ok so I have too much time on my hands.
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
Not quite
It was the first product to be scanned, but not the first product to have a bar code.
According to various sources, including the Business Journal in Dayton, Ohio, home of the Uniform Code Council, on June 26, 1974, the first product ever scanned in a retail setting was a 10-pack of Wrigley's gum. It was moved across an NCR scanner in the checkout lane at Marsh's Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
The pack of gum, now on display at the Smithsonian Institution, just happened to be the first item lifted from the cart of the shopper. The Uniform Code Council assigns bar codes, also known as UPC symbols.
The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.
Yes
According to The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, the King of Hearts did originally have a moustache but it was lost by poor copying of the original design between 1567 and 1750. “These designs... were soon disfigured by uninformed and unskilled copying by block makers, particularly by incompetent English artisans, who produced the grotesque distortions from which our modern cards are ultimately descended.”
The Jack of Spades, incidentally, gained a moustache for the same reason. And obviously, we're assuming the reference is to English playing cards.
A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.
Yes
According to Orville Wright, “A sudden dart when a little over a hundred feet from the end of the track, or a little over 120 feet from the point at which it rose into the air” ended the first manned flight in history on December 17, 1903.
According to Boeing, the wingspan of their smallest 747, the 747-400, is 211 feet.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class.
Amazingly, yes
Reached by telephone, American Airlines spokesperson Al Becker confirms this claim.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
Not necessarily
The rotation of Venus is retrograde, or clockwise when viewed from above its north pole. This, of course, is opposite of the earth's rotation and almost every other planet in our solar system. There is some debate among astronomers over Uranus, which would give it a retrograde rotation as well. According to an astronomy site sponsored by The University of Arizona, the battle is over which of Uranus' poles is its north pole.
The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA.”
Probably not
The Boss's Born In The U.S.A. was the first compact disk that was available in the U.S. This is still being researched, but the first CD manufactured in the U.S. was (probably) a promotional CD called “The Edison CD Sampler.” This is according to The CD Depot. However, a more substantial source is forthcoming.
The first CD ever released to the public was Billy Joel's 52nd Street in Japan in October 1982. CDs were not introduced to the U.S. until March 1983.
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
Yes
The Michigan Department of Agriculture says, “Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the morning. The sugar in apples, and the act of chewing, works better than a cup of coffee for keeping people alert.”
The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
No
At Heinz World, the story unfolds like this:
“In 1896, Henry John Heinz noticed an advertisement for '21 styles of shoes.' He decided that his own products were not styles, but varieties. Although there were many more than 57 foods in production at the time, because the numbers '5' and '7' held a special significance for him and his wife, he adopted the slogan '57 Varieties.'”
(this is different than the article on snopes.....)
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
Close enough
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines aglet as “a tag or metal sheath on the end of a lace, cord, or ribbon to facilitate its passing through eyelet holes” or “a metal sheath over the end of a shoelace or ribbon.”
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
No
An article on airborne allergens by The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, quoted by WebMD, itemizes the contents of house dust as: fibers from different types of fabrics, cotton lint, feathers, other stuffing materials, animal dander, bacteria, mold and fungus spores, food particles, bits of plants and insects, and microscopic mites.
