The line about "the rocket's red glare" in the American National Anthem (written in the early 1800's) is talking about small military solid-fuel rockets used to deliver bombs or incendiary devices.


"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."
-Joseph Brodsky

 

Hmmm, I didn't think they were using rockets for that in the 1800s. They were using them for signalling hence the red.

 

Only three percent of mammals (aside from the human species) form "family" relationships like humans do. The prairie vole is one such animal. This vole mates for life and prefers spending time with its mate over spending time with any other voles. Voles even go to the extreme of avoiding voles of the opposite sex.



"Magic lives in curves, not angles."
-Mason Cooley

 

A newborn blue-whale calf may measure 25 feet (7.62 m) from head to tail and typically weighs more than a full-grown African elephant.



"To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was tautology."
-Mark Twain

 

Many people think of the Earth as a big blue sphere, but the Earth is actually shaped more like a pumpkin.


"Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still."
-Henry David Thoreau

 

Turkeys have monocular vision. Their eyes are located on either side of their head so they can look at two things at once, but both eyes can't focus on the same image at the same time like human eyes.



"The heart is blind; but love is not blind. None of the gods is so discriminating."
-Henry David Thoreau

 

Virus particles are about one-millionth of an inch (17 to 300 nanometers) long. Viruses are about a thousand times smaller than bacteria, and bacteria are much smaller than most human cells.



"The strength of a man

 

A glacier is actually a "river" of ice. A glacier flows much more slowly than a regular river, but it does flow.


"It

 

Rubber tires aren't why you're safe in a car during a lightning storm. In strong electric fields, rubber tires actually become more conductive than insulating. You're safe in a car because the lightning will travel around the surface of the vehicle and then go to ground.


"Courage and grace is a formidable mixture. The only place to see it is the bullring."
-Marlene Dietrich

 

"Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it again."