Where is the Geographic Center of the U.S.?

The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is a field in Kansas.

Many states consider themselves the heartland of America, but where exactly is the geographic center of the U.S.?

Which Bone Can Support 30 Times the weight of Your Body?

Your femur can support 30 times the weight of your body.

The world’s most important pieces of infrastructure are overbuilt with safety in mind. 

New bridges can handle stresses far beyond what they’d ever experience, and airplanes are similarly designed with redundancies. 

Do Other Animals Have a Midlife Crisis?

Apes go through a midlife crisis.

Humans are members of the great ape family Hominidae, and the physical similarities between us and our primate cousins are clear. 

We have the same arrangement of internal organs and roughly the same number of bones, we lack external tails, and we even get the same diseases. 

What Animal Can Make 276 Facial Expressions?

Cats can make 276 different facial expressions.

While cats give off a solitary vibe, often appearing much more aloof than their canine counterparts, felines are actually very social creatures. 

They form bonds with littermates, establish colonies, and may develop just as strong a connection with their pet parents as dogs do.

What Came first — Chopsticks or the Fork?

As common eating utensils, chopsticks in Asia are about 2,000 years older than the fork in Europe.

By the time most people in Europe started eating with forks, chopsticks had already been around in Asia for millennia. 

The versatile utensil is believed to have been invented in China roughly 5,000 years ago.

What Country’s National Animal is the Unicorn

Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.

America has the eagle, England has the lion, and Scotland has the unicorn. 

And while the horned mythological creature may not actually exist, the traits it represents certainly do.

Purity, independence, and an untamable spirit are all qualities Scotland has long cherished.

Is Canned Pumpkin Actually Pumpkin?

Libby’s created its own variety of pumpkin. 

Baking a no-frills pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin and a premade crust takes about an hour today, though pie-making wasn’t always so simple.

Before the ease of cracking open a can of pumpkin, cooks had to stew their own mixture, cooking pumpkins for hours just to create a custardy pie filling. 

Selecting the right pumpkin was paramount to a proper pie, not every pumpkin was a prize pick for the pastry. 

Do You Sneeze When You See a Bright Light?

Around one in four people sneeze when they see a bright light. Sunlight tends to be good for us.

It helps our bodies create vitamin D and mood-lifting serotonin, and even syncs our circadian rhythms. 

However, some people experience an unexpected side effect after glancing into the sun: sneezing.

Where Does Most of Earth's Oxygen Come From?

About 80% of the Earth's oxygen comes from plankton.

Prochlorococcus, a species of ocean dwelling phytoplankton, measures only about 0.6 micrometers. 

It is the world’s smallest organism capable of photosynthesis, so small that 20,000 or so can reside in a single water droplet.

How Gas Stations Make Money?

Gas stations make more money from convenience items than from selling gas.

In much the same way that movie theaters make higher profits from concessions than they do from tickets, gas stations make more money from convenience items than they do from selling gas. 

The profit margins on gasoline are extremely and surprisingly low, so much so that filling stations barely make any money just from selling fuel.

Do Twins Live Longer?

Twins live longer.

What are the health benefits of having a close friend, like identical twins close, for your entire life? 

Well, according to research from the University of Washington, the positive effects on life expectancy can be astounding. 

Want to Visit Point Roberts, Washington? Bring Your Passport

There is a part of the U.S. that you can only get to through Canada.

The U.S. and Canada share the longest land border in the world.

And along any border that measures in the several-thousand-mile range, there are bound to be some quirks. 

The Real Person Behind Chef Boyardee

Chef Boyardee was a real person.

The world knows him as the jovial-looking fellow whose face has graced untold numbers of ravioli cans.

But to those who knew him in life, he was Ettore “Hector” Boiardi which is to say, Chef Boyardee was a real person. 

What City Will Soon Charge Tourists to enter?

Venice will soon become the first city in the world to charge visitors to enter.

There are some places in the world you just have to see to believe, and Venice is near the top of the list. 

Its incredible architecture coupled with its precarious placement in the Laguna di Venezia make it a truly one-of-a-kind location which is also part of a problem. 

What Chocolate Bar is Named for a Horse?

The Snickers candy bar was named after one of the Mars family's favorite horses.

While names like Hershey’s and 3 Musketeers (which originally included three bars) are fairly straightforward, some candy bar monikers are more elusive. 

Case in point: what, exactly, is a Snickers? Well, it’s actually a “who” — and not a human “who” at that.