It takes 35 to 65 minks to produce the average mink coat The numbers for other types of fur coats are: beaver - 15; fox - 15 to 25; ermine - 150; chinchilla - 60 to 100

In 1883 the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa put so much dust into the atmosphere that sunsets appeared green and the moon appeared blue around the world for almost two years

Queen Victoria in 1897 is the only other monarch in the histories of the United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand and a few other Commonwealth realms to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee

In the late 1920s-early 1930s the United States had plans drawn up to invade Canada The document was called Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan -- Red and it was declassified in the mid 1970s

The first crossword puzzle appeared in 1913 in an American paper called World It was devised by its editor Arthur Wynne It was of 32 words and diamond shaped There were no black boxes in the puzzle

The villagers of Piplantri in Rajasthan s Rajsamand district in India plant 111 trees every time a girl is born and the community ensures these trees survive attaining fruition as the girls grow up

The Nobel Peace Prize designed by Gustav Vigeland a Norwegian sculptor features 3 naked men with their hands on each others shoulders The inscription reads: Pro pace et fraternitate gentium - translated For the peace and brotherhood of men

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is a multinational celebration throughout 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries upon the death of her father King George VI on 6 February 1952

S O S doesn t stand for Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls -- It was just chosen by an 1908 international conference on Morse Code because the letters S and O were easy to remember and just about anyone could key it and read it S = dot dot dot O = dash dash dash

The colonies in the USA actually became independent from the British on July 2 On July 2 1776 a vote was passed that made the United States of America independent from Britain Jefferson was fully aware that his country formed on July 2 1776 but the reason that Americans celebrate on July 4 is because that is when the Declaration of Independence was signed