Facts You Probably don’t Need

• The American white pelican can hold up to three gallons of water in its mouth.

• Giraffe tongues can be 20 inches long.

• The world’s largest butterfly, Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, has a wingspan of up to 12 inches.

• Buzz Lightyear’s original name was Lunar Larry.

• The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands.

• Some oranges from Southeast Asia are actually green.

• Avocados were originally marketed as “alligator pears” in the United States until the current name stuck.

• Henry Ruschmann created glitter by mistake. He was cutting plastic with a machine that malfunctioned and quickly shredded the plastic into tiny little pieces. After noticing how “sparkly” they looked, he called them “schnibbles.” He then went on to found Meadowbrook Glitter, which is still running today.

          Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.