Dripread - Book

circumstances.

The average of human life is 33 years. One child out of every four dies
before the age of 7 years, and only one-half of the world's population
reach the age of 17. One out of 10,000 reaches 100 years. The average
number of births per day is about 120,000, exceeding the deaths by about
15 per minute. There have been many alleged cases of longevity in all
ages, but only a few are authentic.

The various nations of Europe are represented in the list of Popes as
follows: English, 1; Dutch, 1; Swiss, 1; Portuguese, 1; African, 2;
Austrian, 2; Spanish, 5; German, 6; Syrian, 8; Greek, 14; French, 16;
Italian, 200. Eleven Popes reigned over 20 years; 69, from 10 to 20; 57,
from 5 to 10; and the reign of 116 was less than 5 years. The reign of
Piux IX was the longest of all, the only one exceeding 25 years.

A knot, in sailor phrase, is a nautical mile, 6,080 feet, or 800 feet
more than a land mile.

The Garden of the Gods is near Colorado Springs and consists of a tract
some 50 acres in area surrounded by mountains and ravines of red
sandstone. A number of large upright rocks, some as high as 350 feet,
have given the beautiful valley its name. It is entered by a very narrow
pass called the "Beautiful Gate."

The Trans-Siberian Railway is 6,003 miles long and was built at a cost
of $201,350,860.

The longest reigns in English history were; Victoria, 64 years; George
III., 60; Henry III, 56; Edward III, 50; Elizabeth, 45; Henry VIII., 38.

The highest mountain in North America is Mt. McKinley, at the headwaters
of the Suswhitna and Kuskokwim rivers, Alaska. Its height is 20,464
feet.

The largest viaduct in the world was designed and built by American
engineers for the English railway in Burma. It crosses the Gokteik
gorge, eighty miles from Mandalay. It is 2,260 feet long and 325 feet
high, and was constructed in 1900.

The degrees of alcohol in wines and liquors are: Beer, 4.0; porter, 4.5;
ale, 7.4; cider, 8.6; Moselle, 9.6; Tokay, 10.2; Rhine, 11.0; orange,
11.2; Bordeaux, 11.5; hock, 11.6; gooseberry, 11.8; Champagne, 12.2;
claret, 13.3; Burgundy, 13.6; Malaga, 17.3; Lisbon, 18.5; Canary, 18.8;
sherry, 19.0; vermouth, 19.0; Cape, 19.2; Malmsey, 19.7; Marsala, 20.2;
Madeira, 21.0; Port, 23.2; Curacoa, 27.0; aniseed, 33.0; Maraschino,
34.0; Chartreuse, 43.0; gin, 51.6; brandy, 53.4; rum, 53.7; Irish
whisky, 53.9; Scotch, 54.3. Spirits are said to be "proof" when they
contain 57 per cent. The maximum amount of alcohol, says Parkes, that a
man can take daily without injury to his health is that contained in 2
oz. Brandy, 1/4 pt. of sherry, 1/2 pt. of claret, or 1 pt. of beer.

The measurement of that part of the skull which holds the brain is
stated in cubic inches thus: Anglo-Saxon, 105; German, 105; negro, 96;
ancient Egyptian, 93; Hottentot, 58; Australian native, 58. In all races
the male brain is about ten per cent heavier than the female. The
highest class of apes has only 16 oz. of brain. A man's brain, it is
estimated, consists of 300,000,000 nerve cells, of which over 3,000 are
disintegrated and destroyed every minute. Everyone, therefore, has a new
brain once in sixty days. But excessive labor, or lack of sleep,
prevents the repair of the tissues, and the brain gradually wastes away.
Diversity of occupation, by calling upon different portions of the mind
or body successively, affords, in some measure, the requisite repose to
each. But in this age of overwork there is no safety except in that
perfect rest which is the only natural restorative of exhausted power.

The King James version of the Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746
words, 31,173 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books. The word and occurs
46,277 times. The word Lord occurs 1,855 times. The word Reverend occurs
but once, which is in the 9th verse of the 111th Psalm. The middle verse
is the 8th verse of the 118th Psalm. The 21st verse of the 7th chapter
of Ezra contains all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J.
The 19th chapter of II Kings and the 37th chapter of Isaiah are alike.
The longest verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther. The
shortest verse is the 35th verse of the 11th chapter of St. John. There
are no words or names of more than six syllables.

SOME OF NATURE'S WONDERS.

The human body has 240 bones.

Man's heart beats 92,160 times in a day.

A salmon has been known to produce 10,000,000 eggs.� Some female spiders
produce 2,000 eggs. A queen bee produces 100,000 eggs in a season.

There are 9,000 cells in a square foot of

The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing / A Manual of Ready Reference