FACTS OF THE MONTH:

Police officers are the only people in Homer, Ill, legally authorized to carry a slingshot.

The South American Arpaima Fish releases a gulp of air so loudly that the sound can be heard half a mile away.

Airborne bacteria can survive at an altitude of 25 miles.

The black mamba snake can travel at a speed of 7 mph.

Desert snails can sleep for up to 4 years without waking.

Sigmund Freud always traveled with somebody because he could never read a railroad timetable.

Onions are part of the lily family.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

A python is capable of devouring a pig whole.

Bees have five eyes.

In the 1950s Tokyo banned the hula hoop after it caused several traffic accidents.

The bar used for weightlifting weighs 20 kg.

Rainfall is measured with an ombrometer.

The screwdriver drink was named because oilmen used the tool to stir it.

Pearls melt in vinegar.

Ketchup was once sold as a medicine.

Some soft drinks are made sweeter by adding coal.

Paper money was first used in China.

The screwdriver was invented before the screw.

Eighty percent of all body heat escapes through the head.

The funny bone is actually a nerve.

Only 1 baby in 20 is born on the day the doctor predicts.

The Dutch prefer their french fries with mayonnaise.

Boston, TX is completely surrounded by New Boston, TX.

Texas pharmacists can't be registered members of the Communist Party.

The billionth digit of pi is 9.

All the moons in the solar system get their names from Greek and Roman mythology except for Uranus. Its moons come from Shakespearian characters.

Santa's eight reindeer can be arranged 40,320 different ways.

Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake in the world.

The pupil of an octopus' eye is rectangular.

The least gecko, only ½-inch long, has a call that can be heard six miles away.