AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING LVI

1. Alligator teeth are not sharp, but actually fairly blunt and dull. They have no molars for crushing and grinding, and they can't chew because of their massive jaw muscles. They use their teeth and jaws to seize and hold prey - which they must swallow whole. 

2. John Spilsbury (1739-1769) invented the jigsaw puzzle. He was an engraver and map maker and he invented the puzzle for educational purposes. His first puzzle, "Dissected Maps", 1766, was meant to teach geography. In it, he affixed a world map to a piece of wood, then carved out each country. 

3. The standard metal foot-measuring tool employed by shoe stores is called the Brannock Device.

4. The 24 mournful notes comprising "Taps" were originally used as the Army's signal to extinguish lights. In the late 1800's, the Army formally adopted Taps for use at military funerals and memorials. Today Taps is played to commemorate the memory of members of all five branches of the military services. The tune is also known as "Butterfield's Lullaby".

5. Many people attribute the longest sentence in literature to Victor Hugo. The claim is that a sentence in Les Miserables is 823 words long.