Shakespeare introduced over 1,700 words to English — including 'bedroom,' 'lonely,' and 'eyeball.'

The word 'nerd' was first coined by Dr. Seuss in 'If I Ran the Zoo' in 1950.

The labyrinth of Crete, in Greek myth, was designed by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur.

In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor rules heaven and earth from his celestial palace.

The sitar, fundamental to Indian classical music, has 21 strings — 7 played and 14 sympathetic.

The fastest tennis serve ever recorded was by John Isner at 253 km/h (157.2 mph).

The Olympic motto is 'Faster, Higher, Stronger.'.

The gamelan orchestra of Indonesia uses percussion instruments tuned to local scales that differ from Western temperament.

The Mona Lisa was considered an unremarkable painting until it was stolen in 1911 — the resulting publicity made it famous.