The great cathedral of St. Cophia at Constantinople (Istanbul) has sustained for 1,600 years what was, until very recent times, the largest self-supporting dome ever constructed. Moreover, it has done so in an active seismic region.

It took Henry Ford's Motor Company seven years to manufacture 1 million automobiles. One hundred thirty-two working days after this figure was reached (in 1924), the company had made 9 million more cars.

Until the 1970s, Jessica was a very unusual name. William Shakespeare, who may even have made up the name, called Shylock's lovely daughter Jessica in The Merchant of Venice, but it was not until recently that large numbers of people began choosing this name for their daughters.

Armored knights in medieval times raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

Hens do not have to be impregnated to lay eggs. The rooster is necessary only to fertilize the egg.

In a Czechoslovakian church there is a chandelier made of human bones. The ceiling is festooned with the remains of former worshipers. This most unusual chandelier is in the ossuary in Sedlec, in what used to be Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic.

Less than 50 percent of American adults understand that Earth orbits the Sun yearly, according to a basic science survey.

A supertanker (fully loaded) traveling at normal speed of 16 knots needs at least 20 minutes to stop.

John Wayne was on the Top Ten Box Office List 25 times during his career, more often than any other film star in history. Between the years 1949 and 1974, there was only one year that Wayne did not appear on the list: 1956. Four times Wayne landed in the Number 1 Box Office spot - in 1950, 1951,

Sharks can be dangerous even before they are born. Scientist Stewart Springer was bitten by a sand tiger shark embryo while he was examining its pregnant mother.

Breathing for most snakes is accomplished with one lung only. The left lung is either greatly reduced in size or missing completely.

Snails sleep a lot. In addition to several months of winter hibernation, they crawl into their shells to get out of the hot sun, which dries them, or heavy rain, which waterlogs them. Desert snails may even doze for three or four years.

Cross-dressing Corporal Max Klinger on the TV sitcom M*A*S*H, wore size 10 pumps.

Descartes came up with the theory of coordinate geometry by looking at a fly walk across a tiled ceiling.

A full seven percent of the entire Irish barley crop goes to the production of Guinness Beer.

The origin of the relic is hotly disputed. Indeed, it may be impossible to ever fully resolve the controversy over the cloth because some believers are willing to accept supernatural explanations for the creation of the image, which lack falsifiability, while most skeptics do not consider any supernatural explanations to be acceptable. Three ...Read more

A Christmas club, a savings account in which a person deposits a fixed amount of money regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, came about around 1905.

For her role as the Egyptian queen in Cleopatra,, Elizabeth Taylor audaciously asked for, and received, the first $1 million contract in the film industry. The role was first offered to starlet Joan Collins, who turned it down. Film production became much more elaborate and costly than originally

Not the entire family -- Led by producer Wes Farrell, a group of hired studio musicians actually created the Partridge Family sound. Interestingly, lthough David Cassidy was originally cast with the intent to lip sync with the rest of the cast, he convinced Farrell just weeks into production that he could sing well and was allowed to join the ...Read more

In Irish pubs, inexperienced travelers who want to order a small beer should know to ask for "a glass". If they request "a beer, please" in Ireland, they'll get a full pint.