Life preservers and the lining of aviators' jackets used during World War II were made from fiber found in milkweed pods.

When airplanes were still a novel invention, seat belts for pilots were installed only after the consequence of their absence was observed to be fatal - several pilots fell to their deaths while flying upside down.

Mary was the second daughter and fifth child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. A stillborn sister and three short-lived brothers, including the prince Henry, had preceded her. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, famous for driving the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula, ...Read more

Architect James Horan was awarded $500 and a parcel of land in Washington, D.C. for his 1792 winning design for the President's House, now known as the White House.

Wandering albatrosses spread their wings, clack bills, and shake heads in a ritual dance. Bonds between courting birds may last the whole of a 50-year lifetime.

Charlemagne, the Frankish Emperor, never learned to write; even though he practiced on tablets, he admitted he couldn't master the skill. He learned to read, however.

A cat's arching back is part of a complex body language system, usually associated with feeling threatened. The arch is able to get so high because the cat's spine contains nearly 60 vertebrae which fit loosely together. Humans have only 34 vertebrae.

A Harvard study of college drinking showed that more than 40 percent of students indulge in binge drinking, which is defined as consuming five drinks at one sitting by men or four drinks by women. Of college students who drink, one-third drink to get drunk.

Civil War General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson has two separate burial sites. His left arm, which was amputated after the battle of Chancellorsville, was buried on a nearby farm. A week later, Jackson died and was buried in Lexington, Virginia.

Coins are usually made of copper and another element, such as zinc or nickel. Currency paper is composed of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. Red and blue synthetic fibers of various lengths are distributed evenly throughout the paper. Before World War I these fibers were made of silk.

You probably never thought about a cat as being either left- or right-pawed, but over 40 percent are either lefties or righties. That means there’s quite a few out there who are ambidextrous. Luckily for them, they can probably operate the can opener with both paws.

According to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, a tennis ball is supposed to bounce between 53 and 58 inches when it is dropped on concrete from a height of 100 inches. The concrete surface should be 4 inches thick.

Okonomiyaki is considered to be Japan's answer to pizza. It consists of a potpourri of grilled vegetables, noodles, and meat or seafood, between two pancake-like layers of fried batter.

The first heavy-drinking U.S. president, as well as the first presidential college dropout, James Monroe - like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson before him - died on Independence Day, the last president to date to bear that trivia distinction.

During her husband's presidency, Martha Washington was formally addressed as Lady Washington

If Earth was the size and weight of a table tennis ball, the Sun would measure 12 feet and weigh 3 tons. On this scale, the Earth would orbit the Sun at a distance of 1,325 feet.

Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first woman in the US to become a certified dentist in 1867.

The first lighthouse to use electricity was the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

Theodore Roosevelt, a staunch conservationist, banned Christmas trees in his home, even when he lived in the White House. His children, however, smuggled them into their bedrooms.