Fact collection (S)

Saffron, made from the dried stamens of cultivated crocus flowers, is the most expensive cooking spice.

Saint Isidore, or Seville, who lived in the 17th century, was believed to have written the world's first encyclopedia, the Etymologies. It included entries on medicine, mathematics, history and theology.

Salt caravans crossing the Sahara desert sometimes numbered as many as 40,000 camels.

Salt is mentioned more than 30 times in the Bible.

Salt was once a very precious commodity, so much that many people were paid

Samual Morse, who invented the telegraph, was originally a portrait painter and didn't give up painting to turn to inventing until he was 46 years old.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born on and died on days when Halley's Comet can be seen. During his life he predicted that he would die when it could be seen.

Samuel Clemens [AKA Mark Twain] was born in 1835 when Haley's Comet came into view. When he died in 1910, Haley's Comet came into view again.

Sandy Koufax threw a no-hitter in four consecutive seasons between 1962-65. He's the only player to throw no-hitters in more than two straight seasons.

Santa Claus has a brother named Bells Nicholas who brings presents to children on New Year's Eve.

Santa's reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

Saudi Arabia covers an area of 830,000 sq. miles, yet there is not a single river in the whole country.

Scandinavia has the world's highest per capita annual coffee consumption, 26.4 pounds. Italy has an annual consumption per capita of only 10 pounds.

Scarecrows frighten birds because of the human odor emitted from the clothes they wear. Come rain and wind, this odor dissapears. (tip for people who dont bathe often)

Scholars estimate that the 66 books of the King James version of the Bible were written by some 50 different authors.

Scholars have named the highest number that's been counted, a googleplex.

Scientists have discovered that the mating call of the Mediterranean fruit fly has exactly the same frequency as lower F# on a harmonica.

Scientists have figured out that the speed of nerve impulses in the brain is 404 feet per second. If an idea is complex enough to take 100 nerve messages from one side of the brain to the other, the thought could be completed in less than a tenth of a second.

Scientists have performed brain surgery on cockroaches.

Scorpions can be killed by pouring vinegar over them. They'll 'snap' and sting themself.

Scorpions can withstand 200 times more nuclear radiation than humans can.

Scotland has more redheads than any other part of the world.

Sea otters have the thickest fur of all animals.

Sea turtles don't age-they wont die unless they get an infection or get eaten by a larger animal. This means there could be a thousand year old turtle swimming around somewhere.....

Sea water is approximately 3.5 percent salt.

Sea water weighs about a pound and a half more per cubic foot than fresh water at the same temperature.

Sea water, loaded with mineral salts, weighs about a pound and a half more per cubit foot than fresh water at the same temperature.

Sears Roebuck and Company was founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears, a former railroad worker turned watch salesman, and Alvah Roebuck, a watchmaker.

Seattle passed an ordinance that states that goldfish could ride the city buses in bowls only if they kept still.

Second and third Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on July 4, 1826.

Seeing eye dogs are color blind but can still read stop lights by the position of the 'on' light

Self-annointing is something only hedgehogs do, in which they lick or nibble on something, make a foamy paste in their mouths, and then spread it with their long tongues in little spots on their quills. No one has ever determined exactly why they do this.

Seoul, the South Korean capital, just means "the capital" in the Korean language.

Seven cities claim to be the birthplace of the Greek epic poet Homer. He is also thought to have been born in either 1159 B.C., 1102 B.C., 1044 B.C., 830 B.C., or 685 B.C.

Seven of the eight US Presidents who have died in office either through illness or assassination were elected at precisely 20-year intervals.

Seven suicides are recorded in the Bible.

Seven thousand years ago, the ancient Egyptians bowled on alleys similar to the ones in use today.

Several buildings in Manhattan, NY have their own zip code. For example the former World Trade Center has several.

Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same day, April 23, 1616.

Shaquelle O'Neal [AKA Shaq] wears a size 22EEE shoe.

Sharks apparently are the only animals that never get sick. As far as is known, they are immune to every known disease including cancer.

Sharks are immune to cancer.

Sharon Stone was the first Star Search spokes model.

Shell color is determined by the breed of hen and has no effect on its quality, nutrients or flavor.

Sherlock Holmes NEVER said, "Elementary, my dear Watson".

Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant detective, arrived on the mystery scene in the late nineteenth century in "A Study in Scarlet" (1887).

Shipwreck Kelly (1885-1952) set many flagpole-sitting records. He sat for 49 days on one flagpole. He once estimated that he spent a total of over 20,000 hours sitting on flagpoles. Flagpole sitting was a craze started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1929.

Shirley Temple always has 56 curls in her hair. (talk about uptight).

Shirly Temple received 135,000 presents on her 8th birthday.

Shoe salesmen have been using those little wooden measuring sticks since 1657.

shrimp have their heart in their head

Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns.

Since Hindus don't eat beef, the McDonald's in New Delhi makes its burgers with mutton.

Since the beginning of this fact, 3000 puppies were born in the U.S.A

Sing Sing prison in New York has a name derived from the Indian words for "stony place."

Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes in New York in 1919, to become the first horse to capture the Triple Crown. This was the first time that the Belmont Stakes had been run as part of thoroughbred racing's most prestigious trio of events. Sir Barton had already won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown -the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky and the Preakness Stakes in Maryland.

Sir Isaac Newton was an ordained priest in the Church of England.

Sir Isaac Newton was only 23 years old when he discovered the law of universal gravitation.

Six checker cabs are still in use in NYC.

Six eight-stud Lego pieces can be combined 102,981,500 ways.

Six ounces of orange juice contains the minimum daily requirement for vitamin C.

Skin is thickest, 1/5 inch, on the upper back. It is thinnest on the eyelids, which are only 1/50th inch thick

Slaves who lived under the Manchus the last emperors of China who ruled from 1644-1912 wore pigtails so that they could be picked out quickly.

Sliced bread was introduced under the Wonder Bread label in 1930.

Sliced bread was patented in 1954.

Slicing the ear off the bull is the main object to bullfighting in one form...then stabbing the bull through the neck into the spinal cord to kill it is the next goal...the matadors are allowed two tries for that. Next, two mules take the dead carcass out of the stadium and where they have a celebration in honor of the owner of the bull and a feast (guess what the main course is!).

Slugs have four noses.

Smith is the most common last name in the United States. A little over 1% of all Americans share that last name.

Smokers are likely to die on average six and a half years earlier than non-smokers.

Smokey the Bear's zip code is 20252.

Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

Snakes are immune to their own poison.

Snakes have two sex organs... in case one drops off in their fervent attempt to trick females into mating..

'Soldiers disease' is a term for morphine addiction. The Civil War produced over 400,000 morphine addicts.

Some baby giraffes are more than six feet tall at birth.

Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say 'many things' and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible -in many places -refers to '40 days,' they meant many days.

Some biblical scholars believe that Aramaic (the language of the ancient Bible) did not contain an easy way to say "many things" and used a term which has come down to us as 40. This means that when the bible in many places refers to "40 days," they meant many days.

Some cultures kiss by biting off each other's eyelashes.

Some frogs like the wood frog and some turtles can stop their heart and frost their tissues during winter and defrost after that

Some frogs use sugars as an antifreeze for vital organs

Some horticulturists suspect that the banana was the earth's first fruit. Banana plants have been in cultivation since the time of recorded history. One of the first records of bananas dates back to Alexander the Great's conquest of India where he first discovered bananas in 327 B.C.

Some large clouds store enough water for 500000 showers

Some lions mate 50 times a day.

Some people have more bones in their feet than others.

Some reconstituted tobacco contains the same ingredients found in fart.

Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food.

Some toothpastes contain antifreeze.

Somebody actually timed a rattlesnake mating session that lasted 22.75 hours.

Sometime around 1050 some English boys looking for a diversion blew up an old cow bladder and began to kick it around. The new game would go on to be called soccer.

Sometime around 1325, the Aztecs were looking for a place to build their capital. A priest had interpreted an omen to mean the site should be where the found an eagle, perched on a cactus, devouring a snake. And that's why they chose what is now Mexico City; they found the eagle eating a snake while resting on a cactus. The scene is depicted on the Mexican flag.

son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called

Sound carries so well in the Arctic that on a calm day, a conversation can be heard from 1.8 miles away.
South Africa is the only country to have three capital cities: one for each branch of its government (Administrative, Legislative, and Judicial).

South Africa used to have two official languages, now it has eleven.

Southbridge, Massachusetts, makes it illegal to read books or newspapers after 8 p.m. in the streets.

Soybean actually has Diadzein and genistein that act like weak estrogen.

Special studies conducted about the human body revealed it will usually absorb up to about 300 milligrams of caffeine at a given time. About 4 normal cups. Additional amounts are just cast off, providing no further stimulation. Also, the human body dissipates 20% of the caffeine in the system each hour.

Sperm banks keep their donor semen at approximately -321 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, it could be kept indefinitely.

Spotted skunks do handstands before they spray.

Squirrels eat through 40,000 pine cones a year.

St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in the US.

St. Teresa of Avila is the patron saint of chess-players!!

Stag beetles have stronger mandibles than humans.

Stage bows were originally devised as a way for actors to thank the audience. The audience would or would not acknowledge each of the actors in turn, depending on how much they enjoyed the performance.

Stamp collecting is the most popular hobby in the world.

Stanford University engineers Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started their company in a Palo Alto garage with $1,538. Their first product was an audio oscillator bought by Walt Disney studios for use in the movie Fantasia.

Stanley Kubrick approached Lloyd's of London about an insurance policy in case extraterrestrial life was discovered before the release of his movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Starfish eat by regurgitating their stomach on top of their food. If they dont like what they are eating they detach the stomach and grow a new one.

Starfish have eight eyes, one at the end of each leg.

Starfish have no brains.

Stars come in different colors; hot stars give off blue light, and the cooler stars give off red light.

Stars with really strong gravity cause themselves to become smaller and smaller and eventually turn into black holes.

State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.

Stephen Hawking was born exactly 300 years after Galileo died.

Sterling silver contains 7.5% copper.

Steve McQueen persuaded his karate teacher, kickboxing champion Chuck Norris, to pursue acting.

Steve Young, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, is the great-great-grandson of Mormon leader Brigham Young.

Steven Speilberg calls Gweneth Paltrow "Gwynnie the pooh."

Stewardesses is the longest word that is typed using only the left hand.

Sting got his name from a black and yellow striped sweater he would wear a lot.

Sting was a high school teacher

Strawberries, raspberries, and cherries are not actually berries.

Streetcar conductors, taxi drivers, and business executives have the highest statistical chance of getting peptic ulcers.

Strength is the longest english word with only one vowel.

Strict Puritan laws had their origins from practical reasons. Smoking was banned farmers would raise badly needed food crops instead of tobacco. Cooking was banned on Sundays to prevent house fires during the long hours the family was at church. Young men were banned from hunting to prevent weapons from falling into Indian hands.

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

Studies have shown that men become sexually aroused nearly every time they dream.

Studies show that, for some unknown reason, the higher the level of education, the more men tend to have wet dreams.

Stuttering is 4 to 6 times more common in boys than in girls.

Subbookkeeper is the only word with four pairs of double letters in a row.

Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869 by a dentist (William Semple).

Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869. Ironically, a dentist named William Semple was behind the decision.

suit against G-d. He won because the defendant never showed up in court.

Sunday, July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, Edwin Aldrin was the second. They were members of Apollo 11, and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. The Lunar Excursion Module was named the "Eagle." Michael Collins stayed onboard the mother ship, "Columbia."

Swans are the only birds with penises.

Swaziland has banned miniskirts in schools in an effort to slow the spread of AIDS.

Swearing at someone over the phone in virginia is punishable by a $100 fine.

Sweden is the largest spender on ketchup. $4 per capita. Australia is second at $2.50

Sweden will be home of the worlds first fermented harring museum.

SWIMS is the longest word with 180-degree rotational symmetry (if you were to view it upside-down it would still be the same word and perfectly readable).

Swiss Steak, Chop Suey, Russian Dressing, and a Hamburger all originated in the US.

Syzygy is the term referring to when the moon is in a direct line with the earth and the sun. The average person knows this time to be a full or new moon.