Of the 20,000 species of orchids that grow around the world, not one is parasitic. In nature, many orchids cling to trees and bushes as a growth habit, but they take nothing from the host plant and do not inflict injury upon it.

The flower of the Calla lily is 8 feet high and 12 feet wide. It is grown in Sumatra.

Prior to the invention of lawn mowers, lawns were cut with scythes, but this operation was ineffective unless the lawn was wet. The sale of lawn mowers got a great boost when lawn tennis came into vogue in England in 1870.

The French phrase jeunesse dorée, which refers to wealthy, stylish, sophisticated people, translates literally to “gilded youth.”

To clean tarnished copper bottoms of pots and pans, spread a little ketchup onto the bottom. Let it sit for about one minute. Wipe it clean and rinse.

The biggest badminton shuttle in the world can be found on the lawns of the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, in Kansas City -- 48 times larger than the real thing at 18 feet tall and weighing 5,000 pounds.

About 93 percent of households in Denmark consume wine, the highest consumption of all countries. French homes follow with about 85 percent.

Sixty-three years before Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith co-starred in the box office sci-fi smash Men in Black, the Three Stooges starred in a 19-minute comedy short also titled Men in Black (1934). Unlike the 1997 film, the goofy trio of Moe, Larry, and Curly were inept doctors at a hospital

Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes since the early 1950s, was called "Tom-Tom the Tiger" in the island nation of Grenada.

The established throwing technique is to hold the lid between the thumb and middle finger, starting with your arm in a backhand throwing position, held at just above waist height. A flick of the wrist is critical when releasing the lid, to achieve sufficient spin. As Pringles lids require much more spin than frisbees to maintain stability, ...Read more

An organization called SCROOGE was formed in 1979 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The acronym stands for the "Society to Curtail Ridiculous, Outrageous and Ostentatious Gift Exchanges."

Honeybees navigate using the sun as a compass, even when it is hidden behind clouds - they find it via the polarization of ultraviolet light from areas of blue sky.

Leafy face architectural ornamentations are almost always male: green women are rare. However, green cats, lions and demons are also found. On gravestones and other memorials, human skulls are sometimes shown sprouting grape vines or other vegetation, presumably as a symbol of resurrection.

Spyware is a type of program that watches what users do with their computer and then sends that information over the internet. Spyware can collect many different types of information about a user. More benign programs can attempt to track what types of websites a user visits and send this information to an advertisement agency. More malicious ...Read more

Dolphins swim in circles while they sleep with the eye on the outside of the circle open to keep watch for predators. After a certain amount of time, they reverse and swim in the opposite direction with the opposite eye open.

Only about 30 percent of teenage males consistently apply sun protection lotion when going poolside, compared to 46 percent of female teens.

With his new creations and growing fan base, Ed became Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, a hot-roddin' gear head, mad scientist, and struggling artist who financed his inventions by selling drawings and t-shirts at drag events and car shows. Ed would draw cartoons of monsters that he created and pictures of cars. But when he personally airbrushed t-shirts ...Read more

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Maurice Cornelius Escher, known to his friends and family as Mauk, was initially set to be an architect. He was to attend the Higher Technical School in Delft. But, his plans went asunder when he failed his final exams in nearly all of his classes including history, constitutional organization, ...Read more

The British slang for white-collar worker is "black-coat worker."

Since the 1980s, Birkenstock footwear has become popular among medical professionals (e.g. dentists, nurses) and others who work on their feet. In Germany, the sandals are most often used as houseslippers, but in the United States they have become a part of everyday clothing from professionals to blue collar workers, even to the entertainment ...Read more