Facts and Observations

• Usain Bolt's world record time in the men's 100-meter is 9.58 seconds. Impressive? Maybe not. Sarah the Cheetah, from the Cincinatti zoo, ran the same distance in 5.95 seconds.
• Starfish do not have brains. Did you think they did?
• 'Ding zui' is the Chinese term for having another person serve one's prison sentence. It is not legal but is said to be manuevered behind the scenes from time to time. How much would they have to pay you to serve one year of someone else's prison sentence?
• The US has the highest percentage of people in prison of any country (730 of every 100,000). St. Kitts and Nevis is second (649). Russia has a high rate (522). England and China are in the middle (156 and 122). India is toward the low end (30). Comoros and Liechtenstein are tied for lowest (19). Why such high incarceration rates in the US?
• Big dogs are smarter than small dogs. Knew it!
• Humans are the only mammals that can sleep on their backs. Go ahead, try to think of another.
• 'Water Resistant' tents are not 'Water Proof'. Guess you'll just get 'Kinda Wet'.

• The Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo are two different countries. Hmm.
• It's reported that 47 people account for 57% of the $230 million raised by super PACs from individual donors. Just over 1,000 donors giving $10,000 or more were responsible for 94% of the money raised.
• The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump. Did you think they could?
• People with big brains are smarter than people with small brains. People with big heads have bigger brains than people with small heads. Sorry Pinheads!

• The US just landed a high-tech rover on Mars. China plans to send a man to the moon in 2020. India plans to send a satellite to orbit Mars in 2013 and a wheeled rover to the moon in 2014. The US has a goal for astronauts to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s followed by a landing. But sometime before that, the plan is to send astronauts to an asteroid.
• Malaria has killed more people than any other disease in history. The parasaite has been around longer than humans have and it has killed untold millions. Today, 3.3 billion people – half of the world's population – is at risk of contracting malaria. There are 216 million malaria cases annually and 655,000 malaria deaths.

• Cave bears that lived 42,000 years ago were 30% bigger than grizzly bears.
• There are 16 different shooting events in the olympics, 20 if you include archery. There are 22 running events, 26 including relays.
• Micronesians and Tongans are the heaviest people in the world (average weight 193 pounds per adult). Americans are next (181), followed by Somoans (173). Brits are tenth (167). Chinese are 126th (134). Indians are 168th (117). Bandledeshis are the lightest (109). Another cheeseburger please!

• The oldest verified person ever was the Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 years 164 days. She lived from 2/21/1875 to 8/4/1997. Next best was Sarah Knauss of the US (119 years, 97 days, 9/24/1880 - 12/30/1999). Wonder if they ever met? Would you want to live be 122?
• Jellyfish have been around for 650 million years, which means that they outdate dinosaurs. They kill more people than any other marine creature. And it's thought that they could play large role in ending world hunger.
• The human brain is composed of 75% water. Best not get dehydrated.
• 1.5 trillion dollars are spent on military expenditures worldwide annually. The 5 UN Security Council permanent members are the largest arms dealers. The US is the world's leading arms exporter. India is the world's leading arms importer.
• Life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world (86 years). Next are Hong Kong and Switzerland (85 and 84). Cuba, Denmark and the US are tied for 36th (81). China is 80th (75). India is 139th (65). Zambia and Angola are low (39). Swaziland is lowest (32).

• The fastest recorded speed of a sailfish is 68 mph. That's faster than a cheetah (61 mph). The next fastest fish is the marlin (50 mph).