Betcha Didn't Know...

I think most of you know by now that I kinda like finding out interesting, fairly useless facts. But they're fun! I found these recently --see for yourself!

Most U.S. dollar bills circulate for almost two years.
A line of 84,702 pennies would stretch for a mile.
The clock on the hundred dollar bill says 4:10.
The founders of the Mattel Toy company named two dolls after their children: Ken and Barbie.
A great white shark can weigh as much as 15 gorillas. -!-
Peanut Butter can be converted into a diamond.
The first ballpoint pens sold for $12.50 each.
The world's largest soap bubble was as long as four school buses.
On Neptune the wind blows up to 1243 miles an hour. -!-
And the very best one: Caterpillars have about 3200 more muscles than you do!!!

I just think that's crazy. But so cool! Now just take a moment and think about all the things that you don't know. It's humbling and mind-blowing all at once.
"Knowledge is power; and the man who has the most knowledge has the greatest power." (Joseph Smith, Jr., as quoted in The History of the Church, vol 5, p 392) -I'm not just talking about useless facts here, although I like them. I just put that in because it is something I believe. I mean, why else would slave owners in the South refuse their workers the privilege of learning to read? Because then they would have knowledge and power to go with it, thus becoming a threat.

I remember vividly an assembly we had in 4th grade. It was one where someone came from the zoo with a whole bunch of reptiles, but mostly snakes. I didn't hardly want to look at them until the visitor asked everyone in the room if they were afraid of snakes. I didn't say yes, but I didn't say no either, and I didn't know why. He told us that most people are simply afraid of what they don't know. He then explained all about snakes to us, and only after that did most everybody there want to touch, and even hold, the snakes. We knew what to expect! We had knowledge of what was coming! And we weren't afraid or intimidated at all. -Of course, when they move more quickly than you're expecting, it's perfectly natural to jump and shy away, but now I'm rambling.

The point is, don't be afraid of something just because you either don't know enough about it, or think you already know all about it and have made up your mind. Fear is the absence of faith and trust. Learn about it. Do all you can to be knowledgeable. And in the end, admit that you still don't know everything about it and trust the Lord, that he will help you through your trials. -Here, my friends, is where I step down from my soap-box for the evening.

If you come across some interesting facts along your way, send them along, will ya? :)