Facts You Probably don’t Need
- The United States Congress has only officially declared war for five different conflicts in our nation’s history: The War of 1812, The Mexican-American War, The Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.
- The half-cent coin is the smallest monetary unit the United States has ever produced. The coin was discontinued in 1857. The half cent bared Lady Liberty’s face.
- Recent studies suggest that The Amazon River used to flow into the Pacific, but switched direction after the formation of the Andes Mountains and now follows its current course into the Atlantic.
- El Buen Fin is the Mexican version of Black Friday. It occurs annually the weekend before the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.
- About 1% of people of Northern European decent are immune to the HIV infection. Some researchers believe it is because these ancestors were infected with the Black Plague and survived.
- Flavored potato chips were invented in Ireland in 1954 by Joe “Spud” Murphy and Seamus Burke.
- Officially, Iceland is located in Europe but geographically it sits on both Europe and North America.
Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.