1. Ching Shih, once a prostitute, became one of the most powerful pirates to have ever sailed. She commanded one of the most formidable pirate fleets in all of China during the early 1800s, with hundreds of ships under her command.

2. There's no evidence that pirates made people walk the plank.

3. Leonardo Da Vinci predicted the mass use of solar energy as long ago as 1447.

4. The oldest glowing lightbulb was first switched on in 1901 and lives in fire stations in Livermore, CA. It is known as the Centennial Light.

5. Although Nostradamus died in the middle of 1566, his 1567 almanac was published because he had the foresight to prepare it before his death.

6. Ancient gladiators were mostly vegetarians.

7. The time interval from first sighting of the iceberg that sank the Titanic to impact was a little over 30 seconds.

8. The Titanic is about as long as the Empire State building is tall.

9. Two dogs were among the Titanic survivors.

10. In medieval Italy, if a man was caught kissing a woman in public, he had to marry her whether he liked it or not.

11. The largest nuclear bomb ever built, the Tsar Bomba, caused damage up to approximately 1,000km away.

12. The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.

13. Hundreds of years ago, the Aztecs of Mexico and the people of Nicaragua believed gods lived in volcanoes. They would sacrifice beautiful young girls to these powerful gods.