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Almost any domestic cat can run faster than Usain Bolt.

According to a 2015 poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, 30% of Republicans polled in favour of bombing the fictional city of Agrabah, featured in Disney’s Aladdin (1992).

Kali is the Hindu goddess of death, violence, sexuality and, motherly love.

In 2015, there were more days with a mass shooting than days without a mass shooting in the United States.

The Moon has earthquakes that last for up to 10 minutes. Because the Moon is so dry and dense, they earthquakes it vibrate like a tuning fork.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts

Missouri

Missouri was named after a tribe of Sioux Indians called the Missouris. While often mistranslated as ‘muddy water,’ the word actually means ‘town of the large canoes.’

Most people who are vaguely familiar with Missouri probably think of a place where all the festivals are named after a fruit, vegetable, or grain; where most local gas stations sell live bait; and, where everyone ends their sentences with an unnecessary preposition. E.g. “Where’s my coat at?” or “If you go to the mall I wanna go with.”

According Business Insider research, in 2014, Missouri was considered one of the ‘most normal’ States in the US. Now, before we discard Missouri as one of the most – if not the most – average, unassuming, bland, vanilla US State, consider the following points:

• In 1865, Missouri became the first slave state to free its slaves.
• Missouri is known as the “Show Me State”, and the state animal is the Mule.
• The tallest man in documented medical history was Robert Pershing Wadlow from St. Louis. He was 8 feet, 11.1 inches tall.
• In 1811, New Madrid, Missouri was struck by the most powerful earthquake in US history; it was felt over 1000 miles away.
• The state musical instrument of Missouri is the fiddle and the state folk dance is the square dance.
• At the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, Richard Blechyden, served tea with ice and invented iced tea.
• In 1904, St. Louis, Missouri hosted the first Olympic Games held in the US. It lasted for four and a half months. ‘Climbing a greased pole’ was one of the events. Also, during the marathon almost half of the runners got heat stroke.

“I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missouri”
– Abe ‘Grandpa’ Simpson

• Samuel Clemens, more familiarly known as Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was born in Florida, Missouri and grew up near a place called Hannibal. Other famous writers from Missouri include T.S. Eliot and Maya Angelou.
• On March 18, 1925, Missouri was hit by the most destructive tornado in US history, at least 695 people were killed, over 15,000 homes demolished, and ninety percent of the city of Annapolis was destroyed.
• President Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, May 8, 1884. Harry Truman was the only U.S. President to hail from Missouri. After he left the White House in 1953, he and his wife Bess moved back to the Independence home they shared with his mother-in-law and lived off his $112.56 monthly Army pension.
• Some of the names of Frontier Missouri chewing tobacco include “Scalping Knife,” “My Wife’s Hat,” “Lock and Chain,” and “Wiggletail Twist.”
• In 2007, St. Louis, Missouri was dubbed ‘the most smoker-friendly city in the US’ by Forbes Magazine.
• Dr Pepper was introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. 7-Up also was invented in St. Louis.
• To appeal to as many voters as possible, politicians sometimes pronounce “Missouri” two different ways—Missouree and Missourah—in the same speech. The Missourah pronunciation is usually more prevalent in rural areas.

About Albania

Albania is a country about which Maximilian Lambertz wrote in 1956: “The true history of mankind will be written only when Albanians participate in its writing.” Unfortunately, there are a number of things which remain unknown about this fascinating plucky little country that has been politically isolated for most of the past century. Here are some facts to remedy that:

• The Albanians call Albania Squiperia.
• Curiously, – from a western point of view – Albanians nod their head up and down to mean ‘no’, and shake it from side to side for ‘yes’.
• At the time of writing, Albania, Armenia and Vatican City are the only European countries without a McDonald’s branch.
• King Zog of Albania (who ruled between 1928-1939) was the only national leader in modern times to return fire during an assassination attempt.
• In 1995, drivers in the Albanian city of Shkodra refused to pay a new traffic-light tax on the grounds that their city had no traffic lights.
• Albania has never won a medal at the Olympics.
• The Albanian language has several words for eyebrows. For example, a Vetullushe is goat with brown eyebrows.
• The England cricketer C. B. Fry (1872-1956) – an interesting man who could jump backwards onto a mantelpiece from a standing position without losing his balance, held the world long-jump record, played in an F.A. cup final, and could speak several languages – was offered the throne of Albania, but turned it down.