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Vaknin, Sam, 1961-

"The First Book of Factoids"

Only 2.5-3 million people live in
it - one hundredth the population of the United States. Contrary to
its popular image, only 25% of this surface is covered by sand. The
rest of the Sahara is made or rocks and desert varnish (weathered
rock). The word "Sahara" in Arabic means "deserts", in the plural.

http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml
http://www.danheller.com/sahara.html
Salmon
The Pacific Salmon, when sexually mature, return from the ocean to the
freshwater stream of their birth to lay eggs and die. The trip is
hundreds to thousands of miles long. The Atlantic Salmon make it a few
times in a lifetime - the Pacific varieties (there are five) only
once.

The Salmon do not eat until they reach their destination and built a
nest. The US Fish and Wildlife Service describe the few survivors
as "often gaunt, with grotesquely humped backs, hooked jaws, and
battle-torn fins. The females are swollen with a pound or more of
eggs. Both have large white patches of bruised skin on their backs and
sides."

The ordeal continues in the spawning grounds - males fight over
females, females over nesting sites.


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