Taken from : "Triva for the Toilet" by Mad Moose Press 2002 (thanks Dwight for the awesome Christmas present!!)

• The kiss that is given by the bride to the groom at the end of the wedding ceremony originates from the earliest times when the couple would actually make love for the first time under the eyes of half the village. • The term "honeymoon" is derived from the Babylonians who declared mead, a honey-flavored wine, the official wedding drink, stipulating that the bride's parents be required to keep the groom supplied with the drink for the month following the wedding.

• Diamonds are crystals formed virtually entirely of carbon. Because of its hardness, the diamond is the most enduring of all gemstones. They are among the most costly jewels in the world, partly because they are rare. Only four important diamond fields have been found - in Africa, South America, India and the Soviet Union. The Cullinan Diamond was the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. Found in 1905, the original 3,100 carats were cut to make jewels for the British Crown Jewels and the British Royal family's collection.

• On average, a woman utters around 7,000 words in a day while a man uses just over 2,000.

• A bride stands to the groom's left at a wedding so that his sword hand would be free. Apparently Anglo-Saxon brides were often kidnapped before a wedding and brawls were common. That's also why the best man stands with the groom; the tribe's best warrior was there to help the groom defend the bride.

• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

• In the marriage ceremony of the ancient Inca Indians of Peru, the couple was considered offically wed when they took off their sandals and handed them to each other.

• The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725 - 1765 a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

• The reason one wears a wedding ring on the third finger is that (tradition says) there is supposed to be a vein which goes directly from that finger to the heart. Not everyone wears their wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand. In some traditions, such as the Jewish one, it is worn on the right hand.

• To prevent evil spirits from entering the bodies of the male children, parents dressed them in blue. Blue was chosen because it's the colour of the sky and was therefore associated with heavenly spirits. Girls weren't dressed in blue, apparently because people didn't think that evil spirits would bother with them. Eventually girls did get their own colour: pink. Pink was chosen because of an English legend which said that girls were born inside of pink roses.

• In Greek culture, brides carry a lump of sugar in their wedding glove. It's supposed to bring sweetness to their marriage life.

• A couple robbing a store caught on camera could not be identified until the police reviewed the security tape. The woman filled out an entry form for a free trip prior to robbing the store.

• A girl, in the Vacococha tribe of Peru, to prepare her for marriage at the age of 12, is place in a basket in the hut of her prospective in-laws and must remain suspended over an open fire night and day for three months.