Amazing facts website


Amazing Facts archive


Entries Comments



salt
  • Roman soldiers were once paid in salt coins
  • The word ‘salary’ actually comes from the root word of salt
  • The word ‘salad’ also originated from the word salt. Thats an ironic fact
  • The bible refers to salt 30 times
  • In 1933,the Dalai Lama was burried atop a bed of salt

Easter
  • The first Easter baskets were made to imitate bird’s nests
  • The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Egyptians where the egg was a symbol of life
  • Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies
  • In medieval times a festival of egg-throwing was held in church, during which the priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choir boys. It was then tossed from one choir boy to the next and whoever held the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and retained the egg
  • Painting eggs is called Pysanka
  • Americans celebrate Easter with a large Easter egg hunt on the White House Lawn
  • 76% of people prefer to eat the ears off the easter bunny chocolate first
  • The myth of the Easter Bunny, as he is currently portrayed today, actually dates back to an old German tale about a woman who used to decorate eggs and leave them for her children to find. This story was based in a time when a famine was plaguing the land; therefore the eggs were considered a valuable and surprising gift. It is reported that as her children found the eggs they saw a bunny rabbit hopping away. Naturally, the children thought the bunny had left the eggs for them
  • According to Bede, the English monastic historian, the English word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, which was known as “Eostremonath” in the AngloSaxon tongue and since Pascha was most often celebrated in Eostremonath, the English Christians began calling it “Easter”. Bede also notes that the month was named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess Esostre. Rituals related to the goddess Eostre focus on new beginnings, symbolized by the Easter egg, and fertility, which is symbolized by the hare (or Easter bunny)

Scientology, Church
  • Scientologists do believe in a Supreme Being, but do not worship one. Scientology believes that only through total spiritual enlightenment can one then truly discover and understand the Supreme Being.
  • The Church of Scientology is the first large organization to be banned from editing Wikipedia
  • Germany is seeking to ban Scientology
  • Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Lisa Cartwright (Simpsons) and Anne Archer are members of the Church of Scientology
  • Scientology involves the practice of ‘auditing,’ which is a one-on-one session with a Scientology counselor or ‘auditor.’ It involves an E-meter, that measures changes in electrical resistance through the body and supposedly helps locate areas of concern
  • The Church of Scientology and all of it’s companies do not pay tax because they fall under the categories of religious practices
  • Scientology holds a religious status only in the United States and Australia

Israel
  • The glue on Israeli stamps are kosher
  • Israel has the highest number of companies listed on the U.S. Stock exchange after the U.S and Canada
  • The most popular product in Israel is the soup nut
  • Israeli bank notes have brail on them
  • Israel has more in-vitro fertilization per capita than anywhere else in the world
  • The two most common family names are Cohan and Levi
  • Jerusalem has one of the highest rated night clubs in the world
  • 1/3 of Israelis are volunteers

Uganda
  • One of the 7 World Baha’¡­ Houses of Worship is located on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda
  • It is stated that almost 50% of Uganda’s population are under 15 years old
  • The butcher of Uganda, Idi Amin, was responsible for genocide. So many bodies were dumped into the Nile river that it clogged up the dam

Christmas
  • The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or “Christ’s Mass.”  The abbreviation X-mas originated from the word Christ, which in Greek is chi, and also identical to the letter ‘X’
  • Why on the 25th of December? In the time of Christ, there was a common Jewish belief that the prophets died on the on the same date as their conception. According to certain calculations, Christ was crucified on 25 March, thus signifying His conception. 9 months after 25th March is the 25th December. Others say that the celebration date was set to replace popular pagan winter solstice celebrations
  • Christmas was only celebrated 440 years after Jesus died
  • The twelve days of Christmas represent the time it took the wise men to visit the manger of Jesus
  • The use of evergreen “Christmas” trees during winter celebrations is actually pre-Christian
  • The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510
  • Most artificial trees are manufactured in Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, where Christians are the minority
  • Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons
  • English Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year
  • In Australia, the postal service says that approximately 120,000 letters are addressed to Santa yearly
  • Santa has 2 addresses: Letters addressed to “Toyland” or “Snowland” go to Edinburgh and those to the “North pole” actually go to the North pole
  • Father Christmas, was based on St. Nicholas who is also the patron saint of pawnbrokers among many of his patronage
  • 3 years after Edison invented the light bulb, he was presented with the first Christmas tree bulbs
  • Santa’s reindeers took their name from the poem “A visit from St. Nicholas”

Islam
  • “Islam” means “peace through the submission to God”
  • Arabs only constitute about 20% of Muslims worldwide. Indonesia has the largest concentration of Muslims with over 120 million
  • The Islamic faith has Hafiz (or “preservers”) that have memorized the Quran text letter for letter from beginning to end, every word and syllable
  • Muslims all face the Kaaba when they pray, no matter where they are world wide
  • The inside of the Kaaba is empty

Dalai Lama
  • The Dalai lama’s name is Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso
  • The Dalai Lama enjoys collecting and repairing watches
  • Tenzin became the Head of State of Tibet when he was fifteen
  • The Dalai Lama Tenzin was one of sixteen children and only one of the five of them to survive past 6

Judaism
  • Every seventh year, a Jewish agricultural law prompts fervent Zionists to symbolically “sell” their land to a non-Jew for the year

Bible
  • Camel is considered unclean meat in the Bible
  • The Bible has been translated into Klingon
  • The Bible was written by over 40 authors over a period of 1500 years
  • In 1631, two London bible printers accidentally left the word “not” out of the seventh commandment, which then read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” This legendary book is now known as the “Wicked Bible.”


« Older entries