Ten Random Facts

The short-term memory capacity for most people is between five and nine items or digits. This is one reason that phone numbers were kept to seven digits for so long.
Medicine and Health

Bat droppings in caves support whole ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents, and producing gasohol and antibiotics.
Animals

A quarter of the horses in the U.S. died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.
Animals

Actor David McCallum was the son of the first violinist of the London Philharmonic, who led that orchestra in the film Prelude to Fame (1950).
People

The digestive tract (the tube that food passes through) in a person's body is about 30 feet long.
People

George Barr, of baseball's National League, opened the first umpire training school in 1935; in 1939, Bill McGowan of the American League established a second school. By the mid-1950s, umpire training school graduates were common. It was virtually impossible by the 1960s to become a professional baseball umpire without attending a training school.
Sports » Baseball

The word "mullet" describes a hairstyle worn, particularly in the southern USA, which is characterized by short hair on the top and sides, with very long hair in the back.
Words and Numbers » Word Roots

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger bought the first Hummer manufactured for civilian use in 1992. The vehicle weighed in at 6,300 pounds and was 7 feet wide.
Technology

The Dominican Republic was called Santo Domingo when it first gain independence.
Geography

The Huang He River (or the Yellow River) in China has flooded more than 1,500 times in the last 1,800 years. In 1931, it flooded and killed 3.7 million people. It has also changed its course nine times.
Geography » Asia

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