers, baby powder and Good & Plenty candy.

At one time, there were public trials and convictions of animals for witchcraft.

In Lewis, Scotland, Halloween was once celebrated by designating one man to wade into the evening sea and offer a cup of ale to Shoney, a sea god.

In the North of England, Halloween was called "nut-crack" and "snap-apple night."

Ninety-nine percent of pumpkins sold in the U.S. are used to make jack-o'-lanterns.

The first Frankenstein film was produced by Thomas Edison in 1910.

The average U.S. household spends $44 on Halloween candy.

There is a Transylvania County in North Carolina.

According to superstition, you will see your future spouse over your left shoulder in the mirror at midnight on Halloween.

"Wiccaphobia" is the fear of witches and witchcraft.

October 30 is National Candy Corn Day.

A popular Halloween drink in 18th century Ireland was "lambs-wool," which consisted of roasted, crushed apples mixed into milk.

Dan Rather was born on Halloween, as was Jane Pauley.

Celts believed black cats were once people who had been turned into animals with evil magic

About 215 pairs of jeans can be made from a single bale of cotton.

When Play-Doh was first introduced, in 1956, the only color available was off white.

Unatractiphobia is the fear of ugliness.

Istanbul, Turkey is the only city in the world located on two continents.

In Monopoly, the character that's behind bars is named Jake the Jailbird.

In the original Halloween movie, the mask used by Michael Myers was a Captain Kirk mask painted white.

The pupils of goats are rectangular.

In Logan County, Colorado, it is illegal for a man to kiss a woman while she's asleep.

The job of timber cutter is the most dangerous occupation in America.

Finland has 187,888 lakes.

Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl and Wimpy were all based on real people.

In 1897, Bayer began selling heroin as a treatment for a variety of respiratory ailments.

There were 11 tail feathers on the original NBC peacock.

The typical American uses 57 sheets of toilet paper each day.

A chicken's posterior is called the "parson's nose."

There are 28 licensed brothels in Nevada.

Michael J. Fox's middle name is Andrew.

One out of every 12 primary school students in Wales has head lice.

A cat will spend nearly 30 percent of its life grooming itself.

It is estimated that there are one million lap dances given in Las Vegas each year.

Twenty percent of Americans state they have never flossed their teeth.

Before leaving home, a full third of pet owners turn on a radio or TV to keep their pets company.

Irish monks invented whiskey when they first distilled "Uisce Beatha," or "Water of Life," in the sixth century A.D.

"Axillism" is the act of using the armpit for sex.

A group of buzzards is called a "wake."

In seafaring parlance, "avast" means stop.

The emperor Maximilian established the Vienna Boys' Choir in 1498 in Austria.

A diamond can only be cut by another diamond.

Cinderella is known as Zezolla in Italy.

Seventy-two percent of Norwegians say they've had a one-night stand. Just 20 percent of Taiwanese claim to have done so.

Geese have been trained to tend sheep.

Queen Isabella of Spain was the first woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.

All babies are colorblind when they are born.

It was Leonardo da Vinci who first discovered that a tree's age is recorded in its rings.

The combined wealth of the world's 250 richest people is greater than the combined wealth of the poorest 1.5 billion people.

Amathophobia is a morbid fear of dust.

In the U.S. the average bride is 21 years old, the average groom is 23.

Spilling salt is considered good luck in Japan.

In poker, Able, Baker and Charlie are the first, second and third player to the left of the dealer.

The average person produces about 12,000 gallons of urine over the course of their lifetime.

Bill Gates is a Harvard University dropout.

Anthropologists know of no human society whose children do not play hide and seek.

Nylon was first produced in 1938. It was used in making toothbrush bristles.

Thomas Jefferson was the first person to import vanilla to the United States.

Scientists have performed brain surgery on cockroaches.

"Polyiterophilia" is the inability to have an orgasm with one partner unless first engaging in sex acts with many others.

On a per capita basis, plastic surgery is more popular in Brazil than in any other country.

One million U.S. one-dollar bills weigh exactly one ton.

During the 1905 football season, 18 men were killed in college games in the United States and 159 were permanently injured.

Human adults breathe about 23,000 times a day.

At one time in Cambodia, it was illegal to insult a rice plant.

The word "bishop" once meant "to kill by drowning."

The U.S. produces 19 percent of the world's trash.

A cat can jump five times as high as it is tall.

Nat King Cole was the first African-American with his own network radio show.

India is the world's largest democracy with 620 million voters.

Chronomentrophobia is a fear of clocks.

The most northerly town in England is called Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Thirty percent of Americans say they base how much they eat on how much they're served rather than how hungry they are.

Before Popeye, Olive Oyl had a boyfriend named Ham Gravy.

There's a scientific term for fossilized dinosaur feces—it's known as "coprolite," which means "dung stone."

The average nipple size is 0.27 inches for women and 0.22 for men.

The Iroquois didn't discipline their children by spanking them. They dunked them in water.

Michelangelo was considered one of the greatest poets of all time by his contemporaries.

Alexander Graham Bell believed telephone calls should be answered with the phrase, "Hoy, hoy!"

Coffee represents 75 percent of all the caffeine consumed in the United States.

In the U.S., more people are killed by deer each year than any other animal.

One third of all German children are on some sort of medication.

Nearly 70 percent of all married men and 60 percent of married women have had affairs.

Ancient Ethiopians once elected a dog as king.

About one million miles of Twizzlers licorice is produced each year.

When someone is born with more than two testicles, it's called "polyorchidism."

Professional basketball player Will Perdue wears a size 21AAAAA shoe, the largest in the NBA.

In Iran, shaking your head from side to side means "yes."

In Texas, it's illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow.

Austria was the first country to use postcards.

The average male teen drinks three cans of soda a day. The average teen girl drinks two.

At certain times of the year, it is possible to hear corn grow.

The world's longest street is in Canada. Toronto's Yonge Street runs 1,190 miles.

A group of hippopotami is called a "bloat."

According to surveys, 57 percent of Americans shower every day.

Hugh Hefner has a species of rabbit, the Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, named after him.

The bull's-eye on a dartboard should be exactly 5 feet, 8 inches off the ground.

Teenagers are 50 percent more susceptible to colds than people over 50.

Sir Isaac Newton died a virgin.

Studies have shown that the larger a man's testicles, the more likely it is he'll cheat on his mate.

The consumption of beer in a lavatory is forbidden in Manitoba, Canada.

Elevators and escalators kill about 30 people, and injure about 17,000, each year in the United States.

Mother Teresa's real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.

In ancient Rome it was considered a sin to eat the flesh of a woodpecker.

Typically, sex between snakes lasts between six and 12 hours.

"Symphorophilia" is sexual arousal derived from arranging a disaster, crash or explosion.

The average American worker uses 11 Post-It notes a day.

There are five cities named Las Vegas in the United States. There are two in Puerto Rico.

The oldest existing governing body is in Althing, Iceland. It was established in 930 A.D.

The band Creedence Clearwater Revival was originally named The Blue Velvets.

Men are twice as likely to contract leprosy as women.

We bail water because the handle of a bucket is called the "bail."

The creature with the most nipples is the tenrac, an insectivore indigenous to Madagascar. The tenrac typically has 22 to 24 nipples.

A group of grasshoppers is called a "cloud."

Strawberries contain about 200 seeds each.

When someone has sexual fantasies about losing a limb, it's referred to as "apotemnophilia."

At least 300,000 people have been killed by volcanoes in the last 500 years.

According to surveys, three percent of Americans clean their pets by showering with them.

Thirty-eight percent of men sleep in a room other than the bedroom at least once a month.

Sharks will continue to attack even when disemboweled.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

Japanese researchers have calculated Pi to 1.2411 trillion places.

In the U.S. judicial system, the defense can pay for testimony. The prosecutor can't.

The spots on dice are called "pips."

It's against the law to catch fish with your bare hands in Kansas.

Sixty-eight percent of teenage girls say if they could change just one part of their body, it would be their stomach.

"Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer's real father was killed by a man named Arthur Niles.

Fifty-three percent of American women claim they will not leave the house without makeup on.

The first VCR, made in 1956, was the size of a piano.

The three cities with the highest percentage of counterfeit bills are Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

Americans eat an average of 75 bananas a year per person.

Baby seahorses are called "colts."

The world's highest waterfall is Angel Falls in Venezuela. It's 3,212 feet high.

Seventy-five percent of Japanese women own vibrators. The global average is 47 percent.

The most common speed limit in the U.S. is 25 m.p.h.

Frogs jump. Toads walk.

"Acrotomophilia" is a sexual attraction to amputees.

China uses 45 billion chopsticks per year.

A 100-pound person on Earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.

Women who read romance novels have sex twice as often as those who don't.

The oldest piano still in existence was built in 1720.

A group of rattlesnakes is called a "rhumba."

Studies prove it's harder to tell a convincing lie to someone you find sexually attractive.

A hamburger bun is called a "bap" in England. In the northeast, it's also called "breadcake," in the northwest it's "barmcake," and in the midlands, it's "batch."


On average, Americans stand 14 inches apart when they converse.

Bolivia holds the record for the country with the highest turnovers in governments. Since 1825, Bolivia has had almost 200 governments.

The Earth has 196,950,711 square miles of surface area.

"Passion purpura" is the medical term for a hickey.

The Space Station is the most expensive single object ever built. The contribution made by the United States has been estimated at $96 billion.

The speed of an average size raindrop, under normal conditions, is seven miles per hour.

Hong Kong is Chinese for "fragrant harbor."

Most experts agree Jack the Ripper was left-handed.

The first time a cow ever flew in an airplane was on February 13, 1930.

Yak hair is considered the best kind of hair from which to make a clown wig.

There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people.

Eighty percent of American women say they would like to have sex more often.

The average American makes 3.4 trips to the grocery store each week.

About 10,000 containers fall off cargo ships each year.

In Lehigh, Nebraska it's against the law to sell donut holes.

In 75 percent of American households, women manage the money and pay the bills.

"Abasiophilia" is the overwhelming sexual attraction to those who use leg braces and wheelchairs.

The sweet potato is a member of the morning glory family.

The biggest beer-consuming people in the world are the Czechs, followed by the Irish, with Germans in third place.

A sea polyp can change sexes at will.

Coffee was first known in Europe as "Arabian Wine."

The average marital affair lasts two to four years.

No one knows where Mozart is buried.

People who eat popcorn at the movies are three times more likely to cry in the movies than those who don't eat popcorn.

A jumbo jet weighs as much as 76 African elephants.

The little bumps on the surface of a table tennis paddle are called "pips."

The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina in 1860 after President Lincoln was elected.

Per capita, Canadians buy more diamonds than anyone else on Earth.

In 1971, the lead role in the film "Dirty Harry" was supposed to go to Frank Sinatra rather than Clint Eastwood.