Page 99 - The 'X' Zone Book of Triviology

o An official census of Panama City in 1610 listed 548 citizens and 3,500 African slaves. o The Anglo-Saxon for “saltworks” is “wich…”which tells you that Geenwich, Norwich, etc. were once ancient salt mines. o Byzantine architects created largest domes ever built in the ancient world. o The most famous example of Byzantine domes is St. Sophia, built by Justinian and Theodora in Constantinople. o Ferdinand Magellan was the first person given credit for sailing around the world. o “Terra incognita” is Latin for “unknown territory.” o In ancient Sparta, weak babies were left exposed on hillsides or taken away to become slaves. o According to Salt: A World History, there are more than 14,000 known uses for salt. o The earliest Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert, The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating natural mummies. o By A.D. 300 there were more than 900 public baths in Rome. o Wealthy Romans had lavish bathing habits: men might bathe in wine; women in milk. o Gum Magnate William Wrigley Jr. Was the first employer to give workers a two day weekend. o In 1890 (the “Gilded Age”) the average annual income was $380, well below the poverty line. o During America’s Gilded Age, Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish threw a dinner party to honor her dog who arrived sporting a $15,000 diamond collar. o George Washington designed a special building to compost horse manure. This “house of dung” had its own name: a stercorary. o The first law on record, about 2100 B.C., was made to ban witchcraft. o Until 1819 in the United Kingdom, felling a tree illegally was punishable by hanging. o Redhand - having bold on your hands - is a Scottish legal term that dates back to 1432. o At birth Genghis Khan was named Temujin, which means “blacksmith.” o Edward IV was the tallest English monarch at 6’ 3”. o Robert Baden Powell once wrote a serious book on how to recognize German spies by their walk. o The oldest known sample of chewing gum was found near Ellos in western Sweden in 1993. The well chewed, 9,000-year-old glob of honey sweetened resin still contained tooth marks. o The 999 emergency phone service was established in London in 1937. o Venetian gondolas must be painted black unless they belong to a high official. o The work “Khan,” as in “Genghis Khan” and “Kublai Khan,” means “the ruler.” o The original meaning of Hebrew is “the people that are crossing over from the other side.” o The original profession of clairvoyant Nostradamus and revolutionary Che Guevara: doctors. o Hawaii’s flag displays a Union flag as part of its design. o The last Transatlantic Concorde flight touched down in London on Friday, October 24, 2003. o History to Henry Ford: “More of less bunk.” o The Beatles last concert was at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA on August 29, 1966. o The Afghan hound, a hunting dog and pet, originated not in Afghanistan but in ancient Egypt. o In 1946, the U.S. Marines were called to subdue a prison riot on Alcatraz Island. All but two prisoners died in the riot, plus a number of guards. o Marco Polo dictated his Travels of Marco Polo to a fellow inmate in a Genoa prison. o Thomas Edison first believed his phonograph to be “a mere toy, which had no commercial value.” o The line of succession to the British throne includes 60 people. o Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, a residence of Her Majesty the Queen, is now a wedding venue.