Saturday, May 31, 2008

Did you know~11

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Did you know~10

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?

Sitka spruce growing in Britain

...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?

Sunken ships off Honda Point

...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?

Inside Chislehurst Caves

...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?

Chrysoesthia drurella, a member of the Gelechiidae family

...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?

Yellow Jessamine

...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?

Fiestaware plates

...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?

W. A. Mozart

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

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

Eruption of Mt. St. Helens

...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?

Pernod Fils advertisement

...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"?

Kawaiahao Church

...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

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Did you know~7