Facts You Probably don’t Need

• Shaq missed 5,317 free throws in his career. Only 75 players in NBA history have even attempted that many.

• West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861, in which 50 northwestern counties of Virginia decided to break away from Virginia during the American Civil War. The new state was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key Civil War border state.

• A day on Mars is about 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth.

• King George I of England was German.

• About 75% of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs underwater in the oceans.

• Dry Valleys, Antarctica, is the driest place on Earth and hasn’t seen rainfall in 2 million years.

• The furthest distance the Earth has been photographed from is 3.7 billion miles. The photo is known as the “Pale Blue Dot.”

• It’s estimated that lightning strikes the Earth about 8.6 million times a day.

• The Earth’s water is 97% salted and only 3% fresh.

• The word “hygiene” comes from the Greek Goddess of cleanliness and health, Hygieia.

Facts by Sean McVeigh, factologist.