The first people to invent the hot-air balloon were Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier.

The first real paper was made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree by the Chinese.

Sandstone which contains quartz is used to make glass.

Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and Latin America on November 1-2.

The deepest hole in the world is in Russia, where it is 7 1/2 miles deep and 392 Fahrenheit.

The purple dye that colored Roman emperors' robes came from a gastropod.

Dolphins are known as the only animals that love man just because, instead of because they get food and care from man.

The Volga is the longest river in Europe.

Some animals have a tapetum behind their retina that allows them to see in the dark.

Each of a fly's compound eyes have 4,000 lenses.

Nehru was India's first prime minister.

The Mauryan Dynasty ruled India at the time of Christ.

Hans Lippershey invented the first telescope.

The civilization of India began around the Indus River.

The Nile is the longest river in the world, but the Amazon is largest in the volume of water it carries.

Light travels 186,000 miles per second.

The glass-winged butterfly has transparent wings. (Big surprise.)

Istanbul is Turkey's largest city. (Originally, Istanbul was called Constantinople.)

The British controlled the country of Jordan from 1921 to 1946.

The modern nation of Israel was founded in 1948.