The spork, a combination spoon and three-pronged fork, was patented in 1970 by the American Van Brode Milling Company

The 1936 General Motors bus on which Rosa Parks made history when she refused to relinquish her seat was eventually sold at auction for $492,000.

In the 20th century, there were roughly 110 million war-related deaths.

On the night that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, he had in his pocket a pair of wire-rimmed glasses repaired with a piece of string, a packet of newspaper clippings lauding his performance as president and a five-dollar Confederate bill.

A single large swarm of locusts can consume 20,000 tons of corn in a day.

Americans have spent almost $100 million on lottery tickets each day since 1995.

As John Wilkes Booth waited in the shadows at Ford's Theatre, he knew that his cue for assassinating President Abraham Lincoln would be a line guaranteed to make the audience roar with laughter: "You sockdologizing old man-trap!"

Although Canada, the United States and Mexico dominate the North American map, the continent is home to 23 sovereign nations.

The Michelin Man, a portly little man made of Michelin tires, is named Bibendum. He appears on the covers of all Michelin travel guides.