Fascinating Facts ~Page 8~

Insects & Spiders: Ants keep slaves. Certain species, the so-called sanguinary ants in particular, raid the nests of other ant tribes, kill the queen, and kidnap many of the workers. The workers are brought back to the captors' hive, where they are coerced into performing menial tasks.

Animals: Elephant herds post their own sentries. When danger threatens, the sentry raises its trunk and though it may be as far as a half-mile away, the rest of the herd is instantly alerted. How this communication takes place is not understood.

The Classical World: The ancient Greeks were the first to use bed springs. They fashioned them out of braided leather thongs and hung them between opposite sides of the bed.

China: The willow-leaf pattern commonly found on Chinese plates and cookware is descended from a series of signs and emblems used by ancient Chinese secret societies. The original pattern, designed in the fifteenth century and used as a means of communication among members of these societies, was discovered by the Manchu government, which ordered all the plates destroyed. The pattern turned up again in Europe in the eighteenth century. It had been copied by a western merchant who had managed to smuggle a few of the original plates out of China.

Money: During the American revolution, inflation was so great that the price of corn rose 10,000 percent, the price of wheat 14,000 percent, the price of flour 15,000 percent, and the price of beef 33,000 percent.

Physics: Where there is fire there is not always smoke. Smoke simply means that a fire is not burning properly and that bits of unburned materials are escaping. A perfectly clean fire produces almost no smoke.

Food and Diet: The staple food of the Kanembu, a tribe living on the shores of Lake Chad in Africa, is algae. The Kanembu harvest a common variety known as "Spirulina" from the lake, dry it on the sand, mix it up into a spicy cake, and eat it with tomatoes and chili peppers.

Presidents: At one time all American presidents, their wives, and important political figures were exempt from having to pay postage. All they had to do was sign their name in the corner of the envelope, a practice that became known as "franking." Today many valuable autographs sold to collectors are taken from these franked envelopes.

Religion: In the Greek monastery of Mount Athos "nothing" female is allowed. Men can enter but not women; roosters but no hens; horses but no mares; bulls but no cows. The border is patrolled by armed guards to ensure that nothing feminine passes the gates. It has been this way for more than 700 years.

Minerals & Precious Metals: Crystals grow by reproducing themselves. They come nearest to being "alive" of all members of the mineral kingdom.

Crime: Murder is the only crime that does not increase during the full moon. Theft, disorderly conduct, larceny, armed robbery, assault and battery, illegal breaking and entering, and rape all statistically increase dramatically during the full moon.

Holidays: Christmas was once illegal in England. In 1643 the Puritans outlawed all Christmas celebrations, banned the keeping of Christmas trees, and made the singing of Christmas carols a crime. These laws were maintained until the Restoration. Many Puritans in New England also adhered to these regulations, curtailing Christmas festivities to such a degree that even the making of mince pies was forbidden.

Smoking: Tobacco was originally smoked through the nose. American Indians fashioned a special pipe with a forked end, designed to fit into the nostrils. The smoke was then inhaled through these ends by short, violent snorts. The name of this pipe was a "tubak"---and thus our word "tobacco."

The Sea: When a tidal wave is about to hit a coastline the water first recedes all the way to the horizon. If a person were foolish enough to do so, he could walk out several miles before the wave came smashing ashore.

Language: The word "toast," meaning a proposal of health, originated in Rome, where an actual bit of spiced, burned bread was dropped into wine to improve the drink's flavor, absorb its sediment, and thus make it more healthful.

Presidents: A man named David Rice Atchison was president of the United States for one day and didn't know it. According to a nineteeth-century law, if neither the president nor the vice-president was in office, the president pro tem of the Senate became chief executive. On March 4, 1849, President James Knox Polk's term had lapsed, and the newly elected Zachary Taylor could not yet be sworn in (it was Sunday). So for one day Atchison was president. It was not until several months later that Atchison learned of this, as the law was then an obscure one. It has since been changed.

Fashion: Before King George IV of England ordered a set of boots made to fit each of his feet, shoes were designed to be worn on either foot.

Worms & Sea Creatures: When leeches mate, the leech playing the male role (leeches are hermaphrodites and can assume either sex) clings to the body of the female and deposits a sac of sperm on her skin. This sac produces a strong, flesh-deteriorating enzyme that eats a hole through the female's skin and fertilizes the eggs within her body.

Energy: A person uses more household energy shaving with a hand razor at a sink (because of the water power, the water pump, and so on) than he would by using an electric razor.

Psychology: The Psychology Department of Dayton University, U.S.A. reports that loud talk can be ten times more distracting than the sound of a jackhammer. Loud, incessant chatter can make a listener nervous and irritable, say the findings, and even start him on the road to insanity.

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