Rivers 101 ~
River Fun Facts

• An elephant's trunk can hold 2 gallons of water!
• Cockroaches can survive under water for up to 15 minutes.
• In 1848, Niagara Falls stopped flowing for 30 hours because of an ice jam blocking the Niagara River.
• It's against the law to get a fish drunk in California.
• The density of the sun is 1½ times that of water.
• Graupel is snowflakes that have become small rounded pellets (usually two to five millimeters in diameter). It is sometimes mistaken for hail.
• All porcupines float in water! Source: South Florida Water Management District
• The fastest speed ever reached by a falling raindrop is 7 mph. Source: South Florida Water Management District
• 50 glasses of water are required to grow enough oranges for one glass of orange juice. Source: South Florida Water Management District
• 91 percent of the earth's rain falls directly back into the ocean! Source: South Florida Water Management District
• 1 inch of rain on 1 acre makes up 27,154 gallons of water. That's enough to fill a city bus! Source: South Florida Water Management District
• The ice on Greenland approaches 2 miles in thickness in some places and is so heavy that land is compressed way below sea level. Source: South Florida Water Management District
• A new man-made fountain opposite the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is now the highest geyser, 6,000 feet. The geyser is powered by three 800 hp pumps and discharges water at up to 200 feet per second. The geyser will keep 1,100 gallons of water, weighing 9,200 pounds, in the air when in operation. Source: Gateway Center
• The underwater mating song of the toadfish is so loud that sometimes humans on the shore can hear it. Source: Wildlife Conservation
• Annie Edson Taylor, the "heroine of horse shoe falls" was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. The 63-year old woman thought the stunt was a good way to make money. However, it wasn't the financial windfall she expected. Annie worked as a Niagara street vendor for 20 years and died penniless. Source: HistoryChannel.com
• Elephants can smell water up to 3 miles away! Source: radio station trivia question - Big Kat 94.5 in Junction City, Kansas