The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got “the whole 9 yards.”
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When Queen Elizabeth I of England died she owned over 3,000 gowns.
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Many moons ago, cookware and dishes in Europe were made of an orange clay called “pygg.” When people started saving coins in jars made of this clay, they jars became known as “pygg banks.”
In the nineteenth century, allegedly an English potter misunderstood the meaning of the term “pygg,’ thinking it was “pig.” When someone asked him to make a pygg bank, he made one shaped like a pig. This idea caught on and soon everyone wanted a “piggy” bank.
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Australia’s worst Christmas was back in 1974 when, on Christmas Eve, Cyclone Tracey ravaged Darwin and by the following evening, almost 70% of Darwin was in ruins with many people left homeless and devastated.
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Charles Dickens' initial choice for Scrooge's statement "Bah Humbug" was "Bah Christmas".
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The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.
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Jesus wasn't born in December - some experts say April, others say September - but it sure wasn't December!
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The first person to decorate a Christmas tree was reportedly the Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). According to legend, he was so moved by the beauty of the stars shining between the branches of a fir tree, he brought home an evergreen tree and decorated it with candles to share the image with his children.
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In space, astronauts cannot cry, because there is no gravity, so the tears can’t flow.
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![[Image: 1906.jpg]](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/graphics/1906.jpg)
