That's enough pencils to circle the globe 62 times, believe it or not.

Japan paid a million yen to a team of scientists who claimed to develop a "death ray" that would use wave electric power to kill persons standing kilometres away, based on Nikola Tesla's ideas. The Japanese got as far as developing a prototype that could kill from half a mile away—but the victim had to stay motionless for 10 minutes for it to operate.

The largest book market in the world, College Street is a bibliophile's paradise. People from all over the world swarm here like bees to browse the enormous selection of books available, which range from common textbooks to rare archives, brand-new volumes to antiques.

Walt Disney may have been the first to put gloves on his characters, as shown in Mickey Mouse's 1929 film The Opry House. Aside from being simpler to animate, Disney chose gloves for another reason: “We didn't want Mickey to have mouse hands because he was meant to be more human,” Disney told his biographer in 1957.

Scratching can temporarily relieve the itching associated with eczema, but it never provides long-term relief. Scratching the affected area of the skin can aggravate the irritation and inflammation and expose your skin to infection.

In 2023, the probiotics industry will be worth 69.3 billion dollars. The market was worth 16 billion dollars in 2008. Thus, in 15 years, the need for probiotics will have increased by 427%.

Memory sticks, key drives, pen drives, thumb drives, and even jump drives are other names for USB flash drives. Even though many of these names are no longer commonly used, they might nevertheless be mentioned sometimes.

It is the biggest inland body of water in the world. The Black Sea has a total area of 163,000 square miles, which is larger than the whole state of California. The Black Sea, however, differs from most other inland bodies of water in that it is also classified as a marginal sea.

Bhutan had no roads, automobiles, telephones, postal systems, or electricity until the 1970s for the same reason. The government only relaxed the ban on television and the Internet in 1999. The Bhutanese government did this to preserve its national identity. As a result, Bhutan has kept many of its customs and has remained a remote Himalayan country steeped in mystery.

Lionel Messi is live proof that Argentinians are goal-scoring machines. But an incredible football fact is that on December 26, 1998, one day after Christmas, Ricardo Olivera created history by scoring a goal in 2.8 seconds. To put it in context, a regular human can speak 7.5 words in 3 seconds. "We just had the kick-off," the commentators must have exclaimed, as the scoreboard read 1-0. Olivera beat the mark set by English footballer Colin Cowperthwaite in 1979, when he scored in 3.5 seconds against Kettering.

During WWII, bright red lipstick surged back into vogue for an unexpected purpose. Adolf Hitler reputedly despised red lipstick, among other reasons. In the 1940s, women crowded the industries on the battlefields wearing red lipstick as a symbol of patriotism and bravery. The Marines pushed this trend a step further by making 'Montezuma Red' lipstick required for female Marines. Montezuma is a line from the Marine song commemorating the Halls of Montezuma, a fight in which US Marines participated during the Mexican War. The color red symbolized the American flag and grew to symbolize strength.

Thanks to its microscopic budget and major success at the box office, the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, scored a return on investment of 19,758 percent, absolutely blowing away the next most profitable film (2015 horror film Gallows, with an ROI of 6,843 percent). It cost just $60,000 to make and another $400,000 or so to market, yet ultimately brought in more than $89 million.

The first train in India began service on April 16, 1853. Mumbai Locals are the world's busiest railroads, carrying over 2.2 billion people each year. Mumbai also features India's most out-of-date electric train network, established in 1925.

Vatican City also has the world's shortest railway. Citta Vaticano is the only stop on the station's two 300-meter lines. During Pope Pius XI's papacy, railroad tracks and train stations were erected. It is used to transport things. There are no regular passenger trains scheduled to run on it.

This Amazing Facts About Hindi feature distinguishes it from other languages. When Hindi is written, it is pronounced precisely. This signifies that there are no silent letters in Hindi.

Take a look at your atlas if you haven't already! When turned 90 degrees, Nepal resembles the map of Portugal. It gives you something to brag about, doesn't it?

Glass, contrary to popular belief, is not a solid... liquid... or gas. Glass cools to form a "amorphous solid," which allows molecules within the glass to continue moving.

The temples built during the medieval period were only discovered in the twentieth century and have since been preserved.

A serum is an excellent moisturizer for the skin. While moisturisers stay on the skin's barrier and prevent moisture from leaving, serums penetrate deep into the skin and replace moisture that has been lost.

Pulpally in Wayanad is home to Kerala's only Luv Kush Temple. The 'Sita Lava Kusha Temple is said to have formerly been inhabited by Sita Devi.

Several famous couples have won Oscars, but only one Hollywood family can claim to be truly Oscar-winning - The Minelli's. Liza Minelli, daughter of Vincente Minnelli (who won Best Director in 1959 for Gigi) and Judy Garland (who received a miniature Juvenile Award in 1940), won Best Actress for Cabaret in 1973.

The human population of Australia is around 25,704,340. In 2009/2010, The Australian Govt counted 27 million kangaroos across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.

We used to think that stress caused sores in your stomach that doesn’t heal. We now know that prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®), or naproxen (Aleve®), can interfere with stomach mucus.

Ulcers result when stomach acid reaches the lining, and when they bleed they can cause pain and even be life-threatening.

A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, also can cause ulcers. An Australian doctor proved this by drinking the bacteria himself, and he and his colleague won a Nobel prize for the discovery. 

If you've ever considered memorizing all of the different species of butterflies, it might take a little longer than you expected. Those species that are usually found in the lower 48 states of the United States would be a good place to start. Still, that figure is close to 575, so we recommend making note cards or focusing on the butterflies you see in and around your yard this spring and summer.

Lions prefer hunting at night as they have eyes that are adapted to the dark. And these features give them a great advantage over their prey. Lions also prefer hunting during the storms as the noise and wind make it harder for the prey to hear or see them, and hence they can easily attack them. A great strategy, isn't it?