I don’t know about you, but I love obscure facts. Like the fact that honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil. Apart from McDonald’s French fries. I just found one I’d left beneath a car seat six years ago and it tasted the same as it did then. Here are a few other little known facts to impress your friends with today:
* The world’s largest coffee pot is located in Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada. It stands 24 feet tall, and could hold 150,000 8 ounce cups of coffee if they poured it in there. My friend Arnie drinks that much coffee each week by Wednesday.
* George Washington had to borrow money so he could travel to his inauguration. It’s true. Apparently Al Gore had the Lear jet booked.
* The first owner of the Marlboro cigarette company died of lung cancer. Reminds me of Mark Twain’s quote, “Giving up smoking is easy, I’ve done it hundreds of times.”
* And finally, the number one shoplifted book of all time? It’s the Bible.
I hope you own one. And that you didn’t steal it. Here are some amazing facts you may not know about the Bible. It is a library of 66 books, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek over the course of about 1600 years by as many as 40 different authors. Shepherds. Farmers. Tent-makers. Doctors. Fishermen. Priests. Philosophers and kings. It was the first book ever printed by Mr. Gutenberg. This literary masterpiece has stood the test of time. Historical discoveries regularly come to light that support the accuracy of the Bible. And of course the Bible tells the story of a sinless carpenter from Nazareth. Jesus, the son of God who love us to death on a cross, and offers to remove our sin and shame, declare us righteous, and give us abundant life.
For centuries people have followed this book. They have obeyed it. Treasured it. Smuggled it. Quoted and misquoted it. Crusaders fought for it. Others dismissed it. Denied it. Burned it. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
If you need a shot of joy today, pick it up and soak it in. This is a book like no other. Trust me, it sure beats filling your mind with useless trivia. Although there are a few more tidbits I can’t resist telling you: The electric chair was invented by a dentist. And stewardesses is the longest word you can type with only your left hand.
