Facts You Probably don’t Need
- There are only eight species of bear in the world. They are Asiatic black bear, black bear, brown bear, panda bear, polar bear, sloth bear, spectacled bear and sun bear.
- In 1982, Pablo Escobar was the official representative of the Colombian government at the swearing in of Spain’s Prime Minister.
- Magnolia trees are so old they evolved before bees and developed flowers to be pollinated by beetles.
- Ancient Egyptians didn’t call their country “Egypt,” they called it “Kemet,” which in their tongue meant “black land.” Black was seen as a good color in Egypt because it represents the Nile’s fertile soil.
- Sharks are older than the North Star. Sharks evolved about 450 million years ago whereas Polaris is about 70 million years old.
- There is a prequel to 1966’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” called “Halloween is Grinch Night,” which won the 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.
- Saccharin, a key ingredient in Sweet ‘N Low that was once considered carcinogenic, was removed from The Report on Carcinogens because humans react differently to saccharin than rats do.
- Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco.
Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.
