-Samhainophobia is the intense fear of Halloween.

-Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe’en.

-Believe it or not, the first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips.

-41 million – The estimated number of trick-or-treaters in 2010 among children ages 5-14 in the U.S.

-1.1 billion pounds – The amount of pumpkin products made in 2010

-More than 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced each year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces, enough to circle the moon nearly 21 times if laid end to end.

These are Nudibranchs: sea snails with no shell.

A devoted mother is battling a rare medical condition that puts her into a coma every time she tells her children: ‘I love you.’ Wendy Richmond, 53, slips into a ‘waking sleep’ that leaves her almost paralyzed every time she becomes emotional or wants to laugh or cry. But drugs to treat the condition are expensive and not funded by her local NHS trust, meaning she has to shut off her emotions to avoid collapsing.

Mrs Richmond, from Pitsmoor, Sheffield, has suffered from sleeprelated illnesses cataplexy and narcolepsy since her late teens but was diagnosed only in her 30s. Detailed figures on sufferers are rare because most cases go unrecognized or unreported. However, experts believe there could be up to 30,000 narcoleptics in Britain. (Link)

James Dean died when his Porsche Spyder sports car crashed in 1955. The car was taken to a garage, where the engine slipped out and fell onto a mechanic, shattering both of his legs.
The engine was then bought by a doctor who put it in his car and died in a car crash. Another driver in that same race was killed in his car,which had Dean’s driveshaft fitted into it. When the shell of Dean’s Porsche was later repaired and put on display, the showroom burned down.
Exhibited again in Sacramento, it fell off the stand on to a visitor, breaking his hip. Finally the car mysteriously broke into 11 pieces sitting on steel supports.

DATE: May 2006

ITEM: New Zealand

STARTING BID: $0.01 AUD

SUMMARY: A citizen of Autralia attempted to sell the country of New Zealand in May 2006.  The bid had reached $3000 before it was taken down due to a violation of eBay’s policy.  I guess you can’t sell a country without the consent of its’ people.

“Goodbye” came from the middle English “godbwdye”, which is short for “God be with ye”

7 billion people will inhabit the Earth as of October 31, according to United Nations estimates as reported by the Associated Press.

Originally, the movie ‘the lion king’ was supposed to be called ‘king of the jungle’ until the filmmakers realized that lions live on the savanna, not in the jungle.