The oldest person on record is Methuselah (969 years old).

Lady Peseshet of Ancient Egypt (2600-2100 BC) is the world’s first known female physician.

There are more than 600 million telephone lines today, yet almost half the world’s population has never made a phone call.

The word “electric” was first used in 1600 by William Gilbert, a doctor to Queen Elizabeth I.

English sailors came to be called Limeys after using lime juice to combat scurvy.

Adriaan van der Donck was the first and only lawyer in New York City in 1653.

The first fax process was patented in 1843.

The first electronic mail, or “email”, was sent in 1972 by Ray Tomlinson. It was also his idea to use the @ sign to separate the name of the user from the name of the computer.

Charles Macintosh invented the waterproof coat, the Mackintosh, in 1823.

Thomas Edison filed 1,093 patents, including those for the light bulb, electric railways and the movie camera. When he died in 1931, he held 34 patents for the telephone, 141 for batteries, 150 for the telegraph and 389 patents for electric light and power.

The first neon sign was made in 1923 for a Packard dealership.