fast facts

• Abdul Kassem Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the 10th century, carried his library with him wherever he went. The 117,000 volumes were carried by 400 camels who were trained to walk in alphabetical order.

• Quebec and Newfoundland are the only two Canadian provinces which do not allow personalized license plates.

• In English the word "four" is the only digit that has the same number of letters as its value.

• Pittsburgh and Toronto are the only two cities where all the major pro sports teams have the same colors: "black and gold" and "blue and white" respectively.

• In British Monopoly sets, the most expensive property (Mayfair) is not a street, but a district of small streets near Hyde Park.

No president of the United States has been an only child.

The original name for Scrabble was "Criss-Crosswords."

On a Canadian $2 bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English alphabet.

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, with a population of 1,000 and a size of 108.7 acres.

"I am" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

The average chocolate bar has eight insects' legs in it.