1. Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word "GOLF" entered into the English language.
2. In ancient China, doctors could receive fees only if their patient was cured. If it deteriorated, they would have to pay the patient.
3. It has been calculated that in the last 3,500 years, there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world.
4. The total number of Americans killed in the Civil War is greater than the combined total of Americans killed in all other wars.
5. Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.
6. Charles Dickens always faced north while sleeping.
7. Roman coins have been dug up in America, suggesting that perhaps the Vikings or Columbus weren't the first Europeans to visit the New World. The coins were found in locations as far afield as Texas, Venezuela and Maine. One stash was found buried in a mound in Round Rock, Texas. The mound is dated to approximately 800 A.D. In the town of Heavener, Okla., a bronze tetradrachm bearing the profile of Emperor Nero was found in 1976. The coin was originally struck in Antioch, Syria, in 63 A.D.
8. In 1920 for the first time in recorded history, the average life expectancy of human beings exceeded that of goldfish. Before that year, a newborn infant could expect to live 48.4 years. For many species of wild goldfish, the projected life span was over 50.
9. Peter the Great executed his wife's lover, and forced her to keep her lover's head in a jar of alcohol in her bedroom.
10. People have been wearing glasses for about 700 years.
11. Seven of the eight US Presidents who have died in office - either through illness or assassination - were elected at precisely 20-year intervals.
12. The US federal income tax was first enacted in 1862 to support the Union's Civil War effort. It was eliminated in 1872, revived in 1894 then declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court the following year. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture in the US tax system.
13. People drank gold powder mixed in with water in medieval Europe to relieve pain from sore limbs.
14. The White House, in Washington DC, was originally gray, the color of the sandstone it was built out of. After the War of 1812, during which it had been burned by Canadian troops, the outside walls were painted white to hide the smoke stains.
15. The custom of shaking hands with the strangers originated to show that both the parties were unarmed.
16. The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
17. Celtic warriors sometimes fought their battles naked, their bodies dyed blue from head to toe.
18. King Charles the Second often rubbed dust from the mummies of pharaohs so he could "absorb their ancient greatness".
19. In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb".
20. Acupuncture was first used as a medical treatment in 2700 BC by Chinese emperor Shen-Nung.
21. In ancient Egypt, people shaved eyebrows as a mourning symbol when their cats died.
22. Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.
23. The Black Death reduced the population of Europe by one third in the period from 1347 to 1351.
24. Coca-Cola was originally green.
25. The 1st 20 African slaves were brought to the US, to the colony of Virginia in 1619, by a Dutch ship.
26. Of the 262 men who have held the title of pope, 33 have died by violence.
27. Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
28. Roman Emperor Caligula was so upset by the death of his sister Drusila that he imposed a year of mourning. During this time, everyone in the empire was forbidden to dine with his family, laugh or take a bath. The penalty for transgression was death.
29. The name of the first airplane flown at Kitty Hawk by the Wright Brothers, on December 17, 1903, was Bird of Prey.
30. The worldwide "Spanish Flu" epidemic which broke out in 1918 killed more than 30 million people in less than a year's time.
31. The punishment of a Vestal Virgin who broke her oath of chastity was to be buried alive.
32. Pilgrims did not eat potatoes for Thanksgiving as they thought they were poisonous.
33. Tablecloths were originally meant to serve as towels with which guests could wipe their hands and faces after dinner.
34. Cleopatra married two of her brothers.
35. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Funny and Amazing facts