Swan facts

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Cygnus
Scientific Name:	Cygnus Atratus
Type:	Bird
Diet:	Omnivore
Size (L):	91cm - 150cm (36in - 60in)
Wing Span:	200cm - 350cm (79in - 138in)
Weight:	10kg - 15kg (22lbs - 33lbs)
Top Speed:	80km/h (50mph)
Life Span:	8 - 12 years
Lifestyle:	Flock
Conservation Status:	Threatened
Colour:	Black, White, Grey, Orange
Skin Type:	Feathers
Favourite Food:	Aquatic Plants
Habitat:	Large, shallow wetlands and open water
Average Clutch Size:	5
Main Prey:	Aquatic Plants, Insects, Small Fish
Predators:	Human, Wolf, Raccoon
Distinctive Features:	Large, powerful wings and webbed feet

The swan is a large aquatic bird closely related to geese and ducks. The swan is known for its fierce temperament and the swans incredibly strong wings which are said to be able to cause dangerous (sometimes fatal) injuries to any animal the swan feels threatened by.

The swan is found on both sides of the Equator across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The northern swan is generally white in colour with an orange beak and the southern swan tends to be a mixture of white and black in colour with red, orange or black beaks. The vast majority of swans, however, are found in the northern United States, Canada, and Alaska. They are commonly found on lakes and rivers.

The Australian black swan has been noted to only swim with one leg, the other being tucked above its tail. This helps the swan to change direction more smoothly when the swan is swimming on the surface of the water, should the swan spot food or even an oncoming predator.

Swans are omnivorous birds but have a very vegetarian diet. Swans eat underwater vegetation such as seaweed and aquatic plants when they are on the water and a mixture of plants, seeds and berries when they are on land. Swans also eat insects both water and land-based and the occasional small fish.

Due to their large size, swans have few natural predators in the wild. The swan's main predator is the human who hunts the swan for its meat and its feathers. Other predators of the swan include wolves, raccoons and foxes they prey both on the swan itself but also on its eggs.

Although swans do not mate for life, couples establish strong bonds between one another and can often mate for a few years. Swans build their nests on land out of twigs and leaves, and the female swan lays between 3 and 9 eggs. The baby swans (known as cygnets) hatch out of their eggs after an incubation of just over a month. The cygnets are often on the water with their mother swan within a couple of days and stay close to her for both protection and warmth. The mother swan will guard her baby swans furiously from predators or any animal that she believes is a threat.

Swans have many adaptations in order to successfully survive life on the water such as their streamline body shape, long neck and webbed feet. The wings of the swan are also very strong meaning that the swan is one of the few heavy birds that is able to fly, even if it is only a short distance.

There are around 7 different species of swan found around the world. The size, colour and behaviour a swan individual is largely dependent on its species and the area in which it lives. Swans live up to their reputation of being very beautiful birds. Their elongated, curved necks and white feathers stand out amongst the lakes they reside on. They are very large birds and can weigh up to 30 pounds, measuring anywhere from 56 – 62 inches in length.

Today swans are a threatened species of animal mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. Pollution (mainly water pollution) is also a major reason why swan populations are declining. Humans kept swans for many years for their meat, but today have more respect for the conservation of the swan and keep more sustainable animal food sources.

Swans that live on freshwater typically enjoy pondweed, stonewort, and wigeon grass. They also like eating insects and tadpoles. Swans that live on salt water also eat insects, along with sea arrow grass, salt marsh grass, eel grass, club rush, and green algae.

Many people like to feed swans at the park. It is recommended to feed them pieces of fresh bread because mold is quite poisonous to these animals. If you ever decide to feed a swan, remember to throw their food directly onto the water, and not on the nearby land. This keeps swans where they belong – in their safe, natural habitat.

Swans typically know their limits when it comes to eating and do not overeat.

Fun Facts about Swans

• Swans can sleep on either land or the water. They have the option of sleeping while standing on one leg or while floating in the water.

• After a swan has laid a set of eggs (which can take 2-3 weeks), she can sit on them for 6 weeks or longer until they hatch. Swans will hatch up to 10 eggs at one time. Baby swans are called cygnets and stay with their mother for the first 6 months of life.

• All of the mute swans in England and Wales are owned by the Queen of England.
• Despite popular belief, swans can actually fly. They are among the largest flying birds out there and need about 30 yards to become airborne.

• Believe it or not, there are actually black swans as well as white swans. Black swans are native to Australia and New Zealand. They are not typically found in North America, but due to them being bred and sold for private lakes, it is possible. Black swans have the same diet as white swans and there are no notable differences between the two except their coloring.

• Although it is true that swans are gentle and defensive animals by nature, they have their rare moments of aggression. If any intruder (such as another swan, geese, or even a human) gets too close to their nesting ground or young, they may chase them away. They may also bite – not in the typical sense considering they have no teeth, but they can still pinch the skin which can be irritable.
• Socrates thought swans sang the most beautiful songs right before they died. This is why a last performance is sometimes called a “swan song.”
• Male swans are called cobs; females are known as pens.
• A swan is the emblem of St Hugh of Lincoln.
• swan maiden in Norse and Germanic folk tales, a girl who has the power of transforming herself into a swan by means of a dress of swan's feathers or of a magic ring or chain.
• Swan of Avon a name for Shakespeare, deriving from Ben Jonson's ‘Sweet Swan of Avon!’ in his poem ‘To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author, Mr William Shakespeare’ (1623).
• swan-upping the action or practice of ‘upping’ or taking up swans and marking them with nicks on the beak in token of being owned by the crown or some corporation.
• The names given to babies are signets (cygnets)

Owls

Owls are some of the most fascinating and mysterious raptors in the world. While many people know a little bit about these birds of prey, some owl facts can surprise even the most experienced birders.

There Are Two Main Types of Owls

The vast majority of the roughly 200 species of owls are so-called true owls, which possess large heads with round faces, short tails, and muted feathers with mottled patterns. The remainder, accounting for a little over a dozen species, are barn owls, which can be distinguished by their heart-shaped faces, long legs equipped with powerful talons, and moderate size. With the exception of the common barn owl—which has a worldwide distribution—the most familiar owls, at least to residents of North America and Eurasia, are the true owls.

Most Owls Are Nocturnal Hunters

Evolution has an efficient way of relegating animals to particular niches: because other carnivorous birds (like hawks and eagles) hunt during the day, most owls have adapted to hunting at night. The dark coloration of owls makes them nearly invisible to their prey—which consists of insects, small mammals, and other birds—and their wings are structured so as to beat in almost complete silence. These adaptations, combined with their enormous eyes, makes owls some of the most efficient night hunters on the planet, wolves and coyotes not excluded.

You Can Tell a Lot About an Owl by its Pellets

Owls swallow their prey whole, without biting or chewing. Most of the unfortunate animal is digested, but the parts that can't be broken down—like bones, fur, and feathers—are regurgitated as a hard lump, called a "pellet," a few hours after the owl's meal. The details are a bit revolting, but by examining its pellets in detail, researchers can identify exactly what a given owl has been eating, and when. (Baby owls don't produce pellets, since their parents nourish them with soft, regurgitated food in the nest.)

Owls Aren't as Smart as You Think

In books, movies, and TV shows, owls are invariably depicted as extremely intelligent—but the fact is that it's virtually impossible to train an owl, while birds as diverse as parrots, hawks, and even pigeons can be taught to retrieve objects and memorize simple tasks. Basically, people think owls are smart for the same reason they think all kids who wear glasses are smart: bigger-than-usual eyes convey the impression of high intelligence. (This isn't to say that owls are especially dumb, either; you need lots of brain power to successfully hunt at night.)

Owls May Have Coexisted With Dinosaurs

It has proven especially difficult to trace the evolutionary origins of owls, much less their apparent kinship with contemporary nightjars, falcons and eagles. We do know that owl-like birds like Berruornis and Ogygoptynx lived 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene epoch, which means it's entirely possible that the ultimate ancestors of owls coexisted with dinosaurs toward the end of the Cretaceous period. Technically speaking, owls are one of the most ancient groups of terrestrial birds, rivaled only by the gamebirds (i.e., chickens, turkeys and pheasants) of the order Galliformes.

Owls Don't Make Very Good Pets

Leaving aside the fact that it's illegal, in the U.S. and most other countries, for private individuals to keep owls as pets, there are any number of reasons why this isn't a good idea. For one thing, owls will only eat fresh food, meaning you have to maintain a constant supply of mice, gerbils, rabbits, and other small mammals; for another, the beaks and talons of owls are very sharp, so you'll also have to keep a ready stock of band-aids; and as if all that weren't enough, an owl can live for more than 30 years, so you'll be donning your industrial-strength gloves and flinging gerbils into its cage well into late middle age.

Owls Have Had an Outsized Impact on Human Culture

Ancient civilizations had widely divergent opinions about owls. The Greeks chose owls to represent Athena, the goddess of wisdom, but Romans were terrified of this bird, considering it a bearer of ill omens. The Aztecs and Mayans hated and feared owls as symbols of death and destruction, while many Native American tribes (including Apaches and Seminoles) scared their children with stories of owls waiting in the dark to carry them away. The Egyptians, who preceded all of these civilizations, had a kinder view of owls, believing that these birds protected the spirits of the dead as they traveled to the underworld.

While the stereotype of the “wise owl” is well established, owls can be regarded as demonic symbols or harbingers of doom. Connections to witchcraft are often made as well. Owls have also risen to prominence as icons in popular culture, such as the famous Hedwig, the snowy owl featured in the Harry Potter series.

Apart from cultural significance, owls have been used by humans in the sport of falconry. Falconer’s owls may be trained to the glove and sent off in pursuit of a wide range of quarry, such as rabbits. Generally, owls are catlike birds—nocturnal and hard to train. While some of the larger owls distinguished themselves as hunting companions in Europe, their employment as falconry decoys is more common. Hated and harassed by hawks, an owl would be tethered to a perch to lure in its enemy for capture.

Weird Relatives

Owls are often referred to as “birds of prey,” but these nocturnal hunting birds share no relation to hawks, eagles, or falcons, which are known as diurnal birds of prey. Taxonomy is a controversial and changing science, but both the Sibly-Alquist model of bird classification and alternative methods identify owls as ranking closer to kingfishers, hummingbirds, and even songbirds (like sparrows) than to hawks. Hawks and other diurnal birds of prey are relegated to the more primitive reaches of avian origins, near the cranes, herons, and other prehistoric-looking birds.

Despite appearing hawklike, owls are kissing cousins of the humble nightjars, also known as “goatsuckers.” Similarities between hawks and diurnal birds of prey are apparent, especially when an owl’s feathers are parted, revealing a large, hawklike bill, but convergent evolution is the agent of cause—not relation. Nocturnal and diurnal predatory bird orders fill similar ecological niches but avoid competition by hunting within their opposite “hours of operation.”

Some Eat Plants

Owls are among the purest of carnivores in the bird world. Occupying a fraction of the world’s species total, these night hunters won’t stoop to scavenging in most cases. However, one species is rather unique in its conquest of the night. In a freak occurrence among birds, the elf owl not only feeds on small animal prey, but adds fruits and seed parts to its diet. These owls engage in a sort of “cultivation” where they spread dung around their nest sites in a bid to attract dung beetles. These enterprising “birds of prey” seem to favor prickly pear berries and the fruits of the tasajillo cactus for the not-so-predatory portion of their diet.

Many Owls Don’t Hoot Or Screech

Owls are stereotyped for their hooting calls, but a number of species don’t hoot at all. Snowy owls of the far north produce seabird-like squeaking calls that are a far cry from a typical owl call. Small owls, such as pygmy owls make dull whistling sounds. The most flagrant example is the screech owl. It doesn’t screech at all, but gives a “bouncing” series of rapid, whistling toots. The unearthly screeching calls of juvenile great horned owls often lead to false reports of a screech owl being heard.

They Live In Cacti

In North America’s Sonoran Desert, saguaro cacti can grow over 10 meters (about 30 ft) in height and form entire forests. The excavations of specially adapted woodpeckers known as gila flickers are used as nesting sites by elf owls, which peer out from the cactus with bright, yellow eyes.

The cactus forests are also inhabited by another small owl, the ferruginous pygmy owl. This far more aggressive, bird-eating owl is slightly larger and will also nest in saguaro and organ pipe cacti. Continuing the theme, huge great horned owls often nest in the crotch of such a cactus.

1. There are more than 150 species of owls in the world, and some counts indicate more than 220 species depending on how different owls are classified. The greatest owl diversity is found in Asia, and only 19 owl species are found in the United States and Canada.
2. Owls are found in all different habitats and there are different owl species found on all continents except Antarctica. The greatest diversity of owl species is found in forested habitats, but these birds can be found anywhere prey is abundant, including urban and suburban areas.
3. All owls have upright posture and forward-facing eyes that give them binocular vision, just like humans. Owls' eyes are not spheres, however, but are tubes that provide better depth perception and allow them to see prey from great distances. Up close an owl's vision is not as clear.
4. Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are different sizes and different heights on their heads. This gives the birds superior hearing and the ability to pinpoint where prey is located, even if they can't see it.
5. Several owls species have ear tufts on their heads but they aren't ears at all. These tufts of feathers may indicate the bird's mood, help keep it camouflaged by mimicking branches or leaves, or be used to show aggression or dominance.
6. The flattened facial disk of an owl funnels sound to the bird's ears and magnifies it as much as ten times to help the owl hear noises humans can't detect. Different owls have different facial disk shapes, and that shape can be useful for identifying owls.
7. An owl's eyes are supported by bony eye sockets and they cannot turn their eyes. Instead, owls rotate their heads up to 270 degrees (135 degrees to either side), but they cannot turn their heads all the way around.
8. An owl has three eyelids: one for blinking, one for sleeping, and one for keeping the eye clean and healthy. The third eyelid is also called the nictitating membrane, and many other birds also have it, including other raptors as well as many ducks, anhingas, and dippers.
9. A barn owl can eat up to 1,000 mice each year, usually swallowing them whole. Many farmers use barn owl boxes and other tricks try to attract barn owls to help control rodent populations in agricultural fields.
10. Owls are carnivorous and will eat rodents, small or medium sized mammals, nocturnal insects, fish, and other birds, including smaller owls. After digesting their food, owls regurgitate hard pellets of compressed bones, fur, teeth, feathers, and other materials they couldn't digest. Ornithologists study those pellets to learn more about an owl's diet.
11. Owls have zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward, and all their toes have sharp talons. This gives the birds a stronger, more powerful grip so they can be more effective predators. As befitting birds that hunt and kill small, skittering prey, owls are equipped with some of the strongest talons in the avian kingdom, capable of seizing and grasping squirrels, rabbits, and other squirmy mammals. One of the largest owl species, the five-pound great horned owl, can curl its talons with a force of about 300 pounds per square inch, roughly comparable to the strongest human bite. Some unusually large owls have talons comparable in size to much bigger eagles, which may explain why even desperately hungry eagles usually won't attack their smaller, big-eyed cousins.
12. Owls have specialized feathers with fringes of varying softness that help muffle sound when they fly. Their broad wings and light bodies also make them nearly silent fliers, which helps them stalk prey more easily.
13. For most owl species, females are larger, heavier, and more aggressive than males. If the birds are dimorphic, the female is often more richly colored than the male. No one is quite sure why, on average, female owls tend to be slightly larger than their male counterparts. One theory is that smaller males are more agile, and therefore more suited to catching prey while the females brood young; another is that, because females don't like to leave their eggs, they need a larger body mass to sustain themselves for long periods of time without eating. A third theory is less likely, but more amusing: since female owls often attack and drive off unsuitable males during mating season, the smaller size and greater agility of males prevent them from getting hurt.
14. Not all owls hoot, and owls can make a wide range of other sounds, such as screeches, whistles, barks, growls, rattles, and hisses. During the nesting season, owl calls can often be heard up to a mile away. Female owls generally have higher-pitched voices than their mates.
15. Not all owl species are nocturnal. How often an owl is seen during the day depends on the seasonal amount of daylight and darkness, food supplies, and habitat. In times of stress or when food is low, owls may hunt at any time, just to get enough food.
16. Most owls do not migrate but they can be nomadic in searching for the best food sources. Some species, such as the snowy owl, have regular irruptions and will sometimes appear unexpectedly far outside their regular range.
17. A group of owls is called a parliament, wisdom, bazaar, or study. Baby owls are called owlets.
18. Owls have been found in the fossil record up to 58 million years ago. The largest recorded owl fossil, Orinmegalonyx oteroi, stood about three feet tall.
19. Owls have long been cultural symbols and they have been found in cave paintings in France, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and even in Mayan art. Today, owl superstitions and legends associate the birds with bad luck, death, and stealing souls in many cultures.
20. The biggest modern threats to owls are habitat loss, pesticides that poison the birds and their food supplies, and human persecution because of negative superstitions. Vehicle collisions, wire fences, and even well-meaning birders can also be hazardous to owls.
21. Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. When located at different heights on the owl’s head, their ears are able to pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions. Ready, aim, strike.
22. A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from C.S. Lewis’ description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
23. Owls hunt other owls. Great Horned Owls are the top predator of the smaller Barred Owl.
24. The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5 - 6 inches tall and weighs about 1 ½ ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall.
25. The Northern Hawk Owl can detect—primarily by sight—a vole to eat up to a half a mile away.
26. In fat years when mice are plentiful, usually monogamous Boreal Owls are apt to be promiscuous. Because easy prey means less work for parents feeding their young, males have been caught mating with up to three females, while females have been seen with at least one beau on the side.
27. Barn Owls swallow their prey whole—skin, bones, and all—and they eat up to 1,000 mice each year.
28. Northern Saw-whet Owls can travel long distances over large bodies of water. One showed up 70 miles from shore near Montauk, New York.

Rain Water Facts

• Rain falls from clouds in the sky in the form of water droplets, this is called precipitation.
• Water can also fall from the sky in the form of hail, sleet or snow.
• Rain is an important part of the water cycle.
• Rain occurs on other planets in our Solar System but it is different to the rain we experience here on Earth. For example, rain on Venus is made of sulfuric acid and due to the intense heat it evaporates before it even reaches the surface!
• Weather radar is used to detect and monitor rain.
• Rain gauges are use to measure the amount of rain over a certain period of time. Try making your own rain gauge.
• The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded in 24 hours is 182.5 centimetres (71.9 inches) in Foc-Foc, La Réunion. This occurred during tropical cyclone Denise on January 8, 1966.
• The highest amount of rainfall ever recorded in one year is 25.4 meters (1000 inches) in Cherrapunji, India.
• Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth.
• Heavy rain can cause flooding and landslides.
• Rain allows us to create electricity through hydropower.
• Plants need water in order to survive, they receive much of this water from rain.
• Forests that experience high levels of rainfall are called rainforests.
• Rain with high levels of acid (a low pH) is called acid rain. Caused by the release of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air (often from factories and power stations), it can be harmful to plants and animals.
• The umbrella was orginally made to protect from the sun's heat.
• Rain drops can fall at speeds of about 22 miles an hour – where a snowflake falls about 2-4 mph, taking about an hour to hit the ground.
• Rain starts off as ice or snow crystals at cloud level. A droplet of water will stay in Earth’s atmosphere for around 10 days.
• Raindrops fall at a speed of 5 to 18 miles per hour depending on the size of the raindrops.
• Most raindrops are very tiny—no more than ¼ inch in diameter.
• Rain is also used to create electricity. We call this hydroelectricity or hydropower.
• More rain falls in tropical places than in any other type of climate.
• Desserts get less rain than any other type of climate except the continent of Antarctica. It is the driest continent on Earth.
• Rain drops do not fall in a tear drop shape, they originally fall in the shave of a flat oval.
• Rain that freezes before it hits the ground is known as frozen rain.
• Rain drops range in size from 0.02 inches to about .031 inches. About an inch of rain water is equal to about 15 inches of dry snow.

Benefits and Facts of Reading and Books

Here is just over one hundred facts about books and reading. I could include more, but what I have here is a general picture of facts and benefits.

 

1. One in four adults have not read a book in the past year.

A 2007 AP-Ipsos poll found that a quarter of adults hadn't read even one book in the past 12 months. Women and older adults were most likely to have read, with religious works and fiction the most popular choices.

2. Just 36% of students in the eighth grade read at a proficient level.

The 2013 Nation's Report Card notes a slight improvement over 2011 levels. "Proficient" means the students "demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter."

3. Forty-three percent of adults—93 million Americans—scored in the two lowest literacy levels.

The 2002 National Assessment of Adult Literacy found notable improvement over 1992 levels in "quantitative literacy"—the skills used to leave a tip at a restaurant or fill out an order form. However, levels for skills like reading a newspaper or drug labels remained largely unchanged.

4. Of the adults with the lowest literacy skills, 55% had annual household incomes below $20,000.

As might be expected, the study found that, as literacy increased, so did the likelihood of greater household incomes.

5. Of the 1.4 million Americans in prison at the time of the 2002 NAAL, 56% scored in the two lowest literacy levels. Only a fraction, roughly 3%, scored at the highest level of literacy.

6. Reading enjoyment declines after age eight.

A survey by Scholastic called The State of Kids & Reading found that competing interests dug into reading time as kids grow older, and many found other activities more fun.

7. One hour of study per day in your chosen field will make you an international expert in seven years.

So said motivational speaker Earl Nightingale.

8. Employers rank reading and writing as top deficiencies in new hires.

A survey by The National Endowment for the Arts found written communications at the top of the list of skills employers found lacking in high school and college graduates.

9. Readers help to enrich cultural and civic life.

            Likely to vote and exercise.

The same NEA survey shows that literary readers are three times as likely as non-readers to visit museums, attend plays, or create their own art.

A study by the National Endowment for the arts concluded that reading makes you more engaged throughout life, taking advantage of any activities that may spring up during your life.

10. Readers make good citizens.

The NEA survey notes that readers are more likely to do volunteer work.

11. Reading fiction improves empathy.

A study out of the University of Buffalo found that "belonging to fictional communities actually provided the same mood and life satisfaction people get from real-life affiliations." It also helps you to empathize with people, by understanding different cultures.

12. Reading makes you sexy.

A study done at Northwestern University found that intelligence is one of the most attractive qualities to women—and reading is a great way to increase intelligence. So, the more you read, the more appealing you will become!

13. Reading can help prevent Alzheimer’s.

A recent study found that people who read are two and a half times less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Syndrome later on in life. Although this does not mean that reading will prevent the disease, it proves a slight relationship between reading and prevention.

14. Being a reader means you’re more likely to learn something new every day.

An education professor, Anne E. Cunningham wrote a research paper and discovered that reading frequently does actually make you smarter. Not only does it help you retain knowledge, but it helps you to remember that knowledge later on in life.

15. Reading can be therapeutic.

According to Cristel Russell, a behavioral researcher, reading can help with any stress or turmoil occurring in your life. If you’re going through a break-up, or simply just need to relax, try a new book.

16. Reading enhances your memory.

Every time you read something new, your brain ‘makes room’ to fit it in. With these new spaces, you can take advantage of any new information that may arise.

17. Reading helps to boost your analytical thinking.

Reading helps you to recognize various patterns that occur in writing. If you are looking for a law or medicine career, this is important!

18. Reading expands your vocabulary, so you’ll sound like a genius.

The more you read, the more words you will come across. The more often you read these words, the more likely you are to understand them, and use them in your own writing and speaking.

19. People who read are more likely to get ahead when it comes to their careers, and life in general.

Honor Wilson-Fletcher said that reading “opens doors and makes life easier, so at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you read. What’s more, it really can make you feel good!” This is very true, and it outlines how important it is to read, if you want to live a successful life.

20. There are over 129 million books in existence.

According to Google, 129,864,880 million books had been published as of 2010. That number is obviously a lot higher now.

21. The most expensive book ever purchased was sold for $30.8 million.

It was Codex Leicester by Leonardo Da Vinci, and it was purchased by Bill Gates, according to Business Insider. Don’t worry though, he probably made the money back within the hour.

22. There’s a word for loving the smell of old books.

You guys, you know you love the smell of old books. They have the aroma of dust and a whole lot of history. Well now you can call it something. “Bibliosmia” is the word you’ve probably been searching for your whole life.

23. The longest sentence ever printed is 823 words.

We have a feeling it’s probably a run-on, but it’s a legit sentence that exists in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, according to Barnes and Noble.

24. Author’s names didn’t used to be printed on the covers of their books.

The covers of the first printed books were considered artworks. They were covered in drawings, leather and even gold — so there wasn’t a place for the author’s name.

25. The first book ever written using a typewriter was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Mark Twain must have had a lot of ink and a lot of patience.

26. President Theodore Roosevelt read one book per day.

Now that’s dedication to reading.

27. The three most read books in the world are…

The Holy Bible, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, and Harry Potter.

28. Icelandic people read more than anyone.

Perhaps it has to do with the weather, or maybe they’re just taught to really love books. Either way, Iceland for the win!

29. Alice in Wonderland is based on a real 10-year-old girl.

Her name was Alice Liddell, and her family was close friends with author Lewis Carroll. While on a boating trip, she asked him to tell her a story — and that’s how Alice was born.

30. Illiteracy is still a huge problem throughout the world.

One in five adults around the world can’t read or write, with the highest rates in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

31. Reading about yawning makes you yawn.

32. Books used to be shelved “backwards” with the spine facing the back of the shelf and the fore-edge facing out.

33. Research now indicates that the 4- to 6-year-old age range is the sweet spot for teaching reading. Beyond the age of 6 or 7, teaching a child to read is a game of catch up.

34. On average across the world people spend 6.5 hours a week reading.

35. According to a study from Yale University, three-quarters of students who are poor readers in third grade will remain poor readers in high school.

36. Dr. Seuss coined the word “nerd” in his 1950 book “If I Ran the Zoo.”

37. It takes an average of 475 hours to write a novel.

38. Books that were penned or conceived behind bars include Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes), Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan), De Profundis (Oscar Wilde), and the Prince (Machiavelli).

39. Books used to be chained to the bookshelves in libraries.

40. The ratio of customers to bookstores is highest in Nevada, Texas, and Mississippi.

41. On the average, a bookstore browser will spend eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover.

42. Half of all books sold today are to people over the age of 45.

43. Adults who read literature on a regular basis are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to do volunteer or charity work, and over one-and-a-half times as likely to participate in sporting activities.

44. The largest advance ever paid for a self published book? A whopping $4.125 million. Simon & Schuster paid that for Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box.

45. Women buy 68% of all books sold.

46. The page most readers lose interest at? Page 18!

47. A glimpse into the NASA library reveals astronauts’ preferred reading includes A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, and London Bridges by James Patterson.

48. The longest reading aloud marathon by a team lasted 224 hours and was completed by Milton Nan, Silvina Carbone, Carlos Antón, Edit Díaz, Yolanda Baptista and Natalie Dantaz (all Uruguay) at Mac Center Shopping,Paysandú, Uruguay between September 13-22, 2007.

49. The Penguin paperback was created to make books as affordable as cigarettes, and the first Penguin paperbacks were distributed from a church crypt.

50. Nancy Pearl, in addition to being the most famous librarian in the world, is also now the only librarian to have an action figure created in her likeness.

51. Studies have shown that American children who learn to read by the third grade are less likely to end up in prison, drop out of school, or take drugs.

52. The 1930’s reading primer series Fun with Dick and Jane by Dr. William S. Gray is rumored to be plagiarized from Sir Fred Schonell’s similar Dick and Dora readers, found in his Happy Venture Playbooks.

53. It is estimated that limited literacy skills cost business and taxpayers $20 billion in lost wages, profits, and productivity annually.

54. A bibliokleptomaniac is someone who steals books. One of the most famous bibliokleptomaniacs is Stephen Blumberg, who stole more than 23,000 rare books from 268 libraries. He had various methods for acquiring his estimated 20 million dollar collection, including climbing through ventilation ducts and elevator shafts.

55. The term “bookworm” derives from tiny insects who feed on the binding of books.

56.  Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly.

57.  Low levels of literacy cost the UK an estimated £81 billion a year in lost earnings and increased welfare spending, impacting on 'the success of the economy as a whole'.

58.  Per capita incomes are higher in countries where more adults reach the highest levels of literacy proficiency and fewer adults are at the lowest levels of literacy.

59.  16 year-olds who choose to read books for pleasure outside of school are more likely to secure managerial or professional jobs in later life.

60.  In England and Northern Ireland the median hourly wage of workers with the highest levels of literacy is 94% higher than for workers who have the lowest levels of literacy.

61.  Adults with lower levels of literacy are more likely to experience poor health and to believe that they have little impact on political processes, and are less likely to participate in volunteer activities.

62.  Statistics from 2014 show that one in five children in England cannot read well by the age of 11.

63.  Research conducted in 2012 found that 17% of 15 year-olds in England do not have a minimum level of proficiency in literacy.

64.  Analysis conducted in 2013 found that in England 16 to 24 year-olds have lower levels of literacy than young people in 21 out of 24 countries in the OECD. Literacy levels are higher in Japan, Estonia, Czech Republic and the USA.

65.  England is the only country where 16-24 year olds have lower literacy and numeracy skills than 55-65 year-olds, out of 24 OECD countries.

66.  16% of adults (around 5.8 million people) in England and Northern Ireland score at the lowest level of proficiency in literacy (at or below Level 1).

67.  England's children have less positive attitudes towards reading than in many other countries: only 26% of 10 year-olds 'like reading' compared to 46% in Portugal, 42% in Georgia, 35% in Romania, and 33% in Azerbaijan.

68.  Most children in England do not read on a daily basis: in 2011 just over a third (37%) of 10 year-olds surveyed reported reading for pleasure every day.

69.  In England, 36% of adults don't read for pleasure, rising to 44% of young people (aged 16 to 24).

70.  In 2013/14, 18% of adults in England had only bought a novel or a book of stories, poetry or plays once or twice in the last 12 months.

71.  41% of 11-15 year-olds in England do not participate in reading and writing activities that are not required for school in their spare time.

72.  In 2014/15, 30% of 5-15 year-olds in England had not visited a library in the last year. However, there are a significant number of regular library users in this age group: 20% had visited a library in the last week.

73.  Reading Improves The Economy. One of cool facts about reading is that being able to read boosts ones sense of self-esteem, and it also improves our literacy skills. If you can’t read very well, your literacy skills are going to be pretty limited. And it is these limited literacy skills that are costing the economy a lot of money. According to studies, a lack of literacy skills costs the taxpayer and businesses around $20,000,000,000 in lost productivity, profits and wages each year. That is the true cost of not reading enough! Start your kids early. Turn them onto reading. It could be their ticket to a very bright future.

74.  Literacy programs that utilize the local language can help preserve cultural diversity and empower people to participate in their own culture.

75.  122 million youth around the world are illiterate, 60% of those youth are girls.

76.  Around the world, youth literacy rates are higher than adult literacy rates reflecting increased access to education among younger generations.

77.  Because literacy empowers individuals to take action, it has been shown to increase political participation which may lead to more stability and greater democratic opportunity.

78.  A record breaking 85% of the global population is literate, but those who are not generally live in rural and low-income communities that are especially hard to reach with effective programs.

79.  The United States is ranked 28th in the world for highest literacy rates (99%). Guatemala is ranked 164th.

80.  17% of the world’s adult population is not able to read or write.

81.  73% of Americans read books.

82.  28% of Americans read e-books.

83.  The Japanese word Tsundoku means “to let reading materials pile up in one’s home and never read them”.

84.  Medieval books had curses written in them.

85.  During the great depression, “book riders” would take books into the Appalachian mountains.

86.  A bookstore in Portland, Oregon takes up a whole city block.

87.  According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter series was the most banned and challenged book for the years 2000-2009.

88.  Charles Dickens had a fake bookcase door, filled with humorously titled fake books.

89.  One of the largest libraries of the ancient world was considered to be the Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt.

90.  The current largest library in the world is the United States Library of Congress, which houses more than 38 million books.

91.  Pretty much all books that are published in the United States must be sent to the Library of Congress, due to the US Copyright Act’s mandatory deposit provisions.

92.  “Old book smell” is produced by the breakdown of two chemical components in paper, cellulose and lignin.

93.  Much like with carbon-dating, scientists can analyze the chemicals responsible for “old book smell” to determine the age of a book.

94.  The thickest book ever published, The Complete Miss Marple, is 12.67 inches wide and 4,032 pages long.

95.  The most expensive book in the world is a first edition of the Bay Psalm Book, sold for $14,165,000.

96.  The largest structure ever constructed from books was a “banned book Parthenon” for an art fair in June 2017 in Germany.

97.  Those bibles you find in hotel rooms are distributed by an organization called Gideons International, founded in 1899.

98.  The Gideons Bible was a somewhat popular topic for classic rock musicians.

99.  The largest published book is a giant copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

100.                      The longest novel ever written is Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust.

101.                      The longest audiobook in the world consists of lectures from Takaaki Yoshimoto, a philosopher, poet and literary critic.

102.                      The oldest work of literature is The Epic of Gilgamesh.

103.                      The oldest novel in the world is The Tale of Genji, written in 11th century Japan

104.                      The first book ever published was the Gutenberg Bible in 1453.