In 1954, RKO Pictures Corporation stockholders approved the $23.5 million sale of the company to multi-millionaire Howard Hughes. He became the first individual ever to be the sole owner of a major motion-picture company.

Leonardo da Vinci was the first to suggest using contact lenses to see back in 1508.

All super glue comes with warnings about the instant bond that the glue will make upon contact.Acetone has the power to unglue and remove traces of super glues from surfaces, and even human skin. Acetone is found in many household products, but the most common form is everyday nail polish remover. So keeping a bottle of in the house can be ...Read more

The Dieri tribe in Australia has strict laws regarding who can marry whom. For example, a man can legally marry his mother's mother's brother's daughter's daughter. He can also marry his mother's father's sister's daughter's daughter. Go figure!

Golf was banned in England and Scotland in 1457 by King James II because he claimed it distracted people from the archery practice necessary for national defense.

The "black box" that houses an airplane's voice recorder is orange so it can be more easily detected amid the debris of a plane crash.

In regions of India where the soil is red, elephants take on a permanent pink tinge because they regularly spray dust over their bodies to protect themselves against insects.

According to weather forecast experts, here is a rule of thumb for weather forecasting: winds from the northwest, west, and southwest usually indicate fair weather for a time, whereas winds from the northeast, east, and south predict unsettled weather.

Tokyo's expressways, built on a radial pattern dating from the eighteenth century, are so overloaded that traffic often grinds to a halt for 30 to 40 miles outside the city.

In November, there is a stretch of warm dry weather with a little wind and usually a bit of haze in the air. In the United States, it is called “Indian Summer.” In England, France, and Italy, it is referred to as “St. Martin’s Summer.”

The frigate bird can fly at a speed of 260 miles per hour.

Jazz pianist and composer Count Basie's first name was William. Basie appeared as himself in several movies spanning four decades, including Stage Door Canteen, Reveille with Beverly, Ebony Parade, Cinderfella, Sex and the Single Girl, and Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles.

The letter "O" is the oldest letter. It has not changed in shape since its adoption in the Phoenician alphabet c. 1300 B.C.

George I, king of England from 1714 to 1727, could neither speak nor write the English language. He had no desire to learn the language of his new country, and made no attempt to do so in the 13 years he ruled.

In 1992, Pop-Tarts became the focus of controversy when Thomas Nangle sued Kellogg for damages, after his Pop-Tarts got stuck and caught fire in his toaster. The case gained notoriety when humor columnist Dave Barry wrote a column about starting a fire in his own kitchen with Pop-Tarts. In 1994, Texas A&M University professor Patrick Michaud ...Read more

Each 2-ounce bottle of Tabasco Sauce contains at least 720 drops of sauce. The fiery pepper sauce is produced by the McIlhenny family, and the McIlhenny Company was founded back in 1868 at Avery Island, Louisiana.

The little metal ring or cap attached to or near the end of a cane or wooden handle (such as on a paint brush) to prevent splitting is called a ferrule. Its name was derived from the Latin "viriola," meaning "little bracelet."

Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body. If the average man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his lifetime.

In the 1530s, a printing press was set up in Mexico City, and the first Mexican newspaper was published there in 1541.

$1,000,000 in $1 bills would weigh approximately one ton. Placed in a pile it would be 360 feet (110 m) high as tall as 60 average adults standing on top of each other.