Interesting People & Strange Facts

There are so many web sites with interesting facts and trivia. The following facts and trivia came from this site. I find trivia like this very fascinating.

Interesting facts about Mark Twain

His real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Twain adopted his pen name in 1863 in Nevada. While he was a teenager, Mark Twain worked as an amateur printer. Mark Twain published more than 30 books throughout his career. Twain was a steamboat pilot apprentice on the Mississippi River and eventually earned his pilot’s license. Twain was very interested in parapsychology. He often made bad investments, which resulted in serious financial problems. Twain served during the American Civil War. Mark Twain is famous for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. William Faulkner called him “the father of American literature” . Twain had four children: Jean, Susy, Langdon and Clara Clemens.

Interesting facts about Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was partially deaf. He developed this problem in his childhood days. He built his own science laboratory at the age of 10. This was built in the basement of his home. Edison’s First Patented Invention was a flop. In 1910 he invented the Edison battery, which used an alkaline electrolyte. Edison was considered one of the most prolific inventors of his time, holding a record 1,093 patents in his name. Besides the light bulb, he invented these things to go along with it: the parallel circuit, a durable light bulb, an improved dynamo, the underground conductor network, the devices for maintaining constant voltage, safety fuses and insulating materials, and light sockets with on off switches. Edison had five dots tattooed on his left forearm. No one knew what the dots meant. The inventor of the electric light was not Thomas Edison. In 1802, 77 years before Edison perfected a filament for the incandescent lamp, Davy caused a platinum wire to glow by passing an electric current through it.

Interesting facts about Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1856. Sigmund Freud is the founder of the science of psychology . His book The Interpretation of Dreams began the complex theory of Psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns. Sigmund Freud was deathly afraid of the number 62 and would not book a room in any hotel with more than 62 rooms in case he was allotted that particular room! Diagnosed with cancer in 1923 due to frequent cigar smoking, Freud underwent over 30 surgeries over the next 16 years. Freud had a penchant for rejecting people who did not totally agree with him. In 1930, Freud received the Goethe Prize in appreciation of his contribution to psychology and to German literary culture. He was 83 years old when he asked his doctor to end his life, and died of a physician-assisted morphine overdose in London on September 23, 1939.

Interesting facts about birthdays 

Your birthday is a very special day. Only eighteen million other people share it (unless you were born on February 29, in which case you really are special since only 4.5 million people have your birthday). The custom of lighting candles originated with people believing that the gods lived in the sky and by lighting candles and torches they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods so they they could be answered. When you blow out the candles and make a wish this is another way of sending a signal and a message. The earliest birthday parties in history were held because it was feared that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthdays.

Interesting facts about the Barbie Doll

Barbie is named after the daughter of the original inventor, Barbara. The first Barbie dolls were made in Japan. On the bottom of the right foot they are marked Made In Japan. The Barbie doll was introduced in Europe in 1961. Every second, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world. The first Black, and Hispanic Barbie dolls were introduced in 1980. Barbie has appeared in over 40 various nationalities. The first Barbie doll sold for $3. Barbie has had over 80 careers. The first was as a teenage fashion model. Only stamp collecting is more popular in the U.S. than doll collecting. Barbie has over 40 pets. Among them are cats, dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. Barbie is eleven and one half inches tall.

Other uses for toothpaste

Toothpaste contains calcium, antimicrobial agents that inhibits growth of bacteria and sodium fluoride.That is why it cleans the teeth and gets rid of toothache, filing teeth, leaving the teeth white, cleaned and disinfected. But few know that toothpaste, because its composition, can be used for other purposes. In case of burns, herpes, or scratches, you can apply a little toothpaste on the affected area at regular intervals and you will quickly get rid of troubles. Toothpaste can remove onion smell. If you spent a full day in the kitchen to cook and the smell of onions has not disappeared even after several washes with soap, try to wash your hands with toothpaste and you get rid of odor. Spots on the clothes have a fearsome enemy in toothpaste too. Rub the affected area of the coat a few minutes and rinse with water. Silver jewels which are blackened by time can be cleaned with a toothbrush and paste.