AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CLII

1. Salvador Dali paid his restaurant bills by check, always making a little drawing on the back. The checks were never cashed.

2. TSUNDOKU is the Japanese word for the stack of books you've purchased but not yet read. It can also mean a person who buys books but has no intention of reading them. 

3. In Japan, it's good luck if a Sumo wrestler makes your baby cry.

4. The ampersand symbol (&) is made up of the letters E and T. ET means "and" in Latin.

5. Boring, Oregon and Dull, Scotland are sister cities.

6. Tipping in Japan is not customary and is actually considered rude. Waitstaff and other workers often politely refuse tips, as exceptional service is viewed as part of the job and not something that warrants extra payment.

7. "Venezuela" means "little Venice" in Spanish, derived from the Italian "Veneziola" - which was inspired by the stilt houses on Lake Maracaibo. They reminded explorer Amerigo Vespucci of Venice - his home city. 

8. There is a name for an ice cream headache (brain freeze):

    SPHENOPALATINE GANGLIONEURALIA

 

9. Before Goosebumps, author R.L. Stine wrote jokes for Bazooka Joe wrappers.

 

10. The Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters: the vowels A, E, I, O, U, the consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, W, and the OKINA. The okina (represented by a reverse apostrophe) is a break in the flow of sound and is considered a consonant. The okina can be seen in the longest Hawaiian word - which is also the name of Hawaii's state fish: HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA`A.