Page 40 - The 'X' Zone Book of Triviology

o France’s Charles VI had iron rods put into his clothes to keep his “glass body” from breaking. o Charlemagne and Otto von Bismarck are credited with leading the First and Second Reich. o For 209 days, a Canadian named Andrew Bonar Law was Prime Minister of Britain. o Jean-Paul Marat and Agamemnon were both slain in their bathtubs by women. o David Livingston wasn’t exactly lost. He just wasn’t interested in being found. o Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, and Fiji, but never noticed Australia. o Although John Cabot sailed for the British, he was really an Italian named Giovanni Caboto, o The British Empire started in Newfoundland, where England founded its first overseas colony. o Magellan was not the first person to sail around the world. He was killed partway through. o Saint Augustine, Jamestown, and Quebec City were all founded before Plymouth. o Miranda Stuart posed as a man to become a British medical officer in Canada. o Lady Jane Grey was England’s first queen in nearly 400 years, but lasted just nine days. o England’s George I was German and could barely speak English. o After William the Conqueror died, someone stole every bone in his body but his thigh bone. o England’s Queen Anne became so heavy that she needed to be moved with pulleys. o Winston Churchill’s mother was American and his father was a famous political figure. o In August 2000, women filled the top five political and judicial posts in New Zealand. o Thomas More, who coined the word “utopia,” was executed by Henry VIII. o The Marquis de Lafayette was labeled a traitor during the French Revolution. o England’s Stonehenge is 1,500 years older than Rome’s Coliseum. o 1984 headlines in the National Examiner: “Nixon Was Grooming Elvis for President.” o The air that leaves your body when you exhale floats out at a rate of 15 m.p.h. o Meat takes longer than other foods to digest. o Your fingernails grow up to four times faster than your toenails. o A hard rain falls at the rate of about 20 m.p.h. o Chop Suey was invented in California. o Ivan the Terrible built the Kremlin - then gouged the architect’s eyes out to prevent him from ever designing another structure like it. o At the height of its power, Sparta had 25,000 citizens and 500,000 slaves. o In 1892, Italy raised the minimum age for marriage for girls to 12. o In 1787 the official U.S. currency was established as the dollar. o The name of the Wright Brothers’ first plane was Bird of Prey. o Of Queen Anne’s 18 children, 13 were stillborn. The only that survived infancy died at 11. o Charles Curtis, who became U.S. vice-president in 1929, was part Kaw Indian. o Although King John signed the Magna Carta, he had Pope Innocent annul it. o Winston Churchill wrote much of Edward VIII’s famous abdication speech. o Benjamin Harrison, who left office in 1893, was the last bearded U.S. president. o Diana was the first British subject to marry an heir to the throne since 1659. o Cats first domesticated humanity around 8000 B.C. o Cleopatra wasn’t even Egyptian. She was Greek. o Holly has never grown in Hollywood - the town was named after an estate in Illinois. o Almost 1/10 of the garbage Americans produce is plastics. o The character most often portrayed in is Sherlock Holmes. o The airfield from which Charles Lindbergh began his famous trip is now a shopping center. o Charlemagne’s parents were Pepin the Short and Bertha of the Big Foot.