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This weeks Friday Factoids are focusing on the history of lotteries and some interesting facts about some winners.

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This weeks Friday Factoids focuses on the top ten deadliest drugs according to an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine called “Serious Adverse Drug Events Reported to the Food and Drug Administration”.  Drugs are listed next to their placement and the number of deaths between 1998 and 2005 is listed in parenthesis with the drugs common use underneath.

10. Etanercept (1,034)

Used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, I think I’m safe on this.

9. Risperidone (1,093)

Marketed in the US as Risperdal, this drug is commonly used as a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, again I’m safe for now.

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Today’s factoids about the United States Congress come to us from the Facts section on Harper’s Magazine’s website.  I must say some of these were extremely surprising to me.

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This weeks Friday Factoids come to us from the National Safety Council’s compilation of injury reports since the 1920s. They have compiled a list of the odds of dying, most recent version is 2004, we’ll cover some of the more colorful and odd ways to die.

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The “quit smoking” crowd is everywhere, and it has infiltrated allscan.org now. I’ve been smoking cigarettes for six months, my wife much longer. While it has always been a choice to start, it seems that the choice to quit is much harder. I watched an episode of Modern Marvels on tobacco where a doctor mentioned that more people are addicted to nicotine than any other drug and that nicotine is the fastest addicting drug around.

Well I don’t know about all that, but here are some interesting facts about what happens to your body when you quit, along with a nice time line from HealthBolt.net.

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This weeks Friday Factoids come from an article by the ACLU, while their article only covers what to do if stopped in your car. I suggest reading the entire article, even for law-abiding citizens, it could be helpful. (source)

• Upon request, show them your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. In certain cases, your car can be searched without a warrant as long as the police have probable cause. To protect yourself later, you should make it clear that you do not consent to a search. It is not lawful for police to arrest you simply for refusing to consent to a search.
• If you’re given a ticket, you should sign it; otherwise you can be arrested. You can always fight the case in court later.
• If you’re suspected of drunk driving (DWI) and refuse to take a blood, urine or breath test, your driver’s license may be suspended.

This weeks Friday Factoids will be focused on pet rats and general rat lore.

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Another week of Friday Factoids:

FACT: The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

FACT: The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

FACT: There are only four words in the English language which end in “- dous“: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

FACT: There are more chickens than people in the world

This weeks Friday Fact(oid)s come to us via an email from my wife.

FACT: A polar bear’s skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.
FACTOID: More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
FACT: The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.
FACT: Almonds are members of the peach family.

Starting tomorrow, Friday 1 February 2008, there will be a weekly selection of facts and factoids for your enjoyment. In case you didn’t know, here are the definitions of fact and factoid from dictionary.com.

fact – noun: something that actually exists; reality; truth

factoid – noun: an insignificant or trivial factan insignificant or trivial fact

If you have anything to submit for this weekly feature, be sure to use the Contact Us page to submit your ideas.