 |
|
|
|
|
|
FACTS OF THE MONTH:
Officially, Ohio is the 17th state. In reality, it's the 47th. Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit Ohio until 1953.
In recent years, it could be argued that Punxsutawney Phil both does and doesn't see his shadow. The news reports clearly show that Phil is removed from his hole before the sun even comes up, meaning he could not possibly see his shadow. However, because of all the lights from the television cameras, he can't help but see several shadows. So it's all dependent on whether or not the light he sees is natural or artificial.
The loudest noise in recorded history occurred in 1883, when the South Pacific island of Krakatoa violently erupted. Dirt from the island was strewn into the air and circled the earth. The sound of the explosion could be heard 3000 miles away.
A pig's orgasm can last thirty minutes.
The Pentagon got its shape, and thereby its name, so that an adjacent road would not be permanently blocked off.
Even if the United States is devastated in a nuclear holocaust, provisions still exist for the mail to be delivered and for the IRS to collect taxes.
Hotel reservations can cost more when using a toll-free number to make them.
In Arkansas, it is illegal to mispronounce the name of the state.
Two tons of water are needed to grow enough grain for one loaf of bread.
| from AMORE WEEK: According to Ancient Egyptians, there is a sensative nerve that runs from the fourth finger of the left hand straight to the heart. This is why the wedding ring goes on that finger. The average person spends the equivalent of a month of their life having sex. A French kiss uses twice as many muscles as a simple peck on the cheek. If she were life-size, Barbie's measurements would be 39-23-33. Valentine's Day was originally associated with the mating season of birds. Diamonds are flammable. David, king of Israel, had an affair with the married Bathsheba, and sent her husband off to die in battle so that he could marry her. |
| from PRESIDENTS WEEK: For the first sixteen months of the Bill Clinton administration there were five living former presidents (Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford and Nixon). The only other time in American history that has happened was in 1861-62, when Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan were alive to see the first year of Lincoln's presidency. There have been four instances throughout history where there were no living ex-presidents, the last time from LBJ's death in 1973 until Nixon's resignation in 1974. Andrew Jackson was the only known President to believe the world is flat. Unless they were elected in a later election, none of the Vice Presidents promoted to the top position upon the death of the President actually became president. The way the Constitution was originally worded, the Vice President merely assumed the duties of the President; he did not actually become president. The 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, adjusted this oversight in time for Ford to actually become President upon Nixon's resignation. The first political election Abraham Lincoln won was for President. He had lost elections for various offices in each of his previous eight attampts. Every U.S. President has had at least one sibling. Samuel Tilden won the popular vote for President in 1876. However, he lost in the Electoral College by one. As a result, Rutherford B. Hayes became President. |
Elephants and humans are the only animals that can be taught to stand on their heads.
In the Eighteenth Century, liberal delegates to the French National Assembly generally sat to the left of the speaker, while conservative delegates sat to the right. This is why we say a liberal leans "to the left", a conservative "to the right".
It is illegal in the state of Kentucky to carry ice cream in your back pocket.
The highest and lowest points in the contiguous U.S., Mount Whitney and Death Valley respectively, are only 100 miles apart from each other.
Parker Brothers has printed more Monopoly money than the Federal Government has real money.
|
|
|
