Did you know...: 2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Did you know~11

...that a forage harvester is used to create silage feed for livestock?
...that Norman architecture is a form of the Romanesque?
...that the writers of the Encyclopédie were among the philosophes often in attendance at 18th-century French salons?
...that there are several different kinds of baseball gloves, including catcher's mitts, pitcher's gloves, first basemen's gloves, and infielder and outfielder gloves?
...that the Elton John-Bernie Taupin song "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the best-selling single of all time?
...that some Trotskyists describe the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin as one of bureaucratic collectivism?
...that the 1903 Tour de France often required riders to cycle through the night?
...that scientist Arvid Carlsson won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work leading to the treatment of Parkinson's disease?
...that the 1984 Summit Tunnel fire in England may have been the biggest underground fire in transportation history?
...that within Superman's Fortress of Solitude there is an apartment set aside for Supergirl?
...that the Germanenorden had an early influence on Nazi mysticism ?
...that items which were "Banned in Boston" (censored) came to be seen as more sexy and attractive elsewhere?
...that there are at least four methods of plastic welding?
...that gender verification in sports is no longer practiced at the Olympic Games?
...that the Supreme Court of Pakistan meets in Islamabad?
...that the Venetian polychoral style arose because of the unique architectural and acoustical characteristics of St Mark's Basilica in Venice?
...that Thomas Macaulay referred to Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times as "sullen Socialism"?
...that public holidays in Greece include Το Όχι, the "Day of the 'No,'" which honors Greece's refusal to surrender to the Axis Powers in 1940?
...that Louis Mountbatten invented Mountbatten pink, a camouflage paint used during World War II?
...that a Greek hero cult usually focused on a great man of history (e.g. Oedipus) or the founder of a city (e.g. Battus of Cyrene)?
...that The Sun Sessions album included all of the Elvis Presley tracks recorded by Sam Phillips?
...that Chicago Tunnel Company was abandoned in 1959 and the tunnels flooded catastrophically in 1992?
...that the people of Thailand use the Thai six-hour clock in addition to the usual 24-hour clock?
...that Long Ashton Research Station closed in 2003 after having served agriculture and horticulture for exactly 100 years?
...that actress Hunter Tylo sued producer Aaron Spelling and won after she was fired from Melrose Place?
...that the name of the village Ynysybwl in south Wales is pronounced Un-is-u-bull?
...that the supercontinent Pannotia lasted about 60 million years before dividing into four separate continents?
...that when Lauri Lehtinen narrowly won his gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics, he was booed?
...that nine Irishmen died in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike?
...that the coconut crab (Birgus latro) is the world's largest terrestrial arthropod?
...that every film which actor John Cazale starred in received an Academy Award nomination for best picture?
...that Lion Beer was Asia's first brand of beer?
...that Joseph Guillemot, winner of the 5000 m at the 1920 Summer Olympics, was a pack-a-day smoker?
...that the phantom island of Brazil of Irish mythology supposedly emerged from the mists only once every seven years?
...that the State Historical Museum in Moscow, Russia has 1.7 million coins in its collection?
...that the case Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company established the precedents for UK contract law?
...that Cockaigne was a legendary peasant utopia of medieval Europe?
...that the execution of Flor Contemplacion strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines?
...that a madrigale spirituale is a madrigal with a spiritual rather than secular topic?
...that a Baja Bug is a Volkswagen Beetle that has been modified to operate on sand dunes?
...that there are fewer than 2000 Indian Rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis) left in the wild?
...that podestà was a powerful position in medieval cities in northern Italy?
...that Mike Woodin was the Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales for six years and a city councillor for Oxford for 10 years?
...that the bulb of the Chlorogalum pomeridianum (wavy-leafed soap plant) reportedly can be used to stun fish and to treat rheumatism?
...that the Mexican War of Independence resulted in an unlikely alliance between liberales and conservadores?
...that NHS Primary Care Trust are statutory bodies responsible for delivering improvements to their local area in the UK National Health Service?
...that the tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been resumed more times than any other?
...that bone age is usually determined by examining X-rays of the long bones?
...that the Brimstone anti-tank guided missile, is carried by three Royal Air Force aircraft types?
...that the men's tournament of football at the 2004 Summer Olympics was played by "U-23" (under 23-years-old) player) teams, with up to three over-age players allowed per team?

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Did you know~10

...that the Battle of Tarawa at Tarawa Atoll was the first time in World War II that the American forces faced serious opposition in an amphibious landing?
...that at the height of the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II, food supplies were rationed to "three boiled sweets, half a sardine and a spoonful of jam a day"?
...that Shuri Castle, designated a national treasures of Japan and used as a military headquarters during World War II, was shelled by U.S. Navy ships (including the USS Missouri) for three days, and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
...that Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe once said that "I am the only architect with whom I have never quarrelled" and was the designer of Big Ben?
...that the Great Salad Oil Swindle was an infamous attempt at cornering the market?
...that the political party at European level, an organization in the European Union eligible to receive EU funding, is recognized in the Maastricht Treaty and the draft European Constitution?
...that the Frankfurt kitchen was the first built-in kitchen, and was designed with space efficiency in mind?
...that the Pergamon Museum in Berlin hosts a reconstruction of a 113-m long sculptural frieze?
...that dramatic structure has been diagrammed by both Aristotle and Gustav Freytag?
...that SV40, a type of polyomavirus, replicates in the kidneys of monkeys without causing disease but causes sarcomas in hamsters?
...that Ruffini's rule allows the rapid division of any polynomial by a binomial of the form x - r ?
...that California's Owens River has been entirely diverted for irrigation and drinking water?
...that the Communist League of America was formed after some members of the Communist Party USA were expelled for Trotskyism?
...that Polish Communists forbade the use of Wymysorys shortly after World War II, and now only about 100 native speakers remain?
...that the 1939 Battle of Halhin Gol between Soviet Red Army and Japanese Guandong Army soldiers in the village of Nomonhan is thought to have contributed to the Japanese decision to carry out the attack on Pearl Harbor?
...that the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C. was designed by Glenna Goodacre, who also designed the Sacagawea dollar?
...that there are many uses of trigonometry range from music theory to number theory?
...that Dudley Pope wrote many of his books aboard a 54-foot wooden yacht?
...that the tallest structure in California is a television antenna tower, while in Arizona it is a chimney?
...that in his later years Dick Dastardly was often Yogi Bear's nemesis?
...that the Snellen chart is used to measure visual acuity?
...that a wrecking amendment is added to legislation in bad faith?
...that the Honolulu Police Department became a deputized military force during World War II?
...that a kammback is an aerodynamic drag-reducing car body styles?
...that both Cliff Warner and Nina Cortlandt and Greg and Jenny Nelson are considered soap opera supercouples?
...that while Tom Foley was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, he was not re-elected by his constituents?
...that the California Gull is the state bird of Utah?
...that the flags of the six Yugoslav Socialist Republics were the old flags of the constituent nations, with a red star added to represent communism?
...that the United States Mint produced a half dime coin from 1792 until 1873?
...that the Kármán line dividing the Earth's atmosphere and outer space is defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale as 100 km above mean sea level?
...that feminist American magazine Ms. has not carried advertisements since 1989?
...that the Brown Dog affair, a Edwardian-era vivisection cause célèbre, led to massive riots?
...that the ideal cellular network has evenly distributed hexagonal cells?
...that the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis was sparked by a Lee Teng-hui's visit to Cornell University in the New York?
...that king Naresuan ruled Thailand at its greatest territorial extent?
...that the Union Pacific Railroad still has offices in the historic Salt Lake City Union Pacific Depot?
...that the Iliad and the Odyssey were just two parts of the eight-part Trojan War cycle of epic poems?
...that automatic differentiation is a method for evaluating the derivative of a function at a given point?
...that in Canada there were once eight districts of the Northwest Territories?
...that Occidental Petroleum head Armand Hammer bought into Church and Dwight in order to hold a stake in their Arm and Hammer baking soda trademark, apparently finding humor in the coincidence of their names?
...that Hurricane Audrey, which killed 390 in Louisiana in 1957, was one of the first hurricanes observed by weather radar?
...that in linguistics, the La Spezia-Rimini Line separates eastern Romance languages from the western Romance languages using isoglosses?
...that the dog called the Miniature Fox Terrier (or Mini Foxie) originated in Australia?
...that the Great Basin tribes of North America began the Ghost Dance movement?
...that "manscaping" is a neologism referring to the practice of men shaving their body hair?
...that Jacaranda grows almost everywhere in the world that does not have frost?
...that since the introduction of antivenin in 1956, only one person has died from the bite of the Australian redback spider, one of the venomous Widow spiders of the Latrodectus genus?
...that the 1922 Ruhr Red Army uprising was a response to the Kapp Putsch?
...that unplesant postoperative nausea and vomiting complications can be controlled in part using Ondansetron?
...that the Royal Poinciana has been called the most colorful tree in the world?

Monday, May 26, 2008

Did you know~9

...that Stonehenge is surrounded by 56 pits known as Aubrey holes?

...that Chicago's Lincoln Park was originally a cemetery?

...that the ventral stream makes up one half of the visual cortex?

...that devout Catholics believe in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary?

...that the Sitka is the largest species of spruce tree?

...that the Outlawries Bill has been read in the British House of Commons nearly every year since 1727?

...that the U.S. Navy experienced its largest peacetime loss of ships in the 1923 Honda Point Disaster?

...that Japanese Imari porcelain was made specifically for export to Europe?

...that in Upper and Lower Canada, the colonial government used concession roads to define lots which were to be developed?

...that the collections of the Chicago Public Library began with the 8,000-volume "English Book Donation" which came in response to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871?

...that the Chislehurst Caves of Kent are actually mines that were first worked in 1250?

...that short leading men often stand on apple boxes to make themselves look taller on film?

...that a member of the Gelechiidae family of moths is used to control spotted knapweed?

...that the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal established the legal basis for the Nuremberg trials?

...that the Sacramento River Delta is an inverted river delta and that it once had an extensive system of cable ferries?

...that the singer Scott Walker produced an album for British band Pulp?

...that the nectar of Yellow Jessamine causes brood death when gathered by honeybees?

...that the Humboldt River in Nevada is the longest river in the Great Basin and furnished the route of the Central Pacific segment of the transcontinental railroad?

...that the Trumpeter Swan is the largest swan native to North America?

...that Scandinavia's High North Alliance works to protect the whaling interests of member countries?

...that the Brazil nut effect, a law of physics, dictates that when a mixture of granular material is shaken the biggest particles end up on the top?

...that 1943 Triple Crown winner Count Fleet was both sire of and sired by Kentucky Derby winners?

...that the music genre known as bouncy techno originated in Scotland?

...that the original orange-red Fiestaware dinnerware contained a substantial quantity of uranium?

...that visually impaired musicians can begin learning Music Braille once they are competent in grade-two level literary Braille?

...that the 1539 Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, which mandated the use of French in official documents, contributed to the rise of French nationalism?

...that the indigenous peoples of Brazil domesticated cassava?

Oxford University Museum of Natural History

...that the Oxford University Museum was the site of a major debate in evolutionary biology?

.. that a "rain of fish"—the result of a tornado traveling over the ocean, sucking up fish and then dropping them over villages—is a common theme appearing in Honduran culture?

...that Charley Fox, a Canadian flight lieutenant, was credited with injuring Erwin Rommel?

...that body surface area is an important measure used in medicine to calculate chemotherapy dosage?

...that British Columbia provincial highway 2 is a short road from Dawson Creek to the B.C./Alberta border?

...that four planes were simultaneously hijacked in the 1970 Dawson's Field hijackings?

...that the caterpillars of the Anise Swallowtail butterfly like to eat fennel?

...that Battleship Row bore the brunt of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor?

...that Sale of the Century was Australia's longest-running game show?

...that freak waves are common near Cape Algulhas off the southern tip of Africa?

...that Andante in C was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first composition?

...that in Irish politics, no ordinary referendum has ever occurred?

...that the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington was the first major volcanic eruption to occur in the U.S. since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California?

...that bag people were common in the USSR following the Russian Revolution?

...that women are twice as likely as men to have pulmonary hypertension?

...that some people believe that the Angels of Mons helped protect British forces during World War I's Battle of Mons?

...that the most popular brand of absinthe was Pernod Fils?

...that Canada's tax policy does not include an inheritance tax?

...that an oast house is a traditional Kentish structure for drying hops before brewing?

...that George Rogers Clark, older brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, captured two British forts during the American Revolutionary War?

...that Emilio Carranza was known as "the Lindbergh of Mexico"?

...that Kawaiahao Church is known as the Westminster Abbey of Hawaii?

...that corals, graptolites, brachiopods and trilobites are frequently used as index fossils?

...that the assassination in Sarajevo of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria led to World War I? (Okay, you probably did know that one.)

Friday, May 23, 2008

Did you know~8

...that many old buildings near Government Center in Boston, Massachusetts once hid fugitive slaves who traveled along the Underground Railroad?
...that the Irish Supreme Court sits at the Four Courts building in Dublin?
...that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests as a voting qualification in the United States?
...that surgery patients who experience anesthesia awareness may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder?
...that rapid single flux quantum is an electronics technology that relies on quantum effects in superconducting materials rather than the present-day transistor standard?
...that Pizza Hut was founded by Dan and Frank Carney?
...that the cucumber sandwichs and their association with high tea are referenced in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest?
...that in 1934 Leonid Nikolaev was executed by firing squad for the murder of Sergei Kirov, the popular chief of the Leningrad Communist Party?
...that the French flying ace René Fonck had the most confirmed World War I aerial victories, after Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron"?
...that the Australian Corps was the largest single corps fielded by the British Army in France during World War I?
...that authentic shrunken heads have nose hair?
...that an apartment building known as Pavlov's House became a symbol of Soviet resistance during the Battle of Stalingrad?
...that color television public broadcasting in New Zealand began in 1975?
...that the first branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia was located at Philadelphia City Hall?
...that the Lion's Mane Jellyfish is the biggest jellyfish in the world?
...that residents of California buy more earthquake insurance than residents of any other U.S. state?
...that in architecture, there are at least five kinds of buttress: clasping, angle, flying, set-back and diagonal?
...that during the Cold War, Soviet leaders used the phrase "and you are lynching negroes" to counter American dicussion of human rights?
...that hoodoos are tall skinny spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands?
...that the evolution of sex is a major puzzle of evolutionary biology, due to the so-called two-fold cost of sex?
...that the hyper engine was a hypothetical aircraft engine design meant to deliver 1 horsepower from 1 cubic inch (46 kW/L) of displacement?
...that Gatianus of Tours was one of seven bishops sent by Pope Fabian from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel?
...that quantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena of light?
...that the Hubbard Glacier is the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska?
...that former American decathlete Rafer Johnson ignited the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics?
...that it was the British geologist Joseph Prestwich who confirmed the findings of Boucher de Perthes?
...that England brokered the 1617 Treaty of Stolbova between Sweden and Russia?
...that Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude includes seven generations of characters?
...that Groundskeeper Willie, a character on The Simpsons, coined the phrase "cheese-eating surrender monkeys"?
...that the Mid-Canada Line of Canadian radar sites designed to warn of a Soviet nuclear attack replaced the Pinetree Line but later became almost entirely obsolete and was replaced with the Distant Early Warning Line as intercontinental ballistic missiles replaced strategic bomber as the main delivery system for nuclear weapons?
...that the caterpillar of the Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly has large yellow eyespots?
...that on Dagen H ("H Day") on September 3, 1967, Sweden switched from driving on the left to driving the right at exactly at 5 a.m.?
...that professional baseball in Taiwan began in 1989, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League and Taiwan Major League merged in 2003?
...that the All-China Youth Network Civilization Convention is a short statement promulgated by the authorities in the People's Republic of China, regulating the use of the Internet by the Chinese youth and prohibitng such activities as "browsing 'malignant information'"?
...that the water-cooled Vickers machine gun was the standard weapon on all British and French military aircraft after 1916?
...that nearly half the eligible male population of New Zealand served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War I?
...that most people on a raw food diet won't eat anything heated to more than 46°C (115°F)?
...that the first helicopter flight was in 1906 in Lisieux, France?
...that the Exotic World Burlesque Museum is located on the site of an abandoned goat farm?
...that the Pascha greeting is an Easter custom amongst Orthodox Christians?
...that the Homestead Grays were the Negro League world champs every year from 1937 through 1945?
...that the Siam Tulip is not a tulip, but is related to ginger?
...that Marcin Kromer was a 16th-century prince-bishop of Warmia as well as a cartographer and historian in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?
...that the so-called Loughall Martyrs were a group of eight men from the Provisional IRA's East Tyrone Brigade who were ambushed and killed on May 8, 1987 by the British SAS special forces?
...that the root of the Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) tastes of oysters?
...that the Homomonument in Amsterdam commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to persecution because of their sexual orientation?
...that the Diadochi were generals of Alexander the Great who sought power after his death?
...that when released, the film Waterworld was the biggest failure, in terms of financial returns?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Did you know~7

...that the saliva of a Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) may be toxic to amphibians and other small animals?
...that the Maltese alphabet contains 29 letters but does not contain the Latin letter Y?
...that clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch was founded in 1892 and originally sold hunting, camping and fishing gear?
...that in the 19th century the Wörthersee became an exclusive summer retreat for Vienna's nobility?
...that Broadmoor Hospital is the most famous mental institution in England?
...that the longest extra inning game in professional baseball history was an International League game that lasted 33 innings?
...that the Three-Self Patriotic Movement is part of the only government-sanctioned Protestant church in the People's Republic of China?
...that the American thoroughbred racehorse Cigar was the first winner of the Dubai World Cup?
...that all deathcamas species are unpalatable or even toxic to livestock because of the presence of alkaloids
...that in 1169 Denny Abbey was handed over to the Knights Templar?
...that Dave Righetti was the first player in Major League Baseball history to pitch a no-hitter and lead the league in saves in a career?
...that the co-winner with Jane Addams of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize was Nicholas M. Butler?
...that although opera contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink had a son fighting with the German Kaiserliche Marine, she toured the U.S. to raise money for American forces in World War I?
...that the Czech Republic celebrates its national Teachers' Day on March 28, the birthday of Comenius?
...that both serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and novel antidepressants, such as bupropion, work on multiple neurotransmitters?
...that the HMS Finisterre replaced her sister ship, the Hogue, in Far Eastern service after the latter was destroyed by a collision with an Indian cruiser?
...that Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire is the world's tallest cathedral?
...that the film The Titfield Thunderbolt was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales?
...that pole stars change over time because stars exhibit a slow but distinct drift with respect to the Earth's axis?
...that high jumper Ulrike Meyfarth, at age 15, became the youngest individual Olympic champion in athletics?
...that the Allies organized the South East Asia Command, led by Lord Mountbatten, to manage operations in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II?
...that there are at least ten Malay-based creole languages?
...that Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), a species of cranesbill, is believed by traditional herbologists to be a toothache palliative?
...that Mickey Marcus, a U.S. Army colonel who assisted Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and became Israel's first aluf (major general), is the only person buried at the United States Military Academy who died fighting under a foreign flag?
...that county palatines, autonomous areas ruled by a count palatine with special quasi-royal authority, were first created in the 11th-century Kingdom of England to defend the Scottish and Welsh frontiers and still formerly exist in the modern UK in County Durham, Cheshire, and Lancashire?
...that many Mexicans pray to the uncanonized saint figure known as Santa Muerte, a personification of Death?
...that the Von Willebrand factor, a blood glycoprotein used by the coagulation, is named after the Finnish internist Erik Adolf von Willebrand?
...that Cousin problems are named after the mathematician who created them, not difficult relatives?
...that the Battle of Blue Licks in Kentucky was the last major American Revolutionary War battle, occurring ten months after Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown?
...that most garden flowers and herbs are forbs?
...that the plot of The Most Dangerous Game, a famous short story by Richard Connell, has been repeatedly used and referenced in film and television?
...that the Russian professional soldier Boris Shaposhnikov successfully transitioned from the czarist armed forces to the Soviet Red Army, surviving Stalin's Great Purges and eventually being appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union?
...that Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville, Florida, was the first permanent French colony in North America?
...that the Henrician Articles, passed in 1573, laid out the principles of government in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?
...that June and Jennifer Gibbons communicated via a twin language?
...that the geology of the Grand Canyon area includes more than 40 identified rock layers?
...that the Schneider CA1 was the first French tank?
...that Linum bienne (pale flax) may be an evolutionary predecessor to modern common flax, from which the fiber is derived?
...that the lowest ranks in the Norwegian military are the menig (Army), flysoldat (Air Force) and Utskrevet menig (Navy)?
...that Boris Yeltsin wanted to remove the body of Vladimir Lenin from public display in Lenin's Mausoleum but failed to achieve his goal while in power?
...that "China's peaceful rise" is the term the Chinese government uses to describe their non-threatening foreign policy doctrine?
...that gravitational collapse is a leading cause of star death?
...that the history of the periodic table records at least two pre-Mendeleevian attempts to organize the chemical elements?
...that the United States Navy practiced burial at sea as recently as World War II?
...that weather lore, or folk meteorology, varies widely in veracity and has been seen in such sources as the Gospel of Matthew and in Shakespeare?
...that the judicial practice of Quarter Sessions in English and Welsh courts began in 1388 and survived until they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971?
...that Beijing opera did not actually originate in Beijing, but instead the provinces of Anhui and Hubei?
...that the California Manroot (Marah fabaceus) produces 5-cm round fruits covered in 1-cm spines and a bitter taste?
...that Russian humor thrived even during the Soviet period, with the official satirical magazine Krokodil being given considerable license to lampoon political events and figures?