1. Since its 1989 debut, the Energizer Bunny has become an instantly recognizable marketing icon. But it’s not the only battery bunny—Duracell Bunnies came first and still reign supreme in non-U.S. markets. When Duracell forgot to renew its U.S. trademark, Energizer hopped at the chance to parody their rival’s mascot.

2. The Marathon gets its name from the legend of a Greek soldier who ran the approximate 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to report the defeat of the invading Persians. The Boston Marathon has been won by a Kenyan every year but two since 1990.

3. Injected in dairy cows, synthetically produced recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) dramatically increases milk production. Though Canada and Europe have banned its use, rBGH is still widely used in this country. Trader Joe’s and Safeway supermarkets in Washington, Oregon and California refuse to sell milk unless it’s rBGH-free.

4. Though Marvel Comics was the first comic book publisher to go public on Wall Street in 1991, CEO Ronald Perelman bankrupted the company within five years. Spider-Man saved the beleaguered company in 2002 and has grossed over $403 million domestically.

5. Your cell phone has a reserve power supply that can be tapped into when your battery’s dead and you need to make a call. Dialing *3370# will restore the cell’s battery to about 50 percent; this reserve power recharges with the phone the next time it’s plugged in.

6. When Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos medaled in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics, they wore black socks and scarves to the awards ceremony. They also planned to wear black gloves, but when Carlos forgot his, they decided to each wear one of Smith’s. On the podium, they bowed their heads and raised their fists in black solidarity. This Black Power salute cost them their medals and any participation in future Olympic Games.

7. Fentanyl, a pain killer much stronger than Vicodin or Percocet, is a morphine-like drug used to treat chronic pain. The drug is more addictive than heroin and is prescribed much less often since 1991, when 12 people died of Fentanyl overdose in a single weekend.

8. Without using any real calculations, James Watt defined horsepower as 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. That figure is nearly twice what an actual horse can manage. The automotive industry uses horsepower to classify its finest high-performance vehicles—the Mercedes-Benz, the Lamborghini Murciélago and the Chevrolet Corvette.

9. You’ve probably heard that your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body, but that’s not really true. Examined over a lifetime, your heart is the hands-down strongman. But in a contest of sheer force, your quads, jaw and (if you’re lucky enough) contracting uterus are the real strength contenders.

10. In the years leading up to his death, Friedrich Nietzche became increasingly insane, probably because of the syphilis he contracted as a young man. Syphilis, a bacterial infection, was known as the “French disease” in Germany and Italy, and the “Italian disease” in France.