The Icelandic language has remained unchanged since the 12th century

Among mammals, only men and monkeys are capable of distinguishing colours

Since the invention of Coca – Cola, only seven men have ever known the formula, only two are still living and consequently they are not allowed to fly on the same plane.

The smallest fish in the world is the Pandaka pygmea, found in the Philippines. It is no bigger than an ant, is virtually transparent but has a backbone.

At any given moment there are more than 2,000 thunderstorms brewing in the earth’s atmosphere

There are 156 languages in the world each of which is spoken by at least one million people

The most common surname in the USA is Smith; the second most common name is Johnson

The largest crabs in the world – which live off the coast of Japan stand three feet high and can weigh as much as 30 pounds

The term drawing room has nothing to do with sketching. The word drawing is actually a shortening of withdrawing – for this was the room to which guests ‘withdrew.’

The dog who is reputed to have lived the longest was a black Labrador, who died at the age of 27 years and three months.

Al Capone’s business card described him as a ‘second – hand furniture dealer.’

A two day old Gazelle can outrun a full – grown horse.

An ancient remedy for toothache was to eat a mouse.

The total cost of constructing the Eiffel Tower in Paris was recovered from sightseers’ fees after only one year of opening.

Not all icebergs are white. Vegetable matter frozen into an iceberg can give it a green or black colour.

Beards were once placed under government control in Rumania. A beard could only be worn if the owner, secured a permit, and paid the appropriate fee. (I hope I haven’t just given our government a new tax idea.)

The elephant is the only animal with four knees.
Throughout the world, approximately a third of people eat with a knife and fork, a third eats with chopsticks and a third uses their fingers.

A baby rattlesnake at birth has the same amount of poisonous venom as a full – grown rattler.

Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice.

The word bride is derived from an ancient Teutonic word meaning ‘to cook.’