Illeists

Fact- an Illeist is someone who refers to themselves in the third person

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32844

Film

Fact- Half of all films made before 1950 have been lost forever due to poor preservation techniques, failure to store and protect negatives correctly, and the lack of technology to protect negatives from degrading

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A Murder

Fact- the word for a group of crows is a "murder"

Temper

Fact- At the Battle of Thermopoli, Persian Emperor Xerxes I was so mad that rough waves ruined a wooden bridge he had built, he order that the water receive 300 lashes of the whip

Plurals

Fact- When referring to multiple fish, all of the same species, the plural is "fish". When referring to multiple fish, of multiple species, the plural is "fishes"

In-Flight Movies

Fact- On April 6, 1925 Imperial Airlines became the first airline to feature in-flight movies. They played "The Lost Show"

Pauley Perrette

Fact- Pauley Perrette plays forensic specialist Abby Scuito on the t.v. show "NCIS". In real life, Perrette has a degree in criminology.

Santa Claus

Fact- The illustrator that helped to popularize the modern image of Santa Claus, Haddon H. Sundblom, created the image for a Coca-Cola ad campaign in 1931.

Haddon H. Sundblom worked for several other well known companies, but he also created the image of the Quaker Man for the Quaker Oats Company. 

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Fact- The most well known aviation mysteries is the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, but one even more intriguing might be the vanishing of renowned French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Saint-Expuery was a reckless pilot who became better known for his writing , especially Le Petit Prince, than his flying career, even though the later was very eventful.

He pulled strings (being a famous author and a minor noble helped a lot) and got reassigned to the Free French Air Force during WWII at the age of 44. While flying a reconnaissance mission, he mysteriously disappeared. Despite further clues that have appeared over the last 2 decades, the actual events leading to his death are still unexplained.

For further Information:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=antoine+de+saint-exup%C3%A9ry&hl=en&prmd=ivnsb&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dXsB9CReXYVpVBM&sa=X&ei=6h6RTZ-6EM_AtgfOtvBg&ved=0CGwQhg4wCw

Dirt

Fact- On average, it takes about 500 years for 1 inch of dirt to be added to the soil.

Daylight Savings

Fact- Not all states observe daylight savings time. Most of Arizona, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the American Virgin Islands have decided not to participate.

How does "most of Arizona" work? Thats got to be complicated.

Pikachu

Fact- Pikachu is yellow because the color is easily identifiable by children and up until the time it was made, there was only one other children's character the color yellow.

Do you know who the other yellow character is?

Grasshopper

Fact- a grasshopper's ear is located on the end of its tibia, at its knee joint. This apparently only applies to long-horned grasshoppers, not short ones.

Via a friend, via a snapple bottle

Sea Otters

Fact- Sea otters are social animals that can float in groups from 10 to more than 100 individuals. They're called rafts.

I love otters!

Inez de Castro

Fact- In 1360, King Pedro of Portugal wanted to legitimize his children that were born to his mistress Inez de Castro. He had married her after the kids were born, but the Pope said that Inez needed to be crowned to make them truly legitimate. Problem: Inez had been dead and buried for years. This wasn't a problem for King Pedro, he dug her up and crowned her in an extravagant coronation.

Citgo

Fact- The Citgo sign visible at Fenway Park contains 5 miles of neon tubing

Madame de Pompadour

Fact- Madame de Pompadour is one of the most infamous royal mistresses. She was the official royal mistress to French Louis XV for almost 20 years. She is thought to have had a STI that made sexual relations painful. However, by keeping Louis entertained outside the bedroom, she kept her place at court and in his favor until her death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boucher_Marquise_de_Pompadour_1756.jpg

Today in History

Fact- On this day (February 17th) in 1864, the Confederate States of America ship, the Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship when the USS Housatonic suffered severe damage during the American Civil War.

Ear Infections

Fact- according to homeopathics, putting garlic oil or white vinegar in your ear will help symptoms disappear in the early stages or mild case of an ear infection.

As a chronic sufferer of ear infections, I have no desire what so ever to attempt this remedy.

Sorry

Shoes

Fact- The metal thing you use to measure your feet to see what size shoe to buy is called a Brannock Device.

m&m

Fact- The first "M" was imprinted on the chocolate candies in 1950, 9 years after they were introduced to American GIs during WWII.

Elmo

Fact- Elmo, from Sesame Street, is the only non-human to have testified before Congress. He spoke on behalf of funding for music research and funding in education.

Animals in Space

Fact- Although dogs and monkeys are well known to have been sent into space for various shuttle missions, the following animals have also been sent: mice, rats, turtles, guinea pigs, a cat named Felix, frogs, newts, and various insects and fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laika.jpg

Dead Sea Scrolls

Fact- Scholars had to piece together over 100,000 pieces of papyrus to reform the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Scrolls were found beginning in 1947

Chitty, Chitty, Bond, James Bond

Fact- Ian Fleming creator of the James Bond character, also wrote the children's book, "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang" that was made into a movie featuring Dick Van Dyke.

SSN

Fact- Social Security Numbers were introduced in 1936 as a part of The New Deal. 25 Million numbers were issued in just 3 months

Acrophobia

Fact- Gustave Eiffel suffered from Acrophobia, or a fear of heights

English Monarchy

Fact- The English Monarchy is the oldest functioning political institution in Europe

Communist Manifesto

Fact- The Communist Manifesto, a book you can claim changed the world, is only 54 pages long

Jeans

Fact- you can make about 200 pairs of jeans from a single bale of cotton

Zombie

Fact- Zombies are one of the few paranormal villains who have a more cinematic pedigree than a literary one