• While at war with France, England's Charles II attempted to introduce Persian costume in place of French fashion. The effort failed.

• Henry Cabot, upon his "discovery" of Newfoundland in 1498, was greeted by a fleet of more than 100 Portuguese fishing boats.

• An embassy of Incan diplomats was presented at the Chinese court in AD 1282.

• In 1269 theologian and philosopher Roger Bacon successfully predicted that men would walk on the moon "sefenn hundredd yeirs hennes" [seven hundred years hence].

• On his famous voyages of exploration, Captain James Cook insisted on setting his ships' calendar six months forward when crossing the equator from north to south, and six months back when crossing south to north.

• Researchers at Mensa have hypothesized that if a child was raised and taught mathematics in base 32 he would be able to solve complex equations nearly four times as fast than if he had learned base 10.

• Only 12 percent of monetary transactions around the world involve physical currency.

• Since its sweeping westernization, sushi has seen a sharp decrease of popularity in Japan.

• According to a report published by the Department of Homeland Security, most cases of stolen identities are the result of password guessing.

• Gravel contains roughly one percent of bone matter by volume.

• The rate of heroin use among high school seniors peaked in 2000, at 2.4 percent.

• The US consumes enough energy, per household, each day, to boil away 2430 pounds of water.

• Paleontologists have found evidence of toothpick use by 600,000 year old hominids.

• More farmers than police are killed on the job each year.

• Contrary to popular belief, lightning almost always strikes twice, according to a University of Wisconsin study of more than 50 years of meteorological data.

• More relationships end in the period from February 1st to February 13th than any other time of the year.

• The television series Full House was proposed originally by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to promote family values to the secular world.

• The average college student spends as much time using their computers for online conversation, or "chatting," as they do for studying.

• Nutrition researchers found Cantonese food to be the healthiest and most balanced diet of any regional cuisine.

• Despite his later public denouncement of Joseph McCarthy, Edward R. Murrow donated campaign funds to McCarthy when he ran for Senate.

• The original Bob Barker was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1974.

• Hindu demographers at the Kharagpur Institute of Technology warn that the expected increase in world population will lead to a shortage of souls by the year 2045.

• The amount in taxes paid over a lifetime by the average US citizen is spent by the federal government in about 2.4 seconds.

• The small Martian moon Phobos has a slowly decaying orbit and is expected to smash into Mars sometime in the early 22nd Century, complicating plans for future colonization.

• Since 1997, Brookhaven National Laboratory has been running a high energy particle physics experiment that has a 1 in 5000 chance of creating a small black hole that would consume the lab, Long Island and the Earth in a matter of moments.

• To win a bet, composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) died standing upright.

• Biologically, zebras are black with white stripes, not white with black stripes.

• One species of slime mold occurs in more than five hundred distinct sexes.

• "Double harvest" enthusiasts aver that most foods retain up to 40 percent of their nutritional value on first passage through the alimentary canal.

• A recent analysis of the Bible found no fewer than ninety-seven jokes, riddles and puns.

• If taken in large doses, pure unsweetened chocolate can serve as a mild hallucinogen.

• More greeting cards are purchased for Valentine's Day than for birthdays, graduations, marriages, Father's Day, and Easter combined.

• Up until the 12th century, roses were considered bad luck and were often uprooted and buried.

• 76 percent of relationships that are started on Valentine's Day will end before April.

• The term "love sick" is believed to come from anthrogeniosilikoniosis, an infection which is often contracted through rose thorns.

• Although ramen noodles are of Japanese decent, the Cantonese word "ramen" translates to "poverty". This is purely coincidental, though.

• In the United States, the Bible is the most commonly stolen and donated book from book stores.

• Only one CD per every 50 burned in a residential household will be absolutely legal in respect to local copyright regulations.

• According to a study by AOL, the expression "lol" is used in online chats 41 times per every real-world laugh.

• There are 102 different types of bacteria in an average fondue pot.

• In 1953, Virginia governor John S. Battle unsuccessfully attempted to change the state's motto from "sic semper tyrannis" to "ol' Ginny gonna get you."

• An internal memo circulated by the Democratic Party after the 2004 election cited MoveOn.org as "directly responsible for the 2004 defeat."

• Six percent of an average telephone call is silence.

• The Moonflower Society, an international group pushing for building a moon colony, has started lobbing the International Olympic Committee to begin plans for the "Moon Olympics."

• In the first five years coach Mike Krzyzewski was at Duke University their team had the worst cumulative record of any team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

• The suicide note of actor Jaleel White, famous for his staring role as Steve Urkel on Family Matters was only four words long: "Did I do that?"

• The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 12 houses were stolen in 2005.

• The 2000 Census found that Americans have, on average, 2.3 currently used nicknames, up from 1.9 in the 1990 Census.

• Two universities in the world offer accredited degrees in sword fighting. One is in the United States, the other is in Spain.

• A man in Newark, New Jersey successfully argued against a parking ticket claiming that he believed it was "opposite day."

• Fruit-flavored snacks and candies outsell fresh fruit eight-to-one.

• Despite a relatively flat market overall, stock prices of the top six US military contractors have risen nearly four-fold since 2001.

• To date only three sitting US Supreme Court justices have been charged with manslaughter.

• As recently as 1980, a majority of climatologists agreed a new ice-age was "likely" or "very likely" to be imminent.

• Until 1948, Texas high school physics textbooks included an insert that asserted "Gravitation is only a scientific theory and cannot be fully proven beyond all doubt." Interestingly, many philosophers of science concur.

Grails Throughout History

Since the advent of Christianity two millenia ago, believers have searched for what is perceived by many to be the single most valuable religious artifact in the history of the world: The Grail of Jesus Christ. The Grail was believed to be a cup, bowl, or other vessel used by Christ at the Last Supper, and was said to possess supernatural powers. According to the legend, it was used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch the blood of Christ during the crucifixion, and was then spirited away to a fate unknown. A number of grails have surfaced throughout history since that time. Among them:

305: A self-proclaimed Turkish prophet named Cemaletin lead a revolt of roughly 8000 against the Byzantine occupation of what is now Antolia. He rallied his supporters through the promise of immortality and worldly knowledge, which he claimed he gained from a mysterious goblet he carried on his person at all times. The revolt was swiftly crushed after only three days of open conflict, and Cemaletin was run through with a cavalry lance. The cup believed to be hanging from a band around his neck was never found.

563: Visigothic prince Zabithelguld lead a successful twilight attack against Byzantine garrisons at Ravenna, Italy, with less than 70 soldiers. A scribe to the Viceroy of Ravenna wrote in his journal "[the Goths] fight as if an unseen hand defends them. Arrows turn aside at their approach, swords blunt, and spears are as if made of straw. [Other people] say they have the blood of the Christ on their side, and I fear we cannot prevail against Barbarians of the cup of God." The Gothic force barricaded themselves inside the garrison, and remained inside for thirteen days without food or water. On the thirteenth day, the invaders emerged under a flag of truce to negotiate safe passage out of the province, they were captured and hanged. Neither the body of Zabithelguld nor his mythic cup were ever recovered.

1215: A sect of Cornish monks in exile in Normandy locked themselves in their monastery and set it ablaze shortly after receiving what monastic journals recovered from the fire described as a "goblet of great value". A letter written by the abbot to the Count of Normandy shortly before the fire stated that "[we] have drunk from the cup of righteousness with the name of the Lord upon our lips, and so should our wounds be cleansed and shall we live eternally." No one in the Count's court spoke Cornish, and the letter remained untranslated until 1633.

1364: Thirteen members of the family of Serbian Tsar Stefan Uroš V were killed in a squabble when the Grand Duke (the Tsar's nephew) was suspected of possessing the Grail. Serbian historians believe the thirteen murders were carried out by Uroš' cousin Tvrtko of Bosnia to clear his way to the throne once he obtained the grail.

1771: An armed historian named Joseph Pippleshire attempted to rob the Royal Treasury of British monarch George III, believing the Grail to be inside. He managed to reach the treasure chamber, but his daring heist ended abruptly when he recognized the chalice he sought as the goblet of King Ethelred the Unready (968-1016), and threw himself on his sword.

1945: On April 20th, mere days before the capture of Berlin by the Soviet army in the second world war, Adolf Hitler issued a personal communique to Josef Stalin, the Soviet premier, informing him that his government possessed the Grail and warning his army not to challenge the "invincible armies of Germany, [such as] have not been seen since the days of Barbarossa." Stalin found this letter so amusing that he had his personal secretary distribute copies of it to senior party officials. Three resigned over Stalin's "obvious and unprofessional prank", and were summarily executed.

From time to time we introduce new features here at Gullible.info. We're inspired by your suggestions and take them into consideration. One thing we've been hearing a lot over the last few weeks is, "this is awesome, where can I find more information?" Well, now we've got two answers for you.

The Fact Check Forums
First, you can find more information about any fact you read here on Gullible.info any old time of the day at our brand spankin' new forums. We've been hard at work getting some letters we've written to people uploaded in there. But really, the forums are all about you guys. You wanted them, and we've obliged. Make sure they get put to use. Whatchu waiting for? Register today.

Gullible in depth
The second was an idea by Gullible.info staff writer, Zack. The site started as five little bits of trivia each day. Then we dropped down to every other day-ish. And now we're throwing a little twist into the mix. These posts will be expanded, brimming with all sorts of useful information and fascinating facts. We're going to shoot for running these every, or every other Saturday. There are some subjects that are too interesting to condense to two sentences.

As always, drop us a line if you've got any questions or suggestions, or, starting today, you can just make a post about it.

• Nationwide an estimated annual savings of 9300 man-hours and $130,000 worth of ink could be gained if dates were written without extraneous 0's (2/27/6, for example, instead of 2/27/06). [more]

• In 1923, Russell Stover created the fruit flavored creme truffle as a cost-saving filler for boxes of assorted chocolates.

• An average ink-jet printer will use $566 in ink over its four year life span, at an overall cost of 92¢ per 4x6 inch print.

• The International Olympic Committee has signalled a "strong commitment" to the admission of BMX bicycle racing to the 2012 Olympics.