Archives: Useless Facts

Do you know when Gmail (the email service provided by Google) was first launched?

While the Earth is about 8000 miles wide, the Sun is approximately 900,000 miles wide (that’s about 1.4 million kilometers ).  If you imagine the Sun being a hollow ball, about one million Earths could fit inside. Now THAT is big!

The Earth is about 13 thousand kilometres (8000 miles) wide and is about 93 million miles away.  Although it may look only a little bigger than the moon, our Sun is a star, and is significantly bigger than every planet in our Solar System. How much bigger you ask? Find out on Friday (or look it up now).

Although the word “triskaidekaphobia” means fear of the number 13, the term for the fear of Friday the 13th is Paraskevidekatriaphobia.

It’s an extension of triskaidekaphobia which originates from the Greek word for Friday (Paraskevi).

What is the fear of Friday the 13th (not the movie) called?

Hint: It’s NOT triskaidekaphobia.

The deepest lake in the United States is Crater Lake in Oregon at 1,932 feet (589 meters), but the lake pictured in Monday’s question (How Deep is Your Lake) is Lake Baikal in the southern Siberia area of Russia. Lake Baikal is not only the world’s deepest lake – it is over a mile deep (1,642 metres or 5,387 feet), but it’s also the largest freshwater lake in the world (by volume).  Crater Lake in Oregon is actually the 9th deepest lake in the world.

An additional bit of trivia for you lake buffs:   In terms of volume, Lake Superior (about 40 miles north of Munising, Michigan) while not on the top ten list of deepest lakes, is second only to Russia’s Lake Baikal in terms of sheer volume. Lake Superior contains 10% of all the earth’s fresh surface water.

What is the deepest lake in the United States?

A group of toads is referred to as a knot!

What term is used to refer to a group of toads?

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is Lady Gaga!