World Records - Little Unknown Facts Poem by Ben Gieske

(source - Guinness Book of World Records - 1989)

Illacme Plenipes, a millipede*
Continues to deceive
No one thousand feet it has
Seven hundred fifty feet it has

*This millipede is reported to have had 750 legs.

The millipede Illacme Plenipes*
Has a chore getting out and into bed
With all those shoes on his feet
Every morning and night repeating the feat

The difference between a centipede
And a millipede may be one of feet.
The one is shorter, the other longer than a foot.
The difference is plain when you look

The killer whale Orcinus orca *
is in marine waters the cheetah
Dall’s porpoise has a spurt to match
But soon must lag behind and watch.

*On Oct 12,1958, a bull whale measuring 20-25 ft in length was timed at 30 knots (34.5 mph) . This porpoise was also reported to be able to travel for short spurts at 30 knots.

Wagner’s Götterdämmerung+
An operatic aria when sung
Listeners must sit to listen awhile
about four times a 4-minute mile.

+ The longest single aria or operatic solo, Brünnehilde's recording of this opera was timed at 14 min.46 sec.