I write stuff for kids...and muse on writing, children's books, and the publishing industry in general

Monday, January 31, 2011

Random Factoids About...Interesting Stuff

Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

(Source)
 "Go", is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

(Source)

 No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The penguin is the only bird which can swim, but not fly.

(Source)

"Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters.

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every Letter in the English language.

Source

And, courtesy of The Blogger Formerly Known As: the word, iouea contains all five vowels and no other letters.

20 comments:

Michael Di Gesu said...

Well, Rach,

That was a fun post. I really enjoyed it. Where did you find all these?


Michael

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

How much time did you spend looking through the OED to find that word? ;)

Jess said...

This was fun! I just read a bunch of them to my 15-year-old--she's studying Leonardo da Vinci in class, so she especially liked that one :)

Kari Marie said...

Ok. I enjoyed this, but that nose thing is disturbing. I don't need mine to get any bigger.

L.A. Colvin said...

omg I love it!

Su said...

Poor elephants-- they're so misrepresented in the cartoons. :) And now I have to go look up "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis".

Gary Baker said...

I much prefer blancmange,
When it's pink not orange.
(Dang! So close!)

Mum found it quite hurtful
When I painted the turtle
A bright shade of purple.

And again, so close ...

The pedant sat across from me says, "Technically," - don't you just hate it when people start with that word - "Technically, 'quicksilver' rhymes with 'silver'."

"Pfft," says I.

Colene Murphy said...

Hahaha! I love it! What great facts! Thanks Rachael!

Hart Johnson said...

Fun bunch of facts! I love those penguins--they are so cute! That microwave factoid is pretty scary--think what was happening to the peoples bodies!

Ann said...

WOW! That is some collection of interesting facts. Enjoyed reading them and I learned the longest word in the Oxford dictionary.

The Blogger Formerly Known As said...

Here’s one for you: the word, iouea contains all five vowels and no other letters.

Golden Eagle said...

I knew about the longest word--it's actually a kind of lung disease.

J E Fritz said...

I love random factoids. I have a cool one: Goddessship is the only word with three s's.

Cathy said...

I just gave you something on my blog. Looking forward to your post on Friday.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

hehe cool trivia! Those poor elephants... probably a good thing they can't jump though. Imagine a group of elephants playing hopscotch. We'd have an earthquake! ;)

Lyn
W.I.P. It: A Writer's Journey

Unknown said...

What a treasure trove of trivia you've dug up, Rachael! Good stuff :)

Grandpa said...

Hi Rach, it's very early morning here. Apart from from my strong coffee* this is what I need to start off my day!

I thought strange would rhyme with orange, no?

I won't even try to spell that mile long word!

* also 'the person upon whom one coughs'

Marianne Arkins said...

"the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses all the letters in the English alphabet

Which is why it's used frequently in typing class. *G*

Anonymous said...

I love these posts Rach, loads of fun!

aisyahputrisetiawan said...


Banned complain !! Complaining only causes life and mind become more severe. Enjoy the rhythm of the problems faced. No matter ga life, not a problem not learn, so enjoy it :)

Obat Untuk Meningkatkan Gaira Pria
Kemangi Dan Manfaatnya Bagi Kulit
Obat Sakit Persendian Lutut
Obat Untuk Menghilangkan Kesemutan Pada Jari Tangan
Cara Menghilangkan Penyakit Kuning Pada Anak Secara Alami
Awas Infeksi Lambung Bisa Jadi Penyebab Kanker Lambung
Cara Alami Untuk Mengatasi Susah Tidur Di Malam Hari
Cara Menghilangkan Flek Hitam Di Wajah Yang Membandel
Tips Pengobatan Kram Dan Nyeri

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