ten things i didn't know until last week [UPDATED]

1. Alaska accounts for about one fifth of all land in continental USA. It's also more than twice the size of Texas - the next largest state.
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2. The very first patent issued in Thomas Edison’s name was for an electric voting machine.
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3. Atlas - the first cervical vertebra in the spine - is named after the mythical figure because it supports the globe of the head.
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4. Alexander Graham Bell disliked the use of "hello" as a greeting on the newly invented telephone. He preferred and tried to popularise "Ahoy" instead.
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5. The hypocenter is the point inside the Earth's crust where an earthquake originates. The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter.
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6. Cows can sleep while standing but they only dream if they lie down.
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7. The smallest muscle in the body is the stapedius, a tiny muscle in the ear which controls movement of the stapes or stirrup bone.
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8. The seven rays in the Statue of Liberty’s crown represent the Earth’s seven seas and continents.
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9. In the US, radio and television station call letters in the western half all begin with the letter K; east of the Mississippi River, they begin with W.
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[UPDATE: Rory Sutherland points me to this Wikipedia lInk which mentions the exceptions to the rule, "such as KDKA in Pittsburgh and WFAA in Dallas, but these are historical artifacts from a rule change in the 1930s, and most of the exceptions are located in the states immediately to either side of the river. The westernmost station in the continental United States beginning with W is WOAI in San Antonio. WVUV in Pago Pago, American Samoa, is the westernmost station with a W call-sign. KYW in Philadelphia is the easternmost station with a K call sign."]

10. The sea spider's body has so very little room inside of it that its intestines can be found in its legs.
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Comments

[Kavita Rayirath]

For some reason, really enjoyed this set more than any I've read till now. :)

[mohit]

really like the trivia that is put forth. some of it is
cheers

[David]

You are doing a great job with this blog... keep up the good work..

cheers...

[blaiq]

@Kavita: I am not worrying about why you liked it, as long as you did :)

@Mohit & David: Thanks