Well it is Monday and I really bruised my Knee, so we may all need something light and amazing. The following is from www.rd.com (Readers Digest) and updated by Elizabeth Yuko:

"Fact: The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long

If a child’s entire circulatory system—we’re talking veins, arteries, and capillaries—were laid out flat, it would stretch for more than 60,000 miles, according to the Franklin Institute. By the time we reach adulthood, our bodies have become home to approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels. That’s just one of the mind-blowing facts that sound made up (but aren’t).

Fact: The cornea is one of only two parts of the human body without blood vessels

The cornea is the clear part of the eye that covers the pupil and other parts of the eye. Cartilage and the cornea are the only types tissue in the human body that do not contain blood vessels, according to scientists at the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology’s Schepens Eye Research Institute. Your eye also has some other bizarre features you probably didn’t know about.

Fact: Your brain synapses shrink while you sleep

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Sleep and Consciousness studied mice to observe what happens to their brains while they sleep. Dr. Chiara Cirelli and Dr. Giulio Tononi found an 18 percent decrease in the size of synapses after a few hours of sleep. Don’t worry, though—this nighttime brain shrinkage actually helps your cognitive abilities. Speaking of your mind, did you know that these brain myths aren’t true?

Fact: A waffle iron inspired one of the first pairs of Nikes

Bill Bowerman was a track and field coach in the 1950s who didn’t like how running shoes were made. He first created the Cortez shoe but wanted a sneaker that was even lighter and could be worn on a variety of surfaces. During a waffle breakfast with his wife in 1970, he came up with the idea of using the waffle texture on the soles of running shoes. Waffle-soled shoes made their big debut in the 1972 U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Fact: Boars wash their food

National Geographic reported that at Basel Zoo in Switzerland, zookeepers watched adult and juvenile wild boars pick up sandy apples and bring them to a nearby creek in their environment to wash before eating. Though some items like sugar beets were eaten without the human-like behavior, the boars brought a whole dead chicken to the creek to wash before chowing down. One ecologist called this a “luxury behavior.” Find out which other animals are the smartest.

Fact: The first commercial passenger flight lasted only 23 minutes

In 1914, Abram Pheil paid $400 (which would be $8,500 today) for a 23-minute plane ride. The Florida flight flew between Saint Petersburg and Tampa, where only 21 miles of water separate the cities. Pheil, a former mayor of Saint Petersburg, and the pilot, Tony Jannus, were the only passengers. This momentous flight paved the way for air travel as we know it. Speaking of which, here are some airplane facts you’ve always been curious about.

Fact: Uncle Ben’s rice was air-dropped to World War II troops

German chemist Erich Huzenlaub invented a process of parboiling rice to keep more nutrients in the rice and lessen the cooking time. The “Huzenlaub Process” had another unexpected benefit: It stopped bug infestations. The quick-cook, bug-free rice was a big advantage during World War II, and converted rice (as it was then known) was air-dropped to American and British troops. After the war, the company rebranded itself and became Uncle Ben’s Original Converted Brand Rice, named after one of the company’s best rice suppliers. The product hit grocery store shelves in 1947.

Fact: Penicillin was first called “mold juice”

In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming left a petri dish in his lab while he was on vacation—only to return and find that some liquid around the mold had killed the bacteria in the dish. This became the world’s first antibiotic, but before naming it penicillin, he called it “mold juice.” Here are more accidental discoveries that changed the world.

Fact: The first stroller was engineered to be pulled by a goat (or animal of similar size)

William Kent, a landscape architect, invented the first stroller for the third Duke of Devonshire in 1733. But upper-class parents were hardly expected to put effort into transporting their children around, so Kent designed his model to be pulled by a small animal, like a goat.
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Well that is enough to ponder about. Oh that mole juice and that first commercial flight. Amazing stuff for sure!

Reference: https://www.rd.com/list/interesting-facts/