Running Foot
The factoids on the bottom of each page in the Bathroom Readers are called running feet. Why? 'Cause that's what Uncle John felt like calling them! Many of our members have requested a whole book of running feet—and we thought that in the meantime, we'd organize them by topic and display them on this page. The topic will change every month or so just to keep you on your toes!
Did You Know?
The fastest recorded tennis serve? 153 miles per hour.
The woolen swimsuits that people wore at the turn of the 20th century weighed about 20 pounds when wet.
What's the Mexican version of the Tooth Fairy? The Tooth Mouse!
Australia is the only continent on Earth without an active volcano.
The brain of a reptile accounts for less than 1% of its body mass.
It took more than 10 million bricks to build the Empire State Building.
The president gets a 21-gun salute; the vice president gets only 19.
When it's written out as "forty," 40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order.
When it's written out as "forty," 40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order.
In Hartford, Connecticut, it's against the law to educate a dog.
The ostrich is the only bird with eyelashes.
The Confederate warship Virginia was made from part of the captured Union warship Merrimack.
Studies show: English speakers say “uh” before a short pause and “um” before a long pause.
Obsidian—volcanic glass—is so sharp it’s still used today in cardiac and eye surgery.
Among mammals: the colder the climate, the shorter the legs.
Texan “Dooley” Wilson, the piano player Sam in Casablanca, couldn’t play the piano.
Lev Bronstein stole his jailer’s passport and was thereafter known as Leon Trotsky.
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock never won an Academy Award.
Helen Keller was a founding member of the ACLU.
Arizona’s Wupatki National Monument includes 800-year-old pueblo remains.
A person takes an average of 16 breaths a minute.
The first ever income tax was levied in Great Britain, to fund the wars against Napoleon.
The National Park Service manages more than 16 million acres of wetlands.
The boots eaten by Charlie Chaplin in "The Gold Rush" (1925) were made of licorice.
Flamingos build their nests with mouthfuls of mud.
Bless you! In Italian, “ah-choo” is spelled ecci ecci.
Actor Gene Hackman lied about his age to get into the Marines at age 16 in 1946.
A century is about 50 million minutes long.
The average bra is designed to last for only 180 days of use.
If a chain letter were never broken, within 15 cycles the entire world would have read it.
Pigs were introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus.
Rob Butler's claim to fame: The only Canadian on the ‘93 Toronto Blue Jays World Series team.
England is two-thirds the size of New England
McDonald's originally served hotdogs, not hamburgers.
In an average year, 46 million people from foreign countries visit the U.S
Odds of being injured by a toilet seat in your lifetime: 1 in 6,500
U.S. straw sizes, in order of increasing diameter: Cocktail, slim, jumbo, super jumbo, and giant
Which part of a map is the ideo locator? The part that says "YOU ARE HERE."