• The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and
Wilma Flintstone.

• Coca-Cola was originally green.

• Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

• Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

• The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% ( now get this...)

• The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

• The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000

• The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

• The youngest pope was 11 years old.

• The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

• Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David,
Hearts - Charlemagne,
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

• 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

• If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

• "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

• Q. What occurs more often in December than any other month?
A. Conception.

• Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you could find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

• Q. What do bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

• Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

• In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight".

• It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month or what we know today as the honeymoon.

• In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

• Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

• In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had consent of the King (unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent of the King, the King gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex. The placard had F.*.*.* (Fornication Under Consent of the King) on it. Now you know where that word came from.

• In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

courtesy of yazie of 06a3

Since someone hollered so loudly for it (lol) here it is. I got it off a webpage whole sale so if there are any errors and missing bits, well, let's leave them to ms nora to fill in the juicier parts of the story that may be missing yeah? hehe

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The 'Singa' - How Singapore was named
The word 'singa' is actually the Malay word for 'lion'. Therefore, Singapore is sometimes referred to as the 'Lion City'.

Sang Nila Utama, an imaginative & adventurous king was restless by nature and wanted to travel to far away places. He loved hunting wild animals, so when he heard that there were stags in the jungles of Tanjong Bentam which were not easy to hunt, he was excited and took with him a great fleet of ships to Tanjong Bentam.

When the king arrived upon the island, he and his subjects had a hunting expedition that lasted several hours, slaying many wild and savage beasts, but no stags. This disappointed the king, for he had a sense of unfulfillment in his heart.

Suddenly, a large stag darted out of the bush in front of Sang Nila Utama, giving the king a shock...but the king drew his silver dagger and hurled it at the stag, only grazing the animal. The stag began to run and the king pursued it (in those days, it was either your feet or nothing)

The stag ran through the jungle and darted up a knoll. The king followed the stag up the hill, but upon reaching the summit, the stag was nowhere to be seen. There was a large rock, so the king climbed it and looked the land and sea spread out around him. In the distance, he saw a stretch of white sand - an island.

Sang Nila Utama was fascinated by the sight of the island. He turned to one of his subjects who had followed him.

'What is the name of that island?'

The subject looked into the distance and smiled.

'That is Temasek, Your Highness.'

'Then we are going there.'

The king ordered his fleet to set sail and they began on their journey towards the island.

Suddenly the once clear blue skies were covered with black clouds, heavy rain poured from them and strong bursts of wind threatened to tear the ships apart. The ship carrying Sang Nila Utama was in the very eye of the storm. The crew lowered the sails, started to bail the water from the ship and get most of the cargo for jettisoning.

However, an idea came to the king's head. He remembered a story his grandfather told him of how one of his ancestors became the Sea-King and that his crown was the only thing which belonged to his ancestor. He removed his crown immediately & threw it into the sea.

All at once, the storm broke. As suddenly as it started, the skies began to clear and the crew gave a shout of joy and set sail once more to the island of Temasek.

When the king stepped upon the island, a creature stepped out of nowhere, and the king and his men were awe-struck by the magnificent creature. It was large and moved with grace, had a black head, covered in a furry mane, a whitish neck and a red body. When the king drew his bow & arrow, the beast stared back at him with golden eyes and let out a deafening roar before leaping into the jungle.

'What sort of animal was that?', the king asked.

A wise old man stepped forth.

'I have seen animals in potraits from the Far West. Perhaps this is a 'singa', but I wonder how it got all the way here.'

'This must be a great place if it breeds such a beautiful animal. Let us live here...here on the island of Singapura.'