Page 106 - The 'X' Zone Book of Triviology

o The first American bookseller and publisher was Hezekiah Usher, in Cambridge, MA, in 1639. o Colorado is the only state in history to have turned down the Olympics, in 1976. o Playing cards were issued to British pilots in World War II. If they were captured the cards could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal an escape map. o Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were not related in any way. o In Bali, the soul is believed to leave the body after exactly 42 days after death. o The value of Herbert Hoover’s estate at his death at age 90m in 1964: more than $8 million. o Pure metaphor: The Underground Railroad wasn’t underground and wasn’t a railroad. o The first victim of the guillotine was a highwayman named Nicolas Pelletier, on April 25, 1792. o The pumice in Lava soap was originally imported from the Italian Island of Lipari. o Danish biologist Wilhem Johanssen (1857-1927) coined the term “genes” in 1909. o Princeton University statistician John W. Turkey coined the term “software” in 1958. o What do the initials stand for in the name of Maine retailer L.L. Bean? Leon Leonwood. o In 1946, Tokyo Communications Engineering was founded. It later got an easier name: Sony. o The Diadochi were generals of Alexander the Great who sought power after his death. o The Maltese alphabet contains 29 letters but does not contain the Latin letter y. o Notre-Dame de la Paix Basilica in Yomoussoukro, Cote d’Ivorie, is the world’s tallest cathedral. o Pole stars change over time because stars exhibit a slow drift with respect to the earth’s axis. o Mickey Marcus is the only person buried at West Point who died fighting under a foreign flag. He assisted Israel in its 1948 War of Independence. o The geology of the Grand Canyon area includes more than 40 identified rock layers. o Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade never lost a case until Roe v. Wade. o Most “tin cans” are actually made mostly of steel, with a thin layer of tin to prevent corrosion. o The Reduced Shakespeare Company performs a pastiche of 37 of the bard’s plays in 97 minutes. o Prostitution in Germany has been legal since the 1920s. o The catchphrase “Kowabunga!” was popularized by the NBC program Howdy Doody. o In 1916, Berlin, Ontario, changed its name to Kitchener due to anti-German sentiment of WWI. o Fritz the Cat was the first X-rated animated feature. o People who collect thimbles are known as digitabulists. o Jane Delano, a relative of FDR, founded the American Red Cross nursing service. o New York City has been “working on” the Second Avenue Subway project since 1919. It’s known as “The Line That Time Forgot.” o Hong Kong is made up of a peninsula and 236 islands. o The private income of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is known as the Privy Purse. o Connie Mack managed for 53 baseball seasons, winning nine pennants of five World Series. o The colorful Sri Lanka Junglefowl is part of the family from which our modern chickens derive. o William James Sidis a child prodigy, entered Harvard University at the age of 11 in 1909. o Ayn Rand’s own title for her second book was Second-Hand Lives. Her Bobbs-Merrill editor suggested changing it to The Fountainhead. o Agatha Christie’s first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles was rejected by the first six English publishers she submitted it to. o Jacopo Peri’s Dafne, composed in 1594, was the first Italian opera. o John Henry was the first thoroughbred to win a million-dollar race, in 1981. o The lyrics of a 1909 song called “Uncle Josh in Society” has the first use of the term jazz. In the song it appeared to refer to ragtime dancing.