wiseGEEK: Learn Something New Every Day

Half of the 50 most popular movies in the US in 2012 were filmed partly or entirely outside the US.

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The highest-grossing movies worldwide tend to be those produced in the United States, which are increasingly being filmed in locations outside the US. Movies that are produced in the US are mainly filmed in the Los Angeles or New York City areas, but half of the 50 most popular US movies in 2012 were filmed at least partly in other countries. Canada is one of the most common filming locations for American movies because production costs tend to be lower and there are less-stringent legal requirements. Another reason for filming outside the US might be the popularity of action and adventure movies, which often have some settings outside the US.

Half of the 50 most popular movies in the US in 2012 were filmed partly or entirely outside the US.

An Olympic-size swimming pool can hold about 42,600 kegs of beer.

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

An Olympic swimming pool holds about 660,253 gallons (about 2.5 million liters), which is roughly equal to seven million cans of beer. A keg of beer generally contains about 15.5 gallons (58.67 liters), or about 165 cans of beer. An Olympic-size swimming pool would be able to hold more than 42,600 kegs of beer. The amount of beer consumed by Americans on Super Bowl Sunday in 2011 would fill about 493 Olympic swimming pools. It would take nearly 800 Olympic-size pools to hold all of the beer Americans consumed on St. Patrick’s Day in 2011.

An Olympic-size swimming pool can hold about 42,600 kegs of beer.

Digital sales (such as downloading or streaming music) make up 1/3 of the music industry's revenues.

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The music industry earned about $5.5 billion US Dollars (USD) — or about one-third of its 2012 revenue — through digital channels. These digital channels include downloads of albums and singles, which make up about 70% of digital revenue for the music industry, along with subscriptions to digital music services and advertising revenue from digital music streaming services. Digital revenue increased by about 19% in 2012 while physical album sales declined by about 12%. Albums, however, still are the primary source of revenue for the music industry, and 316 million units were sold in 2012. Digital revenue is projected to continue to grow as governments and the music industry come up with methods to prevent piracy, which is the streaming or downloading of music from unlicensed websites.

Digital sales (such as downloading or streaming music) make up 1/3 of the music industry's revenues.

Americans get about 11% of their calories from fast food.

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Americans get an estimated 11% of their total calorie intake from fast food. The total spending on fast food in the US is more than $110 billion US Dollars (USD) annually. Non-Hispanic black males typically eat the highest percentage of fast food, with more than 20% of their calories coming from fast food, on average. The prevalence of quick-service restaurants in the US is thought to contribute to the increasing prevalence of obesity. More than one-third of all Americans are obese, it is estimated, and obese people consume more of their calories from quick-service restaurants. From 2007 to 2010, individuals of normal weights consumed less than 10% of their calories from fast food, compared with 13% by obese people.

Americans get about 11% of their calories from fast food.

Young children of professionals hear 3 times more words than kids whose parents are on welfare, research suggests.

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

How many words a child hears varies on how he or she is spoken to, and the number might affect his or her language skills in the future. Parents who have higher incomes might speak more words to their children than parents who earn lower incomes. Research has found that by the time they are 3 years old, children of professionals have heard 50% more words than children of working-class parents, on average, and at least three times more than the children of parents on welfare. It is thought that parents who have greater financial means have more time and resources to spend on their children. Lower-income parents might be working multiple jobs to make ends meet, giving them less time to spend with their children and higher stress levels that might reduce the number of words they say to their children.

Young children of professionals hear 3 times more words than kids whose parents are on welfare, research suggests.

Over 4% of US workers worked at home at least one day a week in 2010 - an increase of 35% since 2000.

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

About 13.4 million US workers work-at-home at least one day per week, according to the 2010 US Census. That is about 4% of all US workers. The number of Americans working from home — also referred to as telecommuting — grew more than 35% between 2000 and 2010. This increase is attributed mainly to advances in information and communication technology that allows for easy interaction between people in and out of physical office locations. Employers who allow employees to work from home typically cite increased productivity and lower office maintenance costs as reasons, along with and lower levels of absenteeism and staff turnover.

Over 4% of US workers worked at home at least one day a week in 2010 - an increase of 35% since 2000.

There are seven types of spider silk, and no single spider is capable of making all seven types.

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Spider silk is a fiber that is spun by spiders, and although seven types of silk can be made, no spider is able to make them all. The silk is actually a protein made from amino acids called glycine and alanine, and each particular type of silk is used for different purposes. Dragline and minor silk typically are a smoother texture and are used for building webs, and attachment silk is used as an anchor. Other types of spider silk are sticky and used for trapping prey. These include the viscid and glue-like silks. Wrapping silk is used to secure freshly capture prey, and cocoon silk is used by female spiders to create a safe area for their eggs or hatched offspring.

There are seven types of spider silk, and no single spider is capable of making all seven types.