'The term "spitting image" has its roots in DNA.'

The original version of this term is actually "spit and image." If someone says you are the "spit and image" of one of your parents, the comparison is reflecting both the biological material you inherited from your parents (the "spit") and your physical resemblance to them (the "image").

That said, there is not full agreement among linguists on this issue. Some believe the "spit" derives from a differing pronunciation of "spirit" while others feel "spitting image" is correct, deriving from a "speaking likeness."

'The word "paparazzi" comes from the Italian movie La dolce vita.'
Federico Fellini's classic 1960 film La dolce vita introduced the term to a wider audience through a spastic photographer named Paparazzo.

The word "paparazzo" originally comes from an Italian dialect, denoting a loud, buzzing and annoying mosquito. Fellini went to school with a kid whose nickname was "Paparazzo," due to his constant movements and chatter.

Today, the term (plural in Italian, paparazzi), has been adopted by countless languages to identify aggressive and intrusive photographers.

'The first mobile phone call was placed in St. Louis in 1946.'

The phone call was no accident; it was over 10 years in the making, an achievement by engineers at Bell Labs, and within just two years, people in over 100 U.S. cities had access to wireless telephone services. However, it wasn't cheap, it wasn't terribly easy to use, and the equipment needed to operate the device weighed around 80 pounds.

'When awake, the brain uses one-fifth of the body's total oxygen.'

According to Discover Magazine, the brain only takes up 2% of the body's total mass, yet when awake and at rest (meaning not being exposed to stimuli) consumes 20% of its oxygen. This at-rest state, known as the baseline activity, is postulated to be "the most important aspect of our mental lives."

Scientists think the baseline activity may be a time when your brain is reconfiguring knowledge -- storing memories, emotions etc. -- when its resources aren't required elsewhere, as when exposed to external stimuli.

'Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Modern science has an answer.'

According to evolutionary geneticist John Brookfield, cosmologist Stephen Hawking, and even modern thinker Chris Langdon, the egg came first. Why? DNA.

DNA remains unchanged throughout the life of an organism. Thus, whatever the genetic material is inside the egg will be the same as the that which is inside the grown adult. In other words, conceived as a chicken, hatched as a chicken, live and die as a chicken -- there is no other way. A soaring eagle won't suddenly plummet to earth because it spontaneously turned into a turkey.

Whatever genetic change there was between chicken-like parents and the first true chicken inside the egg must have occurred in the reproductive DNA, sealing the deal: the egg came first.

'A candidate has won the popular vote but lost the election four times in U.S. Presidential election history.'

Al Gore's 2000 loss to George Bush is only the most recent example. The first loss came in 1824, when Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but failed to get enough electoral votes; the House of Representatives picked John Quincy Adams.

In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election over Samuel Tilden despite losing the popular vote because he won enough electoral votes, and in 1888, Benjamin Harrison won the election over Grover Cleveland for the same reason.

'As an instrument of law enforcement, the lie detector was first used in Berkeley, California in 1920.'

The modern lie detector was developed by researchers at the University of California and put to use by Berkeley Chief of Police and the "father of modern law enforcement" August Vollmer, who would pioneer a number of law enforcement techniques as well as establish the first School of Criminology (at UC Berkeley).

Devices that attempted to determine lying by measuring physiological responses date back at least to 1885.

'At 333 meters (1,093 feet), Dubai's Rose Tower is the tallest hotel in the world.'

The 72 floors and 684 rooms of Dubai's Rose Tower represent only the latest in an unprecedented building boom going on in Dubai, one of the seven emirates, or states, that constitute the United Arab Emirates. The Tower topped the previous title holder, the Burj al-Arab, which stood 321 meters high (1,060 feet) and is also in Dubai.

The Burj al-Arab itself topped the one before it, the Baiyoke Sky in Thailand, by 13 meters (42.6 feet). When finished, Korea's Ryugyong Hotel will stand at only 330 meters (1,082 feet) high.

'In chess, the word "checkmate" is descended from a Persian phrase meaning "the king is paralyzed."'

Public opinion has it that "Shah mat," the phrase from which "checkmate" is descended, means "the king is dead," but not according to an Encyclopaedia Iranica article quoted on GoddessChess.com.

While "Shah" does indeed refer to a king (and up until the Islamic Revolution, the leader of Iran was known as the Shah), the term "mat" does not suggest the death of the king. Rather, in accord with the ancient Persian game from which chess is derived, "shah mat" suggests that "the King is made powerless and paralyzed without being hit," which is more in line with the notion of checkmate.

'The capybara is the world's largest rodent.'

Coming in at 4 feet long, over a foot and a half tall, and weighing as much as 145 lbs, the capybara resembles a pig with a layer of long, thick and tough hair. He's related to the likes of guinea pigs and chinchillas and calls parts of Central and South American home.

As a semi-aquatic animal, the capybara can hide from enemies like pumas and jaguars under water for as long as five minutes, provided it isn't devoured by anacondas and alligators.

Coming in at 4 feet long, over a foot and a half tall, and weighing as much as 145 lbs, the capybara resembles a pig with a layer of long, thick and tough hair. He's related to the likes of guinea pigs and chinchillas and calls parts of Central and South American home.

As a semi-aquatic animal, the capybara can hide from enemies like pumas and jaguars under water for as long as five minutes, provided it isn't devoured by anacondas and alligators.