During the Italian Renaissance it was general practice that whenever a painter depicted God he was to be shown with an erect penis to demonstrate his power and potency. Although God is usually shown clothed, the folds almost always are done in such as way as to suggest tumescence.

The Smithsonian Institute has preserved specimens of thousands of extinct creatures. Some of these remains still contain DNA. The Smithsonian Board of Trustees is currently looking at a proposal to boost attendance and fund-raising by working towards cloning an extinct animal. There are a number of proposed animals, but the current favorite seems to be the thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger.

Senator Joe Biden is a passionate swing dancer. He practices both East Coast swing and Lindy Hop at least three nights a week. His wife gave him a zoot suit for Christmas and he wears it at every dance he goes to.

While Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin lobbied hard for a federal earmark that would have provided every resident of the town with free, expanded cable. It was never enacted.

Although Netflix offers all 13 of the Land Before Time movies for rent, they have no record of anyone ever getting any of the series past the Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists.

On average, 26% of Sunday churchgoers in Alabama are either hungover or drunk.

When actor/martial artist Chuck Norris was still competing in martial arts tournaments, he would always start out his training sessions by having his sparring partner punch him in the crotch. His assumption was that that would be the worst thing that could happen to him in competition and if he could learn to deal with it he could handle anything. He has, in general, stopped that practice. He occasionally does it now out of a "sense of nostalgia".

When author Thomas Pynchon was writing Gravity's Rainbow, he was so beset by writer's block that he superglued his mouth together because he felt that food and conversation were a hindrance to the completion of his book. He continued in this manner for 27 more days, taking all nourishment by IV and communicating with friends and family by means of short notes.

When Governor Mike Huckabee was 16 he refused to eat any vegetables for over seven months. He stopped the practice when he developed scurvy and lost three teeth.

There are 13 different medicines for sale in the United States that are based on dog feces.

The German language has 14 different derogatory terms for Belgians.

There are over 500 sites on the Internet dedicated strictly to Santa-based porn.

In the United States, more people have sex on Christmas Eve than on any other day. Although the primary stated reason is love, the second most commonly given reason is that one person didn't have a good present for the other person, and the third most common reason is excessive alcohol consumption at a holiday party.

Newsman Tucker Carlson has at least one of every Transformer toy ever produced. He has spent over $150,000 on Transformer-related merchandise and has seen the 2007 movie 28 times as of December 14, 2007. He has seen the 1986 Transformers animated movie over 175 times.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul once said that his wife had given him specific permission to sleep with Ayn Rand if he was ever lucky enough to meet her. That was in 1971. There is no record that he ever actually met Ayn Rand.

There is a wide-spread rumor in North Korea that the current Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, is, in fact, a clone created by South Korean stem cell research.

Until 1870, over half the Vice President of the United States annual budget was spent on corn whiskey. It was generally accepted that the primary function of the Vice President was to drink with members of Congress in an effort to get bills passed.

Chuck Norris once deliberately broke one of his own bones just to win a $500 bet.

Actor Ed Begley, Jr. won't plant anything on his property that is not edible. He has a large hedge that not only provides screening from paparazzi, but also provides him with salad greens all year round.

All pictures of current Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters currently displayed on government websites are actually of an actor who has been hired to appear as her. She has a pathological fear of photographs. This was not discovered until after she was confirmed.