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Doggie Trivia |
| In the early 1940's, Swiss inventor George de Mestral went on a walk with his dog. After arriving home, he saw that his pants and his dog's coat were covered with burrs. When he looked at the burrs under a microscope, he discovered they have a natural hook-like shape, which became the basis for his invention of a unique, two-sided fastener --- one side with stiff "hooks" like the burrs and the other side with the soft "loops" like the fabric of his pants. The result was VELCROŽ brand hook and loop fasteners, named for the French words "velour" and "crochet." |
| Credit for the invention of the parachute goes to Sebastien Lenormand in 1783. In 1495, Leonardo da Vinci designed a pyramid-shaped chute. J.P. Blanchard (1753-1809), a Frenchman, is said to have been the first to use a parachute. In 1785, he dropped a dog in a basket, to which a parachute was attached, from a balloon high in the air. Blanchard claimed to have descended from a balloon in a parachute in 1793 |
| Adolf Hitler's favourite dog, Blondi, was his Alsatian used to make sure his cyanide capsules were lethal. Hitler used the cyanide to commit suicide when he saw it worked on Blondi. |
| .Before the enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog excrement were deposited on the streets every year |
| Lassie is the favourite movie dog of animal experts, beating out Benji and Beethoven. |
| 7 out of 10 dogs get Christmas gifts from their owners. |
| Annually, Americans spend more on dog food than on baby food. |
| 62% of . dog owners sign letters or cards from themselves and their dogs. |