Here are some random facts for you.

 

1.  More than half of the gold ever mined on Earth comes from one plateau in South Africa.

 

2.  There were over 61 million people using pagers in 1994.  That number is down over 90% to about five or six million today, mostly in hospitals.

 

3.  The words “Nazi” and “nacho” both come from the same Latin word, “Ignatius.”  In Germany, “Ignatius” evolved into the name “Ignatz,” which was shortened to Nazi and became a generic term for German peasants before it was co-opted by the Nazi party.  In Mexico, “Ignatius” became the name “Ignacio”, and that was the first name of the chef who created nachos.

 

4.  Movies and TV shows that feature time travel are banned in China.  So don’t bring your box set of “Quantum Leap” with you on your next vacation to Beijing.

 

5.  The first place in the U.S. to use 911 as its emergency number was Haleyville, Alabama in February of 1968.  The second place was Nome, Alaska a few weeks later.

 

(Wikipedia / Fortune / New York Times / Time / Gizmodo)