Did you know...: 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?

Did you know...

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Did you know~7

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