Times Square Ball Drop

Fact- The first New Year's Eve ball to drop in Times Square was on December 31, 1907

North Korea

Fact- One of the first western made movies shown in North Korea was "Bend it Like Beckham". It was arranged by the British Embassy and was heavily edited.

Ticket

Fact- According to Forbes magazine, the car that is most likely to get a ticket is the Mercedes-Benz SL- class

For the full list: http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/13/cars-that-get-ticketed-most-police-speeding-lifestyle-vehicles-violations_slide_2.html

Mr T

Fact- The reason why Mr. T started to wear so much jewelry was because he was a bouncer at a club. He would wear the lost and found jewelry so that when people came back for it, he wouldnt have to let them back into the club.

Thanks Francis Billington for this one.

New Years

Fact- Up until the 17th century, the English celebrated New Years on March 25

Love Indie

Fact- in early drafts of the script, Indiana Jones did not carry his trademark weapon, the whip.

http://www.factropolis.com/2007/11/in-very-early-draft-of-raiders-of-lost.html

XMAS Birthday

Fact- Shane MacGowen, the lead singer of The Pogues, is a Christmas Baby. "Fairytale of New York" was released in time for his 30th birthday in 1987

Fact- Richard Carroll was the last man who signed the Declaration of Independence to die. He was also the only Roman Catholic to sign the document.

Christmas

Fact- Animals are not mentioned as being present at the birth of Jesus in either biblical book recording the story. St. Francis of Assisi was the first to include animals in the traditional creche.

Pardons

Fact- the outgoing governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is considering including outlaw Billy the Kid in his end of term pardons list.

Moon Measures

Fact- Scientists can measure the exact distance that the moon is away from the earth at any one time by pointing lasers at reflectors left there by Apollo 11 astronauts, and measuring the time it takes to make the return trip

Michigan

Fact- According to the latest US census, Michigan is the only state in the Union to lose population in the last decade.

Airports

Fact- London Heathrow is the busiest air hub world wide.

Thanks to R.G. I now know that Atlanta is the busiest in the US

Christmas Mail

Fact: Today, December 20th, is the busiest day for the US Post Office. They will handle 40% more mail.

Nobel Prize

Fact- The "Nobel Prize Sperm Bank" a.k.a The Repository for Germinal Choice only has 3 prize winning donors

Werewolves

Fact- the idea of a werewolf predates the Greek myth of Lyacon, who was transformed into a wolf after eating human flesh

Yuck!

Fact- McDonald's worst product failure is the hulaburger, a 1960s idea for Catholics during lent that was made of grilled pineapple. It was introduced at the same time and for the same reason as the Filet-of-Fish, which did much better

Doesnt it Look Delicious!

Yum!

Fact- Admiral Boyd brought 2 1/2 tons of NECCO Wafers to the South Pole in the 1930s

Yum?

Fact- Kit Kat Bar flavors in Japan include wine, sweet potato, wasabi and soy sauce

Hugs and Kisses

Fact- X is the sign on a kiss because people would sign an X for their signature and then kiss it as a sign of sincerity

Indian Pudding

Fact- November 13th is National Indian Pudding Day

Freshmen

Fact- first term congressmen receive freshman orientation, instructing them on where the bathrooms are, how to vote, helps them finding housing, etc.

Sloth

Fact- The man who played Sloth in The Goonies was John Matuszak. He was the first round pick in the 1973 NFL draft. He won 2 superbowls before retiring and becoming Sloth

First Archives

fact- the Spanish were the first nation-state to create a national archives.

Rights

Fact- There were 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights made (one for each of the 13 original states and one for the Federal government). 5 states have lost their copies

Dracula

Fact- Bram Stoker was going to call his book "The Dead Un-Dead". He eventually decided to call it "Dracula"

Interesting Degree

Fact- At Liverpool Hope University, you can get a masters degree in The Beatles

Barbies.

Fact- In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called "Growing Up Skipper" whose breasts grew when you turned her arm. It caused a lot of backlash

Robot Love

Fact- in 1980 C-3PO and R2-D2 visited Sesame Street. R2-D2 fell in love with a fire hydrant

Typing

Fact- Alaska is the only state that can be typed using the keys on only one row

Disney= Happily Ever After

Fact- In 1991 Wayne Allwine (the voice of Mickey Mouse) married Russi Taylor (the voice of Minne Mouse)!

UConn

fact- at the University of Connecticut you can get a degree in Puppetry

Cavity

Fact- The name of the guy in the board game Operation is Cavity Sam

Manx

Fact- Manx cats were bred on the Isle of Man around 1750 and thats where the name comes from. In the native Manx language, the cats are called stubbin.

Odd

Fact- Smith and Wesson sell mountain bikes. If you buy a handgun or handcuffs with it, shipping is free

Lucky 18

Fact- Dice-K of the Red Sox is contractually guaranteed the jersey number 18. Apparently its his lucky number

Tiny

Fact- Freeport Kansas is the smallest town to have a bank. It is .2 miles in area and has 6 residents.

Frodo

Fact- JRR Tolkien modeled the horrors that Sam and Frodo face on the way to Mordor on his experiences in the trenches during WWI

Crunch

Fact- Cap'n Crunch's (of cereal fame) full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch

Makes Sense

Fact- A study recently found that men waste an average of $3000 over the course of a lifetime in gas because they refuse to ask for directions

Oops!

Fact- in the 1908 Olympic Games, the Russian team showed up late, missing their events in several sports. This is because they were still using the Julian calendar, one of the last countries to change to the Georgian calendar. The Russians were 12 days behind the rest of the world.

Confetti is hard to Clean

Fact- The first person to have a ticker-tape parade was Commodore Dewey, who was a hero of the Spanish American War

Yaba-Daba- Do!

Fact- The Flintstones were originally supposed to be called the Flagstones and were prime-time tv's first animated series. The show ran for only 6 seasons, but can still be seen in re-runs.

The Simpsons are very thankful.

Birthday

Fact- In England, on your 80th, 90th, and 100th birthdays, you get a telegram from the Queen.

Happy Birthday Ned Doty

Plurals

Fact- there are three acceptable forms of the plural for octopus: octopi, octopusses, and octopods.

Starfish

Fact- It takes a starfish a year to regrow a leg after it is lost. And they can regrow up to 3 legs at a time.

Hmmm....

Fact- The most common birthday is October 5, which happens to be nine months after New Year's Eve

happy birthday to one of my absolute favorites

NYPD

fact- The term "cop" comes from the fact that originally, the NYPD didn't wear uniforms, but were distinguished by their copper badges

Whats in a name?

Fact- Supposedly, if your name is Isabella you can visit the Isabella Stuart Gardiner museum for free

Luxury...sort of

Fact- Finnish prisons have saunas for the prisoners

Differences

Fact- The difference between folk tales and fairy tales is that all fairy tales have magic in them

Many Words

Fact- Cat in the Hat took Dr. Suess 9 months to write. It has less than 300 words.

Smell Much?

Fact- the e-nose, a NASA olefactory device, can, among other things, smell the difference between coke and pepsi

Trekies!

Fact- Ferengi, the name of a Star Trek alien race is also the Persian word for "foreigner"

Super Mario!

Fact- Monday, 13 September was the 25th birthday of Super Mario!

Hiatus

Taking a brief hiatus from random fact of the day until things calm down with work and school. sorry!

Be a Good Citizen

Fact- The Connecticut State Police Force is the oldest state police force in the country, formed in 1903.

Depressing

Fact- 17% of those in nursing homes never have any visitors

Although this sounds very sad, it was attached to a news story about a new invention that will allow the elderly to remain close to their families and independent longer. The new invention has been nicknamed..."the granny pod"

Never Good

Fact- a Times poll has 24% of Americans believing that President Obama is a Muslim.

An extra interesting tidbit, this is an increase from the number of Americans who believed he was Muslim during campaign season

Spelling Games Stink Anyway

Fact- the hardest word to guess in hangman is..."jazz"

Technology

Fact- North Korea has its own twitter account and a youtube channel. Now, if I only understood Korean, I could be influenced by their propaganda

Raccoons

Fact- Raccoons actually don't need to wash everything that they eat.

I had heard of the myth that raccoons wash all their food, but when I sent it out to friends, they had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe they are just dumb.

Frightening

Fact- An estimated hundred thousand Americans have gotten away with murder in the last 30 years.

Behind the Scenes- This one really captured my interest, so it gets a behind the scenes plug. I got this fact from NPR, they were talking about a new book which I am off to the library to get. Its called "The Murder Room" by Michael Capuzzo. Its about a cold case club located in Philadelphia called the Vidocq Society.

The Vidocq Society is composed of the world's foremost experts in forensics and investigating. They meet every month to discuss and attempt to solve the most puzzling cold case files.

It is named after the French detective who first influenced the Surete to use the psychology of a criminal to catch murderers. It probably helped his success that he was a former criminal himself.

Takes the Cake

Fact- For his 59th birthday, President FDR received a cake 5ft in height that weighed 300 lbs.

Happy Birthday!

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/62717

Smokey

Fact- the forest service mascot, Smokey the Bear, was actually originally a real bear cub. The cub was badly burned in a forest fire in 1950 at Lincoln National Forest, in New Mexico. The cub went on to live the rest of his life out in a Washington, DC zoo. He inspired the campaign.

Scuba Anyone?

Fact- A man in California has taught his dog, Mutley, and his cat, Hawkeye, how to scuba dive. He even invented special suits for them.

Hawkeye Mutley

Education

Fact- Alabama spends the least of all the states on education

Funny Spelling?

Fact- Haagen-Daz, as in the ice cream, is a fake word

Chubby Baby

Fact- a baby gray whale can gain between 60-70 pounds...a day

Brains

Fact- Half of a shark's brain is used for smelling

Do you have Moxie?

Fact- Moxie is the official state soft drink of Maine and has its own festival every year.

It was originally developed as a nerve tonic

Random

Fact- During his time in office, President Reagan received 372 belt buckles.

For Yesterday

Fact- On this day in history, August 3rd, in 1958, the submarine Nautilus traveled under the North Pole

Carl Mydans/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

This is the world's first nuclear powered submarine, developed by the US Navy in 1954. By 1966, it was outdated.

Hibernate

Fact- During the winter, turtles bury themselves under the mud at the bottom of a lake or pond.

What interesting things you learn in children's books

Bugs

Fact- The state insect of MA is the ladybug.

If you have to pick a state bug, I suppose this is the best one to pick, not too creepy-crawly.

Lobster

Fact- Lobsters have clear blood...

...that is until they are boiled, because then, as my very good friend pointed out, they're dead.

Change in Format

Not that anybody real cares cuz think that only my mother reads the blog to get fun fact of the day rather than receiving it via text, but I am eliminating behind the scenes and further info for most of the facts. If I think that theres something interesting or another source deserves credit, I will add it in, but for most of the entries, it will just be the facts

Birthday- Take 1

Fact- the most expensive birthday party was thrown by the Sultan of Brunei for his 50th birthday. it cost him $27.2 million

Further Info- he payed $16 million of that to Michael Jackson to perform 3 concerts.

Behind the Scenes- in honor of a friend's birthday

Embarrassed?

Fact-Blushing is exclusive to humans, no other animal blushes

Further Info- none

Behind the Scenes- stuff you should know

Tired?

Fact- Studies have linked contagious yawning to how empathetic a person is

Further Inf0- According to a friend, other studies linked contagious yawning to how impressionable the person is

Behind the Scenes- stuff you should know

Jaws

Fact- the movie Jaws is based upon the true events of the 1916 shark attacks on the Jersey Shore

Further Info- although the movie portrays it as a great white shark, it most likely would have been a bull shark in the Jersey Shore case, although it did happen over 4th of July weekend.

Behind the Scenes- another of the podcasts i listen to on the long commute to work

Fanny Dunking

Fact- In the late 1800s/early 1900s, when the beach was just getting popular, people used to go "fanny dunking", where they went into the water holding on to a rope

Further Info- seaside resorts would set up ropes for people to go into the water. Most didnt really know how to swim, besides bathing suits at this time were made of heavy material and weighed you down. Holding on to a rope allowed people to enjoy the water with limited risk of drowning. Plus, in the early days, there were no lifeguards to save you.

Behind the Scenes- Podcast

Soccer or Football

Fact-Although now the English call soccer football, they actually invented the term. A group meet a long time ago to formalize the rules for football. They called themselves Association Football so they could be distinguished from rugby football. They liked nicknames and turned aSOCCiation into Soccer!

Further Info- i think thats enough for today

Behind the Scenes- getting into World Cup spirit

You Think Your Commute is Bad

Fact- According to surveys, Beijing has the worst traffic in the world.

Further Info- Some people just give up and return home rather than continue to struggle with the horrendous traffic

Behind the Scenes- Nothing Special

Even Hotter

Fact- the hottest day in the world was recorded in Libya, 136 degrees

Further Info- none

Behind the Scenes- ranger book continued

Hot!

Fact- The highest temperature recorded in the continental US was 134 degrees at Greenland Ranch, California

Further Info- none!

Behind the Scenes- reading a ranger book...

Michael Jackson

Fact- Michael Jackson's estate has earned 1 billion dollars since his death

Further Info-none

Behind the Scenes- npr

Coffee

Fact- to decaffinate coffee, they use water, ethyl acetate, methylene choride or carbon dioxide to strip it away from the coffee beans

Further Info- I hope everybody drinks regular coffee

Behind the Scenes- mental floss!

Almost Caught Up

Fact- although cute creatures, minks are vicious, they attack their prey in their dens and then take over, making it their home

Further Info- none

Behind the Scenes- we have a mink who lives near the rock, we've named him Myles

Still Catching Up

Fact- the Pilgrims brought a Mastiff with them on the Mayflower

Further Info- they also brought goats, pigs, and chickens

Behind the Scenes- the new job

To Catch Up

Fact- Asian longhorn beetles have blue feet

Further Info-make sure you follow local policies and procedures!!!

Behind the Scenes- went to a week-long conference, one of the programs was about these dangerous little bugs!

The Pillsbury Dough Boy

Fact- the Pillsbury Dough Boy has an actual name: Poppin' Fresh

Further Info- his wife is named Poppie Fresh and their kids are Popper and Bun Bun

Behind the Scenes- just fun!

Truffles

Fact- Pigs have been traditionally trained to smell out truffles

Further Info- Although some breeds of dogs can be trained to find truffles too.

Behind the Scenes- French fries with Parmesan cheese and black truffle oil are amazing!

Voting

Fact- Florence Harding was the first first lady to vote for her husband in a presidential election

Further Info- Florence's husband was the first president elected after women's vote was passed

Behind the Scenes- nothing special

Belly Buttons

Fact- There are only two species of mammals that lack a belly button: the platypus and the echidna.

Further Info- these mammals lay eggs, thus do not have an umbilical scar

The Platypus

http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/ansci_repro/misc/project_websites_08/thur/monotremes/platypus1.jpg

The Echidna

http://rosalieee.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/echidna-dork.jpg

Behind the Scenes- Nothing special

Multi-Purpose

Fact- Listerine was once used as a surgical antiseptic, a cure for venereal disease, and floor cleaner

Further Info- An advertising campaign invented the term halitosis, i.e. bad breath, and marketed Listerine as a cure.

Apparently, It also cured dandruff.

Behind the Scenes- Random!

Fact- When Chrysler first introduced the Plymouth car model in the 1920s, it made all the salesmen dress up as Pilgrims as advertising.

Further Info- Companies such as Chrysler devoted a lot of money to advertising because they were selling more expensive cars than Ford's Model T

Behind the Scenes- I was supposedly reading a cultural history of the 1920s, although maybe 50% of the book was about Al Capone

Its Almost Summer!

Yay! I have a new follower! Thanks guys!

Fact- Beach balls were invented in California in 1938

Further Info- Sorry, none today

Behind the Scenes- Memorial Day weekend is almost upon us. Its my official beginning of summer date!

Too Cute to Wait

Fact-Imperial Beach in California hosts the Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition every year. Puppies on Surf Boards!!!

Further Info- http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1991509,00.html?xid=yahoo-feat

Behind the Scenes- Adorable!!!

Charity

Fact- JM Barrie, the author of the Peter Pan story, donated all rights to the Great Ormond Childrens' Hospital in 1929.

Further Info- the hospital received royalties from all stage and movie adaptations of Peter Pan until 2007, when the copyright expired. The Prime Minister worked out a deal that allows the hospital to get the royalties of all stage productions of the story in the UK

Behind the Scenes- from one of my favorite sights, Mental Floss

Pac-Man

Fact- The video game Pac-Man is 30 years old now

Further Info- There have been over 30 sequels and spin offs of the game that at least 94% of Americans recognize on sight.

Behind the Scenes- nothing fun!

Civil War and the Medal of Honor

Fact- the last Civil War soldier to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor was Cpl. Andrew Jackson Smith. He was awarded his medal in 2001, 136 years after the war ended.

Further Info- There have been 3,447 recipients of the medal since its establishment by Congress in 1862. The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, just approved a request to award the medal to another Civil War soldier, 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing.

Behind the Scenes- Completely and Utterly Random!

The Beatles

Fact- You cannot purchase or legally download any of The Beatles' songs in a mp3 format. You can illegally download it or rip a CD you already own.

Further Info- The remaining Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney claims the blame lies with the record company EMI. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_10110000/newsid_10116600/10116607.stm

Behind the Scenes- I was listening to the radio the other day and The Beatles were mentioned. And I suddenly realized that you couldn't buy any other their songs on itunes. You can, however, purchase Beatles songs performed by any number of tribute and cover bands.

Graduation

Fact- The graduation tradition of throwing your caps in the air was started by the graduates of the US Naval Academy in 1912. The graduates, who upon graduation would receive officers' caps, and threw their no-longer-needed midshipman's caps to celebrate their promotions.

Further Info- The practice soon caught on and was copied at graduation ceremonies at other schools. But it's apparently dangerous to throw your mortarboard in the air. There have been several documented incidents of students becoming injured as a result and many schools have banned the practice.

Behind the Scenes- nothing interesting

Friday the 13th

Fact- Friday the 13th is deemed unlucky because of the Knights Templar

More Info- The Knights Templar were originally a monastic order belonging to the Catholic Church. They were, among other things, an elite military unit that guarded pilgrims to the Holy Land during the Crusades. They became too radical and the Church turned against them. The King of France outlawed them in 1307 and the arrests began on Friday the 13th. Thus, the unlucky connotation associated with that date.

Behind the Scenes- Netflix recommended this interesting series from Britain, Bonekickers, about a team of archeologists who solve mysteries! Could this series have been made for me or what?!

"Junk"

Fact- The word "junk" was originally a nautical term used for old, useless pieces of rope of uncertain origin

Further Info- the term was later expanded to include other objects that were old and useless

Behind the Scenes- a character on one of my favorite shows, NCIS, Ducky, is also interested in useless, random pieces of information. The latest episode had the team investigating a murder where the corpse was found in a junk yard...of course Ducky had to impart his knowledge to the rest of the team.

Spanish Flu

Fact- The influenza pandemic of 1918 was not called the Spanish Flu because it originated in Spain. It was only called that because the Spanish newspapers were the first to report it.

Further Info- the pandemic most likely originated at a US Army base or small mid-western town and traveled overseas with troops arriving in France for WWI. All Allied newspapers were being censored for the moral of both civilians and troops. Spain was neutral and therefore, newspapers could print the story.

Behind the Scenes- Ive been reading the book "The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry the last couple of days, thus the random fact about the flu.

The Beginning

So, I've decided to start this lovely blog as an extension of an ongoing "project". Its actually really pointless, but I've been rather bored the last few months, and need something else to do.

Basically, the "project" is that I find a random fact every day or so and send it out to a couple of friends. The list of people who have "subscriptions" has varied, but I know that a few core people appreciate it.

For fans of random fact of the day, dont worry...you will still get your lovely text updates, but now you can read the blog too and find out the secrets behind the facts and perhaps discover that they are not so random after all.

So enjoy, those few who will read this.