Did you know?

• On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first-ever manned flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. His flight lasted 12 seconds and covered a distance of 120 ft(37 m). That same day, Orville’s brother (Wilbur) made his first flight, which lasted 59 seconds, with the same aircraft.
• Almost five years later, the Wright brothers were the first to fly in an airplane for more than one hour. On Sept 9, 1908, Orville Wright flew for 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 15 seconds. On Sept 21, 1908, Wilbur Wright flew for 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 25.8 seconds.
• Airplane engines may be classified as driven by propeller, jet, turbojet, or rocket. Most engines originally were of the internal-combustion, piston-operated type, which may be air- or liquid-cooled.
• Seventy-five thousand engineering drawings were used to produce the first Boeing 747.
• The first United States coast to coast airplane flight occurred in 1911 and took 49 days.
• A Boeing 737 weighing 150,000 pounds (68,000 kg) must deflect about 88,000 pounds (40,000 kg) of air – over a million cubic feet (31,500 cubit metres) down by 55 feet (16.75 m) each second while in flight.
• The fastest passenger aircraft was the concorde but its no longer in service. Currently, pilots in the fastest aircraft, X-15A-2, can fly Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound) or about 4,500 mph (7,000 km/hr).
• AN-225 MRIYA (NATO codename: “Cossacks”) is the largest and heaviest airplane in the world.

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• The Great Blue Herons are identified with their red-brown thighs and a paired red-brown and white stripe up the flanks. The neck of these herons is rusty-grey in colour, with black and white streaks running down the front. They have a nearly white face and the head is paler.
• This Heron species can be seen searching for food any time during the day, when there is enough light. They eat a wide variety of prey, other than fish, such as frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, and small birds. The Great Blue Heron is capable of swallowing a fish many times wider than its narrow neck.
• Herons are known to nest in colonies. One of the largest colonies of herons is located in Renton, Washington. Some time back, there were approximately 135 active nests in this heron colony.
• The Great Blue Herons keep adding sticks to their nests every year for re-use. The male heron brings sticks and the female works them into the nest. This is the reason why the older nest herons are best identified with their large size.
• Due to their tendency to congregate at fish hatcheries, blue herons are likely to create potential problems for fish farmers. A study conducted on herons discovered that herons mostly fed on diseased fish that would have anyway died soon. Sick fish spend more time near the water surface, thus becoming vulnerable to attack by herons.
• The Great Blue Herons have special neck vertebrae that allow them to curl their neck in to an “S” shape. This structure of their neck facilitates them a very quick strike at their prey. During the flight, the neck is folded back into the S-shape and the legs are stretched out behind them.
• Herons and egrets were usually hunted during the 19th century for their plumes. Their beautiful feathers were used to decorate hats made for women. This led to the depletion of many heron species. As such, heron hunting was outlawed in the early 20th century.
• As Great Blue Herons attempt to swallow their prey whole, they have been known to choke to death at times. Their long, S-shaped necks makes it difficult for them to swallow fish which are too long or large.
• The Great Blue Herons play an important role in the ecosystem. These birds help control population of fish and insects from various habitats. Also, herons are a source of food for animals like red-tailed hawks, bears, raccoons, eagles, and turkey vultures.
• Did you know that each year on La Grande Île in Lac Saint-Pierre near Montreal, more than 1000 Great Blue Herons come to nest.
• There are 7 known subspecies of the Herons, one of which is the Great White Heron, the white form of the Great Blue Heron. They have similar bodies as the Great Blue Heron, but are completely white in colour.
• The Herons have lifespan from 15 years to 24 years when living in the wild. While they are young, that period is considered to be their most vulnerable.
• After just 60 days of being hatched, a young Heron can start flying. Also, the biggest chick is given the most amount of food by the parents.
• Herons like to add sticks to their nests each year so that they can re-use them. Typically, male Herons bring the sticks and the female Herons work on the nest.
• Another one of the Great Blue Heron facts is that while in flight, the wingspan of the Herons can be as wide as 6 feet (182 cm). They also tend to hold their head close to their body, keeping the neck slightly bent.

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• Frogs absorb water through their skin so they don’t need to drink
• Frogs can lay as many as 4,000 eggs in frogspawn
• The eyes and nose of a frog are on top of its head so it can breathe and see when most of its body is under the water.
• Frogs need both water and land to live.
• A frog can change the colour of its skin depending on its surroundings.
• Frogs have long back legs and webbed feet for jumping and swimming.
• Certain frogs can jump up to 20 times their own body length in a single leap.
• Frogs usually eat meat (bugs and worms) and swallow their food whole.
• The world’s biggest frog is the Goliath frog from Cameroon in West Africa. Their body can be one-foot long (30 centimetres).
• The smallest frogs in the world are less than half-an-inch long (3 to 4 centimetres).
• The eggs of the marsupial frog are laid in a brood pouch on the mothers back and the young hatch out in a zipper-like fashion from the pouch.
• In the Seychelles, there is a male frog that carries its young around on its back until they become adults.
• Research has shown that Ammonium Nitrate (a fertilizer) can cause agonizing death for frogs. This fertilizer is spread on fields in the spring when frogs are migrating. Frogs suffer a massive toxic attack if they come in contact with it.
• Asian tree frogs build nests in trees over water so when their tadpoles hatch, they drop directly into the water.
• Frog bones form a new ring every year when the frog is hibernating, just like trees do. Scientists can count these rings to discover the age of the frog.
• The wax frog retains moisture in dry weather by producing wax from its skin and coating itself in it.
• Because frogs come out in the rain, people used to think that they fell to earth in the rain! And in nineteenth century England, people tried catching them to prove it.
• One type of desert frog can wait as long as seven years for water by surrounding itself in a type of transparent bag that becomes its first meal once the rain comes.
• A frog’s skin reflects the same amount of ultraviolet light as its immediate surroundings. This way it can protect itself from predators like snakes.
• The golden dart frog is the most poisonous frog on earth and the skin of one frog could kill up to 1,000 people.
• In recent years, a painkiller with 200 times the power of morphine has been found in the skin of a frog.
• Some frogs can survive in conditions well below freezing. The Grey Tree Frog. for example, can survive even though its heart stops. It does this by making its own antifreeze, which stops its body from freezing completely.
• The male Darwins Frog takes its mate’s eggs into its mouth as soon as they show signs of life and they stay there until they emerge as fully grown froglets.
• Frogs cannot live in the sea or any salt water.
• Many of the most brightly coloured tropical frogs are coloured in this way to warn predators that they are poisonous.
• A hibernating frog needs so little oxygen that it breathes through its skin

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• The average lifespan of a stork is thirty to forty years.
• The smallest stork is the Hammerkop stork at two feet (60 centimetres).
• The Marabou stork’s bill grows throughout its lifetime.
• Storks are carnivores. The stork’s diet consists of fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, rodents and other small mammals.
• There are many different species of storks. A few of the most common include the white stork, the black stork, the Marabou stork, the Yellow-billed stork, the Black-necked stork, the Painted stork and the Saddle-billed Stork.
• Storks communicate by clapping their bill.
• Stork chicks can eat up to sixty percent of their own body weight per day.
• The Marabou stork is a scavenger. It will eat just about any type of animal whether dead or alive.
• The population of the White stork has declined steadily over the last half century.
• A stork’s long legs help it to wade in deep water.
• Storks will often share their breeding grounds with other species.
• Young storks have darker plumage than adults.
• Many species of storks are migratory.
• Most storks reach sexual maturity around the age of four years.
• Northern Europeans once encouraged storks to nest on their homes hoping they would bring fertility and prosperity.
• Storks are a symbol of fertility and parental care.

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• The raccoon’s scientific name, Procyon lotor, means “washer dog” although it is a closer relative to the bear family.
• Population densities of raccoons in urban areas can be 20 times higher than for raccoons in rural environments.
• Raccoons have a large array of vocalizations. They purr, whistle, growl, hiss, scream and even whinny.
• Raccoons have been kept as pets (President Coolidge and his wife had one named Rebecca), and while young, seem happy to be in human company. As they mature, especially during mating season, they can become increasingly destructive and aggressive.
• A raccoon’s hands are so nimble they can unlace a shoe, unlatch a cage and deftly retrieve coins as thin as dimes from your shirt pocket.
• The average life expectancy of a raccoon is about 2-3 years in the wild, although there have been reported cases of some living up to 16 years. In captivity, they have been known to live past 20 years.
• In most areas, the majority of raccoons die from hunters and collisions with vehicles. In North America, the most common natural cause of death is distemper.
• The raccoon can carry the rabies virus and transmit it through its saliva. Main symptoms include aggressive behaviour, impaired mobility, a sickly appearance, and abnormal vocalization. Some may show no signs. Often, rabid raccoons will retire to their den.
• Raccoons also eat fruit and plants, including those grown in human gardens and farms. They will even open garbage cans to dine on the contents.

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• The heaviest insect in the world is the Goliath beetle from Africa. A big male can weigh up to 100 grams.
• Beetles are the largest order of insects in the world with more than 350,000 species.
• 40% of the recognized insects are classified as beetles.
• Scientists estimate the real number of beetle species to be between 4 million and 8 million.
• The metallic-coloured wing covers of some beetles are used for jewellery.
• The lightest beetle is the feather-winged beetle weighing 0.4 milligrams.
• The largest of the beetle family is the scarab beetle family with more than 20,000 species. It can support 850 times its own weight.
• Some beetles live on mountains more than 5,000 meters high.
• Beetles can both help and hurt the environment. While some species like Japanese beetle, potato beetle and boll weevil destroy crops and property, others like the ladybird beetles help in getting rid of garbage, eat dead trees and help pollinate flowers.
• Beetles cannot see very well and thus, communicate through pheromones, sounds or vibrations.
• They are poor flyers as compared to other insects but adapt well to rigorous conditions.
• Most of the beetles are terrestrial but some are underground tunnellers and some live in water.
• They recognize their surroundings through the antennas that are made up of 10 different sections.
• The beetle feeds on plants and fungi as well as the debris from both plants and animals.
• Bigger species of beetles can be seen eating small birds and small species of mammals.
• Depending on the species, the beetles can lay eggs ranging from a few to thousand in number.

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• The male counterpart of a cow is called bull and the offspring is known as a calf.
• A cow can climb up the stairs, but cannot climb down. This is because her knees cannot bend properly.
• A cow gives milk for the first time, only after she gives birth to a calf.
• A cow produces around 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
• A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day.
• A cow that weighs 1000 pound can produce an average 10 tons of manure every year.
• A cow usually spends 6-7 hours in day eating cud and around 8 hours on chewing it.
• Almost all the cows chew at least 50 times per minute.
• An average cow has more than 40,000 jaw movements in a day.
• An average cow produces 30 lbs (13,6 kg) of urine and 65 lbs(29,5 kg) pounds of feces daily.
• Cows are venerated in the Hindu religion of India.
• Cows can drink up to 35 gallons(132,5 litres) of water a day.
• Cows do not bite grass; rather they curl their tongue around it.
• Cows have a single stomach, but four digestive compartments.
• Cows have almost total 360-degree panoramic vision.
• Cows have an acute sense of smell and can smell something up to 6 miles away.
• Cows produce around 90 percent of the milk in the world.
• Dairy cows can produce up to 125 lbs(473 litres) of saliva a day.
• The average body temperature of a cow is 101.5°F (38.6 C°) .
• A Holstein cow, named Robthom Suzet Paddy, holds the record for the greatest yield for a single lactation (365 days), at 59,298 lbs (224467 litres) .
• A cow named Cow No. 289 holds the record for the highest lifetime yield of milk for a single cow, at 465,224 lbs (1761064 litres).
• The highest milk yield for a single day is 241 lbs (912 litres), by a cow named Urbe Blanca.
• The oldest cow till date was Big Bertha, a Dremon, which died just 3 months shy of her 49^th birthday.

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• For ancient Greeks and Romans, the bouquet was a pungent mix of garlic and herbs or grains. The garlic was supposed to ward off evil spirits and the herbs or grains were to insure a fruitful union. In ancient Poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride’s bouquet kept her temper sweet.
• The wedding cake has always played an important part in the wedding. Ancient Romans broke a cake over the bride’s head to symbolize fertility or abundance. Many other cultures dropped wheat, flour or cake on the bride’s head, and then ate the crumbs for good luck. The early British baked baskets of dry crackers, and every guest took one home after the wedding. In medieval times, guests brought small cakes and piled them on a table. The bride and groom then attempted to kiss over the cakes. Eventually, a young baker decided to put all the cakes together and cover them with frosting, thus the tiered wedding cake was born.
• Traditionally, brides did not wear white wedding gowns. Through the 18th century, most brides just wore their Sunday best to their wedding. Red was a favourite during the Middle Ages in Europe. Other colours were worn for symbolic reasons: blue meant constancy and green meant youth. As years passed, white was worn as a symbol of purity. Today, white merely symbolizes the wedding and is worn by any bride, no matter if it is their second marriage.
• The first weddings comprised of a groom taking his bride by capture. He would take her somewhere hidden away so her relatives and villagers couldn’t find them. There they stayed for one moon phase and drank mead, a wine make from honey, to make them more amorous. Thus, the word “honeymoon” was born. Today, the honeymoon is the time when the couple can get away for awhile.
• The first kiss a bride and groom share at the close of the ceremony has carried special significance through the centuries. Many cultures believed that the couple exchanged spirits with their breath and part of their souls were exchanged as well.
• The wedding ring has traditionally been worn on the third finger of the left hand because it was believed that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart. The third finger of the left hand has become the customary wedding-ring finger for all English-speaking cultures.
• One of the oldest wedding traditions, the custom of throwing rice, originated with the ancient Hindus and Chinese. In these cultures, rice is the symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. Tossing it after the ceremony was believed to bestow fertility upon the bride and groom. Eating rice and other grains was thought to guarantee health, wealth and happiness for the newly-weds. Today, rice tossing is being replaced by the more ecologically friendly birdseed tossing, because uncooked rice is damaging to birds who eat it off the church lawn.
• Mystique and romance has surrounded the veil for more than one thousand years. Originally, the veil is thought to have been used to hide the bride from abductors, just as the similar dress of her bridesmaids was meant to do. But a more romantic interpretation evolved later which believed that concealment (as the bride’s face beneath a veil) rendered what was hidden more valuable. Another early interpretation of the veil was that it symbolized youth and virginity.

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• The word “cemetery,” which is the traditional place to bury the dead, comes from the German words koimeterion (meaning a sleeping place), and koiman (to put to sleep). The word, “graveyard,” was not recorded until the early 19th century.
• In March 2002, archaeologists removed what is believed to be the oldest Christian tombstone found in Japan. Discovered near Osaka, Japan, the grave marker relic was dated in the 16th century from the ground in Osaka Japan. Historians believe the tombstone was buried to hide it from authorities who persecuted Christian in its time.
• Located on Route 80, near Tombstone, Arizona, the Boot Hill Graveyard became the final resting place to over 250 gunslingers, miners, and other fearless wild west pioneers. One of the tombstone epitaphs reads, Here lies Lester Moore 4 slugs from a 44 no less no more.
• The oldest known pet cemetery was uncovered in Green Country, Illinois by archaeologist, Dr. Stewart Schrever. He believes the pets were interred there around 6500 BC.
• The Vicksburg National Cemetery has the distinction of having the largest number of Civil War interments of any national cemetery in the United States. Of the approximate 17,000 Union veterans, only 5,000 are known. There are no Confederate burials here.

Extra info on the photo: This photo was taken at a WWII cemetery located in Harlingen, the Netherlands.

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• The adult male is called a cob. He is the only known bird to have a penis.
• He is both a devoted father and husband. He has been known to use a blow from the “knuckle bone” of his wing to defend his family. His blow is said to be strong enough to break a man’s arm according to Donald and Louise Peattie in “Legend with Wings.”
• The Mute Swan is perhaps the noisiest of all swans having eight different sounds in its repertoire.
• Swans can fly as fast as 50 to 60 mph (80 to 96 kph).
• Some swans have a wingspan of 10 feet (3 metres)!
• A baby swan or cygnet has a grey feathered coat until it reaches about 20 pounds (9 kilograms). Then it too will become snowy white like its parents.
• A baby swan pecks at the inside of the egg for 24 hours prior to making its entrance.
• The female swan is referred to as a pen.
• Visually the most noticeable difference between the male and female swan is size, unlike many other animals where the male and female are coloured differently.
• The typical weight of a swan is from 11.3 to 15.88 kg (25 to 35 pounds) and height while standing alert 4 feet or 1.2 meters.
• The regal beauty is one of the reasons for the swan to be considered as a royal bird in England and all swans found in the open waters belong to the crown.
• They are not known to attack humans without cause, and actually can remember humans that have been kind to them.
• The mute swan’s neck has 23 vertebrae, which is more than any other bird.
• Their life expectancy in a protected environment is as long as 30 years.

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