Trivia Today

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1838, Boston, Massachusetts was the first city to
establish its own police department.

The oldest park in the U.S. is Boston Common.

***

On June 1, 1660, Mary Dyer was hanged on Boston Common for
repeatedly defying a law banning Quakers from the colony.
She is considered to be the last religious martyr in North
America.

***

The first medical school for women, The Boston Female
Medical School (which later merged with the Boston
University School of Medicine), opened in Boston on
November 1, 1848.

***

The Great Boston Fire of 1872 started on Lincoln Street on
November 9 and in two days destroyed about 65 acres of the
city, 776 buildings, much of the financial district and
caused $60 million in damage.

***

On September 1, 1897 the Boston subway opened as the first
underground metro in North America. Today it is
affectionately known as "The T" and is run by the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

***

Boston played a key role in the American Revolutionary War.
The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and several of
the early battles of the revolutionary war (such as the
Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston)
occurred near the city. During this period, Paul Revere
made his famous ride. As a result Boston is known as the
Cradle of Liberty and historic sites remain a popular
tourist draw to this day.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The first vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria
around 215 BC. When a coin was dropped into a slot, its
weight would pull a cork out of a spigot and the machine
would dispense a trickle of water.

***

The very first projection of an image on a screen was made
by a German priest. In 1646, Athanasius Kircher used a
candle or oil lamp to project hand-painted images onto a
white screen.

***

Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in
1876, the year the phone was invented.

***

One hour before Alexander Graham Bell registered his patent
for the telephone in 1876, Elisha Gray patented his design.
After years of litigation, the patent went to Bell.

***

During the 1860s, George Leclanche developed the dry-cell
battery, the basis for modern batteries.

***

The first electronic mail, or "email", was sent in 1972 by
Ray Tomlinson. It was also his idea to use the @ sign to
separate the name of the user from the name of the computer.

[historylover]

It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the cabinet - BARACK OBAMA, after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson stepped down as the President-elect's nominee for secretary of commerce due to a federal investigation into campaign donors

RANDOM TIDBITS

4,000 years ago the first shoes were made of a single piece
of rawhide that enveloped the foot for both warmth and
protection.

***

In the Middle East heels were added to shoes to lift the
foot from the burning sand. In Europe in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries heels on shoes were always colored
red.

***

Shoes all over the world were identical until the nineteenth
century, when left- and right-footed shoes were first made
in Philadelphia.

***

Six-inch-high heels were worn by the upper classes in
seventeenth-century Europe. Two servants, one on either
side, were needed to hold up the person wearing the high
heels.

***

Boots were first worn in cold, mountainous regions and hot,
sandy deserts where horse-riding communities lived. Heels
on boots kept feet secure in the stirrups.

***

The first lady's boot was designed for Queen Victoria in
1840.

[historylover]

The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook - William James


RANDOM TIDBITS - Sneakers

In the late 18th century, people wore rubber soled shoes
called plimsolls. Around 1892, the U.S. Rubber Company came
up with more comfortable rubber sneakers with canvas tops,
called Keds.

***

Sneakers earned their nickname because they were so quiet,
a person wearing them could sneak up on someone.

***

In 1924, a German man named Adi Dassler created a sneaker
that he named after himself: Adidas. This brand became the
most popular athletic shoe in the world.

***

In the 1950s, kids began wearing sneakers as fashion
statements. Even more teens followed the fad after seeing
James Dean in sneakers in the popular movie Rebel Without
a Cause.

***

In 1984, Michael Jordan signed a contract to wear a Nike
shoe called Air Jordans—the most famous sneaker ever made.
Even after Jordan retired from the NBA, his shoes continued
to be best sellers.

***

New sneaker technologies increase performance. Nike’s Air
Force used little pockets of gas to create better cushioning,
while Reebok introduced The Pump—air pumped into shoes to
make them fit more snugly

[historylover]

Streaming video from the Internet and other means of direct digital delivery are going to put optical formats out of business entirely over the next few years - ROGER KAY, U.S consultant, predicting that the increasing availability of HD movies and TV programs online will make DVD and Blu-ray video discs obsolete.


RANDOM TIDBITS

China is the largest country with only one time zone (it
should span five). That would be like New York, Chicago,
Denver, and Los Angeles all being in the same time zone.
India is the second largest country with only one.

***

Russia adheres to its standard time zones except the entire
country is on permanent daylight saving time and so is an
hour ahead of their actual zones.

***

Australia uses three time zones; the eastern and western
zones adhere to their assigned time, but the central zone
is a half-hour ahead. In the Middle East and South Asia,
several countries also use half-hour time zones.

***

In South Asia, if you follow a straight line west along the
27º latitude you will move back and forth across time zones:
from Pakistan UTC +5 hours, India +5:30, Nepal +5:45, India
(Sikkim) +5:30, China +8, Bhutan +6, India (Arunachal
Pradesh) +5:30, Myanmar +6:30.

***

Russia has the most time zones (11), followed by the U.S.
with nine (six for states and three for territories), and
Canada with six.

***

You can actually be in three time zones at the same time,
at the spot where the borders of Norway/Finland, Norway/
Russia, and Russia/Finland meet.



[historylover]

Out of every 100 persons added to the population in the coming decade, 97 will live in developing countries." Hania Zlotnik, 2005


RANDOM TIDBITS - Origin of Athlete Nicknames

Thomas “Pepper” Johnson - This New York Giants football
player received his nickname from his grandmother. He loved
pepper so much, he put it on everything he ate.

***

Sonny “The Drummer Boy” Liston - As a boxer, Sonny beat his
opponents the same way a drummer beats a bongo.

***

Willie “The Say Hey Kid” Mays - Willie Mays was one of the
most famous baseball players of all time. As a rookie, he
would often shout “Say hey over there” to people whose names
he did not know.

***

George Herman “Babe” Ruth - The New York Yankees' Babe Ruth
is one of baseball's all-time legends. As a young boy, he
wanted to play baseball with the older neighborhood
children. When they wouldn't let him, he'd cry, and was
called a baby.

***

Eldrick“Tiger” Woods - This golf star is named after one of
his father's friends, who was a soldier in Vietnam.

***

Willie “Mookie” Wilson - His family gave this baseball
player his name because of the funny way he said “milk”
when he was a child.

[historylover]

These numbers, back-to-back, of more than a half-million a month suggest that the U.S. economy is in a freefall - NARIMAN BEHRAVESH, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, after unemployment rates hit 7.2% — a 16-year high


RANDOM TIDBITS

Odor Tester - Some chemist has to make sure that all of
those deodorants and anti-perspirants are operating properly
to keep their users free of funk!

***

Citrus Fruit Dyer - There are commercial farmers out there
who dye citrus fruit a more vibrant color to hide the ripe-
ness of the fruit.

***

IMAX Screen Cleaner - Someone has to make sure that huge
screen is crystal clear for our viewing pleasure.

***

Light Bender - Making neon lights seems like it would be a
relatively easy job, but it requires a lot of precision and
electrical work. If the lights don't have the proper thick-
ness and shaping, they will amount to nothing more than
broken glass.

***

Weed Farmer - Weed farmers actually grow weeds rather than
trying to get rid of them. They sell them to horticulture
schools and labs so various people can do research and
studies on them.

***

Cow Hoof Trimmer - Just like horseshoes, cows need some
hoof maintenance too. Cows can have poor milk production,
lameness, and decreased fertility if not properly groomed.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS - How food dishes got their names


Beef Wellington - A national hero for defeating Napoleon
at Waterloo in 1815, Arthur Wellesley was made the first
Duke of Wellington. He loved a dish of beef, mushrooms,
truffles, Madeira wine, and pate cooked in pastry, which
has been named in his honor.

***

Peach Melba - Chef Auguste Escoffier created a dessert of
poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry
sauce in honor of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.
A Frenchman, Escoffier worked at the Ritz Hotel in London
in the early 1900s, the period when Melba performed
regularly at the Covent Garden opera house. Escoffier also
created Melba toast in her honor.

***

Waldorf Salad - In 1896, Oscar Tschirky, the maitre d'hotel
of the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, created
a salad of apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Immediately
popular, the new dish was called Waldorf Salad. Chopped
walnuts later became an ingredient.

***

Chicken Marengo - On June 14, 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte
defeated the Austro-Hungarian army at the village of
Marengo, in northern Italy. After a ferocious battle, the
victorious French were ravenous. Chicken Marengo was made
from whatever ingredients they were able to take from the
village.


***

Caesar Salad - In the 1920s, Caesar Cardini, owner of an
Italian restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, and his brother,
Alex, invented a salad of romaine lettuce, anchovies,
coddled egg, lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese, and
garlic-flavored croutons tossed with a garlic vinaigrette
flavored with Worcestershire sauce. At first it was called
Aviator's Salad, but later Cardini named the dish after
himself.

***

Beef Stroganoff - A combination of beef, mushrooms, and
sour cream, Beef Stroganoff was the prize-winning recipe
created for a cooking competition held in the 1890s in St.
Petersburg, Russia. The chef who devised the recipe worked
for the Russian diplomat Count Pavel Alexandrovich
Stroganov, a member of one of Russia's grandest noble
families.

[historylover]

America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America - HILLARY CLINTON, Secretary of State–designate, in remarks at her Senate confirmation hearings on the need for strong U.S. partnerships around the globe




RANDOM TIDBITS - Figure Control

The iron corset was devised in 1579 and was worn by women
for about 10 years. The first modern corset was made in
Britain in the 1700s. A short and light corset was made in
America in 1911 for women to have the freedom of movement
to dance the tango.

***

Statues dating from 2500 BC have been found on the Greek
island of Crete that show women wearing bra-like corsets
that lifted their breasts out of their clothing. It was
called a mastoeides (“shaped like a breast”).

***

American Marie Tucek patented the first bra, which she
called a "breast supporter," in 1893. It had two supportive
cups and shoulder straps. In 1913, New Yorker Marie Phelps
Jacob fashioned a flattening bra from two handkerchiefs and
some ribbon. The following year she patented her invention.

***

In the 1920s, a Russian immigrant named Ida Rosenthal
founded the Maidenform lingerie company with her husband
William. They made bras for women of every size and
introduced the cup system (A, B, C, D).

***

Strapless bras were introduced in 1938. They were popularized
in the 1950s. The sweater girl bra was made in the 1950s. Its
cups were shaped to points and looked a lot like cones.

***

Today, the average American woman owns six bras. White is
the best-selling color for bras.

[gunslingingbird]

Beef Stroganoff - A combination of beef, mushrooms, and
sour cream, Beef Stroganoff was the prize-winning recipe
created for a cooking competition held in the 1890s in St.
Petersburg, Russia. The chef who devised the recipe worked
for the Russian diplomat Count Pavel Alexandrovich
Stroganov, a member of one of Russia's grandest noble
families.

What do you call a bull masturbating? Beef Stroganoff! :rofl:

[historylover]

Literacy study: 1 in 7 U.S. adults are unable to read this story - A HEADLINE, in USA Today, citing a federal report that estimates 32 million Americans are virtually illiterate


RANDOM TIDBITS

Thomas Jefferson was the only president to walk to and from
his inaugural. He was also the first to be inaugurated at
the Capitol. (1801)

***

The first inauguration to be photographed was James Buchanan's.
(1857)

***

William Taft's wife was the first one to accompany her
husband in the procession from the Capitol to the White
House. (1909)

***

Warren G. Harding was the first president to ride to and
from his inaugural in an automobile. (1921)

***

Calvin Coolidge's oath was administered by Chief Justice
(and ex-president) William Taft. It was also the first
inaugural address broadcast on the radio. (1925)

***

Lyndon Johnson was the first (and so far) only president to
be sworn in by a woman, U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes.
(1963)

[historylover]

We are unraveling the safety net to the point where it may not be possible to stitch it back together again - ANTHONY WRIGHT, executive director of Health Access California, a leading consumer advocacy group, on healthcare cuts in several financially troubled states, including Calif.


RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1831, Squire George Osbaldeston rode 200 miles in eight
hours, 39 minutes. Osbaldeston used 20 horses. His
speed/distance record still stands.

***

On December 29, 1945, the record for the slowest time for
a winning horse was set by Never Mind II. During a 2-mile
steeplechase, Never Mind II refused the 4th jump and his
rider gave up and returned to the paddock. Then the rider
was told that all the other horses had fallen or been
disqualified. Immediately he "raced" Never Mind II back
to the field and finished in 11 minutes 28 seconds.

***

The Tetrarch, called by many Englishmen the fastest horse
of all time, was so swift that he couldn't control his legs.
His hind hooves cut and bruised the fetlocks and shins of
his front legs. At the end of his two-year-old season in
1913, during which he was undefeated, The Tetrarch had to
retire because his legs were so badly damaged.

***

Jockey Levi Barlingume, rode until 1932 when, at age 80, he
fell and broke his leg at Stafford, Kans., thus ending the
longest recorded career of any jockey.

***

The owners of the speedstar, Alsab, made one of the finest
deals in history. The horse they bought for $700 earned
$350,015 during its career.

***

History's greatest breeder was Darius of Persia (522-485
B.C.), who had more than 50,000 brood mares. Darius's
horses were half the size of today's.

[historylover]

You gotta give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing - JEFF KOLODJAY, one of 155 people aboard a US Airways jet that crash-landed in the Hudson River after apparently hitting a flock of geese during takeoff. All passengers and crew were rescued.


RANDOM TIDBITS

Inauguration Day was originally set for March 4th in order
to give members of the Electoral College from each State
four months from election day to cast their ballots for
president.

***

Weather's greatest impact on inauguration day came in 1841
when William Henry Harrison decided to brave the elements
and deliver the longest inauguration speech ever, an oration
lasting an hour, 40 minutes. Harrison wore no coat, and rode
a horse to and from the Capitol ceremony. He subsequently
caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. A month later,
Harrison died.

***

The warmest January 20th inauguration day came in 1981 when
Ronald Reagan was sworn into office under mostly cloudy
skies. The temperature at noon on this inauguration day was
55 degrees.

***

The shortest inauguration speech was delivered by George
Washington at his second inauguration on March 4, 1793.
The speech totaled 135 words.

***

There have been nine presidents sworn in on days other
than inauguration day — eight following eight presidential
deaths and one after Richard Nixon's resignation.

***

Former President Herbert Hoover was unable to fly into
Washington National Airport due to the weather and missed
the swearing-in ceremony. By sunrise, the snowfall had
ended and the skies cleared but the day remained bitterly
cold. An army of men worked all night to clear Pennsylvania
Avenue and despite the cold, a large crowd turned out for
the swearing-in ceremony and inaugural parade.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The term 揻eather in your cap?came from the American
Indian tradition of obtaining feathers for headdresses.
Birds were captured, some feathers plucked, and the birds
were released. Each feather represented an act of bravery.

***

The fashion of decorating hats with feathers declined in
the twentieth century because too many birds were being
slaughtered for their feathers. This is similar to the
slaughter of elephants in recent years for their ivory tusks.

***

Artist Salvador Dali designed a woman's hat in 1930 that
was shaped like a shoe with the inverted heel pointing
upward. He also designed what he called a 搈ad-cap,?which
was shaped like a mountain peak.

***

Designer Steven Jones created felt hats topped with a
platter of fried eggs, sunnyside up. He also made hats
that were simply metal colanders inverted on the wearer's
head.

***

揂 hat makes all the difference?was a U.S. advertising
slogan used in 1930. For centuries, tradition linked hats
with female status. Married women and mothers were required
to cover their heads with hats as signs of respectability.
Unmarried women went bare-headed.

***

Hats were worn everywhere梚ndoors and out梑y women in the
eighteenth century. They even wore a hat called a baigneuse
in the bathtub.

[historylover]

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm - Willa Cather

RANDOM TIDBITS

Volcanoes are vents in the Earth's surface from which
molten rock, debris, and steam issue. About 1,900 volcanoes
are active today or known to have been active in historical
times.

***

Almost 90 percent of volcanoes are in the Ring of Fire, a
band of volcanoes circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

***

Most volcanoes occur at plate boundaries, areas where huge
slabs of rock meet in the Earth's lithosphere, or outer shell.
Volcanoes can rise in subduction zones, areas where plates
meet and one is pushed beneath another. Molten rock rises to
the surface and forms a volcano.

***

Intraplate volcanoes are caused by hot spots deep within
the Earth. Magma rises and erupts as lava through cracks
in the Earth's surface, forming volcanoes.

***

Volcanoes can erupt in a combination of ways: explosively
with hard pyroclastic material; explosively with fluid lava
(lava fountains); effusively with hard pyroclastic flows
(clouds of ash and gases); and effusively with fluid lava.

***

Although some volcanoes are considered extinct, almost any
volcano is capable of rumbling to life again. Volcanoes
provide valuable mineral deposits, fertile soils, and
geothermal energy.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Congressman John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, first
introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days
after King was assassinated in 1968. The bill first
came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979.
However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for
passage.

***

The King Center turned to support from the corporate
community and the general public to make it a paid holiday.
The success of this strategy was cemented when musician
Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to
popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for
Peace Press Conference in 1981.

***

Six million signatures were collected for a petition to
Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The
Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in
U.S. history.

***

At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983,
President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal
holiday to honor King.It was observed for the first time
on January 20, 1986. The bill established the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to oversee observance
of the holiday, and Coretta Scott King was made a member of
this commission for life by United States President George
H. W. Bush in May, 1989.

***

In 1990, Arizonans were given an opportunity to vote to
observe an MLK holiday. McCain successfully appealed to
former President Ronald Reagan to support the holiday.
Prior to that date, New Hampshire and Arizona had not
observed the day.

***

One place where this day is observed as important is in the
Japanese city of Hiroshima under the mayor Tadatoshi Akiba,
who holds special banquet at the mayor's office as an act
of unifying his city's call for peace with King's message
of human rights.

[historylover]

When you see the Earth from space, you don't see any divisions of nation-states there. This may be the symbol of the new mythology to come; this is the country we will celebrate, and these are the people we are one with - Joseph Campbell.


RANDOM TIDBITS

The first inaugural ball in Washington, DC, was held on
March 4, 1809, on behalf of James Madison, the fourth
president. It was held at Long's Hotel on Capitol Hill.
Dancing started at 7 p.m. The U.S. Marine Band, which
provided the music, has become a traditional feature at
inaugurations.


***

The inaugural ball for James Buchanan was held in a building
on Judiciary Square built for the occasion for $15,000. Six
thousand guests drank $3,000 worth of wine and devoured 400
gallons of oysters, 60 saddles of mutton, four saddles of
venison, 125 tongues, 75 hams, 500 quarts of chicken salad,
500 quarts of jellies, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, and a four-
foot high cake.

***

An electric lamp hanging over the doorway to the 1881
inaugural ball of James A. Garfield, held at the Smithsonian
Institution, was a novelty and intrigued the guests. John
Philip Sousa conducted the U.S. Marine Band, which was one
of two bands to entertain at the ball.

***

To accommodate all the guests, the number of balls has
proliferated. Dwight Eisenhower had four balls, John Kennedy
had five, Richard Nixon six, and Jimmy Carter, seven.

***

During Ronald Reagan's inauguration in 1981, 40 million
jellybeans were eaten at the eight inaugural balls, which
were televised by cable TV to inaugural parties around the
nation. Reagan had begun nibbling his signature jellybeans
in the 1960s when he quit smoking.

***

The weather was so cold during the second inauguration of
Ulysses S. Grant that the valves on the band's musical
instruments froze during the ball, and guests danced with
their coats on.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Alfred Butts, the inventor of SCRABBLE, was an unemployed
architect living in New York in the 30's when he began
devising a word game using letters printed on small
cardboard squares. The game originally had no board and was
called Lexiko.

***

Butts made a few sets to sell to friends but it went
unnoticed until 1948 when James Brunot thought it might
have commercial possibilities. He and his wife began
making the game in their home in Newtown, Connecticut.
They settled on the name SCRABBLE.

***

The game did not take off until 1952 when the owner of
Macy's store, who had played the game while on vacation,
told the toy department to stock it. Soon, other toy stores
were doing the same.

***

The standard set in the fifties cost $3 but Brunot devised
a deluxe version with white plastic tiles which cost $10.
These plastic tiles eventually became the norm. The wooden
tiles, which were manufactured of maple in Bavaria, had a
grain in the wood that players could memorize to help them
pick the letters they needed.

***

An expert SCRABBLE player can regularly score more than
400 points while it has been calculated that it's
theoretically possible to score as many as 4,153 points in
a single game.

***

Today there are versions of the game in French, Dutch,
Italian, Spanish, Russian and Arabic, each with its
particular set of letters. In French there are fifteen E's
and the Q is not worth much due to its frequency in that
language.

[gunslingingbird]

About fucking time you posted on this thread! :glugglug:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In the U.S., bingo was originally called "beano". It was a
country fair game where a dealer would select numbered
discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards
with beans. They yelled "beano" if they won.

***

The game's history can be traced back to 1530, to an Italian
lottery called "Lo Giuoco del Lotto D'Italia," which is
still played every Saturday in Italy. From Italy the game
was introduced to France in the late 1770s, where it was
called "Le Lotto", a game played among wealthy Frenchmen.

***

The Germans also played a version of the game in the 1800s,
but they used it as a child's game to help students learn
math, spelling and history.

***

New York toy salesman Edwin S. Lowe renamed it "bingo"
after he overheard someone accidentally yell "bingo"
instead of "beano". He hired a Columbia University math
professor, Carl Leffler, to help him increase the number
of combinations in bingo cards. By 1930, Leffler had
invented 6,000 different bingo cards.

***

A Catholic priest from Pennsylvania approached Lowe about
using bingo as a means of raising church funds. When bingo
started being played in churches it became increasingly
popular.

***

By 1934, an estimated 10,000 bingo games were played weekly,
and today more than $90 million dollars are spent on bingo
each week in North America alone.

[sleazystevie]

Great thread. Keep the trivia coming!

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

According to anthropologist Louis Leakey, most predators
avoided feasting on humans because our body odor was "too
repugnant." Guess it's a good thing we can be stinky!

***

Egyptians were the first to popularize the idea of applying
scents to armpits, usually using cinnamon and other spices
that wouldn't turn rancid in the heat.

***

The first modern brand of antiperspirant, EverDry, hit
drugstores in 1903. The original formula was so acidic that
it regularly ate through clothing.

***

Aoki, a Japanese company known for its menswear, has
developed a deodorant suit that supposedly absorbs sweat
and neutralizes odors all over the body.

***

Aluminum chloride, the ingredient that blocks glandular
openings and prevents sweating, is notorious for turning
T-shirts yellow. So, blame your antiperspirant for your
pit stains, not your body.

***

Medical science has found no conclusive evidence that
absorbing aluminum chloride through the skin can lead to
memory loss or slurred speech.

[gunslingingbird]

According to anthropologist Louis Leakey, most predators
avoided feasting on humans because our body odor was "too
repugnant." Guess it's a good thing we can be stinky!


I knew there was a reason why I haven't bathed since Saturday! I worked a Duran Duran show last night, and I think they have a song called "Hungry Like The Wolf." I figured that if I smelled like 3-day-old shit they'd take their hunger elsewhere. :cool:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Since it is shaped like a red heart, the strawberry has
been used as the symbol for Venus, the Goddess of love.
Some believe that if you share a double strawberry with
someone of the opposite sex by breaking it in half, the
two of you will fall in love.

***

The belief that a strawberry shaped birthmark is the sign
of a witch led many to believe that Queen Anne Boleyn, the
second wife of HenryVIII, was a witch.

***

The strawberry is the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
It is the only fruit to contain seeds on its outside.

***

The three major varieties of the strawberry are June
bearing, Everbearing, and day neutral.

***

California and Florida are the two top producers of
strawberries in the United States. California produces over
one billion berries annually.

***

The overall sweetness of the strawberry is related to the
weather conditions while growing.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS (:eek::eek:)

Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII of England, is
commonly believed to have had 11 fingers. Historians believe
that she did have an extra finger or at least some sort of
growth on her hand that resembled an extra finger.

***

Major league baseball pitcher Antonio Alfonseca has six
fingers on each hand, but he claims the extra fingers do
not affect his pitching, as they do not usually touch the
ball. In most cases of polydactylism (extra fingers or
toes), the extra digit has only limited mobility, or cannot
be moved at all, and is often surgically removed shortly
after birth.

***

Actor Mark Wahlberg has a third nipple on the left side of
his chest. Early in his career, he considered having it
removed, but he later came to accept it. Around 2 percent
of women and slightly fewer men have a supernumerary nipple,
although they are often mistaken for moles.

***

In 2006, a boy named Jie-Jie was born in China with two
left arms. Although all three of his arms looked normal,
neither left arm was fully functional, and, when he was two
months old, doctors in Shanghai removed the one closest to
his chest after tests revealed it was less developed.

***

Francesco Lentini, who was born in Sicily in 1889, was born
with three legs, two sets of genitals, and an extra foot
growing from the knee of his third leg -- the remains of a
conjoined twin that had died in the womb. Rejected by his
parents, he was raised by an aunt, then in a home for
disabled children before moving to America when he was
eight.

***

Josephene Myrtle Corbin, born in 1868, was a dipygus,
meaning that she had two separate pelvises and four legs.
She could move all of the legs, but they were too weak to
walk on. She married a doctor with whom she had five
children. Legend has it that three of her children were
born from one pelvis, and two from the other.

[gunslingingbird]

Major league baseball pitcher Antonio Alfonseca has six
fingers on each hand, but he claims the extra fingers do
not affect his pitching, as they do not usually touch the
ball. In most cases of polydactylism (extra fingers or
toes), the extra digit has only limited mobility, or cannot
be moved at all, and is often surgically removed shortly
after birth.
My high school French teacher had an extra toe. She would show it off by wearing open-toed shoes. It was fucking gnarly! Then came the news that she would be missing the next 2 weeks of school because she was getting her "calcium deposit" removed. Calcium deposit, my ass! That thing had a fucking nail and everything! :eek:


Josephene Myrtle Corbin, born in 1868, was a dipygus,
meaning that she had two separate pelvises and four legs.
She could move all of the legs, but they were too weak to
walk on. She married a doctor with whom she had five
children. Legend has it that three of her children were
born from one pelvis, and two from the other.

This woman would be any pervert's dream come true! I mean, you could have a threesome just with two people! Or you could also test your accuracy by alternating between holes. Also, why not fuck her and eat her out at the same time? Oh, the possibilities are endless. :1orglaugh

[historylover]

This woman would be any pervert's dream come true! I mean, you could have a threesome just with two people! Or you could also test your accuracy by alternating between holes. Also, why not fuck her and eat her out at the same time? Oh, the possibilities are endless. :1orglaugh

You're on the right board GSB...because you're perverted!

I do have to give you a :bowdown: and rep for your "accuracy test" suggestion.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Mother's Day can be traced back to ancient Greece, when the
Greeks held festivals honoring Rhea, the mother of the gods.

***

The ancient Egyptians celebrated the goddess Isis, who was
considered the mother of the pharoahs. Romans also honored
Isis by celebrating for three days.

***

Anna Jarvis is recognized as the founder of the Mother's
Day holiday in the United States of America. On May 12,
1907, two years after her mother's death, she held a
memorial to her mother and thereafter embarked upon a
campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday. She
succeeded in making this nationally recognized in 1914.

***

President Woodrow Wilson helped celebrate the first
national Mother's Day in 1914. As the holiday became more
commercialized, Anna Jarvis filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvannia
to try to stop the commercialization. She failed.

***

The official flower for Mother's Day is the carnation. Red
carnations are for mothers still living, while white
carnations are to honor those that have passed away.

***

Mothering Sunday is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, or
three weeks before Easter, in the UK and Ireland. In South
America, most countries celebrate Mother's Day on the
second Sunday of May as well. Argentina celebrates it in
October because it is in the southern hemisphere and spring
is in October.

[gunslingingbird]

Mothering Sunday is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, or
three weeks before Easter, in the UK and Ireland. In South
America, most countries celebrate Mother's Day on the
second Sunday of May as well. Argentina celebrates it in
October because it is in the southern hemisphere and spring
is in October.

In Mexico it's celebrated on May 10th.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

At the age of 26, Michelangelo began sculpting his
monumental statue of David. He finished it seventeen months
later, in January, 1504.

***

Although construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in
Strasbourg started in 1015, it was not until 1439 that the
spire was completed.

***

The Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and 660 feet thick at its
base. Enough rock was excavated in its construction to
build the Great Wall of China.

***

The estimated weight of the Great Pyramid of Egypt is
6,648,000 tons.

***

The great Gothic cathedral of Milan was started in 1386,
and wasn’t completed until 1805.

***

The largest stained-glass window in the world is at Kennedy
International Airport in New York City. It can be seen on
the American Airlines terminal building and measures 300
feet long by 23 feet high.

[Jeep!]

'Stifle' is an anagram of itself.

I always loved that one, cause it takes people a wee minute to get it.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

There are over 60 communities throughout the United States
that have their own form of local currency. California has
the most communities with their own currency, including
many popular colleges like Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

***

A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge, one more than a dime.
The reason the mint started using ridges was to prevent
counterfeit and devaluing of the coin.

***

A penny weighs 2.5 grams, which is the average weight of a
humming bird. A can of soda has four pennies worth of sugar.

***

America once issued a 5-cent bill during the civil war to
combat the coin shortage at the time.

***

There is more Monopoly money printed in a year, than real
money printed throughout the world. The amount of money in
a Monopoly game is $15,140.

***

The United States Government used to keep its supply of
silver at the United States Military Academy, West Point,
New York. It now only keeps on hand enough for minting
purposes.

[gunslingingbird]

A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge, one more than a dime.
The reason the mint started using ridges was to prevent
counterfeit and devaluing of the coin.


Actually, I had learned that the ridge dates back to the Roman Empire when people used to scrape the edges of coins to add to their personal stashes of gold. The emperor ordered coins to be made with a ridge to prevent people from scraping coins and lowering their value.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The battle began when Mexico was attacked by France and
other European countries because it stopped paying interest
to its creditors. The French army outnumbered the Mexican
army 2 to 1, was better equipped, and had not been defeated
in nearly 50 years before this historic date.

***

Despite the victory on May 5, France later went on to occupy
Mexico in 1863. They ruled there until they voluntarily
withdrew after US pressure in 1866-1867.

***

The holiday is celebrated mostly in Puebla and sporadically
throughout the rest of the country. Celebration activities
include food, music, and dancing.

***

In the United States, the holiday is essentially a day to
celebrate Mexican culture and is celebrated widely across
the country. Celebrations include dancing, food, music, and
special events to spotlight the culture.

***

The first Cinco de Mayo in the US was celebrated in 1967
when a group of California State University students
realized there was no Chicano celebration in the country.

***

The largest Cinco de Mayo festival is the Festival de
Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles, CA. More than 600,000
people attend. Other major festivals are held in Denver
and St. Paul's, MN.

[gunslingingbird]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The battle began when Mexico was attacked by France and
other European countries because it stopped paying interest
to its creditors. The French army outnumbered the Mexican
army 2 to 1, was better equipped, and had not been defeated
in nearly 50 years before this historic date.

***

Despite the victory on May 5, France later went on to occupy
Mexico in 1863. They ruled there until they voluntarily
withdrew after US pressure in 1866-1867.

***

The holiday is celebrated mostly in Puebla and sporadically
throughout the rest of the country. Celebration activities
include food, music, and dancing.

***

In the United States, the holiday is essentially a day to
celebrate Mexican culture and is celebrated widely across
the country. Celebrations include dancing, food, music, and
special events to spotlight the culture.

***

The first Cinco de Mayo in the US was celebrated in 1967
when a group of California State University students
realized there was no Chicano celebration in the country.

***

The largest Cinco de Mayo festival is the Festival de
Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles, CA. More than 600,000
people attend. Other major festivals are held in Denver
and St. Paul's, MN.

Something that really bothers me about the Cinco de Mayo celebration in the US is that they took a minor Mexican holiday (schools have regular classes that day, save for the morning remembrances in the schoolyard. Banks are closed on that day, but, then again, banks probably closed the day after Michael Jackson died) and turned it into something major. I have met many American-born Mexicans who grow up thinking that May 5th is Mexican independence day. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

LEGO creater Ole Kirk Christiansen's company originally
sold and made wooden stepladders and ironing boards. In
1932, he started making wooden toys that were so popular
he decided to sell them exclusively. The name LEGO means
"play well" in Danish.


***

In 1949, LEGO acquired the design rights to a self-locking
building block created by Kiddicraft in the U.K. Originally
named Automatic Binding Bricks, there was a name change in
1953 to LEGO Bricks and the name LEGO is imprinted on all
the bricks.

***

In the 1950s LEGO grew to include building sets, vehicles
and assorted props to help create buildings and towns. A
new patent in 1958 made the brick sturdier and flexible
with a tube on the bottom of the LEGO brick.

***

Lego pieces of all varieties are a part of a universal
system. Lego bricks from 1958 still interlock with those
made in 2009, and Lego sets for young children are
compatible with those made for teenagers.

***

The Lego Group's motto is "Only the best is good enough",
a free translation of the Danish phrase Kun det bedste er
godt nok. This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage
his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he
believed in strongly. The motto is still used within the
company today.

***

Four billion LEGO mini-figures have been made since 1978.
Four hundred billion bricks have been produced since 1958.

[gunslingingbird]

Four billion LEGO mini-figures have been made since 1978.


I've probably bought a good 10% of those, especially after they started making Star Wars Legos. :)

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1998, Hurricane George hit Gulfport, Mississippi,
blowing a cat named Big Boy up into a big oak tree. Three
years later, Big Boy's owner said the cat never left the
tree. The feline eats, sleeps, and climbs the branches for
exercise!

***

More than 37 years old at the time of her death, Cream Puff
is recognized as the oldest cat to have ever lived. In
human years, she was about 165 years old when she died.

***

In 1952, Texan kitty Dusty set the record for birthing more
kittens than any other cat in history. Dusty had more than
420 kittens before her last litter at age 18.

***

In Scotland, a tortoiseshell tabby named Towser was
reported to have slain 28,899 mice throughout her 21 years
-- an average of about four mice per day.

***

Though this Blue Point Himalayan died in 1997, this cat
still holds the record for being the smallest cat ever.
Tinker Toy was just 2.75 inches tall and 7.5 inches long
and weighed about one pound eight ounces.

***

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the
heaviest cat in recorded history was an Australian kitty
named Himmy that reportedly weighed more than 46 pounds in
1986.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Sega Dreamcast was the first console to implement
online play over a phone line, calling the system Sega Net.
Popular Science recognized the Sega Dreamcast as one of
the most important and innovative products of 1999.


***

The PlayStation 2 was the first system to have graphics
capability better than that of the leading-edge personal
computer at the time of its release.

***

The Nintendo N64 marked the first time that computer
graphics workstation manufacturer Silicon Graphics Inc.
(SGI) developed game hardware technology.

***

The first console to have games available in the form of
add-on cartridges was the Fairchild Channel F console,
introduced in August 1976.

***

The word atari comes from the ancient Japanese game of Go
and means "you are about to be engulfed." Technically, it
is the word used by a player to inform his opponent that he
or she is about to lose, similar to "check" in chess.

***

The Sega Genesis featured a version of the same Motorola
processor that powered the original Apple Macintosh
computer.

[gunslingingbird]

My turn to post random trivia. :)

CELEBRITY PHOBIAS AND OBSESSIONS

Cameron Diaz: Afraid of Door Handles
Cameron Diaz may seem carefree in most of her movies, but the "Charlie's Angels" star gets grossed out by door handles and refuses to touch them with her bare hands. Instead, she uses her elbows to turn the knobs. While she claims she's not a germaphobe, she sounds like one to us. Cameron's in good company, however, as there are many celebrities who've confessed to strange phobias and obsessions through the years.

************

Whoopi Goldberg: Afraid of Flying
Whoopi Goldberg seems to have her act together. Currently the moderator on "The View," Whoopi is an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, Golden Globe, and Emmy-winning actress and comedian, and she seems genuinely loved and respected by her peers. But up until recently, Whoopi had a debilitating fear of flying and would travel across country in her own bus when she needed to go coast to coast. When Goldberg's "Sister Act" became a musical and was set to debut in London's West End, it became clear that the bus was not an option. She agreed to have representatives from Virgin Atlantic's Flying Without Fear program help her address her phobia. And not only has Whoopi gone to London to support her show, she's also made surprise visits to her family and trips to Las Vegas to perform at the Encore Theater (which had been dark since the unexpected death of headliner Danny Gans).

************

Billy Bob Thornton: Afraid of Antiques
It's not surprising that Billy Bob Thornton is a quirky guy (do we have to remind everyone that he and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie used to wear vials of each other's blood around their necks?), but B.B. has a phobia that's even odd by his standards. The actor says he's "creeped out" by antique furniture, and not so much American antiques as French Antiques. Billy is so fearful of being near the "castle-y" (as he calls them) artifacts that he says he can't sleep or eat near them and makes sure to call ahead to hotels to ensure that there are none in his suite before he checks in.

************

Daniel Radcliffe: Afraid of Clowns
You'd think a guy who's gone head-to-head with Dementors and He Who Shall Not Be Named wouldn't be afraid of anything anymore. But Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the world's most powerful wizard, has a fear of clowns. And he's not the only famous coulrophobic star: Johnny Depp and P. Diddy dread the circus entertainers, too.

************

Nicole Kidman: Afraid of Butterflies
You'd think a delicate actress like Nicole Kidman would find beauty in the fragility of a butterfly. But she's actually terrified of them. Growing up in the Australian countryside, Nic says she would sometimes come home from school to find a giant butterfly on her front gate, and she'd take a circuitous route over the fence and around the side of the house to avoid the insect. As an adult she's gone so far as to walk into the American Museum of Natural History's butterfly cage and allow the butterflies to cover her. But she still can't shake the fear.

************

Sarah Michelle Gellar: Afraid of Graveyards
Oh, the irony. Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has a fear of graveyards and admits that she's had nightmares of being buried alive. Lucky for her, the set-dressing wizards on "Buffy" were able to create phony grave sites so that Gellar never had to shoot in a real cemetery.

************

Madonna: Afraid of Thunder
If Lourdes, Rocco, David, and Mercy James get freaked out by thunder and lighting storms, they're going to have to sing "My Favorite Things" all by themselves. Their mother, Madonna, probably wouldn't be of much use helping the kids get over any anxiety about nature's racket: the Material Girl is profoundly afraid of thunder.

************

Christina Ricci: Afraid of Indoor Plants
If you're going over to Christina Ricci's place and want to bring a little hostess gift, get her a bottle of wine or a nice scented candle. Do NOT get her a houseplant. She's notoriously afraid of indoor greenery, calling the plants dirty and allegedly getting freaked out if she has to touch one.

************

Matthew McConaughey: Afraid of Tunnels and Revolving Doors
You'd probably guess that Matthew McConaughey is afraid of shirts, since he seems to wear them so infrequently. But Matthew actually has two irrational fears: tunnels and revolving doors. He says he doesn't fear the whole tunnel experience, just the moment of entry when it's difficult to see beyond the first ten feet. As for revolving doors, McConaughey says he feels anxious just getting near them. Maybe that's why he spends so much time outdoors.

************

Kim Kardashian: Obsessed With Q-Tips
No one likes a dirty ear, but Kim Kardashian is apparently obsessed with making sure hers are sparkly clean. The reality TV star admits to being obsessed with Q-tips, confessing that she uses them at least five times every day.

************

Howie Mandel: Hates Shaking Hands
How does a game show host who has a fear of shaking hands greet his contestants? By doing the fist bump, of course. At least that's what the admitted germaphobe and OCD sufferer Howie Mandel does. But contrary to popular belief, Howie didn't create the modern hello. The pound can be traced back to Baltimore Bullets guard Fred Carter in the 1970s.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The first Crayola crayons were produced by cousins Edwin
Binney and C. Harold Smith in 1903. The pair made the
crayons from paraffin wax and colored pigments, in a pack
of just eight simple colors: red, blue, yellow, green,
violet, orange, black and brown.

***

Since then, the company has produced over a 100 billion
crayons. In 2007, the subsidiary of Hallmark Cards became
"Crayola LLC". Crayola has its headquarters in Forks
Township, Pennsylvania.

***

The name "Crayola" was created by Alice Stead Binney, a
former school teacher. She put together the French word
"craie", which means "chalk", and "ola," from "oleaginous",
which means "oily", and came up with "Crayola".

***

Crayola makes 120 colors of crayons today. There are 19
shades of blue, 20 types of green, 23 shades of red, 8
different yellows, 16 types of purples, 14 shades of oranges,
11 browns, 2 grays, 1 silver, 1 white, 2 black shades, 1
gold and 2 types of copper.

***

Back in 2000, Crayola developed an online poll to find out
what crayon color was America's favorite, and the result
was blue.

***

According to a Yale University study of American adults,
the smell of Crayola crayons is ranked number 18 when it
comes to the 20 most recognizable smells.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii - This was the official
residence of the Hawaiian monarchy from 1882 until foreign
merchants overthrew Queen Liliuokalani in 1893. The queen
was imprisoned there for eight months in 1895 after efforts
to restore her to the throne. The only royal palace in the
United States, Iolani features portraits of several Hawaiian
queens on display.

***

Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Auburn, New York - Harriet
Tubman risked her life for over a decade to lead hundreds of
enslaved people out of the South to freedom in the North. Her
last major project was her Home for the Aged, which is now a
museum to honor Tubman's life and work.

***

The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago, Illinois -
Founded by Jane Addams in 1889, the Hull House greatly
improved life for immigrant families in poor city
neighborhoods. Hull House offered classes, daycare, job
assistance, and a place for labor unions to organize.

***

Orchard House, Concord, Massachusetts - Author Louisa May
Alcott (1832-1888) lived in Orchard House with her family
for nearly 20 years and is thought to have written her
classic novel Little Women there. Now a National Historic
Landmark, Orchard House is preserved much as it was when
the Alcotts lived there. Visitors can tour the home and
imagine how the family lived.

***

Susan B. Anthony House, Rochester, New York - A National
Historic Landmark, this house was the home and headquarters
of feminist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) for nearly half a
century. Countless meetings to organize for women's rights
were held in this house. In 1872, Anthony was famously
arrested in the house because she had voted in the
presidential election-a criminal act for a woman.

***

Juanita Craft House, Dallas, Texas - Civil-rights activist
Juanita Craft joined the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1935, and by 1958,
she had founded 182 rural chapters of the NAACP. Both Martin
Luther King, Jr., and President Lyndon Johnson visited the
home to seek Craft's advice.

[www.infoplease.com]

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS - Unusual Last Wills

Magician Harry Houdini left the rabbits he pulled out of
his hat to the children of friends. His wife was given a
secret code - ten words randomly chosen that he would use
to contact her from the afterlife. She held annual seances
on Halloween for ten years after his death, but Houdini
never appeared.

***

Animal lover Jonathan Jackson's will stipulated that his
money be used for the creation of a cat house -- a place
where cats could enjoy comforts such as bedrooms, a dining
hall, an auditorium to listen to live accordion music, an
exercise room, and a specially designed roof for climbing.

***

American hatmaker S. Sanborn left his body to science,
bequeathing it to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., (then a
professor of anatomy at Harvard Medical School) and one
of Holmes's colleagues. The will stipulated that two drums
were to be made out of Sanborn's skin and given to a friend
on the condition that every June 17 at dawn he would pound
out the tune "Yankee Doodle" at Bunker Hill to commemorate
the anniversary of the famous Revolutionary War battle.

***

Vermont tanner John Bowman believed that after his death,
he, his dead wife, and two daughters would be reincarnated
together. When he died in 1891, his will provided a $50,000
trust fund for the maintenance of his 21-room mansion and
mausoleum, even requiring servants to serve dinner every
night just in case the Bowmans were hungry when they
returned from the dead.

***

Just two days before her death of an overdose in 1970,
singer Janis Joplin changed her will to set aside $2,500 to
pay for a posthumous all-night party for 200 guests at her
favorite pub in San Anselmo, California, "so my friends can
get blasted after I'm gone." The bulk of her estate
reportedly went to her parents.

***

Eleanor E. Ritchey, heiress to the Quaker State Refining
Corporation, passed on her $4.5 million fortune to her 150
dogs when she died in Florida in 1968. The will was
contested, and by the time it was finally settled, only 73
of the dogs were still alive to recieve the established $14
million. When the last dog died in 1984, the remainder of
the estate went to the Auburn University Research Foundation
for research into animal diseases.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Finger Wave: Curls and waves were all the rage in the
1930s. Women wanted their hair to look like those of
beautiful Hollywood actresses Greta Garbo, Katharine
Hepburn, and Carole Lombard, who all kept their hair short
to mid-length, wavy, and styled for maximum sex appeal.

***

The Cary Grant: This men's hairstyle of the 1940s was a
precise cut with a severe side part and a whole lot of
styling wax to make it shine. The result was a look as
sauve and debonair as Grant himself.

***

The Bouffant: Thanks to salon-sized hair dryers being
introduced to the world of beauty in the 1950s, the bouffant
and the beehive began popping up all over the place. The
look was that of a big, round silhouette on the head.

***

The Mop Top: With the increasing popularity of the Beatles
in the 1960s came the increasing popularity of their
hairstyle - a longer, over the ears, floppy shag cut. Girls
and boys alike copied the style, which was also sported by
another huge band of the time, The Rolling Stones.

***

The Farrah Fawcett: The 1970s saw this iconic hairstyle,
made famous by Charlie's Angels star Farrah Fawcett. The
style came to a soft point at the top of the head,
creating a triangular silhouette with long, feathered
flips cascading down the sides and the back.

***

The Rat-Tail: Popular with young men (and some women) of
the '80s, this style was characterized by hair cut short
all over except for a long strip of hair (usually 1/2- to
1-inch wide) growing from the nape of the neck and dangling
down the back.

[howstuffworks.com]

[gunslingingbird]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Finger Wave: Curls and waves were all the rage in the
1930s. Women wanted their hair to look like those of
beautiful Hollywood actresses Greta Garbo, Katharine
Hepburn, and Carole Lombard, who all kept their hair short
to mid-length, wavy, and styled for maximum sex appeal.

***

The Cary Grant: This men's hairstyle of the 1940s was a
precise cut with a severe side part and a whole lot of
styling wax to make it shine. The result was a look as
sauve and debonair as Grant himself.

***

The Bouffant: Thanks to salon-sized hair dryers being
introduced to the world of beauty in the 1950s, the bouffant
and the beehive began popping up all over the place. The
look was that of a big, round silhouette on the head.

***

The Mop Top: With the increasing popularity of the Beatles
in the 1960s came the increasing popularity of their
hairstyle - a longer, over the ears, floppy shag cut. Girls
and boys alike copied the style, which was also sported by
another huge band of the time, The Rolling Stones.

***

The Farrah Fawcett: The 1970s saw this iconic hairstyle,
made famous by Charlie's Angels star Farrah Fawcett. The
style came to a soft point at the top of the head,
creating a triangular silhouette with long, feathered
flips cascading down the sides and the back.

***

The Rat-Tail: Popular with young men (and some women) of
the '80s, this style was characterized by hair cut short
all over except for a long strip of hair (usually 1/2- to
1-inch wide) growing from the nape of the neck and dangling
down the back.

[howstuffworks.com]

You forgot to mention the ever-stylish mullet. :cool:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Apples contain vitamins A, B, C, potassium, iron and
magnesium. They also contain important flavanoids, and help
fight the effects of bad cholesterol.

***

Carrots help lower cholesterol, boost the immune system and
help fight cancer. Carrots are loaded with nutrients and
vitamins including vitamins B,C,D,E, and K along with folic
acid and the anti- cancer protecting ingredient beta
carotene.

***

Pineapples are packed full of vitamin C and fiber which
help the immune and digestive system. They also have anti-
inflammatory effects and they contain the protein digesting
ingredient bromelain.

***

Raspberries are high in ellagic acid which is good for the
immune system. This fruit is packed full of vitamins and
minerals including cancer fighting beta carotene, vitamin
C, magnesium, phosphorus and sodium.

***

A handful of strawberries contains 100% of your recommended
daily intake of vitamin C. Strawberries also contain
natural pain killing substances some of which are included
in aspirin.

***

Oranges contain antioxidants that help fight the free
radicals that damage and age our skin, and are loaded with
beta carotene and are a good source of calcium and other
minerals.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

On April 22, 1970, Earth has its first official birthday
celebration in the United States. More than 20 million
people marched, demonstrated, and attend teach-ins on
environmental topics.

***

A bill is passed in 1872 by Congress and signed by President
Grant to create the world's first national park at the
headwaters of Yellowstone River in Montana and Wyoming. The
parkland now comprises more than 2 million acres, mainly in
northwest Wyoming.

***

The Endangered Species Act is passed in 1973 to protect
wildlife. The act expands federal protections to plants and
all invertebrates; bans the killing of all endangered
species, as well as trade in endangered species and their
products; and permits non-native species to be added to the
U.S. endangered species list.

***

The international organization Greenpeace was founded in
1971. Greenpeace uses the media to raise awareness about
industrial pollution, endangered species protection, and
other environmentalist concerns.

***

In 1990, Earth Day 2 is celebrated on April 22. One hundred
million people around the globe participate. The tradition
of celebrating Earth Day annually on or around April 22 is
begun.

***

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro brought 150 nations together
to set global standards for protecting the Earth against
global warming and other environmental threats.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World - In the tiny town
of Beaver, Oklahoma, apparently all you need is a good
throwing arm and some cow dung to have a good time. Every
April since 1969, Beaver has hosted the World Cow Chip
Throwing Championship to see who can hurl hardened cow dung
the greatest distance. This event was established as a
tribute to the unique natural fuel source of the town's
early settlers.

***

Troll Capital of the World - If you've always wanted to
check out the largest troll community in the world, look
no further than Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. You can take a
"Troll Stroll" down The Trollway, site of the country's
largest collection of life-sized troll sculptures, which
are carved into trees along the town's main drag.

***

Cereal Capital of the World - Did you know that the birth-
place of our favorite breakfast food is Battle Creek,
Michigan. Visitors to the town can tour Kellogg's Cereal
City USA, an interactive museum that pays tribute to cereal
and shows its impact on our culture. Observe a re-creation
of a cereal production line, meet your favorite Kellogg's
cereal-box celebrities, and even buy a box of cereal with
your face on it.

***

Decoy Capital of the World - Havre de Grace, Maryland has
been home to the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum since 1986.
It features the country's largest collection of wooden duck
decoys, most carved between 1930 and 1990.

***

Loon Capital of the World - The northern Wisconsin town of
Mercer, which boasts of more than 200 lakes within a 20-
mile radius, features the world's largest loon. A 16-foot-
tall, 2,000-pound fiberglass waterfowl has stood on the
lawn of the chamber of commerce since 1981.

***

Bratwurst Capital of the World - The first weekend of every
August sees Bratwurst Days in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Connoisseurs come from all over to try some of the industry's
newest brats, such as taco bratwurst, Cajun bratwurst, and
jalapeno and cheddar bratwurst.

[shaggydude]

Most toilets flush in E flat.

[gunslingingbird]

Troll Capital of the World - If you've always wanted to
check out the largest troll community in the world, look
no further than Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. You can take a
"Troll Stroll" down The Trollway, site of the country's
largest collection of life-sized troll sculptures, which
are carved into trees along the town's main drag.

Really? I'll be damned. I always thought the troll capital of the world was the Freeones Talk forum. :confused:

Most toilets flush in E flat.

Car horns honk in the key of F.

[historylover]

Really? I'll be damned. I always thought the troll capital of the world was the Freeones Talk forum. :confused:




:rofl::rofl2:


















:yesyes:


RANDOM TIDBITS - TOP DOGS

In 1998, Russian wolfhound Olive Oyl of Grayslake, Illinois,
made the Guinness Book of World Records when she skipped
rope 63 times in one minute.

***

Chihuahua and shih tzu mix Tiny Tim of London holds the
record (as of 2004) for being the tiniest dog ever. The
little guy measures three inches tall at the shoulder and
four inches long from nose to tail, and weighs just over a
pound.

***

The oldest dog reliably documented was an Australian cattle
dog named Bluey. After 29 years and 5 months of faithful
service, Bluey was put to rest in 1939.

***

Border collies are widely regarded as the smartest of dogs,
since they have been bred to work closely with humans for
centuries. However, without enough stimulation, they can
appear hyper and not quite as brilliant!

***

The favorite dog of ancient Egyptians, the basenji is
incapable of barking, instead uttering a sound called a
yodel.

***

Zorba, an Old English mastiff, was the world's heaviest and
longest dog ever recorded. Zorba weighed 343 pounds and,
from nose to tail, was eight feet three inches long.

[gunslingingbird]

The favorite dog of ancient Egyptians, the basenji is
incapable of barking, instead uttering a sound called a
yodel.


This (http://www.emergencyyodel.com/) is an ancient recording of Ramses II's dog Fluffy. :D

[historylover]

1920s

23 skiddoo -- to get going; move along; leave; or scram
The cat's pajamas -- the best; the height of excellence
Gams -- legs
The real McCoy -- sincere; genuine; the real thing
Hotsy-totsy -- perfect
The bee's knees -- excellent; outstanding

1930s

I'll be a monkey's uncle -- sign of disbelief; I don't
believe it!
Gig -- a job
Girl Friday -- a secretary or female assistant
Skivvies -- men's underwear

***

1940s

Blockbuster -- a huge success
Keeping up with the Joneses -- competing to have a lifestyle
or socioeconomic status comparable to one's neighbors
Cool -- excellent; clever; sophisticated; fashionable; or
enjoyable
Sitting in the hot seat -- in a highly uncomfortable or
embarrassing situation

***

1950s

Boo-boo -- a mistake; a wound
Hi-fi -- high fidelity; a record player or turntable
Hipster -- an innovative and trendy person

***

1960s

Daddy-o -- a man; used to address a hipster or beatnik
Groovy -- cool; hip; excellent
Hippie -- derived from hipster; a young adult who rebelled
against established institutions, criticized middle-class
values, opposed the Vietnam War, and promoted sexual freedom
The Man -- a person of authority; a group in power

1970s

Catch you on the flip side -- see you later
Dig it -- to like or understand something
Get down/Boogie -- dance
Mind-blowing -- unbelievable; originally an expression for
the effects of hallucinogenic drugs
Pump iron -- lift weights
Workaholic -- a person who works too much or is addicted to
his or her job

***

1980s

Bodacious -- beautiful
Chillin' -- relaxing
Dweeb -- a nerd; someone who is not cool
Fly -- cool; very hip
Gag me with a spoon -- disgusting
Gnarly -- exceptional; very cool
Preppy -- one who dresses in designer clothing and has a
neat, clean-cut appearance
Wicked -- excellent; great
Yuppie -- Young Urban Professional; a college-educated
person with a well-paying job who lives near a big city;
often associated with a materialistic and superficial
personality

***

1990s

Diss -- show disrespect
Get jiggy -- dance; flirt
Homey/Homeboy -- a friend or buddy
My bad -- my mistake
Phat -- cool or hip; highly attractive; hot
Wassup? -- What's up?; How are you?
Word -- yes; I agree

2000s

Barney Bag -- a gigantic purse
Newbie -- a newcomer; someone who is inexperienced
Peeps -- friends; people
Rents -- parents
Sweet -- beyond cool

(howstuffworks.com)

[gunslingingbird]

Origins of States' Names

ALABAMA. Possibly from the Creek Indian word alibamo, meaning "we stay here."

ALASKA. From the Aleutian word alakshak, which means "great lands," or "land that is not an island."

ARIZONA. Taken either from the pima Indian words ali shonak, meaning "little spring," or from the Aztec word arizuma, meaning "silver-bearing."

ARKANSAS. The French somehow coined it from the name of the Siouan Quapaw tribe.

CALIFORNIA. According to one theory, Spanish settlers names it after a utopian society described in a popular 16th-century novel called Serged de Esplandian.

COLORADO. Means "red" in Spanish. The name was originally applied to the Colorado River, whose waters are reddish with canyon clay.

CONNECTICUT. Taken from the Mohican word kuenihtekot, which means "long river place."

DELAWARE. Named after Lord De La Warr, a governor of Virginia. Originally used only to name the Delaware River.

FLORIDA. Explorer Ponce de Leon named the state Pascua Florida - "flowery Easter"—on Easter Sunday in 1513.

GEORGIA. Named after King George II of England, who charted the colony in 1732.

HAWAII. An English adaptation of the native word owhyhee, which means "homeland."

IDAHO. Possibly taken from the Kiowa Apache word for the Comanche Indians.

ILLINOIS. The French bastardization of the Algonquin word illini, which means "men."

INDIANA. Named by English-speaking settlers because the territory was full of Indians.

IOWA. The Sioux word for "beautiful land," or "one who puts to sleep."

KANSAS. Taken from the Sioux word for "south wind people," their name for anyone who lived south of Sioux territory.

KENTUCKY. Possibly derived from the Indian word kan-tuk-kee, meaning "dark and bloody ground." Or kan-tuc-kec, "land of green reeds", or ken-take, meaning "meadowland."

LOUISIANA. Named after French King Louis XIV.

MAINE. The Old French word for "province."

MARYLAND. Named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of English King George I.

MASSACHUSETTS. Named after the Massachusetts Indian tribe. Means "large hill place."

MICHIGAN. Most likely from the Chippewa word for "great water." micigama.

MINNESOTA. From the Sioux word for "sky tinted" or "muddy water."

MISSISSIPPI. Most likely taken from the Chippewa words mici ("great") and zibi ("river").

MISSOURI. From the Algonquin word for "muddy water."

MONTANA. Taken from the Latin word for "mountainous."

NEBRASKA. From the Otos Indian word for "broad water."

NEVADA. Means "snow-clad" in Spanish.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. Capt. John Mason, one of the original colonists, named it after his English home county of Hampshire.

NEW JERSEY. Named after the English Isle of Jersey.

NEW MEXICO. The Spanish name for the territory north of the Rio Grande.

NEW YORK. Named after the Duke of York and Albany.

NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. From the Latin name Carolus; named in honor of King Charles I of England.

NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. Taken from the Sioux word for "friend," or "ally."

OHIO. Means "great," "fine," or "good river" in Iriquois.

OKLAHOMA. The Choctaw word for "red man."

OREGON. Possibly derived from Ouaricon-sint, the French name for the Wisconsin River.

PENNSYLVANIA. Named after William Penn, Sr., the father of the colony’s founder, William Penn. Means "Penn’s woods."

RHODE ISLAND. Named "Roode Eylandt" (Red Island) because of its red clay.

TENNESSEE. Named after the Cherokee tanasi villages along the banks of the Little Tennessee River.

TEXAS. Derived from the Caddo Indian word for "friend," or "ally."

UTAH. Means "upper," or "higher," and was originally the name that Navajos called the Shoshone tribe.

VERMONT. A combination of the French words vert ("green") and mont ("mountain").

VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. Named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, the "virgin" queen, by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584.

WASHINGTON. Named after George Washington.

WISCONSIN. Taken from the Chippewa word for "grassy place."

WYOMING. Derived from the Algonquin word for "large prairie place."

[tunsty]

Sitting in the hot seat -- in a highly uncomfortable or
embarrassing situation



I would dispute that definition.

'Hot-seat' is more likely to mean being in a position that is deemed very important, essential or pivotal to a particular outcome

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Bugsy Siegel named his Las Vegas casino "The Flamingo" for
the long legs of his showgirl sweetheart, Virginia Hill.

***

In 1931, the Pair-O-Dice Club was the first casino to open
on Highway 91, the future Las Vegas Strip.

***

In 1899 Charles Fey invented a slot machine named the
Liberty Bell. The device became the model for all slots to
follow.

***

The Imperial Palace on the Las Vegas strip is the nation's
first off-airport airline baggage check-in service.

***

In March 1931, Governor Fred Balzar signed into law the
bill legalizing gambling in the state.

***

The longest running show in Las Vegas is the Follies
Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, which opened in
1959.

[gunslingingbird]

33 Names of Things You Never Knew had Names

1. AGLET - The plain or ornamental covering on the end of a shoelace.
2. ARMSAYE - The armhole in clothing.
3. CHANKING - Spat-out food, such as rinds or pits.
4. COLUMELLA NASI - The bottom part of the nose between the nostrils.
5. DRAGÉES - Small beadlike pieces of candy, usually silver-coloured, used for decorating cookies, cakes and sundaes.
6. FEAT - A dangling curl of hair.
7. FERRULE - The metal band on a pencil that holds the eraser in place.
8. HARP - The small metal hoop that supports a lampshade.
9. HEMIDEMISEMIQUAVER - A 64th note. (A 32nd is a demisemiquaver, and a 16th note is a semiquaver.)
10. JARNS,
11. NITTLES,
12. GRAWLIX,
13. and QUIMP - Various squiggles used to denote cussing in comic books.
14. KEEPER - The loop on a belt that keeps the end in place after it has passed through the buckle.
15. KICK or PUNT - The indentation at the bottom of some wine bottles. It gives added strength to the bottle but lessens its holding capacity.
16. LIRIPIPE - The long tail on a graduate's academic hood.
17. MINIMUS - The little finger or toe.
18. NEF - An ornamental stand in the shape of a ship.
19. OBDORMITION - The numbness caused by pressure on a nerve; when a limb is 'asleep'.
20. OCTOTHORPE - The symbol '#' on a telephone handset. Bell Labs' engineer Don Macpherson created the word in the 1960s by combining octo-, as in eight, with the name of one of his favourite athletes, 1912 Olympic decathlon champion Jim Thorpe.
21. OPHRYON - The space between the eyebrows on a line with the top of the eye sockets.
22. PEEN - The end of a hammer head opposite the striking face.
23. PHOSPHENES - The lights you see when you close your eyes hard. Technically the luminous impressions are due to the excitation of the retina caused by pressure on the eyeball.
24. PURLICUE - The space between the thumb and extended forefinger.
25. RASCETA - Creases on the inside of the wrist.
26. ROWEL - The revolving star on the back of a cowboy's spurs.
27. SADDLE - The rounded part on the top of a matchbook.
28. SCROOP - The rustle of silk.
29. SNORKEL BOX - A mailbox with a protruding receiver to allow people to deposit mail without leaving their cars.
30. SPRAINTS - Otter dung.
31. TANG - The projecting prong on a tool or instrument.
32. WAMBLE - Stomach rumbling.
33. ZARF - A holder for a handleless coffee cup.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Tax Day is on April 15 each year because it allows the IRS
more time to handle the work and also gives the government
more time to offer taxpayers' refunds. This day was decided
upon in 1955 after several changes over the years. It only
changes if Tax Day falls on a weekend or holiday, and then
Tax Day will be on the following business day.

***

The country's first income tax law came into existence in
1862. Due to the gigantic expense of the Civil War, a person
earning between $600 to $10,000 paid a yearly tax rate of
3%; those that made more were taxed higher.

***

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue was formed in 1862 to
assess and collect taxes as well as enforce tax laws by
seizing property and income and using prosecution as
punishment. In 1953, the Bureau of Interal Revenue became
the Internal Revenue Service, or as we call it, the IRS.

***

There are over 7 million words in tax law and regulations.
That beats the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and
the Gettysburg Address combined.

***

Almost 300,000 trees are cut down each year to make the
paper for all the forms and instructions relating to taxes.

***

Tax Freedom Day is the one day that the country as a whole
has earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden.
This year's Tax Freedom day falls on April 13.

[gunslingingbird]

The country's first income tax law came into existence in
1862. Due to the gigantic expense of the Civil War, a person
earning between $600 to $10,000 paid a yearly tax rate of
3%; those that made more were taxed higher.
Nowadays, people who make over $10k are taxed 99%, unless they're on welfare or illegals... :cussing:

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue was formed in 1862 to
assess and collect taxes as well as enforce tax laws by
seizing property and income and using prosecution as
punishment. In 1953, the Bureau of Interal Revenue became
the Internal Revenue Service, or as we call it, the IRS.
Actually, I call them "Those mother fuckers with nothing better to do than to find ways to legally justify stealing money from me." :thefinger

There are over 7 million words in tax law and regulations.
That beats the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and
the Gettysburg Address combined.
And they expect the average American to understand enough about the tax code to do their own taxes? :rofl: I've never understood why we're the ones who have to tell them how much money they didn't steal from us. If they're going to steal our money they should send out statements that say how much more money they want to loot out of our wallets.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The oldest dinosaur types are known from rocks in Argentina
and Brazil and are about 230 million years old. The most
primitive of these types, Eoraptor, was a small meat-eating
dinosaur. Because Eoraptor's skeleton shows some advanced
skeletal features, older dinosaurs may yet be found.

***

Paleontologists now have evidence that dinosaurs lived on
all of the continents. At the beginning of the age of
dinosaurs (during the Triassic Period, about 230 million
years ago) the continents we now know were arranged together
as a single supercontinent called Pangea.

***

During the 165 million years of dinosaur existence the
supercontinent slowly broke apart. Its pieces then spread
across the globe into a nearly modern arrangement by a
process called plate tectonics. Volcanoes, earthquakes,
mountain building, and sea-floor spreading are all part of
plate tectonics, and this process is still changing our
modern Earth.

***

Dinosaurs generally are named after a characteristic body
feature, after the place where they were found, or after a
person involved in the discovery. Usually the name consists
of two Greek or Latin words (or combinations); in order,
these are the genus (plural, genera) and the species name.

***

Some dinosaurs ate lizards, turtles, eggs, or early mammals.
Some hunted other dinosaurs or scavenged dead animals. Most,
however, ate plants (but not grass, which hadn't evolved yet).
Rocks that contains dinosaur bones also contain fossil pollen
and spores that indicate hundreds to thousands of types of
plants existed during the Mesozoic Era.

***

Some dinosaurs were social creatures. Recently discovered
evidence indicates that they traveled together and that
some may even have migrated (because dinosaur fossils have
been found above the Arctic Circle, where food supply would
have been seasonal).

(From the United States Geological Survey)

[gunslingingbird]

Dinosaurs generally are named after a characteristic body
feature, after the place where they were found, or after a
person involved in the discovery. Usually the name consists
of two Greek or Latin words (or combinations); in order,
these are the genus (plural, genera) and the species name.


What do you call a lesbian dinosaur? A Lickalotapuss. :rofl:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 2001, a Nepalese boy named Temba Tsheri became the
youngest person to climb Mount Everest. While traveling
with a French hiking group, the 16-year-old reached the
summit of the mountain, which is approximately 29,035 feet
high!

***

It took six weeks at sea, but Michael Perham, a 14-year-old
from Hertfordshire, England, managed to sail solo across
the 3,500-mile long Atlantic Ocean in his yacht, the Cheeky
Monkey, in January 2007.

***

Child prodigy Ruth Elke Lawrence was only 11 years old when
she passed the Oxford entrance exam in mathematics, and
became the youngest person ever to attend the prestigious
university. With her father there to accompany her to
classes, Ruth graduated with a bachelor's degree in two
years instead of the usual three. Now in her thirties,
Lawrence teaches at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

***

The Guinness Book of World Records credits Balamurali
Ambati as the youngest person to become a doctor.
Balamurali graduated from NYU at the age of 13 and from
Mount Sinai's School of Medicine at age 17. He currently
teaches and does research in ophthalmology, and has a long
list of awards and honors under his belt.

***

Arfa Karim Randhawa of Pakistan caught the attention of Bill
Gates after passing her Microsoft Certified Professional
examinations at age ten. After she asked for a job, Gates
suggested she should stay in school, but did offer her an
intership instead.

***

In the small country of Bhutan in southern Asia, the
youngest monarch in the world ruled the throne for over 30
years. Jigme Singye Wangchuck was only 17 when he became
the "Druk Gyalpo," or "Dragon King," back in 1972, and he
remained in power until 2006, when he handed over control
to his oldest son.

[shaggydude]

The square root of 623 equals 24.96

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Titanic was designed to hold 32 lifeboats, though only
20 were on board; White Star management was concerned that
too many boats would sully the aesthetic beauty of the ship.

***

Survivors were rescued by the Carpathia, which was 58 miles
southeast of the Titanic when it received the distress call.

***

The Titanic boasted electric elevators, a swimming pool, a
squash court, a Turkish Bath, and a gymnasium with a
mechanical horse and mechanical camel.

***

Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the
Titanic tragedy, died in Massachusetts on May 6, 2006, at
age 99. Her mother and a brother also survived, but her
father and three other brothers perished.

***

Eleanor Shuman, who was the inspiration for Kate Winslet's
Rose, died on March 7, 1998, at age 87.

***

The wreckage of the Titanic was located in 1985, 12,500
feet down, about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of
Newfoundland, Canada.

[gunslingingbird]

mechanical camel.

What the FUCK is a mechanical camel? I've heard of mechanical horse and mechanical bull, but a mechanical camel? Was that put in to attract Middle-Eastern passengers? :dunno:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by
the well-known goldsmith, Peter Carl Faberge. In 1883
Faberge was commissioned by the Russian Czar, Alexander, to
make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie.
Faberge's first egg had an outside shell of platinum and
enameled white which opened to reveal a smaller gold egg.
The smaller egg, in turn, opened to display a golden
chicken and a jeweled replica of the Imperial crown.

***

In 1878 President Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened
the White House grounds to the children of the area for egg
rolling on Easter Monday. The event has been held on the
South Lawn ever since, except during World War I and World
War II. During the war years the Easter Egg Roll was held
at the National Zoo, and other Washington locations.

***

The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon
goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual
spring festival was held in her honor.

***

The word paschal comes from a Latin word that means
belonging to Passover or to Easter. Because Easter and the
Passover were closely related, Christians of the Eastern
church initially celebrated both holidays together. But the
Passover can fall on any day of the week, and Christians of
the Western church preferred to celebrate Easter on Sunday,
the day of the resurrection.

***

The Easter lily (or Bermuda lily) was first brought to the
United States in 1919 by a World War I soldier named Louis
Houghton, who brought the bulbs to Oregon and gave them to
friends and family.

***

Creating Easter baskets arose from the Catholic custom of
bringing Easter dinner food to mass to be blessed. This
custom may also be related to ancient agrarian customs of
bringing first crops to the temple.

(www.firstscience.com)

RANDOM TIDBITS

The world’s biggest hot dog was 1,996 feet long, created by
Sara Lee Corporation in honor of the 1996 Olympics. In 1978,
David Berg of Chicago made a six-foot, 681-pound beef hot
dog in a 100-pound poppy seed bun covered with two gallons
of mustard.

***

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport sells more than two
million hot dogs a year.

***

President Franklin Roosevelt served King George VI of
England hot dogs and beer during a White House visit in
1939.

[Facts from the State Cafe & Catering Restaurant, South
Bend, IN]

The average hot dog is consumed in 6.1 bites (average sized
mouth tested). The most popular hot dog topping among adults
is mustard (87.6%). Among children, it is ketchup.


***

Baseball fans will enjoy about 26.8 million hot dogs at U.S.
baseball stadiums this season. That's enough hot dogs to
circle the bases 36,000 times!

***

On July 4, 1916 four Irish immigrants held a hot dog eating
contest to decide which of them was the most patriotic. The
winner, James Mullen, at 13 dogs & buns in 12 minutes.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1880, California’s first Commissioner of Agriculture
brought cuttings from France to California. He sent his
first wine from his vines to the Gran Prix in Paris where
it won top honors in 1889.

***

If a dry wine is fully fermented, about 40 percent of the
sugar will be converted to carbon dioxide while 60 percent
will be converted to alcohol.

***

The seeds and skin of the grape contain tannins. Tannin is
a bitter tasting substance that cause the “dry mouth”
feeling associated with some red wines.

***

The vintage year isn’t necessarily the year the wine was
bottled. In the northern hemisphere, white wines may not
be bottled the same year the grapes are picked.

***

Australia developed wine in a box in the ‘70s. The wine
inside of the box is stored in a bladder that is not
exposed to air. This means that the wine may last up to a
few weeks compared to a few days.

***

The famous Chateau Petrus in Pomerol makes the world’s most
expensive Merlot, which sells up to $2,500 or more.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

At 4.2 million square feet the Mall of America near
Minneapolis, MN is the largest mall in the United States.
But despite this huge volume of space, and the fact that
it is located in Minnesota, the Mall of America does not
have a heating system. Even in January and February the
mall is adequately heated by the interior lighting and the
body heat of more than 45 million visitors every year!

***

Bananas contain a natural chemical which can make a person
happy. This same chemical is also found in Prozac.

***

The most powerful earthquake to strike the United States
occurred in 1811 in New Madrid, Missouri. The quake shook
more than one million square miles, and was felt as far as
1,000 miles away.

***

At The Movies

During the filming of Fight Club Brad Pitt chipped his
tooth, but waited to have it capped until after filming
because he felt it added to his character.

***

The Blues Brothers once held the record for crashing the
most police cars in a movie at approximately 30. The record
was eventually broken by Blues Brothers 2000.

***

During the filming of the movie "Scream", director Wes
Craven kept telling Drew Barrymore real life stories about
animal cruelty in order to keep her looking scared and
crying. She is a keen animal lover in real life.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1883, the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa put so much
dust into the atmosphere that sunsets appeared green and
the moon appeared blue around the world for almost 2 years.

***

Adhesive tape (specifically masking tape) was invented in
the 1920's by Richard Drew of Minnesota Mining and Manu-
facturing, Co. Duct tape (the WWII military version) was
first created and manufactured in 1942 by the Johnson and
Johnson Permacel Division.

***

Tremendous erosion at the base of Niagara Falls undermines
the shale cliffs and as a result the falls have receded
approximately 7 miles over the last 10,000 years.

***

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

The "invention" of language is not known except for
references in the Bible. It is not known what language Adam
and Eve spoke. The first mention of different languages is
the reference to the tower of Babel when different tongues
were bestowed.

***

The invention of writing, however, is credited to the
Sumerians of Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC. Their
descendants, the Sumero-Babylonians, developed the time
system that we use today: an hour divided into 60 minutes,
which are divided into 60 seconds.

***

Today, there are more than 2,700 different languages spoken
in the world, with more than 7,000 dialects. In Indonesia
alone, 365 different languages are spoken. More than 1,000
different languages are spoken in Africa.

[gunslingingbird]

It is not known what language Adam
and Eve spoke.
That's because you're not asking the right sources. Jerry Falwell will probably tell you that they spoke English. :thumbsup:


Today, there are more than 2,700 different languages spoken
in the world,

Of these, it has been proven that the toughest to learn is Chippewa, in which one must master the more than 20,000 different verbal inflections to be considered fluent.

[Lungzyn]

The 'seeds' of a strawberry are actually achenes

[gunslingingbird]

Bits on international etiquette

Coffee Break We may gulp lattes all day long, regardless of what time it is here, but in many European countries cappuccinos and other coffee drinks made with milk are enjoyed during the morning hours only. Espresso is what's consumed in the afternoons and evenings. So, don't be surprised when you get a funny look from the waiter after ordering your double latte with extra cream after that pesto pasta lunch.

No Ketchup Please Many French chefs are appalled if guests add condiments like ketchup and mustard to their culinary masterpieces before taking the first bite. They think it masks the true taste of the food -- so get used to your "pommes frites" without that dousing of ketchup.

Oops, All Gone Here in the States, it seems we've been taught to always clear our plates. In China on the other hand, if you gobble up every last morsel it could be insulting to the host as it means that he/she hasn't provided enough food. Keep things on the up and up and leave a few bites left. We're guessing it's probably best not to ask for a doggie bag, either!

Heads Up In Thailand, no matter how adorable someone's child is, resist the urge to give them a friendly pat on the noggin. It's taboo to touch the head, which is a revered body part.

No Sharing No matter how mouthwatering your palak paneer is, offering someone a taste from your plate is a big no-no in India, since it's considered unclean. Enjoy your dinner and rave about it all you want, but keep it to yourself.

A Few Pointers In India, if you want to call someone over, never use your finger to point or wag -- it's seen as condescending and insulting. Instead, hold your hand out, palm down, and scoop with your fingers. You'll get much better results!

Better Than Butter While dining out in Spain, get used to the idea of bread without butter. Ask for it at a restaurant and you'll most likely be told they don't have any. The preferred practice is to dip bread in olive oil -- and if you ask us, it's much yummier anyway!

A - O - K Never give anyone in Brazil the "OK" hand signal (using your thumb and pointer finger to make an O)... it's an obscene gesture that's likely to get you labeled both ignorant and extremely offensive!

Meat 'n' Milk In Israel, unless you know otherwise, assume that a household keeps kosher. That means mixing meat and dairy is not allowed. So no milk in your coffee after a belly-busting beef dinner (and no cheese on that burger, either!).

Sticky Splinters We're all familiar with the wooden chopsticks you get at Asian restaurants. They come stuck together, and you snap them apart which usually leaves a few stray splinters on the end. If this happens in Japan, holding the chopsticks between your palms and loudly clattering them together is a big insult to the waiter or sushi chef because it indicates that his utensils are cheap. Instead, rub one chopstick against the other gently.

Throw In The Towel In a Japanese restaurant, if you're given a hot rolled towel, use it only to wipe your hands. It's generally considered rude to wipe your face with (although at more informal restaurants, people may occasionally be seen doing it).

Service With A Smile Here in the US, many of us are used to serving ourselves and digging in family style at meals. But in China it's common for the host to place food on the guest's plates, so resist the urge to scoop up another helping of rice -- practice sitting back and relaxing, and enjoy letting the host put you on a pedestal.

Sole Purpose Think twice before sitting too casually in Egypt, or even stretching out your gams. Showing the soles of your feet or shoes is considered to be terribly rude -- yes, even if you're sporting Jimmy Choos!

Lip Service No matter how parched your lips may be, when traveling in Zimbabwe, never lick your lips while looking at someone of the opposite sex. While it may seem innocent enough to you, they consider it an obscene gesture.

Baby Steps Have a friend in Russia who's expecting a babe? Go ahead and browse all you want, but don't give them anything until after the little one arrives. It's considered bad luck to do so sooner.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The FIRST TRANSOCEANIC CABLE MESSAGE was sent on August 16,
1858 and said "Europe and America are united by telegraph.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will
towards men."

***

Ian Fleming, creator of the JAMES BOND adventure novels also
wrote "CHITTY-CHITTY BANG BANG".

***

What is usually considered to be the first modern battery
was created by Alessandro Volta in 1800, but a device for
storing an electrical charge was discovered in Iraq and is
estimated to have been invented around 200 BC.

***

The Fab Four

The BEATLES played Shea Stadium in New York City on August
15, 1965 playing for 35 minutes and sang 12 songs in front
of 56,000 fans. They were paid $160,000.

***

Old Glory

There were 15 stripes on the official AMERICAN FLAG before
Congress passed a law forever setting the number to 13. The
number had increased to 15 in 1795 to include Kentucky and
Vermont. Since more and more states were joining the Union,
the number of stripes was reduced to 13 as of July 4, 1818
to represent the original 13 states.

***

The Panama Canal

The United States gained control of the Panama Canal because
it learned to eradicate disease. during construction of the
canal, the French spent $260 million and lost over 20,000
lives to yellow fever before finally giving up. When the
Americans took over in 1904 the U.S. Army physician in
charge, William Crawford Gorgas, learned that the disease
was passed on by mosquitoes and was able to eradicate yellow
fever in Panama within a year.

***

RANDOM TIDBITS

Any month that starts on a Sunday will have a Friday the
13th in it.

***

Easter is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after
March 21.

***

During pregnancy, the average woman's uterus expands up to
five hundred times its normal size.

***

That's Progress

The average home size in the United States is now 2,200
square feet, up from 1,400 square feet in 1970, according
to the National Association of Home Builders.

***

More Power to You

In 1957, the Shipping port Atomic Power Station in Pennsyl-
vania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity
in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of
service in 1982.)

***

I Got the Power

The last thing to happen is the ultimate. The next-to-last
is the penultimate, and the second-to-last is the ante-
penultimate.

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

Michigan has the longest-inland shoreline. It's more than
3,100 miles of freshwater shoreline includes four of the
five Great Lakes - Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie.

***

If you were to take a square inch column of the air ex-
tending six hundred miles above the earth, its weight and
pressure exerted on the earth at sea level would be 14.7
lbs. This is called atmospheric pressure.

***

The Taliban ordered demolition experts to blow up the Great
Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved in the 5th century. At 175 feet
and 120 feet, the twin monuments were two of Asia's greatest
archeological treasures.

***

RICE

According to Shinto belief, the Emperor of Japan is the
living embodiment of the god of the ripened rice plant,
Ninigo-no-mikoto.

***

RHUBARB

Its primary function was to induce vomiting, although
rhubarb is also a mild astringent. This medicinal role
caused the price of the dried root to rise. In 1542,
rhubarb sold for ten times the price of cinnamon in
France and in 1657 rhubarb sold for over twice the price
of opium in England.

***

SHRIMP

Some 40% of the shrimp eaten in the U.S. is farmed raised
shrimp from Asia and South America. World shrimp production
is over 5 billion pounds a year, about 20 % of which is
farmed.

[gunslingingbird]

The Taliban ordered demolition experts to blow up the Great
Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved in the 5th century. At 175 feet
and 120 feet, the twin monuments were two of Asia's greatest
archeological treasures.


Fucking savages! Oh, well, what do they care about anthropological heritage, so long as men don't shave and wear diapers on their heads, and womens' rights are still somewhere in the Stone Age? "Allah tell me to ride camel and destroy infidel monuments!" :thefinger

[historylover]

You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything - even poverty - you can survive it: Bill Cosby.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Jobs They Had Before They Were Stars

Mick Jagger: The Rolling Stones lead singer once worked as
a porter at the Bexley Mental Hospital while he was a
student at the London School of Economics. His salary? A
whopping 4 pounds, 10 shillings per week (about $7.80 U.S.).

***

David Letterman: Before his stint as the late night talk
show host, Letterman worked at Indianapolis television
station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and
weatherman. He was eventually fired for his unpredictable
on-air behavior, which included erasing state borders from
the weather map and predicting hail stones "the size of
canned hams.

***

Clint Eastwood: This Hollywood icon once earned his pay
digging swimming pools for the rich folks of Beverly Hills,
while auditioning for parts at night. He also spent time as
a lumberjack, steel mill worker, aircraft factory worker,
and gas station attendant.

***

Whoopi Goldberg: Life was not always so glamorous for the
Academy Award-winning Whoopi. Once upon a time while living
in the Chelsea projects of New York City, she worked as a
bricklayer, garbage collector, and even a funeral makeup
artist.

***

Sean Connery: Known for playing James Bond seven times,
Connery has made quite a name for himself in show business.
However, before finding fame and fortune, Connery first
worked as a milkman in his native Scotland. After a stint
in the Royal Navy, he took on numerous jobs in the late
1940s and early 1950s, including lifeguard, ditch digger,
and artist's model. In 1953, he even competed in the Mr.
Universe contest, placing third in the tall man's division.

***

Madonna: The Material Girl once worked a number of low-
paying jobs to make ends meet in her early years. She was
let go from her job at a Dunkin' Donuts in Times Square
when she squirted jelly filling all over customers!

[gunslingingbird]

Madonna: The Material Girl once worked a number of low-
paying jobs to make ends meet in her early years. She was
let go from her job at a Dunkin' Donuts in Times Square
when she squirted jelly filling all over customers!

Hmm... I'm not sure it was jelly filling. After all, it is Madonna we're talking about here... :eek:

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS - How did we get our modern icons?


The Aflac Duck: Art director Eric David was trying to come
up with an idea for a campaign when he realized that the
company's name sounds quite similar to a duck's quack.

***

The California Raisins: Frustration led to the famous
Claymation icons. In 1987, a copywriter at Foote, Cone &
Belding was working on the California Raisin Advisory Board
campaign and said, "We have tried everything but dancing
raisins singing 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine.'" The
idea was pitched to the client, and the sale of raisins
increased by 20 percent!


***

The Coppertone Girl: The pig-tailed little girl was created
by artist Joyce Ballantyne in the image of her three-year-
old daughter Cheri. When the ad was originally created, it
was believed that a suntan was healthy. The drawing has
since been revised to reveal only the girl's lower back.

***

The Gerber Baby: In 1928, Gerber was on the hunt for a baby
face to help promote their new brand of baby food. Dorothy
Hope Smith submitted a simple charcoal sketch of tot (later
turned novelist) Ann Turner Cook - promising to complete it
if chosen. However, company execs liked it just the way it
was, and Cook has been the baby face of Gerber ever since.

***

The Pillsbury Doughboy: The chubby doughboy was created by
the Leo Burnett advertising agency in 1965. The original
idea was for the icon to be animated, but agency producers
instead incorporated a stop-action technique used on The
Dinah Shore Show. Actor Paul Frees lent his voice to the
Doughboy. Frees was also the voice for Boris Badenov and
Dudley Do-Right on The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky.

***

Ronald McDonald: The beloved clown made his television
debut in 1963, played by future Today weatherman Willard
Scott. Nicknamed the "hamburger-happy clown," Ronald's
look was a bit different back then: He had curly blond
hair, a fast-food tray for a hat, a magic belt, and a paper
cup for a nose.

[gunslingingbird]

RANDOM TIDBITS - How did we get our modern icons?

You forgot to mention the Taco Bell Chihuahua. ;)

[historylover]

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the
time comes to let it go, to let it go: Mary Oliver.


RANDOM TIDBITS

The smallest bones in the human body are the stapes, incus,
and malleus bones, which are located in the ear.

***

In Czechhoslovakia, there is a church that has a chandelier
made of human bones.

***

Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, however when
a person reaches adulthood they only have 206 bones. This
occurs because many of them join together to make a single
bone.

***

The chances of getting a cavity is higher if candy is eaten
slowly throughout the day compared to eating it all at once
and then brushing your teeth.

***

Adult human bones account for 14% of the body's total weight.

***

The "funny bone" is not a bone. It's the spot where the
ulnar nerve touches the humerus.

[gunslingingbird]

Adult human bones account for 14% of the body's total weight.

My gut accounts for about 43% of my total weight. :o

[historylover]

My gut accounts for about 43% of my total weight. :o

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[historylover]

But it's not just learning things that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters: Norton Juster.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Native Americans were supposedly using yo-yos about
1000 B.C. The earliest surviving yo-yo dates to 500 B.C.
and is made using turlte skin disks. Greek records from the
period describe toys made out of wood, metal, or painted
terra cotta (clay).

***

In 1928, a Filipino American named Pedro Flores opened the
Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California.
The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November
1929, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los
Angeles and Hollywood, which altogether employed 600 workers
and produced 300,000 units daily.

***

Donald F. Duncan, an entrepreneur first encountered the
yo-yo during a business trip to California. A year later,
in 1929, he returned and bought the company from Flores,
acquiring both the toy and the yo-yo name. About this time,
Duncan introduced the looped slip-string, which allows the
yo-yo to sleep.

***

The yo-yo gained greater popularity in the 1930s, when
Duncan sent out teams of traveling yo-yo men who would
spend three, four, and five weeks in cities and towns
across America, teaching tricks, selling yo-yos, and
running contests. The yo-yo reached fad levels in the late
1940s, throughout the 1950s, and into the early 1960s.

***

In 1965, a federal court ruled in favor of the Royal Tops
Company, stating the the yo-yo name had become a part of
common speech and that Duncan no longer had exclusive
rights to the term. The expenses of the case caused the
Duncan family to sell the company name and associated
trademarks in 1968 to Flambeau Plastics. They continue to
run the company today.

***

In 1990, Tom Kuhn released the SB-2 yo-yo (short for Silver
Bullet 2), a high-performance ball bearing transaxle made
with aluminum. This marked a major breakthrough for the
modern yo-yo, as it was the first ball bearing yo-yo that
actually worked. This creation eventually brought him the
title "Father of the modern yo-yo," receiving the "Donald
F. Duncan Family Award for Industry Excellence" in 1998.

[cl0ckw0rkman]

love the thread, a lot
love learning new things and dusting off old thoughts

[historylover]

love the thread, a lot
love learning new things and dusting off old thoughts

:hatsoff:


**********
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are: Bernice Johnson Reagon.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is the
religious name for Mardi Gras. New Orleans's fabled French
Quarter, a neighborhood along Bourbon Street, is the center
of Mardi Gras activities.

***

The Brazilian celebration is called Carnival. Portuguese
immigrants first celebrated Carnival in Rio in the early
1800s with a game called entrudo, during which poor people
sprayed each other with mud and sewage, while the elite
used perfume sprays. The first masked ball was held in 1840,
while the first street parades took place a few years later.
They have evolved into a vast spectacle involving thousands
of participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators.

***

Around 1900 in New Orleans there was increasing interaction
between poor black musicians, whose drum playing was
influenced by African musical styles, and mixed-race
Creoles, who were trained in European classical music. The
fusion of the various traditions created jazz, which soon
spread up the Mississippi River to Memphis and Chicago, and
across the country to Harlem, New York.

***

"Krewe" is a fanciful spelling of "crew." In 1857 a group
of men founded the Krewe of Comus, because they feared the
wild antics at Mardi Gras would prompt the authorities to
stop the celebrations. They felt a secret organization
might have a better chance of surviving. Since then, a
number of other krewes have been established.

***

King Cakes are large, round cinnamon rolls covered with
white icing and sprinkled with the Mardi Gras colors. A
plastic baby the size of an almond is hidden inside.
Whoever finds the baby is the next king or queen and must
host the next King Cake party.

***

In 1872 Russian grand duke Alexis Romanoff visited New
Orleans during Mardi Gras. A group of businessmen organized
the Krewe of Rex to hold a parade and named a king and
queen for the day, a tradition that has endured. They also
used the colors of the House of Romanoff: purple for
justice, green for faith, and gold for power. These have
remained the official colors of Mardi Gras.

[historylover]

The road to happiness lies in two simple principles;
find what interests you and that you can do well, and put
your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition
and natural ability you have: John D. Rockefeller.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Pretzels!

In A.D. 610, while baking bread, an Italian monk decided
to create a treat to motivate his students. He rolled out
ropes of dough, twisted them to resemble hands crossed on
the chest in prayer, and baked them. The monk named his
snacks pretiola, Latin for "little reward." When pretiola
arrived in Germany, they were called bretzels.

***

The pretzel has long been considered a good-luck symbol.
German children wear pretzels around their necks on New
Year's Day. In Austria in the 16th century, pretzels
adorned Christmas trees, and they were hidden along with
hard-boiled eggs on Easter morning.

***

Hard pretzels were "invented" in the late 1600s, when a
snoozing apprentice in a Pennsylvania bakery accidentally
overbaked his pretzels, creating crunchy, seemingly
inedible, knots. Lucky for him that the master baker took
a bite of his creation and loved it!

***

Until the 1930s, pretzels were handmade, and the average
worker could twist 40 a minute. In 1935, the Reading
Pretzel Machinery Company introduced the first automated
pretzel machine, which enabled large bakeries to make 245
pretzels per minute, or five tons in a day.

***

More than $550 million worth of pretzels are sold in the
United States annually; 80 percent are made in
Pennsylvania, where hard pretzels originated.

***

Julius Sturgis opened the first commercial pretzel bakery
in Lititz, Pennsylvania, in 1861. He received his original
pretzel recipe as a thank you from a down-on-his-luck job
seeker after Sturgis gave the man dinner.

[gunslingingbird]

Around 1900 in New Orleans there was increasing interaction
between poor black musicians, whose drum playing was
influenced by African musical styles, and mixed-race
Creoles, who were trained in European classical music. The
fusion of the various traditions created jazz, which soon
spread up the Mississippi River to Memphis and Chicago, and
across the country to Harlem, New York.
Ah, the elusive search for the exact origins of Jazz. Yes, Creole music and black slave field songs were part of its origins, but there was also the influence of marching bands, European ballroom dance music, and the blues. Of course, if you believe Jelly Roll Morton, he invented it "on a fine Tuesday afternoon." ;)


King Cakes are large, round cinnamon rolls covered with
white icing and sprinkled with the Mardi Gras colors. A
plastic baby the size of an almond is hidden inside.
Whoever finds the baby is the next king or queen and must
host the next King Cake party.
In Mexico they have a similar tradition on January 6th, which is the day when the 3 Wise Men (the kings, not Jim, Johnny, and Jack) arrived in Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus. A large rosca de reyes, or round of kings, is served at parties. Attendants cut their own pieces of the cake, which contains small plastic babies at random places. The people who find the babies are obliged to organize a party on Candlemas Day, February 2nd.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Pretzels!

You've been watching Good Eats! on the Food Network, haven't you? ;)

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The oldest winner of a competitive Oscar was Jessica Tandy,
who was 80 when she took Best Actress for Driving Miss
Daisy in 1989. The oldest ever Best Actor was Henry Fonda
who was 76 when he won for On Golden Pond in 1981.

***

The first actor to receive an Oscar posthumously was Peter
Finch who died of a heart attack while leaving the Beverly
Hills Hotel to do a pre-Oscar ceremony TV interview with
Good Morning America. His wife picked up the Best Actor
award he won for 1976's Network.

***

The Oscars are so nicknamed thanks to Margaret Herrick,
former librarian for the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And
Sciences, who commented that the statues looked like her
Uncle Oscar (Pierce). The name stuck.

***

The statues were designed in 1928 by MGM art director
Cedric Gibbons, who doodled the design during an early
meeting of the Academy. Unemployed sculptor George Stanley
was paid $500 to create the first batch.

***

The first person to refuse their Oscar was Dudley Nichols,
who got Best Writer (Screenplay) in 1935 for The Informer.
He was trying to drum up support for the Writers' Guild
who had organized a boycott of the Academy Awards in an
effort to gain recognition from the studios.

***

The movie which won the most Oscars without winning Best
Picture was Cabaret, which took eight awards in 1972.

[historylover]

An aching tooth is better out than in. To lose a rotting member is a gain: Richard Baxter.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Millions of people can crack a walnut with their teeth.
While most adults exert about 20 to 40 pounds of pressure
when their teeth make contact, millions of people exert as
much as 250 pounds of pressure on their teeth.

***

Swimming in overly chlorinated pools can wear away enamel.
Fluoride treatments can be given to help keep the teeth
strong.

***

Bulimia and acid reflux can destroy tooth enamel. Many
people suffering from bulimia are able to hide the disorder,
but it is difficult to keep it a secret from a dentist.

***

The average American drinks more than 53 gallons of soft
drinks each year, more than any other beverage, including
milk, beer, coffee, or water. Phosphoric acid in soda and
citric acid in citrus drinks can cause tooth enamel
corrosion and the sugar can cause cavities.

***

Eighty percent of Americans over 35 have gum disease. It
can range from simple gum inflammation, called gingivitis,
to serious disease that results in damage to the bone.

***

One in four adults over 60 has lost all of his or her teeth.
A good oral hygiene program should include twice daily
brushing, flossing, eating a balanced diet, limiting
between-meal snacks, and regular visits to your dentist for
professional cleaning and oral exams.

(Facts from Dental Heath Magazine)

[historylover]

Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of those pieces: Judith Viorst.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Forrest Mars came up with the idea for M&Ms during the
Spanish Civil War when he learned that soldiers were
looking for chocolate that could withstand hot temperatures.
He developed the famous candy, which he originally packaged
in heavy tubes.


***

In 1948, the packaging for M&Ms changed from a tube into the
famous brown bag that we still know today.

***

The year 1954 was big for M&Ms: peanut M&Ms (only in brown)
made their first appearance, the famous tagline, "melts in
your mouth, not in your hands," is born, and the cartoony
M&M characters make their television debut!

***

Red, green, and yellow colors were added to peanut M&Ms in
1960, but orange wasn't added until 1976.

***

M&Ms are introduced internationally in 1980, making their
way to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia,
The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.

***

In 1982, astronauts chose the candies to take with them
into space, and they have been part of shuttle missions
ever since!

[gunslingingbird]

One in four adults over 60 has lost all of his or her teeth.
A good oral hygiene program should include twice daily
brushing, flossing, eating a balanced diet, limiting
between-meal snacks, and regular visits to your dentist for
professional cleaning and oral exams.


What does the statistic look like in the South? :D

[historylover]

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end: Ursula K. LeGuin

RANDOM TIDBITS - CAVES

The Blue Grotto sea cavern located on the island of Capri,
Italy is hollowed out in limestone by constant wave action.
Because of the sinking coast, it is now half filled with
water. The Blue Grotto gets its name from the blue light
that permeates the cave to allow light to pass through the
water.

***

Lubang Nasib Bagus, in Sarawak, Malaysia, features the
world's largest cave chamber: 2,300 ft. long, 1,480 ft.
wide, and everywhere at least 230 ft. high.

***

The Mogao Caves, located along the old Silk Route in China,
is composed of 492 cells and cave sanctuaries that are
famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning a
thousand years of Buddhist art.

***

Postojna Grotto, in Postojna, Slovenia, is the largest
cavern in Europe; numerous beautiful stalactites. Famous
example of a karst cave—grooved and irregularly eroded
limestone formations carved out by underground streams.

***

Waitomo Cave in North Island, New Zealand, has glowworms on
its ceiling that look like thousands of stars in the night
sky.

***

Wyandotte Cave, in Crawford County, southern Indiana, is a
limestone cavern with five levels of passages; one of the
largest in North America. “Monumental Mountain,”
approximately 135 ft. high, is believed to be one of the
world's largest underground “mountains.”

[historylover]

Eternity alone can reveal to the human race its debt of gratitude to the peerless and immortal name of Washington: James A. Garfield.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Washington's Birthday was celebrated publicly for the first
time in the late 18th century, while George Washington was
still president.

***

Washington's Birthday became official in 1885, when
President Chester Arthur signed a bill making it a federal
holiday.

***

In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which
moved the official observance of Washington's birthday from
Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February. Some reformers had
wanted to change the name of the holiday as well, to
Presidents' Day, in honor of both Lincoln and Washington,
but that proposal was rejected by Congress.

***

Since the third Monday in February can only occur between
Feb. 15 and Feb. 21, the holiday is always after Lincoln's
birthday and before Washington's birthday, without ever
coinciding with either.

***

While the name change from Washington's Birthday to
President's Day has never been authorized by Congress, it
has gained a strong hold on the public consciousness, and
is generally used on calendars, in advertising, and even by
many government agencies.

***

While most states have adopted Washington's Birthday, a
dozen of them officially celebrate Presidents' Day. A
number of the states that celebrate Washington's Birthday
also recognize Lincoln's Birthday as a separate legal
holiday.

[historylover]

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved: George Sand.

RANDOM TIDBITS

It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's Day was declared
an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII declared
February 14th a holiday. Only the U.S., Canada, Mexico,
France, Australia and the U.K. celebrate Valentine's Day.

***

The first American publisher of valentines was printer and
artist Esther Howland. During the 1870s, her elaborate lace
cards were purchased by the wealthy, as they cost a minimum
of 5 dollars - some sold for as much as 35 dollars. Mass
production eventually brought prices down, and the affordable
"penny valentine" became popular with the lower classes.

***

The Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo
and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to
Juliet every Valentine's Day.

***

The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet
from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing,
around 3500 B.C. It was unromantically named Istanbul #2461
by the archeologists who unearthed it.

***

The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman
goddess of love. Red stands for strong feelings which is
why a red rose is a flower of love.

***

Wearing a wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left
hand dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was believed
that the vein of love ran from this finger directly to the
heart.

[historylover]

By common consent gray hairs are a crown of glory; the only object of respect that can never excite envy: George Bancroft.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The average lifespan for a strand of hair is five and a
half years.

***

Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in
the human body.

***

The lifespan of an eyelash is approximately 150 days.

***

A survey done by Clairol 10 years ago came up with 46% of
men stating that it was okay to color their hair. Now 66%
of men admit to coloring their hair.

***

On average, a man spends about five months of his life
shaving.

***

A cowlick is caused from hair growing in a spiral pattern.
This causes the hair to stand up straight or go to a certain
angle.

[historylover]

If you look at his [Lincoln's] portraits they always give you an indelible impression of his great height. So does his life. Height of purpose, height of ideal, height of character, height of intelligence: David Lloyd George.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Lincoln was the only President ever to obtain a patent. In
1849 he invented a complicated device for lifting ships
over dangerous shoals by means of "buoyant air chambers."
Much to Lincoln's disappointment, U.S. Patent No. 6,469 was
never put into practical use.

***

The clutter in Lincoln's law office was notorious, and a
continual source of irritation to his partner, William
Herndon. On his desk, Lincoln kept one envelope marked
"When you can't find it anywhere else, look into this."

***

In 1858, Lincoln was so concerned that the text of his
"House divided" speech be reported accurately, that even
after he had given a copy of the address to reporters, he
insisted on going to the newspaper office himself and
proofreading the galleys.

***

He was the first president to be photographed at his
inauguration. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, can be seen
standing among the crowd in the picture.

***

Lincoln was the first president to have a beard while in
office. He grew his beard out of the suggestion of a letter
from 11 year old Grace Bedell from Westfield, New York in
the fall of 1860.

***

In 1836, 24-years before he became president, Lincoln was
the first elected official in U.S. history to favor
extending the vote to women. Illinois state legislator
Lincoln gave an area newspaper a statement endorsing
"female suffrage."

[historylover]

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath: Michael Caine.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Ducks were once wild until they were domesticated by the
Chinese many hundreds of years ago.

***

Ducks keep clean by preening themselves with their beaks,
which they do often. They also line their nests with
feathers plucked from their chest.

***

Ducks' feathers are waterproof. There is a special gland
that produces oil near the tail that spreads and covers the
outer coat of feathers. Beneath this waterproof layer are
fluffy and soft feathers to keep the duck warm.

***

Ducks' feet have no nerves or blood vessels. This means
ducks never feel the cold, even if they swim in icy cold
water.

***

Ducks can live from 2-12 years, depending on the species.

***

A duck's quack has no echo.

[historylover]

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese: Billie Burke.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Archaeological surveys show that cheese was being made from
the milk of cows and goats in Mesopotamia before 6000 B.C.

***

Travelers from Asia are thought to have brought the art of
cheese making to Europe, where the process was adapted and
improved in European monasteries.

***

The world's largest consumers of cheese include Greece (63
pounds per person each year), France (54 pounds), Iceland
(53 pounds), Germany (48 pounds), Italy (44 pounds), the
Netherlands (40 pounds), the United States (31 pounds),
Australia (27 pounds), and Canada (26 pounds).

***

The only cheeses native to the United States are American,
jack, brick, and colby. All other types are modeled after
cheeses brought to the country by European settlers.

***

Processed American cheese was developed in 1915 by J. L.
Kraft (founder of Kraft Foods) as an alternative to the
traditional cheeses that had a short shelf life.

***

Someone who sells cheese professionally at a cheese shop or
specialty food store is called a cheese monger.

[historylover]

If all mankind were to disappear, the world would
regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that
existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish,
the environment would collapse into chaos: Edward O. Wilson

RANDOM TIDBITS

A flea can jump 150 times its size. That is the same as a
person able to jump up 1,000 feet in the air.

***

A housefly can only ingest liquid material. They regurgitate
their food to liquefy the food that they are going to eat.
Tasty!

***

A house fly's feet are 10 million times more sensitive than
a human tongue.

***

Dragonflies can fly up to 50 miles per hour.

***

A mosquito flaps its wings 500 times a second. Boy, their
wings must get tired!

***

The lifespan of a firefly is about seven days. During these
days, they are busy trying to find a mate. Imagine only
having a week to find yourself a mate!

[gunslingingbird]

A duck's quack has no echo.
Mythbusters busted that myth.


The only cheeses native to the United States are American,
jack, brick, and colby. All other types are modeled after
cheeses brought to the country by European settlers.
What about foamed cheese in a can? I doubt Europeans have the level of white trash required to eat that shit. :pukey:


The lifespan of a firefly is about seven days. During these
days, they are busy trying to find a mate. Imagine only
having a week to find yourself a mate!

Fuck! It's taken me almost 29 years, and I'm still looking! :helpme:

[historylover]

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled: Richard Feynman.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Ford Mustang is generally considered the first "pony
car", a new class of automobile first introduced in 1964
and designed to be more compact and more affordable than
the larger muscle cars that inspired them. Originally named
for the P-51 Mustang, a fighter plane, Ford's new car
quickly became associated with the horse of the same name
and this became the basis for the now-famous Mustang emblem.

***

In 1965, the Chevrolet Impala sold more than one million
units in North America, setting a record that still stands
today. Originally introduced in 1958, the Impala was the
best-selling automobile in the United States during the
1960s. Early Impala models sported six taillights, a unique
feature which, for a time, became the Impala trademark. The
Impala was named after an African antelope.

***

The "Model-T" was the first car to be mass-produced. Henry
Ford introduced the assembly line in December of 1908, and
as a result he was not only able to mass-produce the Model-
T, but was able to offer it to his customers at a much lower
price than the competition. By 1913, Ford was producing half
of all cars sold in the United States, and by 1927, he had
sold more than 15 million Model-Ts!

***

The first car to include anti-lock brakes was the 1966
Jensen FF which came equipped with the Dunlop Maxaret anti-
lock braking system (originally developed for use on
aircraft). Although crude by today's standards (and
sometimes unreliable), the Jensen FF's anti-skid system was
a huge technological breakthrough at the time.

***

In 1999, the two-door Honda Insight became the first
commercially available hybrid gasoline-electric car in the
United States. The Insight won numerous awards (including
International Engine of the Year) and earned EPA mileage
ratings of 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the highway,
making it the world's most fuel-efficient car.

***

The first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the production line
on June 30, 1953, at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan. Only
300 Corvettes were built that year (each of them by hand),
making this the rarest Corvette. Each fiberglass-bodied
two-seater was white with a red interior and a black canvas
top.

[historylover]

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminshes fear: Rosa Parks.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Famous Firsts by African Americans

First Federal Judge: William Henry Hastie, 1946; Constance
Baker Motley became the first black woman federal judge,
1966.

***

First Nobel Peace Prize winner: Ralph J. Bunche received
the prize in 1950 for mediating the Arab-Israeli truce.
Martin Luther King, Jr., became the second African-American
Peace Prize winner in 1964.

***

First Congressional Medal of Honor winner: Sgt. William H.
Carney for bravery during the Civil War. He received his
Congressional Medal of Honor in 1900.

***

First astronaut: Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., 1967, was the
first black astronaut, but he died in a plane crash during
a training flight and never made it into space. Guion
Bluford, 1983, became the first black astronaut to travel
in space; Mae Jemison, 1992, became the first black female
astronaut. Frederick D. Gregory, 1998, was the first
African-American shuttle commander.

***

First network television show host: Nat King Cole, 1956,
"The Nat King Cole Show"; Oprah Winfrey became the first
black woman television host in 1986, "The Oprah Winfrey
Show."

***

First Miss America: Vanessa Williams, 1984, representing
New York. When controversial photos surfaced and Williams
resigned, Suzette Charles, the runner-up and also an
African American, assumed the title. She represented New
Jersey. Three additional African Americans have been Miss
Americas: Debbye Turner (1990), Marjorie Vincent (1991),
and Kimberly Aiken (1994).

[historylover]

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed: Booker T. Washington.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Dr. Carter G. Woodson established the Association for the
Study of Negro Life and History (now called the Association
for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) in 1915,
and a year later founded the widely respected Journal of
Negro History. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week.

***

Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History
Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly
influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass
and Abraham Lincoln.

***

On February 23, 1868, W. E. B. DuBois, important civil
rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, was born.

***

On February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed, granting
blacks the right to vote.

***

On February 25, 1870, the first black U.S. senator, Hiram R.
Revels (1822-1901), took his oath of office.

***

On February 12, 1909, the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a group
of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.

***

On February 1, 1960, in what would become a civil-rights
movement milestone, a group of black Greensboro, N.C.,
college students began a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's
lunch counter.

***

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X, the militant leader who
promoted Black Nationalism, was shot to death by three
Black Muslims.

[historylover]

Of any stopping place in life, it is good to ask whether it will be a good place from which to go on as well as a good place to remain: Mary Catherine Bateson.

RANDOM TIDBITS

A father sea catfish keeps the eggs of his young in his
mouth until they are ready to hatch. He will not eat until
his young are born, which may take several weeks.

***

By feeding hens certain dyes they can be made to lay eggs
with varicolored yolks.

***

The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a
canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The
Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."

***

Siamese fighting fish, also known as Betta Splendens, have
a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air
directly from the surface.

***

Most species of woodpeckers prefer dead trees or "snags,"
and drill out a space for them to nest. Only the Red-
cockaded Woodpecker uses living trees to nest.

***

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but
monkeys can't.

[historylover]

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win: Jonathan Kozol.

RANDOM TIDBITS

An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away,
and warns off intruders or reunites scattered members of
the pride.

***

An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes
while cruising at 25 mph.

***

An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.

***

Animal gestation periods: the shortest is the American
opossum, which bears its young 12 to 13 days after
conception; the longest is the Asiatic elephant, taking 608
days, or just over 20 months.

***

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing
sand.

***

Catnip can affect lions and tigers as well as house cats.
It excites them because it contains a chemical that
resembles an excretion of the dominant female's urine.

[historylover]

The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender: Emil Ludwig.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Dating is rare in Afghanistan because most marriages are
arranged by parents, and schools are separate for boys and
girls. The opportunities to meet are rare. Girls have a
7:00 P.M. curfew, while boys have an 11:00 P.M. curfew.

***

Most teens go out in large groups and don't pair off until
they are 18 or 19 years old in Australia. Girls often ask
out boys and pay for the date, too. Couples often go to
dinner parties, barbecues, or the beach.

***

Dating is not allowed until the age of 15 in Central and
South America. When of age, most boys and girls date in
large groups, going out together to weekend dance parties.
When not dancing, teens gather at local clubs to eat and
talk.

***

Dating is usually a group event in Europe. In Finland, as
many as 30 teens may attend a movie together. Slumber
parties are common in Italy and Switzerland, where teens
gather for parties at a home and sleep there when the party
is over.

***

In Spain teens join a pandilla, a club or a group of friends
with the same interests, like cycling or hiking. Dating is
done one-to-one and both girls and boys ask each other out
and split the cost of the evening's entertainment.

***

In Japan and Korea, most high school students don't date or
go to parties, but spend their time studying instead. Dating
begins in college, when only boys do the asking and pay for
the dates.

[gunslingingbird]

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but
monkeys can't.
And, apparently, neither can my roommates...


An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes
while cruising at 25 mph.
Big deal. I've been known to snooze on I-680 while cruising at 75 mph. :sleep:


Dating is rare in Afghanistan because most marriages are
arranged by parents, and schools are separate for boys and
girls.
You mean those savages actually let girls attend school?!? Well, sonofabitch!

Slumber
parties are common in Italy and Switzerland, where teens
gather for parties at a home and sleep there when the party
is over.
In the US, we call those orgies.

In Japan and Korea, most high school students don't date or
go to parties, but spend their time studying instead. Dating
begins in college, when only boys do the asking and pay for
the dates...

... which take place at the school library.

[historylover]

Space, like time, engenders forgetfulness; but it does so by setting us bodily free from our surroundings and giving us back our primitive, unattached state: Thomas Mann.

RANDOM TIDBITS

On April 12, 1981, John Young and Robert Crippin pilot the
space shuttle Columbia on the maiden flight of the Space
Transport System (STS-1).

***

In June of 1983, Sally Ride becomes the first American woman
astronaut on the STS-7 flight of Challenger.

***

Astronauts Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart make the
first untethered space walks (with jet backpacks) on a
Challenger flight on February 7, 1984.

***

On May 4, 1989, the Magellan Venus probe is launched from
Atlantis, the first U.S. planetary mission in 11 years and
the first launched from a shuttle.

***

In 1998, the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn,
returns to space aboard the Discovery.

***

On August 8, 2007, Endeavour takes off for the International
Space Station carrying the first teacher to ever visit space,
Barbara Morgan. Morgan was once the backup to Christa
McAuliffe, who was originally slated to become the first
teacher in space, but was tragically killed in the Challenger
disaster of 1986.

[historylover]

Style is the perfection of a point of view: Richard Eberhart.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The term “haute couture” is French. Haute means “high” or
“elegant.” Couture literally means “sewing,” but has come
to indicate the business of designing, creating, and
selling custom-made, high fashion women's clothes.

***

To be called a haute couture house, a business must belong
to the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture in Paris, which
is regulated by the French Department of Industry. Members
must employ 15 or more people and present their collections
twice a year. Each presentation must include at least 35
separate outfits for day and eveningwear.

***

The syndicate has about 18 members, including such fashion
giants as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Pierre Cardin.
The houses generate more than $1 billion in annual sales
and employ close to 5,000 people, including 2,200
seamstresses. Workers often specialize in one area, such as
feathers, fabric, buttons, shoes, etc.

***

Made from scratch for each customer, haute couture clothing
typically requires three fittings. It usually takes from
100 to 400 hours to make one dress, costing from $26,000
to over $100,000. A tailored suit starts at $16,000, an
evening gown at $60,000.

***

Today only 2,000 women in the world buy couture clothes;
60% are American. Only 200 are regular customers. Often,
designers will loan clothes to movie stars or other public
figures for publicity.

***

During fashion's “golden age,” after World War II, some
15,000 women wore couture. Socialites such as the Duchess
of Windsor, Babe Paley, and Gloria Guiness would order
whole collections at a time.

[historylover]

Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out: James Bryant Conant.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Turtle fossils have been found linking them to the Triassic
Period, about 230 million years ago.

***

Turtles are present in the mythology of many civilizations.
The Chinese, for instance, around 2500 B.C. favored a symbol
of a snake entwined with a turtle to ward off evil spirits.

***

In the year 456 B.C., the Greek playwright, Aeschylus was
killed when a turtle was dropped on his head by an eagle.
Generally, however, turtles are quiet, docile companions.

***

Turtles are cold-blooded. They need an external heat source.
If they get too cool, they can’t digest their food and may
hibernate.

***

Some types of turtles, such as the leatherback turtle can
swim at speeds up to 23 miles per hour.

***

Turtles, as opposed to tortoises, live in or around water.
Some varieties only leave the water to lay eggs.

[historylover]

The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth: Henry Beston.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Unusual Animals

The largest of all forest antelopes, the bongo is known for
its graceful, spiraled horns and beautiful striped hide.
Timid, well camouflaged, and mostly nocturnal, it is one of
Africa's most mysterious animals.

***

The spiny echidna is one of only two monotremes—egg-laying
mammals. It spends most of its time alone, burrowing in the
ground and catching insects with its long sticky tongue.
Echidnas grow about 18 inches long and have a simple oblong
shape. Found in Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania.

***

A pangolin is a scaly, short-legged mammal that comes out
at night to search for bugs. It has no teeth, but its
sticky tongue can stretch two feet long. Shy and quiet, a
pangolin will curl into a ball when frightened. Found in
Africa and Asia.

***

The tarsier is a squirrel-sized primate most noted for its
huge round eyes. This animal is also notable for its night
vision and ability to turn its head almost all the way
around. It lives entirely in trees; on the ground it can
only hop. Found in Southeast Asia.

***

One look at the kiwi bird will tell you where the fruit
got its name. The kiwi bird itself was named for its
memorable call. A kiwi weighs from three to nine pounds,
depending on the species, and has a long beak with nostrils.
Found in New Zealand.

***

The world's largest rodent, the capybara is found in South
America. Its semi-webbed feet help make it a good swimmer,
and it spends much of its time around water or wallowing in
mud with other capybaras.

[historylover]

Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others: Albert Camus.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Ascot, a village in Berkshire, England, is the home of a
famous annual horse race. During the 1700s, people who
attended the races wore a wide, loosely tied scarf, which
started a new fashion trend known as the ascot.

***

Bikini, a tiny coral island in the Pacific Marshall Islands,
is where the U.S. conducted atom bomb tests in the late
1940s. Four days after the A-bomb was exploded, a French
designer introduced a scanty, two-piece bathing suit and
called it the bikini. He believed it would cause a fashion
explosion, and indeed it did.

***

Cologne (in German spelled Koln), is the city in Germany
where cologne was first produced. Cologne is a scented
liquid made of alcohol and various fragrant oils, similar
to perfume.

***

Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands in the southwest-
central English Channel. A guernsey is a snug, knitted wool
shirt first worn by seamen in this area.

***

Nimes, France, is the source of denim. In French it was
called serge de Nimes, or “fabric from Nimes,” and de Nimes
became “denim.”

***

Tuxedo is in Orange County, north of New York City. The
tuxedo, a black formal men's dinner suit without “tails,”
was first worn here.

[historylover]

Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its own existence: James Bryce.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1628, William Harvey publishes An Anatomical Study of
the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals,
describing how blood is pumped throughout the body by the
heart, and then returns to the heart and recirculates. The
book is very controversial but becomes the basis for modern
research on the heart and blood vessels.

***

In 1747, James Lind , a Scottish naval surgeon, discovers
that citrus fruits prevent scurvy. He publishes his
Treatise of the Scurvy in 1754, identifying the cure for
this common and dangerous disease of sailors, although it
takes another 40 years before an official Admiralty order
dictates the supply of lemon juice to ships.

***

In 1842, American surgeon Crawford W. Long uses ether as a
general anesthetic during surgery but does not publish his
results. Credit goes to dentist William Morton.

***

In 1867, Joseph Lister publishes Antiseptic Principle of
the Practice of Surgery, one of the most important
developments in medicine. Lister was convinced of the need
for cleanliness in the operating room, a revolutionary idea
at the time. He develops antiseptic surgical methods, using
carbolic acid to clean wounds and surgical instruments. The
immediate success of his methods leads to general adoption.
In one hospital that adopts his methods, deaths from
infection decrease from nearly 60% to just 4%.

***

In 1901, Austrian-American Karl Landsteiner describes blood
compatibility and rejection (i.e., what happens when a
person receives a blood transfusion from another human of
either compatible or incompatible blood type), developing
the ABO system of blood typing. This system classifies the
bloods of human beings into A, B, AB, and O groups.
Landsteiner receives the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physiology
or Medicine for this discovery.

***

In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick at Cambridge
University describe the structure of the DNA molecule.
Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin at King's College in
London are also studying DNA. (Wilkins in fact shares
Franklin's data with Watson and Crick without her knowledge.)
Watson, Crick, and Wilkins share the Nobel Prize for
Physiology or Medicine in 1962 (Franklin had died and the
Nobel Prize only goes to living recipients).

[historylover]

The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost: George Schultz. 

RANDOM TIDBITS

Objects used for a game similar to bowling, which date from
5200 BC, were found in the tomb of a young Egyptian boy. In
the third and fourth centuries, bowling in Europe was a
religious ceremony, participants tried to hit the pin, or
kegel (hence the word kegling for bowling) in order to be
judged free of sin.

***

Dutch colonists brought bowling to America in the 17th
century. The game consisted of 9 pins set in a triangle. It
was regularly played in an area of New York City still known
as "Bowling Green".

***

The Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was
founded in 1916 and has grown to 3.5 million members. The
Professional Bowlers association was organized in 1958 to
promote exhibition and arrange major tournaments. Interest
in bowling, particularly in the United Slates, had its
major spurt after World War II.

***

The American Bowling Congress (ABC), founded in 1895, is
the governing body for tenpins. The ABC standardized rules
and the scoring method, and it also organized the fast U.S.
national bowling tournament, in 1901. Each year the ABC
sponsors nationals in singles, doubles and five-man team
competition for its members, whose numbers exceeds 5 million.

***

The introduction of the first automatic pinsetter in
Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1952 was responsible for much of the
increase in bowling popularity. Previously, pins were set
by young boys, and Bowling Alleys, as the establishments
were called, often had poor reputations.

***

The Italian version of bowling, Bocce, which is still played
today, is somewhat similar to "Lawn Bowling", an English
game originating over 800 years ago.

[historylover]

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them: Andre Gide

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1832, U.K. representative B.H. Hodson, while living in
Nepal, claimed to have seen the Abominable Snowman attack
his servants. Hodson described the creature as a "wild man
... covered in long, dark hair, and had no tail". This is
generally considered the first report of the Abominable
Snowman made by a Westerner.

***

The National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils are named
after The Jersey Devil, a legendary creature who has
reportedly been sighted by numerous New Jersey residents
for almost three centuries, but whose description has
changed dramatically over the years. Originally described
as a demonic child with hooves, bat wings, a forked tail,
and the head of a horse, the creature has since been
described as a flying lion, a green alien-like monster,
and a faceless hairy creature.

***

In the summer of 1816, while visiting the poet Lord Byron
at his villa near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Mary Shelley
created the character of the Frankenstein monster. During
this visit, stormy weather forced the party to spend most
of their time indoors. To pass the time, some of Byron's
other guests read from a volume of ghost stories. One
evening, Byron issued a challenge -- that each of his
guests should write a ghost story of their own. Mary's
story, which was inspired by a dream, eventually became
her most famous literary work -- the novel Frankenstein.

***

Famed Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa once told of
a legendary humanoid creature that supposedly lived in
South America. Producer William Alland overheard the story,
and it became the inspiration for The Creature From the
Black Lagoon (1954). The Creature is considered by many
critics to be Universal's last great classic monster, and
it spawned several sequels including Revenge of the Creature
(1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).

***

The Dracula legend is generally believed to have evolved
from the life of Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, a Prince
of Wallachia (in Romania) who lived from 1431 to 1476. Best
known for the cruelty of his reign, he was greatly disliked,
but he served as a sort of buffer between Europe and the
Ottoman invaders, and this made him key to the European
defense. He fulfilled this purpose well, killing so many
Turks that the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II laid siege on Vlad's
castle himself.

***

In Greek mythology, the story of Lycaon serves as one of
the earliest examples of the werewolf legend. According to
one version of the story, Lycaon was transformed into a
wolf as punishment for eating human flesh. According to
another version, he served up his own son Nyctimus, offered
the dish of human flesh to Zeus on the altar of mount
Lycaeus, and was immediately turned into a wolf by the
disgusted god. This gave rise to the legend that a man was
turned into a wolf at each annual sacrifice to Zeus Lycaeus,
but if he refrained from eating human flesh for ten years
he would regain his human form.

[historylover]

If you want to learn to swim jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you: Bruce Lee

RANDOM TIDBITS

Swimming as an organized activity goes back as far as 2500
B.C. in ancient Egypt and later in ancient Greece, Rome,
and Assyria. In Rome and Greece, swimming was part of the
education of elementary age boys and the Romans built the
first swimming pools (separate from bathing pools). The
first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas of
Rome in the first century BC.

***

Ancient civilizations left ample evidence of their swimming
abilities. Bas-relief artwork in an Egyptian tomb from
around 2,000 B.C. shows an overarm stroke like the front
crawl. The Assyrians showed an early breaststroke in their
stone carvings. The Hittites, the Minoans, and other early
civilizations left drawings of swimming and diving skills.

***

The first municipal pool in the U.S. was built in Brookline,
Mass., in 1887. Soon after that, New York City built public
facilities, then called "baths."

***

In 1928, David Armbruster first filmed swimmers under water
to study strokes. The Japanese also photographed and
studied world-class athletes, using their research to
produce a swim team that dominated the 1932 Olympic Games.
This marked the beginning of research into stroke mechanics.

***
During the Middle Ages, people feared water because they
thought it contained diseases. Swimming was not again
appreciated until the nineteenth century when it became
popular in England. People felt they could finally trust
the water to be free of disease.

***

In 1946 war rationing of material inspired the invention
of the two piece bathing suite, called a "bikini." It was
named for a U.S. nuclear testing site in the South Pacific.

[gunslingingbird]

During the Middle Ages, people feared water because they
thought it contained diseases. Swimming was not again
appreciated until the nineteenth century when it became
popular in England. People felt they could finally trust
the water to be free of disease.
I still don't trust it. Hence the fact that I only bathe once a month, whether I need to or not. :thumbsup:


In 1946 war rationing of material inspired the invention
of the two piece bathing suite, called a "bikini." It was
named for a U.S. nuclear testing site in the South Pacific.

:bowdown:

[historylover]

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard: Jesse Owens

RANDOM TIDBITS

Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag
contains five interconnected rings on a white background.
The five rings symbolize the five significant continents
and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be
gained from these international competitions. The rings,
from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and
red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them
appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The
Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.

***

The Olympic medals are designed especially for each
individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing
committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters
thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and
silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent
silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.

***

During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the
procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team,
followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in
the language of the hosting country), except for the last
team which is always the team of the hosting country.

***

In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic
Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father
Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius
("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").

***

James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step,
and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was
the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.

***

In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon
to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the
outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance
was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides
arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After
telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle,
Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first
modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same
length in commemoration of Pheidippides.

[gunslingingbird]

The five rings symbolize the five significant continents
So why isn't Africa represented? :dunno:


The Olympic medals are designed especially for each
individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing
committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters
thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and
silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent
silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.
I wonder what the medals would look like if the host city were Compton or East L.A. :eek:


During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the
procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team,
followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in
the language of the hosting country), except for the last
team which is always the team of the hosting country.

What happens when the games are held in Greece? ;)


In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon
to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the
outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance
was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides
arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After
telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle,
Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first
modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same
length in commemoration of Pheidippides.


Distance
Year Distance
(km) Distance
(mile)
1896 40 24.85
1900 40.26 25.02
1904 40 24.85
1906 41.86 26.01
1908 42.195 26.22
1912 40.2 24.98
1920 42.75 26.56
1924 onward 42.195 26.22

The length of a marathon was not fixed at first, since the only important factor was that all athletes competed on the same course. The marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were not of a set length, but were approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi),[10] roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length of the Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue.

The standard distance for the marathon race was set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in May 1921[11][12] at a distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards). Rule 240 of their Competition Rules specifies the metric version of this distance.[13] This seemingly arbitrary distance was that adopted for the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. At a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in The Hague in May 1907 it was agreed with the British Olympic Association that the 1908 Olympics would include a marathon of about 25 miles or 40 kilometres.[14] In November 1907 a route of about that distance was published in the newspapers, starting at Windsor Castle and finishing at the Olympic Stadium, the Great White City Stadium in Shepherd's Bush in London.[15] There were protests about the final few miles because of tram-lines and cobbles, so the route was revised to cross the rough ground of Wormwood Scrubs. This lengthened the route, as did plans to make the start 700 yards (640 m) from Queen Victoria's statue by Windsor Castle, and it was decided to fix the distance at 26 miles (42 km) to the stadium, plus a lap of the track (586 yards, 2 feet),[15] using the Royal Entrance as the marathon tunnel, and finishing in front of the Royal Box. For the official Trial Marathon on 25 April 1908, organized by the Polytechnic Harriers, the start was on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. For the Olympic Marathon itself the start was on the private East Terrace of Windsor Castle, with the permission of King Edward VII, so that the public would not interfere with the start.[15] The Princess of Wales and her children drove from their home at Frogmore on the far side of Windsor Great Park to watch the start of the race.[15][16] Shortly before the Games opened it was realized that the Royal Entrance could not be used as the marathon entrance—it was raised to permit easy descent by the royal party from their carriages, and did not open onto the track—so an alternative entrance was chosen, diagonally opposite the Royal Box. A special path was made just outside the Franco British Exhibition ground so that the distance to the stadium remained 26 miles. The finishing line was left unchanged, but in order that the spectators, including Queen Alexandra, could have the best view of the final yards, the direction of running was changed to "right-hand inside" (i.e. clockwise). This meant the distance in the stadium was shortened to 385 yards, and the total distance became 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km).[15]

For the next Olympics in 1912, the length was changed to 40.2 kilometres (24.98 mi), and changed again to 42.75 kilometres (26.56 mi) for the 1920 Olympics, until it was fixed at the 1908 distance for the 1924 Olympics. In fact, of the first seven Olympic Games, there were six different marathon distances between 40 and 42.75 kilometres or between 24.85 and 26.56 miles (40 km being used twice).

However, the dramatic finish of the 1908 Olympic marathon led to worldwide marathon fever. In a postcard sent at the time, an American spectator said he had "just seen the greatest race of the century."[17] The huge crowd, including Queen Alexandra, watched as the little Italian, Dorando Pietri, staggered round the final 385 yards (352 m), falling several times, and eventually being propelled by officials over the line as Irish-American Johnny Hayes got ever closer. Dorando was disqualified and Hayes was awarded the Gold Medal. However, Queen Alexandra was so moved by his plight that the very next day she presented Dorando with a silver-gilt cup.

Dorando and Hayes both turned professional and there were several re-matches, which had of course to be over the 26 miles 385 yards. Many other marathons were also held at that distance, including the important Polytechnic Marathon. The IAAF minutes are reportedly silent as to the reason the 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) was chosen in 1921,[18] so any conclusion must be speculative, but emotional attachment to the distance of the "race of the century" was clearly strong.

The 42.195 km and 26 miles 385 yards distances are identical to within half an inch (1.2 cm). The difference between the standard distance and the rounded figure frequently employed (as in the table), 26.22 miles, is slightly over two metres or 6 ½ feet.

Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon)

[historylover]

We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics: Bill Vaughan.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Amazon ants (red ants found in the western U.S.) steal the
larvae of other ants to keep as slaves. The slave ants
build homes for and feed the Amazon ants, who cannot do
anything but fight. They depend completely on their slaves
for survival.

***

Australian termites have been known to build mounds twenty
feet high and at least 100 feet wide.

***

When ants find food, they lay down a chemical trail, called
a pheromone, so that other ants can find their way from the
nest to the food source.

***

Only female mosquitoes bite. Females need the protein from
blood to produce their eggs.

***

Mosquitoes dislike citronella because it irritates their
feet. There are more than 2,500 varieties of mosquitoes.

***

The world's smallest winged insect, the Tanzanian parasitic
wasp, is smaller than the eye of a housefly.

[historylover]

All one's inventions are true, you can be sure of that. Poetry is as exact a science as geometry: Gustave Flaubert.

RANDOM TIDBITS - PRODUCTS NAMED FOR REAL PEOPLE

Duncan Hines - While working as a traveling sales
representative for a Chicago printing company during the
1930s and 40s, Duncan Hines kept a diary of the restaurants
where he’d dined along the way. He and his wife compiled a
list of 167 restaurant reviews, which eventually caught the
eye of a manufacturer of pre-packaged foods who decided to
use Hines' name on their products.

***

Chef Boyardee - As Head Chef at Cleveland’s Hotel Winton,
“Hector” Boiardi featured a menu that emphasized the
traditional Italian cuisine he so loved, and it wasn't long
before people were asking for his spaghetti sauce recipe,
which he refused to share. He opened his own restaurant in
1924, and due to the large numbers of take-out orders, he
opened a separate factory that packaged his products for
sale in retail outlets. He decided on the phonetic spelling
of his name so there was no confusion as to how it was
pronounced.

***

CliffsNotes - The "Cliff" behind those yellow study guides
known as CliffsNotes is Clifton Hillegass, a graduate of
the University of Nebraska and an Army Air Corps veteran.
Hillegass published his first Cliff’s Notes in the basement
of his Lincoln home with the intent of enriching the
reader’s experience and pointing out plot subtleties, not
providing a “cheat sheet.”

***

Oscar Mayer - Oscar Ferdinand Mayer and his brother
Gottfried leased the Kolling Meat Market in Chicago in 1883.
Their homemade liverwurst, bratwurst and weisswurst soon
gained popularity, and by 1900, they had expanded to include
delivery service throughout the city. When the brothers
found out that Chicagoland residents were purchasing their
products and sending them to relatives outside of Illinois,
they began branding their meats.

***

Maybelline - Chicago chemist Thomas Williams had an older
sister named Maybel who liked a man who was in love with
someone else. When Tom noticed Maybel applying petroleum
jelly to her eyelashes and eyebrows to attract the man's
attention, Tom went to work in his laboratory to help her.
His formula of carbon dust added to petroleum jelly worked
to highlight the lashes and brows, and soon Tom was selling
eye makeup under a name inspired by his sister, “Maybelline.”

***

Vicks Vapo-Rub - Professional druggist Lunsford Richardson
thought there had to be an easier way to relieve cold
symptoms rather than the treatment at the time - placing a
poultice on the patient’s chest and then lighting a kerosene
vaporizer lamp. He eventually created a mixture of menthol,
camphor, oil of eucalyptus, and petroleum jelly that sold
itself once the first few customers tried it. He named his
invention Vicks Vapo-Rub after his brother-in-law.

[historylover]

Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow: Oliver Wendell Holmes

RANDOM TIDBITS

> The "invention" of language is not known except for
> references in the Bible. It is not known what language Adam
> and Eve spoke. The first mention of different languages is
> the reference to the tower of Babel when different tongues
> were bestowed.

***

> The invention of writing, however, is credited to the
> Sumerians of Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC. Their
> descendants, the Sumero-Babylonians, developed the time
> system that we use today: an hour divided into 60 minutes,
> which are divided into 60 seconds.

***

> Today, there are more than 2,700 different languages spoken
> in the world, with more than 7,000 dialects. In Indonesia
> alone, 365 different languages are spoken. More than 1,000
> different languages are spoken in Africa.

***

> The most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is
> spoken in north-western Spain and south-western France. It
> is not related to any other language in the world. Mandarin
> is the most spoken language in the world, followed by
> English. But as home language, Spanish is the second most
> spoken in the world.

***

> The youngest language in the world is Afrikaans, spoken by
> South Africans. Dutch and German Protestants fled
> persecution from the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th and
> 18th century to settle in the Dutch colony of Cape of Good
> Hope on the southern point of Africa. By the early-20th
> century Afrikaans had developed from Dutch, German and other
> influences into a fully fledged language with its own
> dictionaries.

***

> The smallest country in the world is the Vatican. It also
> is the only country where Latin is the official language.

[gunslingingbird]

It is not known what language Adam
> and Eve spoke.
Oh, really? Ask any Southern Christian Fundamentalist and he will tell you that they spoke English. ;)



> The most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is
> spoken in north-western Spain and south-western France.
Actually, the hardest language to master is Chippewa, which requires speakers to master the more than 2,000 verbal inflections to be considered fluent.


It is not related to any other language in the world.
Neither is Finnish.



> The youngest language in the world is Afrikaans, spoken by
> South Africans. Dutch and German Protestants fled
> persecution from the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th and
> 18th century to settle in the Dutch colony of Cape of Good
> Hope on the southern point of Africa. By the early-20th
> century Afrikaans had developed from Dutch, German and other
> influences into a fully fledged language with its own
> dictionaries.

What about Esperanto? Wasn't that created sometime in the 1920's?

[lurkingdirk]

What about Esperanto? Wasn't that created sometime in the 1920's?

did you know that william shatner once did an entire movie in esperanto?

and yes, it is made up. first showed up around 1887.

[gunslingingbird]

did you know that william shatner once did an entire movie in esperanto?


:bowdown: Is there anything that man hasn't given us? From sci-fi geeks, to one of the scariest movie murderer masks, to cheap airfare, we owe it all to William Shart-ner. :bowdown:

[historylover]

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard: Jesse Owens

RANDOM TIDBITS
>
> Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag
> contains five interconnected rings on a white background.
> The five rings symbolize the five significant continents
> and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be
> gained from these international competitions. The rings,
> from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and
> red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them
> appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The
> Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.
>
> ***
>
> The Olympic medals are designed especially for each
> individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing
> committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters
> thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and
> silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent
> silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.
>
> ***
>
> During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the
> procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team,
> followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in
> the language of the hosting country), except for the last
> team which is always the team of the hosting country.
>
> ***
>
> In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic
> Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father
> Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius
> ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").
>
> ***
>
> James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step,
> and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was
> the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.
>
> ***
>
> In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon
> to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the
> outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance
> was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides
> arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After
> telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle,
> Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first
> modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same
> length in commemoration of Pheidippides.

[gunslingingbird]

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard: Jesse Owens

RANDOM TIDBITS
>
> Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag
> contains five interconnected rings on a white background.
> The five rings symbolize the five significant continents
> and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be
> gained from these international competitions. The rings,
> from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and
> red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them
> appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The
> Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.
>
> ***
>
> The Olympic medals are designed especially for each
> individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing
> committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters
> thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and
> silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent
> silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.
>
> ***
>
> During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the
> procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team,
> followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in
> the language of the hosting country), except for the last
> team which is always the team of the hosting country.
>
> ***
>
> In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic
> Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father
> Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius
> ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").
>
> ***
>
> James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step,
> and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was
> the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.
>
> ***
>
> In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon
> to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the
> outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance
> was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides
> arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After
> telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle,
> Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first
> modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same
> length in commemoration of Pheidippides.
Hmm...

If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard: Jesse Owens

RANDOM TIDBITS

Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1914, the Olympic flag
contains five interconnected rings on a white background.
The five rings symbolize the five significant continents
and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be
gained from these international competitions. The rings,
from left to right, are blue, yellow, black, green, and
red. The colors were chosen because at least one of them
appeared on the flag of every country in the world. The
Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Olympic Games.

***

The Olympic medals are designed especially for each
individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing
committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters
thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and
silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent
silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.

***

During the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the
procession of athletes is always led by the Greek team,
followed by all the other teams in alphabetical order (in
the language of the hosting country), except for the last
team which is always the team of the hosting country.

***

In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic
Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father
Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius
("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").

***

James B. Connolly (United States), winner of the hop, step,
and jump (the first final event in the 1896 Olympics), was
the first Olympic champion of the modern Olympic Games.

***

In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from Marathon
to Athens (about 25 miles) to inform the Athenians the
outcome of the battle with invading Persians. The distance
was filled with hills and other obstacles; thus Pheidippides
arrived in Athens exhausted and with bleeding feet. After
telling the townspeople of the Greeks' success in the battle,
Pheidippides fell to the ground dead. In 1896, at the first
modern Olympic Games, held a race of approximately the same
length in commemoration of Pheidippides.

:confused:

[historylover]

I get mail; therefore I am: Scott Adams.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1775, Benjamin Franklin was appointed first Postmaster
General by the Continental Congress.

***

Forty six percent of the world’s card and letter mail
volume is handled by the United States Postal Service.

***

Letter carriers and professional truck drivers drive an
average of 1.2 billion miles per year to deliver our mail.

***

667 million - Average amount of mail processed each day.
28 million - Average amount of mail processed each hour.
463,000 - Average amount of mail processed each minute.

***

Mail is delivered by bicycle in locations throughout
Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.

***

1847 - U.S. postage stamps issued.
1855 - Prepayment of postage required.
1860 - Pony Express began.
1863 - Free city delivery began.
1873 - U.S. postal cards issued.

[historylover]

Grilling, broiling, barbecuing - whatever you want to call it - is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach: James Beard.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The first barbecuers may well have been prehistoric cavemen.
Anthropologists say they may have started roasting meat
some 1.4 million years ago.Language development didn't
occur until 200,000 B.C. or later.Other sources say this
originated in the Caribbean where the native Indians used
wood gratings over a slow fire to cook strips of meat.

***

According to the Indiana Propane Company, the most common
barbecue items (beside ribs) are: hamburgers, steaks, hot
dogs, and chicken breasts.

***

Three out of 4 American households own a grill and they use
it on average of 5 times per month.

***

Lexington, North Carolina is known as the Barbecue Capital
of the World. October is Barbecue Month there, with a month-
long Annual Barbecue Festival. The city's first barbecue
restaurant opened in 1919; there are currently over 20
barbecue restaurants.


***

People in the Northeast U.S. are the heaviest barbecuers in
the nation. The next most frequent barbecues are in the
North Central region of the U.S., followed by the South and
then the Western U.S.


***

The word "barbecue" may have come from the French phrase
"barbe a queue" (from whiskers to tail-The term refers to
the original method in which a whole animal was cooked on
a spit over an open fire), or the Taino Indian word for
their method of cooking fish over a pit of coals (barbacoa).

[gunslingingbird]

The first barbecuers may well have been prehistoric cavemen.
Anthropologists say they may have started roasting meat
some 1.4 million years ago.Language development didn't
occur until 200,000 B.C. or later.

So what did they stand around bullshitting about while they were waiting for the meat to be done? They didn't have football back then, and I don't think Budweiser had started bottling beer yet. :confused:

[historylover]

Heroism is latent in every human soul - However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all the self-denials - privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life...: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Memorial day was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. It was
observed by placing flowers on the graves of Union and
Confederate soldiers during the first national celebration.
Gen. James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National
Cemetery, after which around 5,000 participants helped to
decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and
Confederate soldiers who were buried there.


***

Since the late 1950’s on the Thursday just before Memorial
day, around 1200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place
small American flags at each of the more than 260,000
gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery.

***

On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until
noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.


***

Moina Michael came up with an idea of wearing red poppies
on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the
nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold
poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going
to benefit servicemen in need.

***

In the year 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance
Resolution passed. At 3pm on Memorial Day all Americans
are asked to voluntarily and informally observe in their
own way a moment of remembrance and respect by pausing
from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or
listening to Taps.

***

The south refused to honor the dead on Memorial Day until
after World War I when the meaning of Memorial Day changed
from honoring civil war dead to honoring Americans who died
fighting in any war.

(www.purpletrail.com)

[historylover]

With each passing day, I didn't lose hope. I fought to have more: Amy Tan.

Your random dose of trivia for the day!

In 2002, a Guangzhou sporting goods company opened a factory
to make 100,000 ping-pong tables annually.

***

The red granite obelisk on the Victoria Embankment in London
was originally erected in Heliopolis in Egypt.

***

The two top selling spices in the world are pepper and
mustard.

***

Emily Dickinson only published seven poems in her lifetime,
but many more saw print after her death.

***

Many Americans tended to save rather than spend the 1964
Kennedy half-dollar.

***

A group of larks is called an exaltation.

[historylover]

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person: Mignon McLaughlin.

RANDOM TIDBITS

It is customary, near the end of the reception, for the
single female guests to gather around the bride who will
throw her bouquet over her shoulder for one of them to
catch. Originally, the bride would actually throw one of
her shoes over her shoulder during this ritual. Tradition
says that whoever catches the bouquet shall be the next to
marry.

***

It is believed that an unmarried male guest who keeps a
piece of wedding cake under his pillow as he sleeps will
increase his chances of finding a mate. An unmarried
bridesmaid who does the same will dream of her future
husband.

***

The custom of throwing rice at the newlywed couple was to
symbolize fertility. In some cultures, it was not rice
which was thrown, but rather small cakes or pieces of a
crumbled cake.

***

In old England it was traditional to bake a ring into the
wedding cake as a symbol of bliss and happiness. The guest
whose piece of cake contained the ring, it was said, could
look forward to a full year of uninterrupted happiness.

***

Another old English custom was to throw a plate with a
piece of wedding cake out of a window on the occasion of
the bride's first return to her family home after the
wedding. If the plate broke she could expect a happy
future with her husband - but if the plate remained intact,
prospects for the future became grim.

***

Cutting the wedding cake together, still a predominant
ritual at weddings, symbolizes the couple's unity, their
shared future, and their life together as one.

[historylover]

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage: Martin Luther.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Cakes have played a part of weddings all through history.
The Romans shared a plain cake of flour, salt and water
during the wedding ceremony itself, as Native Americans
still do today. The traditional fruit cake originated in
Britain, with the fruit and nuts being a symbol of
fertility.

***

Tradition says that the first member of the newlywed couple
to purchase a new item following the wedding will be the
dominant force in the relationship. As such, to this day
some superstitious brides will pre-arrange to buy a small
item from one of the bridesmaids immediately following the
ceremony!

***

The tradition of having members of the wedding party dress
alike was started with the hopes that this would cause
confusion for the spirits and send them on their way.

***

Playing pranks on the newlywed couple was also a tradition
which began with the intentions of warding off evil spirits.
Loyal friends of the couple would do this in hopes that the
spirits would take pity on the couple for already being
picked upon enough, and would then leave the couple alone.

***

The tradition of tying tin cans to the back of the
newlywed's vehicle originated long ago when items which
would produce noise were tied to the back of the couple's
carriage to scare away evil spirits.

***

In times past, if a young man encountered a blind person,
a pregnant woman, or a monk while on his way to propose to
his intended bride, it was believed that the marriage would
be doomed if he continued along because these images were
thought to be bad omens.

[historylover]

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short: Andre Maurois.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The tradition for the bride to wear white began in the 16th
century and is still commonly followed today. This is a
symbol of the bride's purity and her worthiness of her
groom. The tradition became solidified during the time of
Queen Victoria who rebelled against the royal tradition for
Royal brides to wear silver. Instead, the queen preferred
the symbolism which is expressed by wearing white. The brides
of the time quickly emulated the queen, and the tradition
has continued in full force to this day.

***

It was thought that misfortune would come to those who
married during lent - "Marry in Lent, live to repent" -
because lent was a time for abstinence.

***

For centuries the month of June has been the most popular
choice for weddings - but the original reason might surprise
you. You see, during the 1400 -1500s, May was the month in
which the "annual bath" occurred. Yes, just as it sounds,
back then people were only able to bathe thoroughly once
each year. As such, since the over-all population was
smelling relatively fresh in June, it was a good time to
hold a special event like a wedding!

***

Bad weather on the way to the wedding is believed to
signify unhappiness in the marriage. Traditionally it is
believed that cloudy skies and wind en route to the wedding
will result in a stormy marriage. However, snow on the way
to the wedding is a sign of fertility and prosperity!

***

There is an old saying that "the bride wore a green gown".
This implies the belief that she was promiscuous before
marriage and refers to the image of her rolling around in
grassy fields with a young man.

***

Traditionally brides have been thought to be particularly
vulnerable to evil spirits. Many wedding customs and
traditions were originated as an attempt to fight away such
evil. The veil was worn with the belief that it would
disguise the bride and fool the evil spirits. It was not
until 1800 in Britain that the veil came to symbolize
modesty and chastity. Today, the veil remains the ultimate
symbol of virginity.

[historylover]

Then let us, one and all, be contented with our lot;
The June is here this morning, and the sun is shining hot;
Oh! let us fill our hearts up with the glory of the day,
And banish ev'ry doubt and care and sorrow far away.
: James Whitcomb Riley.


RANDOM TIDBITS

June is named for the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter
and the Greek equivalent of the goddess Hera.


***

In both common and leap years, no other month begins on the
same day of the week as June. This month and May are the
only two months that have this.

***

Flag Day is observed in the United States on June 14. It
commemorates the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress
adopted the Stars and Stripes as our flag. It then had only
13 stars, to match its 13 stripes.


***

June's birthstone is the pearl, the Moonstone (gemstone),
and the Alexandrite. The meaning is health & longevity.
The rose is the flower for the month of June.

***

The Philippines' Independence Day is on June 12. Sweden
celebrates flag day, its national holiday, on June 6.
Finland's flag day is the Saturday closest to June 24.

***

The solstice called the Summer solstice in the northern
hemisphere and the Winter solstice in the southern
hemisphere occurs on dates varying from June 22-23. In the
pagan wheel of the year the summer solstice is the time of
Litha and the winter solstice is that of Yule.

[historylover]

Comics are words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures: Harvey Pekar.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1895, the New York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer,
begins publishing a series of comics by Richard Outcault
taking place in Hogan's Alley, and featuring a boy in a
yellow nightshirt who becomes known as "The Yellow Kid."

***

In 1897, Rudolph Dirks's The Katzenjammer Kids appears for
the first time in the New York Journal on December 12. It
stars a set of twin brothers, Hans and Fritz, and is the
first strip to tell a story in a series of panels. It is
still running today, as the oldest strip in syndication.

***

In 1905, Little Nemo in Slumberland, by Winsor McCay, begins
running in the New York Herald. The first comic with a
continuing story, it is still noted as one of the most
richly illustrated comic strips of all time.

***

In 1907, Mutt and Jeff becomes the first successful daily
comic strip. Originally known as A. Mutt, Jeff joins the
cast the following year. In addition to being a newspaper
strip, it gets made into a series of animated films
starting in 1913. The strip continues to be published
through 1982.

***

In 1919, Frank King's Gasoline Alley begins. It is the
first strip ever to have characters who age in real time.
Characters go to war, marry, have children, and so on. The
strip is still running today.

***

In 1920, Winnie Winkle debuts, chronicling the trials of a
woman working to support her family. While not the first
comic to feature a working woman, it is the first to gain
widespread attention. It lasts until 1996.

[gunslingingbird]

In 1920, Winnie Winkle debuts, chronicling the trials of a
woman working to support her family. While not the first
comic to feature a working woman, it is the first to gain
widespread attention. It lasts until 1996.

I take it they didn't publish it in the Bible Belt.

[historylover]

The Internet is the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor: John Allen Paulos.

RANDOM TIDBITS

1969 - ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) goes
online in December, connecting four major U.S. universities.
Designed for research, education, and government
organizations, it provides a communications network linking
the country in the event that a military attack destroys
conventional communications systems.

***

1972 - Electronic mail is introduced by Ray Tomlinson, a
Cambridge, Mass., computer scientist. He uses the @ to
distinguish between the sender's name and network name in
the email address.

***

1982 - The word “Internet” is used for the first time.

1984 - Domain Name System (DNS) is established, with
network addresses identified by extensions such as .com,
.org, and .edu. Writer William Gibson coins the term
“cyberspace.”

***

1985 - Quantum Computer Services, which later changes its
name to America Online, debuts. It offers email, electronic
bulletin boards, news, and other information.

***

1989 - The World (world.std.com) debuts as the first
provider of dial-up Internet access for consumers. Tim
Berners-Lee of CERN (European Laboratory for Particle
Physics) develops a new technique for distributing
information on the Internet. He calls it the World Wide
Web.

***

1995 - CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy start
providing dial-up Internet access. Sun Microsystems
releases the Internet programming language called Java.
The Vatican launches its own website, www.vatican.va.

[lurkingdirk]

^^that can't be right. Al Gore invented the internet.

[gunslingingbird]

CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics)
Actually, that would be Centre Européen pour la Rechèrche Nucleaire. ;)

The Vatican launches its own website, www.vatican.va.
I thought the interweb was the work of the devil. I guess the Pope has to get his porn somewhere, right?

^^that can't be right. Al Gore invented the internet.

You stole my joke! :mad: :cussing:

[lurkingdirk]

You stole my joke! :mad: :cussing:

:D
we think alike often, it seems. :wave2:

[historylover]

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain: J.K. Rowling.

RANDOM TIDBITS


1981 - Apple Viruses 1, 2, and 3 are some of the first
viruses “in the wild,” or in the public domain. Found on
the Apple II operating system, the viruses spread through
Texas A&M via pirated computer games.

***


1988 - One of the most common viruses, Jerusalem, is
unleashed. Activated every Friday the 13th, the virus
affects both .exe and .com files and deletes any programs
run on that day. MacMag and the Scores virus cause the
first major Macintosh outbreaks.

***


1990 - Symantec launches Norton AntiVirus, one of the first
antivirus programs developed by a large company.

***


1994 - Good Times email hoax tears through the computer
community. The hoax warns of a malicious virus that will
erase an entire hard drive just by opening an email with
the subject line “Good Times.” Though disproved, the hoax
resurfaces every six to twelve months.

***

1999 - The Melissa virus, W97M/Melissa, executes a macro in
a document attached to an email, which forwards the document
to 50 people in the user's Outlook address book. The virus
also infects other Word documents and subsequently mails
them out as attachments. Melissa spread faster than any
previous virus, infecting an estimated 1 million PCs.

***

2000 - The Love Bug, also known as the ILOVEYOU virus,
sends itself out via Outlook, much like Melissa. The virus
comes as a VBS attachment and deletes files, including MP3,
MP2, and .JPG. It also sends usernames and passwords to the
virus's author.

[maildude]

And the virus history lives on. Just give me a few minutes with the geek(s) responsible for these viruses....:crash:

[historylover]

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity: William Penn.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Crimes of the 20th Century

Charles Lindberg, the 20-month-old son of American aviator
Charles Lindberg, was kidnapped and murdered. The baby's
remains were found on the side of the road near the Lindberg
home. An autopsy revealed that baby Charles had died from a
blow to the head shortly after being taken from his home.

***

In 1924, University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and
Richard Loeb murdered a 14-year-old boy because they were
bored and wanted to see if they could get away with the
perfect crime. The two were convicted and served several
years in prison together. In 1936, Loeb was murdered by his
cell mate. Leopold was released on parole in 1958, after 33
years in prison.

***

In 1947, a nude female corpse severed at the waist was
discovered. The 22-year-old victim, Elizabeth Short, was
nicknamed "Black Dahlia" for her habit of wearing black
clothing.

***

In 1969, actress Sharon Tate and several others were
murdered in Tate's home. Tate was killed by Charles
Manson's followers despite being eight and a half months
pregnant. Her unborn son also died.

***

In the 1970s, Chicago businessman John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
raped, tortured, and killed at least 33 men and boys. The
remains of most of his victims were found in the crawlspace
under his house. After his arrest, police pulled the remains
of 27 bodies from beneath Gacy's house.

***

In 1997, Andrew Cunanan, 27, went on a cross-country killing
spree that left people dead. One of his victims was
billionaire clothing designer Gianni Versace. Versace was
shot by Cunanan in front of his Miami Beach mansion.

[gunslingingbird]

In 1997, Andrew Cunanan, 27, went on a cross-country killing
spree that left people dead.

What's the term for that sentence? Ah, yes, redundant. :rolleyes: :tongue: ;)

[Superfly007]

fun random facts nifty.

[lurkingdirk]

What's the term for that sentence? Ah, yes, redundant. :rolleyes: :tongue: ;)

welcome to the school of redundancy welcomes you!

:thumbsup:

[historylover]

The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate: Joseph Priestly.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The world's first e-mail message was sent in 1971 by Ray
Tomlinson.

***

Unsolicited email earned the name "spam" because it
resembled a Monty Python skit where a chorus of Vikings
drowned out other sounds by singing "spam, spam, spam."

***

The time spent deleting SPAM costs United States businesses
$21.6 billion annually.

***

Thirty-five billion e-mails are sent each day throughout
the world.

***

During Bill Clinton's entire eight year presidency, he
only sent two e-mails. One was to John Glenn when he was
aboard the space shuttle, and the other was a test of the
e-mail system.

***

Seventy seven percent of Yahoo! Mail poll respondents said
they are more aggravated by weeding through spam than they
are by cleaning a dirty toilet.

[lurkingdirk]

During Bill Clinton's entire eight year presidency, he
only sent two e-mails. One was to John Glenn when he was
aboard the space shuttle, and the other was a test of the
e-mail system.


I love your posts, i read them every day. But I find this impossible to believe. I must go look this up....

[historylover]

Habits are safer than rules; you don't have to watch them. And you don't have to keep them, either. They keep you: Frank Hall Crane.

RANDOM TIDBITS

On May 15, 1950, Coca Cola became the first product ever to
appear on the cover of Time Magazine. This issue also
featured an in-depth article about the Coca Cola Company.

***

First sold in 1885 at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in
Waco, Texas, Dr Pepper is the oldest soft drink in America.
It was soon followed by Coca-Cola (1886), Pepsi-Cola (1898),
IBC Root Beer (1919), 7-UP (1929), Sprite (1961), and
countless other soft drinks that have long since disappeared
from the shelves.

***

IBC Root Beer was developed in 1919 by the Independent
Breweries Company in St. Louis as an alternative to
alcoholic beverages during prohibition.

***

When C.L. Grigg first introduced 7-UP to the world in 1929,
he called it "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." He soon
changed the name to the much easier to pronounce "7-UP."

***

Born in the hills of Tennessee in the 1940s, Mountain Dew
was originally invented by two brothers, Barney and Ally
Hartman, for use as a mixer with whiskey. Mountain Dew is
actually slang for "moonshine," and some of the early
bottles were even adorned with sketches of a character
called Willy the Hillbilly.

***

When Caleb Bradham first created his own carbonated soft
drink to serve fountain customers at his drugstore, he
called the concoction "Brad's Drink." On August 28, 1898,
Bradham renamed his invention "Pepsi-Cola."

[gunslingingbird]

When C.L. Grigg first introduced 7-UP to the world in 1929,
he called it "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." He soon
changed the name to the much easier to pronounce "7-UP."
7-Up was so named after the number of ingredients in the formula, and the direction in which the bubbles went. ;)


Born in the hills of Tennessee in the 1940s, Mountain Dew
was originally invented by two brothers, Barney and Ally
Hartman, for use as a mixer with whiskey. Mountain Dew is
actually slang for "moonshine," and some of the early
bottles were even adorned with sketches of a character
called Willy the Hillbilly.

I knew moonshine had to be involved with Mountain Dew! That's probably the only way that stuff's actually drinkable. :pukey:

[historylover]

Cereal is universally appealing. It speaks to the sense of joy and freedom and happiness and indulgence that people feel: David Roth.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1941, General Mills introduced Cheerioats as "The
breakfast food you've always wanted." Four years later,
the name was changed to Cheerios.

***

Cap'n Crunch's full name is Horatio Q. Crunch. The character
was invented in 1963, before the cereal was created. Cap'n
Crunch was made in response to a survey of kids who said
they hated soggy cereal. Cap'n Crunch is the No. 1 pre-
sweetened kids cereal in the U.S.

***

Life cereal hit the market in 1961. The famous "Let Mikey
try it" commercial aired from 1972 through '84. It was the
longest-running commercial in television history.

***

Quisp, the saucer-shaped corn cereal, was launched in 1965.
It was reintroduced in 1999 to appeal to the baby boomers
who ate it as kids.

***

In 1937, Wheaties held a contest for most popular baseball
announcer. Ronald Reagan won the contest and a trip to
California. While there, he was asked to do a screen test
for Warner Bros., which kicked off his movie career.

***

Kellogg's Corn Flakes were accidentally invented in 1894 by
Will Keith Kellogg. A Seventh-day Adventist and a vegetarian,
Kellogg was looking for a way to improve the diets of
vegetarian hospital patients. He dried softened wheat and
it turned into thin flakes.

[historylover]

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket: Charles Peguy.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Phrase origins

Make no bones about it - A form of this expression was used
as early as 1459, to mean to have no difficulty. It seems
evident that the allusion is to the actual occurrence of
bones in stews or soup. Soup without bones would offer no
difficulty, and accordingly one would have no hesitation
in swallowing soup with no bones.

***

To throw in the towel/sponge - In its original form, to
throw up the sponge, this appears in "The Slang Dictionary"
(1860). The reference is to the sponges used to cleanse
combatants' faces at prize fights. One contestant's manager
throwing in the sponge would signal that as that side had
had enough the sponge was no longer required. In recent
years, towels have been substituted for sponges at fights,
and consequently in the expression too.

***

Fly off the handle - Refers to axe heads, which, in the
days before mass merchandising, were sometimes fastened
poorly to their handles. If one flew off while being used,
it was a dangerous situation ... with unpredictable results.

***

Pull the wool over someone's eyes - Goes back to the days
when all gentlemen wore powdered wigs like the ones still
worn by the judges in British courts. The word wool was
then a popular, joking term for hair ... The expression
'pull the wool over his eyes' came from the practice of
tilting a man's wig over his eyes, so he couldn't see what
was going on.

***

Pay through the nose - Comes from the ninth-century Ireland.
When the Danes conquered the Irish, they imposed an
exorbitant Nose Tax on the island's inhabitants. They took
a census (by counting noses) and levied oppressive sums on
their victims, forcing them to pay by threatening to have
their noses actually slit.

***

Caught red-handed - For hundreds of years, stealing and
butchering another person's livestock was a common crime.
But it was hard to prove unless the thief was caught with
a dead animal ... and blood on his hands.

[historylover]

Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater: Roman Polanski.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Lon Chaney's great skill as a silent film actor came about
as a result of his upbringing. Both of his parents were
deaf-mutes, so he learned to communicate by expressive
pantomime.

***

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg played a cameo role as
the clerk who receives Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi's money
at the end of the Blues Brothers.

***

Max Von Sydow plays Jesus Christ in 'The Greatest Story
Ever Told' and Satan in 'Needful Things', the only actor to
play both parts.

***

Ed Koch, the Mayor of New York in 1984, played himself in
the film, The Muppets Take Manhattan.

***

Ronald Reagan was the only president to have ever worn a
NAZI uniform. (Of course. he wore it as an actor in a
movie)!

***

Both actors that have played 'Mr. Rourke' on the 'Fantasy
Island' television programs have also played a villain on
'Star Trek'.

[historylover]

A president's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right: Lyndon B. Johnson.

RANDOM TIDBITS - The United States Secret Service

The Secret Service Division was created on July 5, 1865 in
Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency. Chief
William P. Wood was sworn in by Secretary of the Treasury
Hugh McCulloch.

***

In 1867, Secret Service responsibilities were broadened to
include "detecting persons perpetrating frauds against the
government." This appropriation resulted in investigations
into the Ku Klux Klan, non-conforming distillers, smugglers,
mail robbers, land frauds, and a number of other infractions
against the federal laws.

***

In 1883, Secret Service was officially acknowledged as a
distinct organization within the Treasury Department.

***

In 1951, Congress enacted legislation that permanently
authorized Secret Service protection of the president, his
immediate family, the president-elect, and the vice
president, if he wishes.

***

In 1968, as a result of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination,
Congress authorized protection of major presidential and
vice presidential candidates and nominees. Congress also
authorized protection of widows of presidents until death,
or remarriage, and their children until age 16.

***

In 2007, protection began for presidential candidate
Illinois Senator Barack Obama in May, the earliest
initiation of Secret Service protection for any candidate
in history. Presidential candidate New York Senator Hillary
Clinton already received protection before she entered the
race due to her status as former first lady.

[historylover]

That piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thousand years of struggle upwards. It is the full-grown flower of ages of fighting for liberty. It is the century plant of human hope in bloom: Alvin Owsley.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Flag Day in the United States is celebrated on June 14. It
commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States,
which happened that day by resolution of the Second
Continental Congress in 1777.

***

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that
officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949,
National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

***

The week of June 14 is designated as "National Flag Week."
During National Flag Week, the president will issue a
proclamation urging U.S. citizens to fly the American flag
for the duration of that week. The flag should also be
displayed on all Government buildings

***

Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June
14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S.
state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday.

***

Although earlier flags had a British Union Jack or the
motto "Don't Tread on Me," the first flag approved by the
Continental Congress had thirteen stars on a field of blue
and thirteen stripes.

***

It is not known when the flag was first called the "Stars
and Stripes," but the nickname "Old Glory" was applied to
the flag for the first time in 1831 by a sea captain named
William Driver.

[historylover]

If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around your neck?: Linda Ellerbee.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The earliest known version of the necktie has been found in
the massive mausoleum of China's first emperor, Shih Huang
Ti, who was buried in 210 B.C.

***

Most American and European ties are typically 3 1/4 - 3 1/2
inches in width and standard tie length is 56 inches with
longer ties for taller men measuring 60 inches.

***

The necktie can be traced back to the time of the Thirty
Years' War (1618–1648) when the small, knotted neckerchiefs
worn by Croatian mercenaries attracted the interest of the
Parisians. The garment, which gained the name "Cravat,"
started a fashion craze in Europe where both men and women
wore pieces of fabric around their necks.

***

In 1715, another kind of neckwear, called "stocks" made its
appearance. Stocks were initially just a small piece of
muslin folded into a narrow band wound a few times round
the shirt collar and secured from behind with a pin. It was
fashionable for the men to wear their hair long, past
shoulder length.

***

Ironically several ties have been named after the romantic
poet, Lord Byron, who seldom wore any sort of neck cloth.
The first Byron was a big floppy bow in white, brown or
black appeared in the 1820s. In the 1840s, a Byron was made
of string or narrow ribbon, while after the 1860s it was a
large, often readymade bow.

***

The industrial revolution created a need for neckwear that
was easy to put on, comfortable and would last an entire
workday. The modern necktie, as is still worn by millions
of men today, was born. The English called it the “four in
hand” because the knot resembled the reins of the four
horse carriage used by the British upper class.

[historylover]

Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad: Anne Geddes.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington,
organized the first Father's Day celebration on June 19,
her own father's birthday. The mayor of Spokane and the
governor of Washington state officially support the event.
Dodd's father, a farmer and Civil War veteran, had been a
single father to six young children after the death of his
wife.

***

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge publicly supported plans
for a national Father's Day. Two years later, the National
Father's Day Committee met for the first time in New York
City.

***

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was
issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated
the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Father's Day has
been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard
Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

***

Father's Day is the fifth most popular card-sending holiday,
with an estimated $100 million in card sales.

***

There were an estimated 159,000 "stay-at-home" dads in 2008.
These are married fathers with children under 15 years old
who have remained out of the labor force for more than one
year primarily so they can care for the family while their
wives work outside the home.

***

There are an estimated 64.3 million fathers across the
nation today!

[historylover]

That's something I've noticed about food: whenever there's a crisis if you can get people to eating normally things get better: Madeleine L'Engle.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Double Truffle Hamburger at DB Bistro Moderne in
Manhattan will cost you a whopping $99. The burger contains
three ounces of rib meat mixed with truffles and foie gras
stuffed inside seven ounces of sirloin steak and served on
a Parmesan and poppy seed bun, with salad and truffle
shavings.

***

The $1,000 Luxury Pizza, a 12-inch thin crust, is the
creation of Nino Selimaj, owner of Nino's Bellissima in
Manhattan. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance for
this pie covered with six different types of caviar that
need to be specially ordered. The pie is also topped with
lobster, creme fraiche, and chives.

***

At $1,000, the Grand Opulence Sundae at New York's
Serendipity certainly lives up to its name. Made from
Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream covered in 23-karat edible
gold leaf and drizzled with Amedei Porcelana, the world's
most expensive chocolate, this indulgence is studded with
gold dragets and truffles and topped with dessert caviar.

***

At $2,600 per pound, Chocopologie by Knipschildt Chocolatier
of Connecticut is the world's most expensive box of
chocolates. The company also sells a dark chocolate truffle
with a French black truffle inside for $250. These pricey
treats are available on a preorder basis only.

***

The von Essen Platinum club sandwich at the Cliveden House
Hotel near London is the world's most expensive sandwich
at $197. Weighing just over a pound, the sandwich is made
of the finest ingredients, including Iberico ham cured for
30 months, quail eggs, white truffles, semi-dried Italian
tomatoes, and 24-hour fermented sourdough bread.

***


Nicknamed "The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata," the world's
most expensive omelette comes stacked with caviar and an
entire lobster encased within its eggy folds - and will set
you back $1,000. The omelette is the creation of chef
Emilio Castillo of Norma's restaurant in New York's Le
Parker Meridien Hotel.

(www.howstuffworks.com)

[Born2Jizz]

You sir, are a walking encyclopedia.:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:





Or you are really good at Copy/Pasting, LOL jk

[StanScratch]

Seriously, historylover, this continues to be one of my favorite threads.

[historylover]

Seriously, historylover, this continues to be one of my favorite threads.

Every time I get too tired or too busy to post I usually just think of people like you. It's very helpful for me to think, "Fans are out there..."

I repped you in thanks.

---------------------------------------------------

We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it, but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires: Dave Barry.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Electricity travels at the speed of light - more than
186,000 miles per second!

***

A spark of static electricity can measure up to three
thousand (3,000) volts. A bolt of lightning can measure up
to three million (3,000,000) volts – and it lasts less than
one second.

***

Electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the
ground. It can be made from wind, water, the sun and even
animal manure.

***

The first power plant – owned by Thomas Edison – opened in
New York City in 1882. One power plant can produce enough
electricity for 180,000 homes.

***

Thomas Edison didn’t invent the first light bulb – but he
did invent one that stayed lit for more than a few seconds.

***

Benjamin Franklin didn’t discover electricity – but he
did prove that lightning is a form of electrical energy.

[historylover]

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly: Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the
Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and
return to the north again in the spring.

***

Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less
than 86 degrees.

***

Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out
whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be
their caterpillars' food or not.

***

Some moths never eat anything as adults because they don't
have mouths. They must live on the energy they stored as
caterpillars.

***

Butterflies and insects have their skeletons on the outside
of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. This protects the
insect and keeps water inside their bodies so they don’t
dry out.

***

Some Case Moth caterpillars (Psychidae) build a case around
themselves that they always carry with them. It is made of
silk and pieces of plants or soil.

[historylover]

The danger of the past was that people became slaves. The danger of the future is that they may become robots: Erich Fromm.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Elektro, the world’s first humanoid robot, debuted in 1939.
Built by Westinghouse, the seven-foot-tall walking machine
“spoke” more than 700 words. Elektro later appeared in the
1960 B movie Sex Kittens Go to College.

***

Robot comes from the Czech word 'robota' which means
'forced work or labor'.

***

The first known case of robot homicide occurred in 1981,
when a robotic arm crushed a Japanese Kawasaki factory
worker.

***

Chris Melhuish of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory created
robots that use bacteria-filled fuel cells to produce
electricity from rotten apples and dead flies. The goal:
robots that forage for their own food- essentially they
wouldn’t need humans to survive.

***

Australian researchers are trying to build a micro robot
that would mimic the swim stroke used by E. coli bacteria.
It would be injected into a patient so it could take a
biopsy from the inside.

***

Winebot, built by Japan’s NEC System Technologies and Mie
University, can ID scads of different wines, cheeses, and
hors d’oeuvres...up to a point. It recently mistook a
reporter’s hand for prosciutto.

[historylover]

A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years: Rupert Brooke.

RANDOM TIDBITS

“Kiss” is from the Old English cyssan from the proto-
Germanic kussijanan or kuss, which is probably based on
the sound kissing can make.

***

On July 5-6, 2005 a couple in London locked lips for 31
hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds, making it the longest
kiss ever recorded.

***

The Four Vedic Sanskrit texts (1500 B.C.) contain the the
first mention of a kiss in writing.

***

The Romans created three categories of kissing: (1) Osculum,
a kiss on the cheek, (2) Basium, a kiss on the lips, and
(3) Savolium, a deep kiss.

***

Kissing is good for teeth. The anticipation of a kiss
increases the flow of saliva to the mouth, giving the
teeth a plaque-dispersing bath.

***

Kissing may have originated when mothers orally passed
chewed solid food to their infants during weaning. Another
theory suggests kissing evolved from prospective mates
sniffing each others’ pheromones for biological
compatibility.

[historylover]

The horse through all its trials has preserved the sweetness of paradise in its blood: Johannes Jensen.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Emerging 60 million years ago, the first horse was called
Eohippus (The Dawn Horse) and was tiny, weighing only 12
pounds and standing just 14 inches high. In contrast to
the modern one-toed horse, the Eohippus had four toes on
its front feet and three on its hind feet.

***

Horses that seem wild today (such as Mustangs) are
actually feral horses, usually descendants of horses that
were imported to America from Spain in the sixteenth
century. The only true wild horse is the Asian Wild Horse.

***

After horses became domesticated around 4000 B.C., many
Indo-European cultures regarded horses as a supreme
sacrifice to their gods and often ritually entombed horses.
People in the Caucasus practiced horse sacrifice as late
as the 1800s.

***

Though most horses live for 25-30 years, the oldest horse
on record is “Old Billy,” who was a barge horse born in
England and lived to the age of 62. The first year of a
horse’s life is roughly comparable to 12 human years.

***

Horses have five highly developed senses: taste, touch,
hearing, smell, and sight. They also have an enigmatic
sixth sense, heightened perception, which is very rare in
humans.

***

The eyes of a horse are larger than most other animals',
and they can move independently, giving the horse a
shallow panoramic vision. Because its lenses are inflexible,
a horse will focus on an image by moving its head to direct
light rays to the central part of the retina. Horses can
also see in color.

[historylover]

The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate: Joseph Priestly.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The world's first e-mail message was sent in 1971 by Ray
Tomlinson.

***

Unsolicited email earned the name "spam" because it
resembled a Monty Python skit where a chorus of Vikings
drowned out other sounds by singing "spam, spam, spam."

***

The time spent deleting SPAM costs United States businesses
$21.6 billion annually.

***

Thirty-five billion e-mails are sent each day throughout
the world.

***

During Bill Clinton's entire eight year presidency, he
only sent two e-mails. One was to John Glenn when he was
aboard the space shuttle, and the other was a test of the
e-mail system.

***

Seventy seven percent of Yahoo! Mail poll respondents said
they are more aggravated by weeding through spam than they
are by cleaning a dirty toilet.

[historylover]

Cereal is universally appealing. It speaks to the sense of joy and freedom and happiness and indulgence that people feel: David Roth.

RANDOM TIDBITS

In 1941, General Mills introduced Cheerioats as "The
breakfast food you've always wanted." Four years later,
the name was changed to Cheerios.

***

Cap'n Crunch's full name is Horatio Q. Crunch. The character
was invented in 1963, before the cereal was created. Cap'n
Crunch was made in response to a survey of kids who said
they hated soggy cereal. Cap'n Crunch is the No. 1 pre-
sweetened kids cereal in the U.S.

***

Life cereal hit the market in 1961. The famous "Let Mikey
try it" commercial aired from 1972 through '84. It was the
longest-running commercial in television history.

***

Quisp, the saucer-shaped corn cereal, was launched in 1965.
It was reintroduced in 1999 to appeal to the baby boomers
who ate it as kids.

***

In 1937, Wheaties held a contest for most popular baseball
announcer. Ronald Reagan won the contest and a trip to
California. While there, he was asked to do a screen test
for Warner Bros., which kicked off his movie career.

***

Kellogg's Corn Flakes were accidentally invented in 1894 by
Will Keith Kellogg. A Seventh-day Adventist and a vegetarian,
Kellogg was looking for a way to improve the diets of
vegetarian hospital patients. He dried softened wheat and
it turned into thin flakes.

[historylover]

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket: Charles Peguy.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Phrase origins

Make no bones about it - A form of this expression was used
as early as 1459, to mean to have no difficulty. It seems
evident that the allusion is to the actual occurrence of
bones in stews or soup. Soup without bones would offer no
difficulty, and accordingly one would have no hesitation
in swallowing soup with no bones.

***

To throw in the towel/sponge - In its original form, to
throw up the sponge, this appears in "The Slang Dictionary"
(1860). The reference is to the sponges used to cleanse
combatants' faces at prize fights. One contestant's manager
throwing in the sponge would signal that as that side had
had enough the sponge was no longer required. In recent
years, towels have been substituted for sponges at fights,
and consequently in the expression too.

***

Fly off the handle - Refers to axe heads, which, in the
days before mass merchandising, were sometimes fastened
poorly to their handles. If one flew off while being used,
it was a dangerous situation ... with unpredictable results.

***

Pull the wool over someone's eyes - Goes back to the days
when all gentlemen wore powdered wigs like the ones still
worn by the judges in British courts. The word wool was
then a popular, joking term for hair ... The expression
'pull the wool over his eyes' came from the practice of
tilting a man's wig over his eyes, so he couldn't see what
was going on.

***

Pay through the nose - Comes from the ninth-century Ireland.
When the Danes conquered the Irish, they imposed an
exorbitant Nose Tax on the island's inhabitants. They took
a census (by counting noses) and levied oppressive sums on
their victims, forcing them to pay by threatening to have
their noses actually slit.

***

Caught red-handed - For hundreds of years, stealing and
butchering another person's livestock was a common crime.
But it was hard to prove unless the thief was caught with
a dead animal ... and blood on his hands.

[historylover]

Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent: H.P. Lovecraft.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years.
There are over 25,000 identified species of fish on the
earth.

***

The spotted climbing perch is able to absorb oxygen from
the air and will crawl overland using its strong pectoral
fins.

***

Some fish make sounds by grating their teeth and others
like some catfish make sounds from their air filled swim
bladder.

***

Fish have a specialized sense organ called the lateral line
which works much like radar and helps them navigate in dark
or murky water.

***

The largest fish is the great whale shark which can reach
fifty feet in length. The smallest fish is the Philippine
goby that is less than 1/3 of an inch when fully grown.

***

Fish have excellent senses of sight, touch, taste and many
possess a good sense of smell and 'hearing'.

[historylover]

That's something I've noticed about food: whenever there's a crisis if you can get people to eating normally things get better: Madeleine L'Engle.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The Double Truffle Hamburger at DB Bistro Moderne in
Manhattan will cost you a whopping $99. The burger contains
three ounces of rib meat mixed with truffles and foie gras
stuffed inside seven ounces of sirloin steak and served on
a Parmesan and poppy seed bun, with salad and truffle
shavings.

***

The $1,000 Luxury Pizza, a 12-inch thin crust, is the
creation of Nino Selimaj, owner of Nino's Bellissima in
Manhattan. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance for
this pie covered with six different types of caviar that
need to be specially ordered. The pie is also topped with
lobster, creme fraiche, and chives.

***

At $1,000, the Grand Opulence Sundae at New York's
Serendipity certainly lives up to its name. Made from
Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream covered in 23-karat edible
gold leaf and drizzled with Amedei Porcelana, the world's
most expensive chocolate, this indulgence is studded with
gold dragets and truffles and topped with dessert caviar.

***

At $2,600 per pound, Chocopologie by Knipschildt Chocolatier
of Connecticut is the world's most expensive box of
chocolates. The company also sells a dark chocolate truffle
with a French black truffle inside for $250. These pricey
treats are available on a preorder basis only.

***

The von Essen Platinum club sandwich at the Cliveden House
Hotel near London is the world's most expensive sandwich
at $197. Weighing just over a pound, the sandwich is made
of the finest ingredients, including Iberico ham cured for
30 months, quail eggs, white truffles, semi-dried Italian
tomatoes, and 24-hour fermented sourdough bread.

***


Nicknamed "The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata," the world's
most expensive omelette comes stacked with caviar and an
entire lobster encased within its eggy folds - and will set
you back $1,000. The omelette is the creation of chef
Emilio Castillo of Norma's restaurant in New York's Le
Parker Meridien Hotel.

(www.howstuffworks.com)

[historylover]

We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it, but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires: Dave Barry.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Electricity travels at the speed of light - more than
186,000 miles per second!

***

A spark of static electricity can measure up to three
thousand (3,000) volts. A bolt of lightning can measure up
to three million (3,000,000) volts – and it lasts less than
one second.

***

Electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the
ground. It can be made from wind, water, the sun and even
animal manure.

***

The first power plant – owned by Thomas Edison – opened in
New York City in 1882. One power plant can produce enough
electricity for 180,000 homes.

***

Thomas Edison didn’t invent the first light bulb – but he
did invent one that stayed lit for more than a few seconds.

***

Benjamin Franklin didn’t discover electricity – but he
did prove that lightning is a form of electrical energy.

[historylover]

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you
can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.: Ada Louise Huxtable.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words
meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen,
the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand
still in the sky.

***

The Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the
shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere
celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of
the earth have their longest summer day in December.

***

The Celts and Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with
dancing and bonfires to help increase the sun's energy. The
Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess
of Light.

***

Pagans called the Midsummer moon the "Honey Moon" for the
mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding
ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.

***

Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when
couples would leap through the flames, believing their
crops would grow as high as the couples were able to
jump.

***

Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil
spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often
wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the
most powerful of them was a plant called 'chase-devil',
which is known today as St. John's Wort and still used by
modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer.

[historylover]

The theater is so endlessly fascinating because it's so accidental. It's so much like life: Arthur Miller.

RANDOM TIDBITS

According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold
approximately $937 million worth of tickets in the 2007-08
season.

***

New York did not have a significant theatre presence until
about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas
Kean established a resident theater company at the Theatre
on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They
presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The
Beggar's Opera.

***

In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors
from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as
their manager. They established a theater in Williamsburg,
Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The
Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of
1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon
and Phillida.

***

By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment
complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince
Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New
York's premiere nightspots. The 3,000-seat theater
presented all sorts of musical and non-musical
entertainments. The Astor Place Theatre opened in 1847.

***

Lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small
theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for
middle-class New York audiences. Thompson's troupe, called
the "British Blondes", was the most popular entertainment
in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season.

***

Charles Hoyt's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's
long-run champion, holding the stage for 657 performances.
This would not be surpassed until Irene in 1919.

[historylover]

The tongue is ever turning to the aching tooth: Thomas Fuller.

RANDOM TIDBITS

Toothpaste is not a relatively modern phenomena. In fact,
as long ago as 3000-5000 BC Egyptians made a dental cream
by mixing powdered ashes of oxen hooves with myrrh, burned
egg shells, pumice, and water.

***

In 1000 AD Persians added burnt shells of snails and oysters
along with gypsum. However, toothpaste was still only
afforded by the rich. In 18th century England a tooth
cleaning "powder" containing borax was sold in ceramic pots,
but the problem with this was that it was very abrasive.

***

Prior to WWII, toothpaste was packaged in small lead/tin
alloy tubes. The inside of the tube was coated with wax,
however, it was discovered that lead from the tubes leached
into the product. It was the shortage of lead and tin during
WWII that led to the use of laminated (aluminum, paper, and
plastic combination) tubes. At the end of the twentieth
century pure plastic tubes were used.

***

The breakthrough that transformed toothpaste into the
crucial weapon against tooth decay was the finding that
fluoride could dramatically reduce cavities. Dr. William
Engler tested 400 preschool children and discovered a
dramatic reduction in dental cavities among children
treated with fluoride. This study, along with many others
done around the world, led to the widespread introduction
of fluoride in the 1950s.

***

Fluoride incorporates itself into tooth enamel making your
teeth more resistant to acids produced by plaque bacteria,
as well as acids found in fruit juices, soda (both regular
and diet) and certain foods.

***

Abrasives give toothpaste its cleaning power. They remove
stains and plaque, as well as polish teeth. Common abrasives
include calcium phosphates, alumina, calcium carbonate, and
silica. Toothpaste should be abrasive enough to remove
plaque and stains, but not abrasive enough to damage tooth
enamel.

(www.saveyoursmile.com)

[historylover]

It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue: Samuel Adams.

RANDOM TIDBITS

The ancient Chinese used fireworks at festivities and to
frighten enemies in battle. Captain John Smith set them
off in Jamestown in 1608, enjoying a bit of English popular
entertainment and impressing Native Americans.

***

Legend has it that the Chinese made the first fireworks in
the 800s, filling bamboo shoots with gunpowder and
exploding them at the New Year with the hope that the
sound would scare away evil spirits. According to tradition,
Marco Polo brought this technology back to Europe. However,
fireworks may in fact have developed in India or the Arab
world. Fireworks became known in Europe during the 1300s,
probably after returning Crusaders brought them from the
East.

***

By the 1400s Florence, Italy, was the center of fireworks
manufacturing. At this time fireworks were just one effect
in a celebration rather than its focus. At religious
festivals Italians made plaster figures that spewed
fireworks from their eyes and mouths. The 1533 coronation
parade for Anne Boleyn included a papier-mache dragon that
belched fire.


During the 1700s displays became more elaborate and were
popular with European royalty. French king Louis XV ordered
extravagant displays of fireworks at Versailles, and
Russian czar Peter the Great put on a five-hour show after
the birth of his son. Meanwhile, in the American colonies
settlers used fireworks to mark happy occasions.

***

The multi-colored fireworks displays began in the 1830s,
when Italians added trace amounts of metals that burn at
high temperatures, creating beautiful colors. Other
additives also produced interesting effects. For example,
calcium deepens colors, titanium makes sparks, and zinc
creates smoke clouds.

***

In 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
reported 9,800 fireworks-related emergency-room visits.
Therefore, leave the fireworks spectacle to the pros!

(www.infoplease.com)

[historylover]

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have: Harry Emerson Fosdick.

RANDOM TIDBITS

When the War of Independence ended in 1783, July 4 became
a holiday in some places. In Boston, it replaced the date
of the Boston Massacre, March 5, as the major patriotic
holiday. Speeches, military events, parades, and fireworks
marked the day. In 1941, Congress declared July 4 a federal
holiday.

***

John Hancock, the president of the Second Continental
Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration. With its
ornate capitals, Hancock's sprawling signature is prominent
on the document. Since then, when people are asked for
their "John Hancock," they are being asked to sign their
names.

***

The Declaration of Independence itself has become one of
the most admired and copied political documents of all time.
It was written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson.

***

Uncle Sam was first popularized during the War of 1812,
when the term appeared on supply containers. The U. S.
Congress didn't adopt him as a national symbol until 1961.

***

The first two versions of the Liberty Bell were defective
and had to be melted down and recast. The third version
rang every Fourth of July from 1778 to 1835, when, according
to tradition, it cracked as it was being tolled for the
death of Chief Justice John Marshall.

***

The American national anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner,"
is set to the tune of an English drinking song ("To
Anacreon in Heaven").

[historylover]

Improvement makes straight roads; but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of genius: William Blake.

RANDOM TIDBITS - U.S. Interstate History

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1938 was the first serious
attempt to develop a national roadway system. Officials
studied the feasibility of a toll-financed system of three
east-west and three north-south superhighways.
They learned
that this system could not be self-supporting, and advocated
for a 26,700-mile network instead.

***

Congress passed further legislation in the form of the
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944. The act chartered a
"National System of Interstate Highways" and expanded the
network to 40,000 miles. Soon state highway agencies and
the Department of Defense planned nationwide routes. No
specific funds were authorized for construction, however,
making progress slow.

***

President Dwight Eisenhower was the one who finally made
the U.S. Interstate a reality. The Federal-Aid Highway Act
of 1954 set aside $175 million for the construction of an
interstate highway system. However, even more money was
needed for the system that Eisenhower envisioned, and he
continued to press for funds. Two years later, the expanded
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 authorized a budget of $25
billion, of which the federal share was to be 90%.

***

The legislation of 1956 also provided for an extended
network of 41,012 miles and nationwide design standards,
including: a minimum of two lanes in each direction, lanes
that were 12 ft in width, a ten-foot right paved shoulder,
and design speeds of 50–70 mph.

***

Further legislation over the years continued to expand the
total length of the system, which now stretches for more
than 46,726 miles. In 1990, in recognition of President
Eisenhower's pivitol role in building the national system
of interstate highways, President George Bush signed
legislation officially renaming it the Dwight D. Eisenhower
System of Interstate and Defense Highways.

***

Major routes are designated by single- or two-digit numbers.
If a route runs north-south, it is given an odd number, and
if route a runs east-west, an even number. For north-south
routes, numbering conventions begin in the west. Thus I-5
runs north and south along the West Coast, while I-95 runs
north and south along the East Coast. For east-west routes,
numbers begin in the south.

(www.infoplease.com)

[historylover]

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed in profit: Amos Bronson Alcott.

RANDOM TIDBITS

808 BC - The world's oldest known printed book, The Diamond
Sutra, a seven-page scroll printed with wood blocks on
paper, is produced in China.

***

1440 - German Johann Gutenberg invents movable type by
developing foundry-cast metal characters and a wooden
printing press.

***

1455 - Gutenberg prints his first book, a Latin Bible.

***

1639 - Stephen Day prints Freeman's Oath and An Almanack in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, the first books published in the
American colonies.

***

1731 - The Gentleman's Magazine, considered the first
modern magazine, is published in England. The periodical
is intended for entertainment and includes essays, stories,
poems and political commentary.

***

1771 - Encyclopaedia Brittanica, the first English-language
encyclopedia, is published in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1793 - The Pennsylvania Evening Post becomes America's first
daily newspaper.

***

1828 - Noah Webster, often referred to as the “father of his
country's language,” publishes the American Dictionary of
the English Language in an attempt to encourage American
independence in both written and spoken English.

[historylover]

The first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that it is fair: Herbert Bayard Swope.

RANDOM TIDBITS

1842 - Illustrated London News uses woodcuts and engravings
for the first time, prompting the growth of illustrated
journals throughout the second half of the century.

***

1851 - Selling for a penny a copy, the New York Times
debuts.

***

1922 - James Joyce's Ulysses published. The U.S. Post
Office destroys 500 copies of the novel because it is
considered obscene. Reader's Digest debuts.

***

1923 - Time Magazine debuts.

***

1953 - The first issue of TV Guide magazine hits the
newsstands on April 3 in 10 cities with a circulation of
1,560,000. Playboy magazine hits newsstands. A nude Marilyn
Monroe graces the cover.

***

1967 - Rolling Stone and New York Magazine debut, spawning
the popularity of special-interest and regional magazines.

***

1994 - For the first time in history, chain bookstores
outsell independent stores, signaling what many fear to be
the death of smaller booksellers at the hands of superstores.

[historylover]

Babies are always more trouble than you thought - and more wonderful: Charles Osgood.

RANDOM TIDBITS

A baby recognizes its mother's voice at birth, but it takes
14 days to recognize its father's voice.

***

When born, the baby's head is one quarter the size of the
rest of its body.

***

The typical cost of raising a child in the United States
for the first year of life is $7,000 (not including medical
costs).

***

Only 3-4 percent of babies actually arrive on their due
date!

***

The old wives tale birth prediction states you should
suspend a wedding ring on a string over the pregnant
woman's hand. The direction it swings will determine the
gender.

***

The average child share his/her birthday with 9 million
other people.

[historylover]

I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes: Andy Rooney.

RANDOM TIDBITS - Toilet Paper Trivia

In 1391 AD in China, the Bureau of Imperial Supplies
produced 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year for use by
the emperors. Each sheet measured two feet by three feet.

***

Colonial Americans used corncobs and leaves to cleanse
with before toilet tissue came along. When newspapers
became available they were also used.

***

New Yorker Joseph C. Gayetty produced the first packaged
bathroom tissue in the United States in 1857. The Gayetty
Firm from New Jersey produced the first toilet paper named
“The Therapeutic Paper”. The company sold it in packs of
500 sheets for fifty cents, and Joseph Gayetty had his name
printed on each sheet!

***

The Scott Paper Company was the first company to manufacture
tissue on a roll, specifically for the use of toilet paper.
Scott purchased large “jumbo” rolls of paper from various
paper mills and converted them into packages of small rolls
and stacked sheets.


***

Twenty-six billion rolls of toilet paper, worth about $2.4
billion, are sold yearly in America alone. Americans use
an average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year.

***

As of 2009, between 25% and 50% of the toilet paper used in
the United States comes from tree farms in the U.S. and
South America, with most of the rest coming from second
growth forests, and only a small percentage coming from
virgin forests.

[Mr_A]

Some factstuff in freeones.

Tongue does the thing
women reach orgasm about 25 percent of the time with intercourse and 81 percent of the time during oral sex

Now stick your tongue out :tongue:

Brain during an orgasm is 95 percent similar to the brain of a person taking heroin.
:spump: :rofl:


___
cont.

[LukeEl]

Fact: I carved the Rocky Mountains with sweat and brawn!!!!!!

[BlueBalls]

Dogs can't look up.

[LukeEl]

Fact: One time I dressed up as Santa for a Christmas party I was having for Blue Ball's children. Anyway, I show up as Santa, say I've got goodies for you kids. I reach into my bag and proceed to hand out scrap metal and cigarettes to them. Then I take off my beard and say There's no Santa cause I ate him!

[LaLiLuLeLohan]

Dogs can't look up.

The gun at the Winchester is real.

[tunsty]

67% of facts are made up on the spot... 53% of people already know that.

[PirateKing]

Fact: One time I dressed up as Santa for a Christmas party I was having for Blue Ball's children. Anyway, I show up as Santa, say I've got goodies for you kids. I reach into my bag and proceed to hand out scrap metal and cigarettes to them. Then I take off my beard and say There's no Santa cause I ate him!
Thank goodness....

I thought you were going to say that you molested them.

[BlueBalls]

Thank goodness....

I thought you were going to say that you molested them.

Hey! That's my job. Dammit!

[PirateKing]

Hey! That's my job. Dammit!
That's why I'm glad he didn't. He's terrible at it.

[Mr_A]

At the end of the first quarter of 2009, there were 180 million domain names.

[LukeEl]

Fact: I wear a live rattlesnake as a condom.

[Mr_A]

Myth:Gum can't be digested and stays in body for years if you swallow it.
Fact:Our body can easily digest the gum.

[LukeEl]

Fact:If you drop a phonograph needle on my nipple, it plays the Beach Boys Pet Sounds.

[tunsty]

Prof Stephen Hawking holds the current world record for the 200m hurdles and can bench press over 150kg

You wouldn't think it when you look at him, but just think Andy Pipkin from little Britain.

[LukeEl]

Fact: My semen can form into a liquid human. Like that guy from Terminator 2.

[Mr_A]

A person wearing a high-heeled shoe exerts more pressure on the ground than an elephant since the elephant's weight is distributed over a larger area.

[ICanHasLogin]

Now stick your tongue out :tongue:



2yP0ayA0P4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yP0ayA0P4o&feature=player_embedded

[Mr_A]

Similar to fingerprints, everyone also have a unique tongue print

[Mr_A]

Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891. He simply nailed two peach baskets to the balconies on opposite ends of a YMCA gym in Massachusetts

[LukeEl]

Fact: I once scissor kicked Angela Lansbury.

[tunsty]

It has been estimated, that if an ant we're the size of an average human, it would be able to order latte and blueberry pie without being thought of as gay.










I have 342 hairs on my scrotum..


It's kinda difficult to move around with that many furry animals in your trousers.. :rolleyes:

[Andronicus]

Chuck Norris won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.

[Baill Inneraora]

There is a direct correlation between the size of a man’s foot and the size of his shoe.

[vodkazvictim]

Fact: My semen can form into a liquid human. Like that guy from Terminator 2.

My Semen has been known to glow in the dark.

But this only ever happened once and it was only a faint glow.

That is the truth.

I also have a third nipple... lthough it's not very well formed.

FACTS

[Mr_A]

Average human loses 26 calories when kissing for a minute.Sex for half an hour burns 150 calories
:kiss: :nannerf2:

The Colts were the first NFL team to have cheerleaders.
:female: :wiggle:

[Mr_A]

The 33 on bottles of Rolling Rock beer comes from its 1930's slogan
"Rolling Rock
From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe
We tender this premium beer for your enjoyment,
As a tribute to your good taste
It comes from the mountain springs to you"
33

To check the length total word count is written at the end, but forgot to delete before printing and included that on first batch of bottles :sleep:
They could't destroy the bottles :crash: :confused:
So they sold them as they are :dunno:
And continued to do so :glugglug:

[Mr_A]

Youngest part in human body is skin. We generate a new epidermis (outer skin cell membrane) every 27 days

Skateboards were once used by surfers to improve their surfing technique. Surfers called skateboarding "sidewalk surfing"

[Mr_A]

In medieval times, people drank mead, or fermented honey, to promote desire. In ancient Persia, newlyweds drank mead daily for a month, known as the "honey month" or "honeymoon"

Bill Gates' house was partially designed using a Macintosh computer.

[flim_flam]

In medieval times, people drank mead, or fermented honey, to promote desire. In ancient Persia, newlyweds drank mead daily for a month, known as the "honey month" or "honeymoon"



Fascinating. I've always wondered where the word comes from, but never looked it up.