Modern Marvels

Although Operation Aphrodite planes took part in more than a dozen missions, not one hit its target. The program was cancelled in early 1945.

Besides its military applications, Dr. Louis Fieser also discovered a civilian use of napalm. It was an effective crabgrass killer.

Although most landing craft on D-Day contained a two-man flamethrower team, the weight of the equipment and the fear of the fuel igniting caused most of the soldiers to abandon their flamethrowers.

During the Spanish Civil War, Geoffrey Pyke fitted Harley-Davidsons with sidecars that were designed to carry hot food to the front and to carry casualties back to safety.

Ships survived hurricanes by sailing fast enough to stay inside the eye. When this happens, flocks of seagulls often land on the ships and ride out the storm with them.

Pacific Ocean typhoons are often stronger than Atlantic hurricanes because they form over a larger ocean, which gives them more room to grow before they hit land.

SLOSH = Sea Land and Overland Surges from Hurricanes

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, is built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Its reinforced concrete walls are ten inches thick, and its backup power system can keep the Center running for 10 days.

The red spot on the planet Jupiter is really the top of a giant spiraling hurricane. The storm is larger than the Earth and has been raging for more than 300 years.

Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale:
Category 1: 74-96 mph
Category 2: 96-110 mph
Category 3: 111-130 mph
Category 4: 131-155 mph
Category 5: 156+ mph

Every day at Disney's Toy Story Midway Mania! Guests break an estimated 1 million virtual plates with the spring action shooters.

Some of the trees on the African savannah are actually 30-foot-tall Southern live oaks, native to Florida. They've been given crew cuts to make them look like Africa's acacia trees.

The Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show came to Walt Disney World as part of Disney's Happiest Celebration on Earth - 50 Years of Theme Park Magic.

Producer Jack Douglas scored the music for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster by riding it "like a hundred times" with a computer strapped to his knees.

There's almost half a mile of propane gas piping in the inferno barge.

The concrete monorail beams were manufactured in Washington state and shipped by rail to Florida.

Disney's audio animatronic figure Lucky the Dinosaur has traveled the globe, making visits to California, Orlando and Hong Kong.

Disney's Contemporary Resort was built with modular construction. Nine-ton rooms were finished out with built-in furniture three miles away, then trucked to the site and slid into place like dresser drawers.

Due to the success of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, more Disney destinations were built in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

Disney World is the world's largest consumer of fire works.