Washington, DC – Worried about the recent rash of earthquakes? You have less to worry about than the people of Iceland who not only have to deal with earthquakes, but ice quakes as well! Perhaps it’s hurricane Irene that has you worried. If you are trying to stay dry – don’t try to outrun it… you will get 50% wetter running in the rain than you will standing still. You can find these and 300 other Weird but True facts in the new app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad launching this coming Thursday, September 1, 2011 in the iTunes App Store.

The Weird but True iOS app is a fully interactive random fact generator inspired by the popular National Geographic Kids book series of the same name, which was inspired by a successful feature in National Geographic Kids magazine. Now the franchise is fully functional as the latest app from National Geographic Kids.  With a quick shake, or a simple swipe, you will be entertained and educated at the same time as some of the strangest truths ever to be told. Did you know:

• New Zealand has more sheep… than people. (Baaa!)
• Parachutes were invented before airplanes (Look out below!)
• Honeybees can be trained to detect bombs (Bzzzzz….. BOOM!)
• A sneeze travels 100 mph (Bless you!)
• Some honeybee queens… quack (Duck! It’s a bee!)

We can’t make this stuff up! Sometimes the old saying is true… the truth is much stranger than fiction.

Along with the collection of facts, you can save your favorites to show off later, or voice your vote on the Weird-o-Meter and see a collection of the weirdest true facts as voted on by the users. Facts can be shared via email as well.

Weird but True will be available in the iTunes App Store around the world including from the top of Mt. Everest… where you can get rather clear cell phone reception. That’s weird!

About National Geographic Kids: National Geographic Ventures (NGV) is a wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of National Geographic Society. NGV creates and distributes digital and film content across multi-platforms and media, providing outlets for the hundreds of scientific and expedition-based grants awarded by National Geographic each year.

National Geographic Kids magazine, part of the National Geographic Global Media (NGGM) group, is an award-winning, photo-driven publication for 6- to 14-year-olds that empowers its readers by making it fun to learn about the world. Published 10 times a year, National Geographic Kids has a circulation of 1.2 million and is available by subscription in print and on tablets. Its award-winning website (kids.nationalgeographic.com) aims to inspire children to care about the planet and its inhabitants and covers a multitude of topics, including animals, entertainment, science, technology, current events and cultures from around the world. National Geographic  Kids Books, also part of NGGM,  publishes as many as 100 nonfiction titles each year and aims to inspire the youngest readers to engage with our  world. The Weird But True franchise touches all segments of the National Geographic Kids groups.

Copyright (C) 2011 National Geographic Ventures. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Press Contact:

Aaron Watkins
Appency for National Geographic
aaron@appency.com
858-945-1465