Did Ya Know

[Rhonda]

Bet ya didn't know

1. What was Gail Borden's contribution to the world in 1853? Condensed milk!

2. There are 4,300 known species of ladybugs in the world.

[Rhonda]

Did you ever wonder why dimes, quarters and half dollars have notches, while pennies and nickels do not?

The US Mint began putting notches on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals.

Dimes, quarters and half dollars are notched because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren't notched because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave

[Rhonda]

In 1812, Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law favoring his party, giving rise to the term "gerrymandering."

In 1847, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

In 1858, in Lourdes, France, 14-year-old French peasant Bernadette Soubirous experienced her first vision of the Virgin Mary. By July 16th of this year, she had experienced 18 such visions.

In 1861, newly elected President Abraham Lincoln delivered a Farewell Speech in Springfield, Illinois, as he left for Washington, D.C. Lincoln stated: "I now leave, not knowing when or whether... I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington." Abraham Lincoln continued: "Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well."

In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.

In 1937, a sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.

In 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.

[Rhonda]

I bet ya' didn't know

1. Daniel Webster might have been president, but for his pride. He was offered the vice-presidential nomination twice, with Harrison and Taylor, but he refused. Both Harrison and Taylor died in office.

2. Why are Zero scores in tennis called "love"?

A: In France, where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called "l'oeuf," which is French for "egg." When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans pronounced it "love."

3. Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense, orange clay called "pygg". When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as "pygg banks."

When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

4. Why are they called "Caddies?"

When Mary, later Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl (for education and survival), Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scot game "golf."

So he had the first golf course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her.

Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her.

In French the word "cadet" is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it into "caddie."


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[Rhonda]

Did you know

King Ferdinard V of Spain never visited Madrigal, his wife's birthplace, because a soothsayer told him he would die in Madrigal. He fell ill in a little village in 1516, learned it was called Little Madrigal, and died of fright.

[Rhonda]

1. In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated.

2. In 1945, death of Eric Liddell, 43, Scottish Olympic champion runner. Later a missionary to China, Liddell was captured by the Japanese during WWII and died of a brain tumor while still imprisoned. (His college running days were portrayed in the 1981 British film, "Chariots of Fire.")

3. In 1947, Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.

4. In 1971, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday were celebrated in the month of February throughout the United States, but in 1971, in order to honor all Presidents, Richard Nixon declared the third Monday in February as "Presidents' Day."

Of note is that every President swore into office with their hand upon a Bible, ended their oath with the phrase "So help me God," and acknowledged a Supreme Being in their address upon assuming the Presidency. Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush are among those who included a prayer in their Inaugural Addresses.

5. In 1972, President Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and his wife, Pat, arrived in Shanghai.

6. In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

[Rhonda]

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Today is Monday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2006. There are 314 days left in the year.

1792, President Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office.

In 1839, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia.

In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, flying aboard Friendship 7.

[Rhonda]

Did Ya' Know:

1. Western singer and cowboy star Tex Ritter was born Woodward Maurice Ritter. He was nicknamed "America's Most Beloved Cowboy," and is likely best remembered for singing the award-winning title song in the Gary Cooper/Grace Kelly movie classic, "High Noon" (1952).

2. A nest in which insects or spiders deposit their eggs is called a "nidus." A fly stuck in a spider web can escape in about five seconds if the spider doesn't get to it first.

3. An ad that appeared on Nov. 27, 1924, promised "a tremendous pageant of elephants, bears, camels, monkeys, clowns, and brass bands" in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. More than a quarter-million people lined the streets of Manhattan as bands, floats, 25 animals borrowed from Central Park Zoo, and about 400 costumed Macy's employees, marched in that first parade. Of course, Santa brought up the rear.

4. Explorer Thor Heyerdahl set sail from the Peruvian coast in the 45-foot "Kon Tiki" in 1947. The 4,300-mile voyage concluded 101 days later. Heyerdahl wrote a popular book about the ordeal called "Kon Tiki."

In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower was relieved, at his own request, of the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe and replaced by General Matthew Ridgway.


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[Rhonda]

Did ya know

1. Ice Cream Sundaes were created when it became illegal to sell ice cream with flavored soda on a Sunday in the Evanston, Illinois during the late 19th century. Some traders got round it by serving it with syrup instead, calling it an 'Ice Cream Sunday' and eventually replacing the final 'y' with an 'e' to avoid upsetting religious leaders.

2. The sense of touch: electrical impulses travel from the skin toward the spinal cord at a rate of up to 425 feet per second. 3. You blink every 2-10 seconds. As you focus on each word in this sentence, your eyes swing back and forth 100 times a second, and every second; the retina performs 10 billion computer-like calculations.


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[Rhonda]

I bet ya' didn't know

1. Babe Ruth, arrested for speeding, was sentenced to a day in jail, but he was released in time to play the last three innings of a game and was given a police escort to the ball park.

2. A Harvard student, in a debate on the annexation of Hawaii in 1902, stressed that Pearl Harbor could play an important role in the U.S. Navy. 39 years later Pearl Harbor's Navy role was forcibly called to the attention of that student, Franklin D. Roosevelt.


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