Know It All

Courts of law in the United States devote more than half their time to cases involving automobiles.

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The first Major League baseball player to earn $1 million in a single season was Nolan Ryan. He signed baseball's first $1 million contract with the Houston Astros in 1980.

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The Coasters was the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, Ohio.

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The average person over 50 will have spent five years waiting in lines.

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What do the following professionals study? Marine biologist, paleontologist, botanist, entomologist, zoologist and selenologist. See answer at end.

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You've heard of the state flower and the state bird. Some states have official baked goods. Massachusetts' state muffin is the corn muffin, New York's is the apple muffin. New Mexico's state cookie is biscotti. California does not have an official baked good, but we do have an official state dance - the West Coast Swing Dance, adopted in 1988.

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The Sugar Maple tree is the state tree of Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and New York.

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Texas has the highest bat population in the United States.

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The Army refers to its vehicles as "general purpose" vehicles. The slang for the vehicles was GP which, when said aloud, sounds like Jeep, which is the origin of the name Jeep.

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The United States shreds 7,000 tons of worn-out currency each year.

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Most mammals, including dogs, have belly buttons.

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More than one-third of dog owners in the United States admit they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away.

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The National Hockey league began in 1917. Regulation size for a hockey goal cage is four-feet high and six-feet wide.

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On the television show "Dallas" J. R. Ewing's initials stand for John Ross. Larry Hagman played the character during the show's run from 1978 to 1991.

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In 1775, the United States Postal Service handled 250,000 pieces of mail each year. Today the USPS handles 162 billion pieces of mail per year.

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A vegetarian is an herbivore. A vegan eats plant products only and excludes eggs, milk and cheese from their diet.

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One inch of rain is equal to 10 inches of snow.

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Rainforests cover less than 7 percent of the Earth's surface, yet they receive almost half of all the rain that falls on land.

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A cubic mile of ordinary fog contains less than a gallon of water.

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Tom Brokaw's wife, Meredith, is a former Miss South Dakota.

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Abraham and Mary Lincoln had four sons, only one of who lived to be an adult. Edward died at 3, William died at 11 and Thomas died at age 18. Robert lived to be 82.

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California has the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States. The highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,491 feet above sea level. The lowest point is Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level.

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There are more than 2,000 species of catfish. Catfish live in both fresh and salt water.

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The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start; Asia, Antarctica, Australia, Africa and Europe. North America and South America also count if you don't count the first word.

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An estimated 500 million people were killed by smallpox in the 20th Century.

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Answer: A marine biologist studies plant and animal life in water, a paleontologist studies dinosaurs, a botanist studies plants, an entomologist studies insects, a zoologist studies animals and a selenologist studies the moon.

Know It All is compiled by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Know any trivia or facts you would like to share? E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or fax 344-5290.