Fact of the day thread

[Pete]

Today's fact. St. Patrick wasn't Irish: He was born to Roman parents in either Scotland, England, or Wales.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Chinese checkers was invented in Germany.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The longest case of hiccups lasted 68 years.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. During World War II, the term security blanket was slang for measures meant to keep military information secret, or covered up.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Wisdom teeth serve no purpose. They’re left over from hundreds of thousands of years ago. As early humans’ brains grew bigger, it reduced space in the mouth, crowding out this third set of molars.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The MOBA, or the Museum of Bad Art in Somerville, Massachusetts, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like— a collection of really bad art.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. A British man changed his name to Tim Pppppppppprice to make it harder for telemarketers to pronounce.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Regular fluctuations in Mars’s atmospheric pressure, temperature, and wind produce snowstorms with surprising predictability. Long-term weather forecasts could allow astronauts to avoid travel where a storm will happen.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. America voted for independence from Britain on July 3, 1776. The text of the declaration wasn’t approved until July 4.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The original title for Scream was Scary Movie.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. A newborn giant panda is about the size of a stick of butter.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. When Texas was its own sovereign nation in the mid-1800s, it briefly had a diplomatic mission in Paris.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Humans are the only animals that blush.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The Spangler Candy Company chose to name their famous lollipops “Dum Dums” because it was a word that was easy for any kid to say.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Fredric Baur invented the Pringles can. When he passed away in 2008, his ashes were buried in one.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Maya Angelou was San Francisco’s first Black female streetcar conductor.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. Quetzalcoatlus, the largest known flying animal ever, was as tall as a giraffe. It may have used its powerful forelimbs to pole-vault into the sky.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. During World War II, the United States began rationing shoes. Citizens were allowed three.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. The metal bit at the end of a pencil that holds the eraser in place is called a ferrule.

 

[Pete]

Today's fact. A double rainbow occurs when sunlight is reflected twice inside a raindrop. If you look closely, you can see that the colors of the secondary rainbow appear in reverse order.