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FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius

APR 2014


Previous Archives

DATEFACT OF THE DAY
4/1/14     Refrigerators in the U.S. consume about the same energy as 25 large power plants produce each year. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/2/14     The kidneys form urine by removing waste materials, salts, and other substances from the blood and sending them out of the body. Kidneys produce urine continuously, regardless if a person is sleeping or awake. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/3/14     Marijuana is the most common illegal drug used in the United States. Approximately 100 million Americans have tried marijuana at least once, and more than 25 million have smoked it in the last year. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/4/14     Globally, 15 million children under the age of five die each year because of diseases caused by drinking water. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/5/14     The gene that causes red hair initially had the benefit of increasing the body's ability to make vitamin D, which was important for people living farther away from the equator. However, today's redheads are more likely to develop skin cancer and premature wrinkles. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/6/14     American Indians are the least likely to have high cholesterol. However, white Americans and Mexican Americans are most likely to have high cholesterol. African Americans and Japanese Americans fall in the middle. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/7/14     The surface area of the human brain is about 230-470 square inches (1,500-3,000 sq. cm). The average length of a spinal cord is about 19 inches (45 cm). - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/8/14     The diet of ordinary Romans consisted mostly of starchy food and did not include many green vegetables, fresh meat, or fats. Hence, many children suffered from malnutrition. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/9/14     According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), more than 6% of children suffer from depression and 4.9% of them have major depression. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/10/14     The Holocaust began in January 1933 when Hitler came to power and technically ended on May 8, 1945 (VE Day). - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/11/14     The only president to be unanimously elected was George Washington (1732-1799). He also refused to accept his presidential salary, which was $25,000 a year. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/12/14     A "watt" is a unit of power that measures the rate of producing or using energy. The term was named after Scottish engineer James Watt (1736-1819), who developed an improved steam engine. Watt measured his engine's performance in horsepower. One horsepower equaled 746 watts. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/13/14     Hawaii is 2,390 miles away from the nearest continent (North America) and is considered the most isolated population center on earth. Early in its history, seeds and plants were brought to the barren island by wind, water, and birds. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/14/14     While in prison, Hitler envisioned the development of a "people's car" or a Volkswagen, from the word volk, meaning "people" or "nation." - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/15/14     Wolves do not make good guard dogs because they are naturally afraid of the unfamiliar and will hide from visitors rather than bark at them. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/16/14     The first violin appeared in Italy in the 1500s, probably from the workshop of Andrea Amati (1505-1578) in Cremona. The city later became the home of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), the most famous of violin-makers. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/17/14     Children don't react the same way to sleep deprivation as adults: while adults get sleepy, children become hyperactive. In fact, a lack of sleep can result in ADHD-like symptoms in kids. Children need an average of nine to 10 hours of sleep each night. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/18/14     President Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, 1822-1885) smoked at least 20 cigars a day and, after a brilliant war victory, a nation of well wishers sent him more than 10,000 cigars. He later died of throat cancer. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/19/14     Scientists suggest that stress is part of the evolutionary drive because it has enabled humans to survive. Specifically, stress temporarily increases awareness and improves physical performance. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/20/14     Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, is Christianity's most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn't fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. - Provided by History.com
4/21/14     There are approximately 86,000 lower-limb amputations on diabetics in the United States each year. Rates of amputation were higher among men than women and higher among African-Americans than whites. Experts believe nearly half of all amputations could have been prevented with appropriate examinations and education. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/22/14     The eyes of a horse are larger than most other animals', and they can move independently, giving the horse a shallow panoramic vision. Because its lenses are inflexible, a horse will focus on an image by moving its head to direct light rays to the central part of the retina. Horses can also see in color. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/23/14     Beacon, part of Facebook's controversial advertisement system that broadcasted information about a user's shopping activity on other sites, was the target of a class action lawsuit in 2009. The resulting settlement required Facebook to pay $9.5 million into a settlement fund. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/24/14     Approximately one in five women worldwide reports being sexually abused before the age of 15. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/25/14     In the Pacific region, nearly 500,000 people have died from tsunamis over the last 2,000 years. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami alone exerted a death toll now estimated at more than 280,000. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/26/14     Almost 80% of food commercials aired on Saturday morning children shows are for junk food. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/27/14     Dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments, eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting carpet. The residue that mites leave behind can mix with dust and become airborne, which may cause allergies. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/28/14     Bed bugs can live in carpet fibers and wooden floorboards. For their size, they are extremely fast and can crawl more than 100 feet to obtain a blood meal, usually at night from people who are sleeping. Engorgement takes about three to 10 minutes yet people rarely realize they are being bitten. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/29/14     Though the eye is the calmest part of the storm, over the ocean, it can be the most dangerous area. While waves in the eye wall travel in the same direction, waves in the eye converge from all directions, which often creates rogue waves. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
4/30/14     Scientists believe that the mind forgets in order to avoid information overload, to think more quickly, assimilate new information easier, and to avoid emotional hangovers. - Provided by RandomHistory.com


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