Veegle - Substantiated True Facts

SUBSTANTIATED TRUE FACTS : THE WORLD

Stray dogs in Moscow have apparently taught themselves to use the subway. - The Week Magazine, 8/28/09

Niger (Africa) has the world's highest fertility rate - 7.1 children per mother. - Newsweek, 10/19/09

New Zealand surfer Chris Nel survived a recent tsunami in Samoa by riding out the surge of water on his surfboard. - The Week Magazine, 10/16/09

By 2040, 40% of Japan's population will be senior citizens. - Newsweek, 10/19/09

A South African company tested its Internet Service Provider. It took 2 hours, 7 minutes to download data over a fifty mile distance. The same data took a carrier pigeon, carrying a flash drive, fifty minutes less. - Time Magazine, 9/28/09

Chinese officials have smeared butter along a 1,000-foot-long steel bridge to prevent people from jumping off it. - The Week Magazine, 9/11/09

34,000,000 pounds of Parmesan cheese are being held in Italian bank vaults as collateral from cheesemakers struggling through the recession. The cheese is valued at $187,000,000. - Newsweek, 9/14/09

Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson launched her yacht to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. 24 hours later, she crashed into a freighter. - The Week Magazine, 9/25/09

There are twice as many ATMs in Antarctica than there are permanent residents. - Wired Magazine, 9/09

A Kenyan man offered Hillary Clinton 20 cows and 40 goats for her daughter Chelsea's hand in marriage. - The Week Magazine, 8/21/09

Low cost European airline Ryanair has asked Boeing to design a plane with standing room. Standing passengers would fly with a belt buckling them to a metal pole. - The Week Magazine, 7/17/09

Farmers in a certain drought-ravaged section of India have ordered their unmarried daughters to plow the fields in the nude in hopes of triggering a monsoon. - The Week Magazine, 8/7/09

Camel-milk chocolate could be in stores in the U.S. within months. - The Week Magazine, 8/7/09

The border between Italy and Switzerland has been redrawn due to global warming's effect on Alpine glaciers. - The Week Magazine, 7/3/09

The world's most "germiest" tourist attraction is Ireland's Blarney stone - it's kissed by an estimated 400,000 people each year. - The Week Magazine, 6/26/09

An 82-year-old German man called police to complain that someone was playing the same song all day and night. Police found a musical greeting card on his windowsill; occasional breezes would open the card just enough for the music to start. - The Week Magazine, 5/15/09

Las Vegas is not the world's largest gambling market. The Chinese island of Macau has $7,000,000,000 in annual revenue. - MSNBC, 1/24/07

The first Italian restaurant has recently opened in North Korea. Kim Jong Il had chefs trained in Italy for the new restaurant. - The Telegraph (UK), 3/16/09

Every year, up to 10,000 steel shipping containers snap loose from the decks of storm-tossed ships, scattering their contents in the seas. - Wired Magazine, 4/09

A Tunisian pilot was sentenced to 10 years in prison because he paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash landing his plane, killing sixteen people. - The Week Magazine, 4/10/09

India's Hindu nationalist movement is launching a new soft drink made from cow urine. - Fox News, 2/11/09

A species of quail long thought extinct was found in a Philippines food market and photographed. Before scientists realized the importance of the find, the bird had been sold and eaten. - National Geographic, 2/18/09

Police in Germany are looking for an prisoner who mailed himself out of jail. Hans Lang appears to have hidden himself inside a large Federal Express package of dirty sheets that was later picked up for delivery. Once clear of the prison grounds, Lang exited the box, picked the lock on the door of the delivery truck, and disappeared into some woods near Dusseldorf. - The Week Magazine, 11/28/08

Mice may be responsible for a blaze that killed nearly 100 cats at an animal shelter near Toronto, Canada. The fire marshal says mice or rats chewing through electrical wires in the ceiling are likely to have sparked the blaze. - BBC News, 12/19/08

British cemeteries are exhuming bodies in order to rebury them deeper, leaving room for more bodies on top. - The Week Magazine, 11/28/08

About 200 thefts of nuclear material are reported each year. Most of this material is never recovered. - USA Today, 12/25/06

An inmate has been released early from a Montreal Canada prison because he was "too obese" for his jail cell. - Yahoo! News, 11/12/08

In 1949, China decided to have one time zone for the entire country. Previously, the country was so large that it spanned five time zones. - Wired Magazine, 11/08

In 2007, President Hugo Chavez turned Venezuela's clocks back 30 minutes. Some speculate the change was just to confuse other nations. - Wired Magazine, 11/08

Mickey Mouse is one of "Satan's soldiers" and must die, says Saudi Arabian cleric Sheikh Muhammad Munajid. Mr. Munajid also condemned the Beijing Olympics as the "bikini olympics". - Daily Telegraph (UK), 9/15/08

Scooby, a French mixed-breed dog, has made legal history by testifying in a murder trial. The dog was the only witness to his owner's death; when led into the courtroom, Scooby barked furiously at the sight of the suspect. One of the attorneys for the defense tried to make a case that since the crime took place two and a half years ago, "which is 17 in dog years". - London Daily Mail, 9/10/08

Warner Bros. is suing the makers of an Indian film "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" because of similarities to a certain very popular film franchise. - Reuters, 8/27/08

Zimbabwe currently has a 2,200,000% inflation rate - so the central bank of Zimbabwe has started printing $100,000,000,000 banknotes. While it certainly looks impressive, this isn't even enough money to buy a loaf of bread. - CNN, 7/19/08

The Island of Grenada recently launched a campaign to stop tourists from using starfish as Frisbees for their dogs. - The Week Magazine, 8/15/08

Global warming is now a cause of kidney stones. As temperatures go up, dehydration is more likely - and the water loss causes an increase in kidney stones in animals. - San Diego Union, 7/15/08

A Romanian village re-elected their mayor even though he died on election day. - NPR, 6/17/08

The 125 scientists stationed at the McMurdo research base in Antarctica are ready for two months of continual darkness as they have just received a shipment of 16,500 condoms. This averages 132 per person. - MSNBC, 6/9/08

A Croatian woman was reported missing in 1966. Forty two years later, in 2008, police found her mummified corpse in an armchair, sitting in front of a vintage black and white television set. - Austrian Times, 5/15/08

A 50-years Saudi Arabian woman is asking for a divorce because her husband lifted her veil and looked at her face while she was sleeping. The woman had kept her face hidden for thirty years. - London Daily Mail, 5/19/08

In 1995, an Egyptian farmer descended a 60-foot well to rescue a chicken. He drowned in the attempt. The farmers' sister and two brothers went in one-by-one to retrieve their brother, but they also drowned. Two elder farmers also came to help, but they suffered the same fate. All six bodies were eventually pulled out, along with the chicken. The chicken survived. - San Diego Union, 4/29/08

A German man lived after he fell down an elevator shaft because he landed on a woman who had fallen down the shaft a day earlier. Both survived their ordeals. - The Week Magazine, 5/2/08

A Japanese high school baseball team walked off the field in the second inning after falling behind 66-0. - The Week Magazine, 5/2/08

Used condoms are being recycled into hair ties and rubber bands in South China. - USAToday, 11/15/07

An Indian man lost his life savings when termites invaded his bank's safe deposit box, turning his 682,000 rupees into dust. - Banking Times, 4/7/08

An average tree produces 8,333 sheets of paper. - San Diego Union, 4/20/08

A London man hid a $12,000 engagement ring inside a helium balloon to present to his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he let go of the balloon. His girlfriend now refuses to speak to him. - Reuters, 3/14/08

There is no question that cars are getting safer and safer. However, experts around the country say that the new technology is also hindering extraction of injured people, forcing rescue crews to work deeper into the "golden hour" between accident and treatment by emergency room doctors. - San Diego Union, 3/20/08

A Sicilian court has ruled that an accused Mafioso can go home because he was too big (462 lbs.) to fit through prison doors and in an prison bed. - MSNBC, 3/12/08

By the end of 2008, more than 50% of the world's population will own a mobile phone. - The Week Magazine, 2/22/08

The World Health Organization states that by the end of the century, usage of tobacco could claim 1,000,000,000 lives. - North County Times, 2/8/08

Christopher McCuin was charged with killing, dismembering, cooking and partially eating his girlfriend. While in jail, PETA has asked prison officials to put McCuin on a vegetarian diet. - The Week Magazine, 1/25/08

The Canadian post office revealed that one of the volunteers who respond to letters addressed to Santa Claus had written obscene replies to at least ten children. A spokeswoman said, "We firmly believe there is just one rogue elf out there." - Reuters, 12/14/07

Police shot and killed two Angolan actors who were filming a heist scene, mistaking them for real robbers. - BBC News, 12/18/07

Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno gave a speech denouncing capitalism while wearing Gucci shoes and a Louis Vuitton tie. - Reuters, 12/14/07

Worldwide, if all incandescent light bulbs were replaced with energy-saving compact flourescent bulbs, 70% of the dramatic carbon reductions proposed in the Kyoto Protocol would be met. - Discover Magazine, 1/08

South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet light. - San Diego Union Tribune , 12/14/07

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, says Chris Goodall, author of "How to Live a Low-Carbon Life". He asserts that driving 3 miles would add less CO2 to the atmosphere than the CO2 generated in the process of processing the 100 grams of beef which you would need to replace the energy used to walk those same 3 miles. - The Times Online, 8/4/07

6% of British homeowners use their credit cards to pay their mortgages, even though the average credit card interest rate is more than double mortgage rates. - Yahoo! News, 11/1/07

The average monthly revenue per mobile services user in Kuwait is $71. The average monthly revenue per mobile services user in Sri Lanka is $2.83. - Network World, 12/3/07

Dutch police have charged a teenager with stealing $5,000 worth of virtual furniture in an online video game. - BBC News, 11/14/07

Canada's Royal Ontario Museum went hunting for a Barosaurus skeleton to add to its collection. They found it in an unlikely location - the museum itself, hidden in separate boxes for 45 years. The museum's personnel had just forgotten about it and put it into storage in 1962. Assembled, the skeleton will reach 80 feet in length. - Yahoo! News, 11/13/07

City officials in Hanover, Germany, are defending their decision to include an image of an ax-wielding psychopath in this year's advent calendar for children. Fritz "Butcher of Hanover" Haarmann can be seen peeking from behind a tree, brandishing an ax. - The Week Magazine, 11/16/07

Costa Rica has no street signs, and many of their streets aren't named. Because of this, 20% of all mail isn't delivered, and the mail that is delivered takes an average of nine days to get to its destination. - Los Angeles Times, 11/5/07

In 2002, there were no billionaires in China. In 2007, there are 106 billionaires. - The Week Magazine, 11/16/07

Passengers aboard a Sri Lankan Airlines flight revolted and refused to let the plane take off when they discovered part of the wing had been sheared off in an accident the prior day. The airline insisted the plane was safe without the wingtip. - Boston Herald, 11/4/07

Mohamed Al-Owhali, serving a life sentence for his part in bombings that killed 224 people, filed a lawsuit complaining that jailers have taken away his Walkman and have given him nothing to read except months-old copies of USA Today with pages missing. - The Week Magazine, 11/16/07

Japan's Kaneko Sangyo Company is marketing a portable toilet for your car. It supposedly will "come in handy during major disasters, such as earthquakes, or when you are caught in a traffic jam". - Yahoo! News, 10/23/07

A small boy got his head stuck in a traffic cone - pretending to be Harry Potter. Six fireman worked on the 3 year old for 30 minutes to free him. - FOX News, 10/23/07

Australian authorities claim their latest campaign against speeders is very successful. The campaign suggests that men who speed are compensating for having small penises. - MSNBC, 7/17/07

A four year old schoolgirl in England attached a letter to a balloon, and launched it in July 2007 during a school science fair. She received an answer from a man who found it on August 25, 2007 - in China (6,000 miles away). - The Week Magazine, 10/19/07

A German politician, Gabriele Pauli, has proposed that all marriage vows last only seven years. Ms. Pauli has been married twice, and her last marriage lasted (you guessed it) seven years. - London Times Online, 9/21/07

Alex Pepperberg's last words before he died were, "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you." Alex was a 31 year old gray parrot. - New York Times, 9/11/07

The Venezuela National Electoral Council has introduced a bill to ban parents from giving their children names that are "extravagant or difficult to pronounce". This bill is intended to limit exposure of the child to ridicule. - New York Times, 9/5/07

Consecotaleophobia is the fear of chopsticks. - San Diego Union, 9/18/07

A 50 year old woman walked up to a sheriff's deputy and complained that a drug dealer had just sold her some "bad crack". She wanted the deputy to make the dealer give her the money back. The woman was arrested and charged with drug possession. - USAToday, 12/19/06

Dachshunds are disappearing from their native Germany, as birthrates for them have dropped 35% in the last decade. - The Week Magazine, 8/24/07

Venezuela has announced that the country's clocks are moving ahead a half hour. President Hugo Chavez noted, "It's about the metabolic effect". - New York Times, 8/26/07

Scientists have tracked hurricanes for 150 years. During that period, there has only been one hurricane to make landfall in South America; Hurricane Catarina in March 2004. - Discover Magazine, 9/07

Iraq's soccer team won the prestigious Asian Cup. Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds put aside their differences and poured into the streets to cheer the victory. Celebratory gunfire in the streets killed four. - The Week Magazine, 8/10/07

Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain is visited by approximately 30,000 climbers each year - so many that the French authorities plan to install public toilets at the top. - Times Online (London), 7/26/07

Only 7% of homes in Afghanistan have a flush toilet, but 19% have a television. - The Week Magazine, 8/17/07

Canadian researchers have developed a computer program that can never be beaten at the game checkers. - CNN, 7/20/07

Once your cell phone is charged, unplug the charger. If 10% of the world's cell phone users did this, it would reduce energy consumption by the amount equivalent to that used by 60,000 homes per year. - CNET News, 9/21/06

The Chinese city of Luoyang is attempting to be named a "state-level hygenic city". They have offered a bounty of 1,000 yuan (about $130) for every 2,000 dead flies turned in. - The Week Magazine, 7/20/07

A teenager, recovering from an auto accident in a German hospital, couldn't sleep because of the incessant beeping from the machine for the man in the next bed. So he unplugged the life-support unit of his neighbor. Luckily, nurses reconnected the machine to save the neighbor's life. - The Week Magazine, 6/29/07

Greenland is feeling the effects of global warming more quickly than anywhere else on the planet. Average winter temperatures have gone up nine degrees from 1991 to 2003. - CNN, 6/6/07

The Internet is running out of IP addresses. There are 4 billion combinations that make up an IP address. 3 billion are already taken, and the remainder will likely be gone by 2010. - The Week Magazine, 6/22/07

A Dutch hospital is begging public-minded citizens to stop donating their bodies for science. The University Medical Center in Leiden has 60% more bodies than it can store. - The Week Magazine, 5/25/07

Hundreds of Indian rail passengers were told to get out of their stalled train and push. After pushing the train about sixty yards to the next electricity pole, the train was able to restart and continue its journey. - Chicago Sun-Times, 5/17/07

One out of eight Iraqi children died of disease or violence before reaching their fifth birthday in 2005. - North County Times, 5/8/07

There were 14,000 terrorist attacks globally in 2006. 47% of those took place in Iraq. Two-thirds of fatalities from these attacks worldwide occurred in Iraq. - Time Magazine, 5/14/07

40% of Amsterdam commuters get to work by bicycle. - The Week Magazine, 5/18/07

A dentist urinated in a surgical sink and used sterilized tools to clean his ears and fingernails, a General Dental Council (GDC) tribunal has heard. Alan Hutchinson, 51, is accused of unhygienic practices at his Branch Road Dental Practice, in Batley, West Yorkshire. - BBC News, 4/2/07

Most pencils in America are sold with eraser tips. Most pencils in Europe are sold without erasers. - Discover Magazine, 5/07

Until rubber erasers were invented, writers used bread crumbs to erase pencil marks. - Discover Magazine, 5/07

A black swan has fallen in love with a swan-shaped pedal boat in Muenster, Germany. This "love affair" has now gone on for two years. - News24 (Cape Town, South Africa), 3/30/07

A Chinese woman survived a plunge from a sixth-floor balcony because she fell into a pile of excrement (being pumped out of the building's septic tank). - Yahoo! News, 4/4/07

Worldwide, there are 125,000 advertising video screens in Wal-Marts. - San Diego Union, 3/31/07

The estimated mass of a 1 square kilometer in Germany is 78,400,000,000 tons, based on a geological evaluation of the thickness of the Earth's crust beneath Europe. The estimated mass of 1 square kilometer of Austria is 112,000,000,000 tons. - San Diego Union, 3/8/07

57% of British women wear a D-cup bra. Only 10% of Italian women wear a D-cup. - United Press International, 2/13/07

The Vatican has the highest per-capita crime rate in the world. It had a crime rate of 1.5 crimes per resident in 2006. - The Week Magazine, 2/2/07

An Argentine soccer fan was furious when he discovered that instead of his favorite team's logo, a tattoo artist had etched a penis on his back. The tattoo artist was a fan of rival club. The underage victim said he did not realize the artist's chicanery until he went home and show the tattoo to his parents. - UPI, 1/22/07

The town of Xiqiao, China (population 35,000) is home to 40 violin companies. - Sarasota Herald Tribune, 1/17/07

Scientists in Dublin have found traces of cocaine on 100% of the currency they tested. - BBC News, 1/10/07

For every 100 girls born in China, there are 118 boys born (2005). - BBC News, 1/12/07

Further proof of global warming: Bears started to hibernate two months late as warm weather extended into November. - MSNBC, 11/15/06

The penalty flags that are thrown by referees in the NFL are actually weighted down with unpopped popcorn kernels. - North County Times, 1/23/07

In Tokyo, you can buy ice cream of many unusual flavors, including octopus, shrimp, horseflesh and cow tongue. - BBC News, 4/28/05

The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs. - Fox News, 12/16/06

Scottish soldiers are being forced to share kilts. Because of a dispute with manufacturers, one kilt must be shared by 15 soldiers. - USA Today, 12/18/06

Sweden plans to have an oil-free economy within 15 years. - Discover Magazine, 1/07

Fuenlabrada, Spain has clothed half of the stick figures (used on its signs) in skirts, in a gesture to assure gender balance. - The Week Magazine, 12/15/06

China adds a new coal-fired power plant every seven to ten days. - New York Times, 11/25/06

The odds are 1 out of 26,239 (.003811%) that you will be killed this year by an AK-47 automatic weapon. - The Week Magazine, 12/8/06

The World Chess Federation announced that, at this week's Asian Games, players must submit to random drug testing. - The Week Magazine, 12/8/06

More than 155,000 American women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 16,000 of those are single mothers. - Washington Post, 11/24/06

The globe may be warming, but the oceans have lost .03 degrees Celsius from 2003 to 2005. - Discover Magazine, 12/06

President George Bush's daughter Barbara had her purse and cell phone stolen in Argentina. Secret Service agents were only yards away at the time of the theft. - The Week Magazine, 12/1/06

There are more overweight people in the world than undernourished people, according to the World Health Organization. - BBC News, 8/15/06

Although it was played up as fun in the movie "Borat", the kidnapping of your bride in Kazakhstan is actually an old custom (this custom is now outlawed). - The Week Magazine, 12/1/06

Scientists at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics announced the invention of the first pill to combat stupidity. - The Week Magazine, 8/18/06

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has sent a get well note to Cuba's Fidel Castro, who has undergone stomach surgery. - Reuters, 8/3/06

An entire island composed of trash has been discovered in the Pacific Ocean. It is twice as large as Texas. Plastic objects prevail among the trash. The "island" weighs approximately three million tons. - The Week Magazine, 8/18/06

Operators of four-wheel-drive vehicles are four times more likely to forgo wearing seat belts. The drivers think they are safer in such vehicles and so feel freer to engage in this risky behavior. - San Diego Union, 7/4/06

A "grande" latte costs $3.50 in Shanghai, China. The average annual wage in Shanghai is $3,800. If you extrapolate that percentage to an average wage of $50,000 in America, the cost of that latte is over $54.00. - The Week Magazine, 12/15/06

Iran imports most of their gasoline as their country has few refineries. On a net basis, Iran's gasoline imports rank second in the world. - US Government Joint Economic Committee - 3/06

The trails to the top of Mt. Everest are littered with garbage and more than 120 corpses of climbers that didn't make it. - The Week Magazine, 6/30/06

Baggy pants have helped out law enforcement: young male suspects have become much easier to catch because they trip over their own trousers. - ABC News, 6/20/06

One in six Britons have been drunk at work. The most common reason for people under 30 to call in sick is a hangover. - The Week Magazine, 6/16/06

There is currently only one active sperm donor in the entire country of Scotland due to recent changes in the law removing the right to anonymity. - Sunday Times, 5/7/06

The DMZ between North and South Korea is the most fortified border in the world. Because so few people venture into the area, it is also one of the most prolific wildlife areas because of the lack of human interaction. - National Geographic, 6/00

There are 67 elevators in Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. They travel at over 37 miles per hour. They are pressurized to help prevent passengers' ears from popping. - Popular Mechanics, 3/16/04

A pet catfish is suspected to have caused a house fire in the UK. The fish's splashing caused water to spill on an electrical plug, starting a fire that spread to the couch and eventually the entire house. The fish died in the fire. - TimesOnline, 5/9/06

It's not uncommon now for dog owners to claim their pets as "service animals" to allow them entry into restaurants, hotels and airplanes. Owners claim the dog is needed for their "mental health". Airlines say passengers have made similar claims for cats, monkeys and a duck. - The Week Magazine, 5/26/06

Terrorists last year killed more than 14,500 people around the world. Only 56 were Americans. - The Week Magazine, 5/12/06

A television charity event turned deadly when participants in a "test of strength" pulled a train and two carriages on the tracks - and the vehicle gained speed and ran them over. Seven people were killed and there were numerous limbs severed, all while 3,000 children who attended the event watched in horror. - BBC News, 3/18/06

In the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, all seven astronauts died, but hundreds of nematode worms (carried in canisters to study the biology of weightlessness) survived. - Discover Magazine, 4/06

The town of Ismay, Montana briefly changed its name to become Joe, Montana, in 1993 for one football season, then extended the gag for another year. The name change worked out well for what was then the smallest incorporated town in the state. Ismay raised more than $70,000 selling Joe, Montana souvenirs. The Ismayans, or Joeys (whatever you want to call them) used the money to build a combination community hall-firehouse. - Billings Gazette, 11/20/05

Dean Pomerlau has a pet goldfish that can do tricks (such as pushing a little soccer ball into a little net in its tank). - Discover Magazine, 4/06

The fire on Apollo 1 (1-27-1967), the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (1-28-1986) and the disintegration of Space Shuttle Columbia (2-1-2003) all happened within the same calendar week. - Discover Magazine, 4/06

India is racing to complete a spacecraft for moon orbit next year. Its space agency employs more people than NASA. - KTLA Los Angeles, 2/12/06

Because of a glut of whale meat in Japan, the Japanese government has started serving whale meat burgers to school kids. - San Diego Union, 2/14/06

A potato chip factory in Wales laid off 250 workers and gave each of them a bag of chips worth 50 cents as a good will gesture. - The Week Magazine, 2/24/06

The Spanish Winter Olympics team had every piece of its luggage lost by an airline en route to Turin, Italy, including all their skis and snowboards. - Yahoo.com, 2/9/06

Cheap red wine was used to power environmentally-friendly buses in Sweden because of an ethanol shortage. - New York Times, 9/20/95

Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building - 508 metres (1,667 feet) high. At 700,000 tons, it is among the heaviest. But the sheer size of the Taiwan skyscraper is thought to have triggered two recent earthquakes because of the stress that it exerts on the ground beneath it. - The Guardian, 12/2/05

On average, every man, woman and child uses three gallons of oil daily. Transportation accounts for two of those gallons. - San Diego Union, 12/28/05

Wikipedia, the open-source on-line encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is nearly as error-free as Encyclopedia Brittanica, according to a team of expert reviewers. - The Guardian, 10/26/04

An official in Colombia has proposed a law that would require all males over 14 years old to carry a condom at all times. - CNN.com, 1/11/06

There are 1,385 Russian satellites currently in orbit. Only 96 of them are operational. - Popular Science, 2/06

In Patras, Greece, four patrol cars took more than an hour to catch a gang of teenage thieves who had escaped on a cart pulled by a donkey. - The Globe And Mail, 11/28/05

A small fire at a grocery store turned frustrating for firefighters when some shoppers refused to budge from the checkout lines even as smoke filled the aisles. Afterward, a cashier said, "The store is on fire. Hello?" - WBAL TV, 11/3/05

Employees of a television company have worked for weeks setting up more than 4,000,000 dominoes for an attempt at the Guinness World Record for falling dominoes. A sparrow flew through an open window and knocked down 23,000 of the dominoes after flying into the Leeuwarden exposition center before it was shot to death. - San Diego Union, 11/15/05

The Dutch Animal Protection Agency demanded prosecution for the shooting of the sparrow which knocked over 23,000 dominoes. - San Diego Union, 11/16/05

There are 200 Starbucks in London. 8 of them are within three blocks of St. Paul's Cathedral. - Miami Herald, 10/31/05

Rome has banned goldfish bowls, which animal rights activists say are cruel. - Daily Telegraph, 10/26/05

A ski resort is opening in December 2005 in the desert of Dubai. - Yahoo News, 10/25/05

Al-Qaida has put job advertisements on the Internet asking for supporters to help put together its Web statements and video montages. The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said on its Web site this week that al-Qaida had "vacant positions" for video production and editing statements, footage and international media coverage about militants in Iraq. - MSNBC.com, 10/6/05

A Viennese artists’ group this week installed a giant pink rabbit on the side of an Italian mountain, where it will stay for 20 years. “Rabbit,” a 200-foot-long woolen sculpture, looks like a cute child’s toy, until you climb over it to find its pink woolen entrails spilling out of a gash in its side. - The Week Magazine, 9/23/05

The rising number of men arrested for sexual relations with girls under 16 has resulted in the the Sri Lankan Cabinet to lower the age of consent to 13. - BBC.com, 9/16/05

A town in Austria, whose name rhymes with "plucking", keeps losing their city limits signs. Officials are debating whether they should return to the town's ancient name, Vucckingen. - The Week Magazine, 9/16/05

Stirring up fears about global warming, the Russian supply ship Akademik Fyodorov sailed straight to the North Pole unassisted by an icebreaker in August 2005. This is the first time in recorded history that an ordinary ship has made it to the North Pole. - Novosti (Russian News and Information Agency), 8/30/05

Being stuck in traffic has an advantage: Under 37 mph, most bugs bounce harmlessly off the hood and windshield. Above that speed, they splatter. - Discover Magazine, 9/05

A Santiago, Chile restaurant named "Car Crash" had to close temporarily because a car crashed into it. - Seattle Times, 7/28/05

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers in the UK have recommended that the word "fail" should be banned from use in British classrooms, to be replaced by "deferred success". - Yahoo News, 7/20/05

In Gevas, Turkey, over 1,500 sheep jumped off a cliff. Only 450 died, however, as the last thousand or so fell on a soft billowy white pile of other sheep. - Washington Post, 7/8/05

Rio de Janeiro lawmakers voted to eliminate the speed limit in many parts of the city so motorists can go fast enough to avoid robbers and carjackers. - Reuters, 6/27/05

Pac-Man celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005. Only one person (Billy Mitchell of Hollywood, Florida) has scored a perfect game - 3,333,360 points. - Associated Press, 6/14/05

Leaders of the Chinese town of Angfen have found a way to fill a vacancy on its foreign-investment committee. The town is going to hold a beauty contest for women between the the ages of 18 and 35. - The Week Magazine, 6/23/05

A police officer responding to an emergency call of a man struck by a car accidentally ran over the victim with his cruiser, authorities said. Investigators were uncertain whether the victim was already dead when he was struck a second time by the police car. - CNN.com, 6/10/05

A woman is killed every six hours in South Africa by her domestic partner, and less than 40 percent of these homicides lead to a conviction. - CNN.com, 5/24/05

New research that examined data from the 2004 Olympics in Athens concludes that athletes who wear red seem to win close competitions more often. - Washington Post, 5/27/05

Total annual spending on weddings has risen to $125 billion, according to a recent survey by the Fairchild Bridal Group. This is as much as Ireland's yearly gross domestic product. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/10/05

A recording of Pope John Paul II’s poetry set to a disco beat reached Number 3 on the Polish pop charts. - The Week Magazine, 4/8/05

Russia has 160 deaths for every 100 live births. The population of Russia has fallen by 5,000,000 in the last ten years. - Public Interest, 1/05

Right now, there are about 800 million cars in active use. By 2050, as cars become ubiquitous in China and India, that total will rise to be 3.25 billion. - Deseret News, 3/29/05

Valentine's Day, the day of love, is also the day that more divorces are initiated due to unmet expectations. - Reuters, 2/10/05

Police in London tell Reuters that thieves successfully used an acetylene torch to gain access to an ATM, but they burned up all the money in the process. - Reuters, 3/9/05

Canada is seriously considering annexing the Turks and Caicos Islands - small islands in the Caribbean. - Calgary Herald, 2/7/04

A pet insurer in Britain has estimated that the average dog costs about $48,000 to look after over the course of its lifetime. - NBC News Online, 3/6/05

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