Facts You Probably don’t Need
- In 1970, a gallon of gas cost just 36 cents.
- Shrimp have claws on two of five pairs of legs, while prawns have claws on three of five pairs of legs.
- Jam is made out of whole fruits whole jelly is made out of fruit juice.
- In 1955, cigarettes were sold in vending machines that only accepted quarters, but a pack of cigarettes cost only 23 cents. Instead of raising the price, cigarette manufacturers included two Pennie’s in the package.
- Nearly all mammals, from mice to giraffes, have exactly seven cervical vertebrae in their necks; the only exceptions are sloths and manatees.
- One of the moons of Mars (Phobos) orbits Mars much faster than Mars rotates and completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. From the surface of Mars, it appears to rise in the west, move across the sky in 4 hours and 15 minutes, and set in the east, twice each Martian day.
- Morgan Freeman is a beekeeper and owns a 124-acre farm for the bees in Mississippi.
- The Sears Tower, now the Willis Tower, was the tallest building in the world upon its completion in 1974. Now it ranks as the 23rd tallest.
Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.
