Ponder
Points
Nine-year-old Milton Sirotta was the first to describe the number 1 followed by 100 zeros as a googol in 1940. Now everyone knows……
All battleships have been named for states, except for one. The USS Kearsarge, which was launched during the Civil War and sank in 1894 somewhere in the West Indies.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that the Eskimos of Little Diomede, Alaska are allowed to pay their income taxes to the IRS with ivory taken from their seal hunting. I doubt that you and I could get by with doing the same.
In the average year, there are over 150,000 new laws passed ….just in this country. Imagine what the total is worldwide. Too many if you ask me.
People who know say that the smartest dog is the Border Collie. The dumbest? It’s supposed to be the Afghan Hound. Don’t complain to me, I’m just passing on what I’ve read.
Paul Revere was said to have ridden into Concord yelling “The British are coming, the British are coming.” Actually he never made it, and what he really said by those in the know was …”The regulars are about.”
You knew the Bible was banned in the Soviet Union in 1926. I’ll bet you didn’t know it was also banned in Rome in 553 AD
If someone had asked you who was the last American President to be born in a log cabin and you answered James A. Garfield in 1831. You’d be right.
I’d be suspicious of anyone who had claimed they knew of someone having been born on October 5th, 1582. There wasn’t an October 5th. In fact there weren’t any dates in that year from the 5th of October of that year until Friday October 15th. This was a time period adjustment made to move everyone over to the Gregorian calendar. It gets a bit more confusing since not everyone shifted during that time. England didn’t get with it until 1752 and Russia came on board in 1918.
Henry is Warren Beatty’s first name.
If you were looking for the real name of the place known as the “Town of the large canoes.” you’d want to look at what is now the State of Missouri.
I had always assumed that cats sharpened their claws by scratching on a tree or my furniture. I have found that this is evidently in error. Scientists that study such things advise that felines are scratching to rid themselves of loose pieces of toenail. Isn’t that the same thing?
What was the first animal to be domesticated? According to Genesis in the Bible, it was sheep. The U.S. National Museum says it was dogs, horses and then pigs. Whatever. What is interesting to note is the fact that no animal of any great importance has been domesticated in the last two thousand years.
Its well known that bears growl, chicks cheep, dogs bark and pigeons coo. Not so well known is the fact that apes gibber, ravens croak, hawks scream and linnets chuckle. By the way, what makes a linnet laugh? Who knows?
William Howard Taft, elected President of The United States in 1908, went on to become the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1921. The only American President to do so.
You’ve got a question: In terms of today’s dollars how much did it take to send Columbus on his three voyages to the New World? I’ve got an answer: The money it takes to buy a car at today’s prices is more than the entire amount spent on Columbus and his journeys.
So why is there a best man at weddings? Well, in Scotland in the days of old, when a lad wanted to get married, he simply enlisted the help of several of his mates and kidnapped the bride to be. Your biggest and strongest friend was naturally, your best man.
Now that we’ve finished the census…it can be told. In 1790, the founding fathers and the states wanted an accurate account of the population. Just to know how many folks were in the colonies? Nope, repayment of the Revolutionary war debt was based on the number of citizens living in your state. No one wanted to pay more than what was owed.
The 1933 movie Shangri-La was based on a real village in Hunza, Pakistan. They still claim to have the healthiest citizens in the world with many living well past 100 years of age.
Who designed the Round table used by King Arthur? Well, FYI it is said to have been designed by Merlin for the 150 knights which were members. His thought was…using a round table prevented any arguments over who had the place of honor. Clever fellow, old Merlin.
Stumped on that 5-letter word for a Welsh God in today’s crossword puzzle? Try DYLAN and see if it fits.
You already know that the only two words in the English language that end in …gry are hungry and angry. Used to be three. The word GRY was once used as a standard of measure for 0.0008 of an inch. For some reason, no one refers to it anymore.
The dinosaur known as Tyrannosaurus Sue is now in the Chicago Field Museum. Studies of this most complete of T-Rex skeletons give indication that she probably walked about 6 mph and could run up to 15 mph. Scientists were surprised, since before now, they felt a much faster speed was correct
I’ve been told that if you were in the bottom of a well during the day, you could see the stars. Why is that?
From Our -Things -You- Always- Were -Concerned- About department: If you are ever in a stampede of bulls (not squirrels) try to get out of the way, or run alongside with them. Lying down will not help, since they aren’t like horses and will run over you. You must keep moving.
The reason given as to why men button their shirts from the right and women from the left is this: Men are mostly right handed and dressed themselves. Women on the other hand, had maids who buttoned them up while standing in front of them. Thus the buttons were easier to work with from the maid’s right, or the ladies left. I wonder what happened to those without a maid?
Most of us can only remember between 5 and 9 items or numbers at a time. That’s why phone numbers are only 7 digits in length.
Designers of icemaker machines for our houses spent a lot of time researching the best design for the cubes. That’s why they are crescent shaped. They’re least likely to stick when they come out that way.
You knew that the only word in the English language to be pronounced the same way when it’s last four letters were removed was the word Queue. You’d say it the same either way.
I find it hard to believe that in the year 1800 there were reportedly only 50 cities on this planet with populations over 100,000. But, that’s what my sources tell me.
It was Andrew Jackson who fought the Battle of New Orleans more than 2 weeks after the War of 1812 had ended. The news that the war was over didn’t reach Louisiana for more than a month after the agreement was signed.
If you were on a boat passing La Coruna, Spain, at night, you’d see the oldest working lighthouse still in existence. It’s 185 tall and has been in constant use since the time of the Roman emperor, Trajan in 98 AD. The original lighthouse keeper has retired.
You cannot catch cold at the North Pole in the wintertime. The simple reason for this is the fact that disease causing germs and viruses can’t survive at temperatures this extreme.
Things you should know: Bears can run as fast as horses, either uphill or downhill. They have also been known to rip cars apart looking for food. Don’t mess with bears.
I’m amazed at the names given to the rulers of France over the years. For example, Charles I, who ruled from-840 -877, was known as Charles the bald. Likewise, the ruler in the years 986-987 was known as Louis V, the Sluggard. Louis VI, reigning from 1137 until 1180, was called Louis, the Fat. Maybe we lose something in the translation.
It’s reported that the Ark of the Covenant was last seen about 586 BC when the Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed. Hasn’t turned up since then.
Did you know that the American opossum is born just 12 or 13 days after conception? I didn’t. Incidentally, it takes over 20 months for an Asian elephant to give birth to one of its youngsters.
