Fun facts!

Reggie Walker won the 100 metres at the Olympic Games in London in 1908, the first South African, and the first African, to win the Olympic 100 metres title.

Bruce Fordyce won the Comrades marathon in 1981. The Comrades marathon is widely recognised as the world's greatest ultra-marathon. Bruce Fordyce dominated this event in the eighties, winning in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990. Sam Tshabalala won in 1989, becoming the first black winner of the Comrades. Fordyce didn't race that year.

Graeme Pollock is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all-time! He made his Test debut at the age of 19, and in just 41 tests he scored 2484 runs at an average of 60.97, with five centuries and 15 fifties. He also captured 47 wickets at an average 39.55 runs per wicket. Sadly, his test career was cut short when, at the age of twenty six, an international sporting ban was imposed on South Africa as a result of Apartheid. He was arguably the greatest left-handed batsman the world has yet seen.

Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.

The first coast-to-coast telephone line was established in 1914.

Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal." The second was William Jefferson Clinton.

An airplane mechanic invented Slinky while he was playing with engine parts and realized the possible secondary use for the springs.

By partially filling saucers with vinegar and distributing the saucers around a room, you can eliminate odors.

Leonardo Da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards

The state that grows the most cranberries is Wisconsin. More than 300 million pounds of cranberries are grown in Wisconsin.

Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women! (use that to your advantage, girls!)

The best time for a person to buy shoes is in the afternoon. This is because the foot tends to swell a bit around this time. (it's afternoon now, sounds like a good excuse for some mall time!)

Now, for our member added fact:
kimark421 said, Nixon's name can spell "criminal"? Interesting...If there is ever a candidate who's name can spell "zombie", I'm not voting for him/her.

Surgeons who listen to music during operations perform better than those who don't . (let's just hope they don't dance while operating!)

The chances of you dying on the way to get your lottery tickets is greater than your chances of winning. (I don't believe that..maybe someone should let me test that out..)

The normal static electricty shock that zaps your finger when you touch a doorknob is usually between 10,000 and 30,000 volts!

The 'vintage date' on a bottle of wine indicates the year the grapes were picked, not the year of bottling!

A man once sued his doctor because he survived his cancer longer than the doctor predicted.

A recent study at Harvard has shown that eating chocolate can actually help you live longer! (see? that's why I have a chocolate in the kitchen!)

Research indicates that babies who suck on pacifiers are more prone to ear aches. Poor babies!

Because metal was scarce; the Oscars given out during World War II were made of plaster.

A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. Thus the saying, I will be there in a jiffy. (Yet, somehow, I'm always late..)

A single cup of gasoline, when ignited, has the same explosive power as five sticks of dynamite.

All clams start out as males; some decide to become females at some point in their lives. (don't humans do that also..?)

An iceberg contains more heat than a lit match. (and that's just the tip of the iceberg!)

Pollen never deteriorates. It is one of the few natural substances that lasts indefinitely (no wonder my allergies are so bad!)

Technically speaking, crystal glass is actually a Liquid that flows very slowly.

The mile is Latin for 1,000. The number of paces it took the average Roman! (they must have been in shape!)

More than 6,000 people with pillow-related injuries check into U.S. emergency rooms every year! (sounds like a new show, "when pillows attack")

More redheads are born in Scotland than in any other part of the world.

No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 8 times. (I've tried this so many times)

Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. (I'm not sure if I believe this one)

In 1993, Crayola released a new color called Purple Mountains Majesty which was inspired by a phrase in America the Beautiful. (now that I have that song stuck in my head..)

In Albania, nodding your head means 'no' and shaking your head means 'yes'.