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Did you know...
edit30 July 2004
edit- ...that the death toll from the 1942 Sook Ching Massacre is unknown, but probably lies between 25,000 and 50,000?
- ...that the casque of the Tarictic hornbill is hollow and made of keratin?
29 July 2004
edit- ...that Colin Pitchfork was the first person to be convicted using DNA fingerprinting?
- ...that in Pac-Mania Pac-Man has the ability to jump?
- ...that the larvae of the Cameraria ohridella moth destroy
- ...that Danielle Reyes finished second place on the American version of Big Brother in 2002?
- ...that in the United States, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and its Republican counterpart promote the election of members of their respective parties to Congress?
- ...that the IBM 350 was the first important milestone in early IBM disk storage?
- ...that in the presence of risk, subjective expected utility is a valuable method used in economic decision theory?
27 July 2004
edit- ...that Stella McCartney, the fashion designer daughter of Beatle Paul McCartney, studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design?
- ... that the U.S. Trade Representative tried to stop Singapore from hosting the first World Trade Organization ministeral meeting because of the caning of Michael P. Fay?
- ...that according to Buys-Ballot's law wind travels counterclockwise around low pressure zones in the Northern Hemisphere?
- ...that the extreme points of the United Kingdom include Out Stack as the northernmost, Rockall as the westernmost, The Lizard as the southernmost and Lowestoft Ness as the easternmost?
26 July 2004
edit- ...that the Dog Rose was often planted in victory gardens during World War II?
- ...that the Malmédy Massacre Trial is often used in extreme right-wing German propaganda?
25 July 2004
edit- ...that the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was responsible for American weights and measures from 1836 until the establishment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1901?
- ...that Youppi of the Montreal Expos was the first mascot to be thrown out of a major league baseball game?
- ...that the creator of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups once worked as a dairyman for famed chocolatier Milton S. Hershey?
- ...that enharmonic scales are the third genus of musical scales?
- ...that no admiral has ever served as Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces?
- ...that many of Ford Motor Company's car makes are based on the same automobile platform?
24 July 2004
edit- ...that Cairine Wilson was Canada's first female senator?
- ...that the Fifth and Sixth Crusades were turned back by Al-Kamil, a nephew of Saladin?
- ...that actuarial notation uses a halo system with superscript or subscript symbols placed before or after the main letter?
- ...that script breakdowns are the intermediate step between script and production in theater, film, television and comic books?
23 July 2004
edit- ...that Chidiock Tichborne wrote his only known poem on the eve of his execution for treason?
- ...that sidewinding is unique to caenophidian snakes like vipers?
- ...that Kolkota, India is called the City of Palaces because of its abundance of European-style buildings?
- ...that seven countries have more than one capital city?
- ...that in basketball technical fouls are rule violations that occur outside the play of the game?
22 July 2004
edit- ...that Jane Avril was the inspiration for Nicole Kidman's character in the film Moulin Rouge!?
- ...that bond convexity is a measure of the sensitivity of bond prices to interest rate changes?
- ...that Chetham's Library in Manchester, England is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world?
- ...that Dunash ben Labrat, a medieval Jewish writer, introduced Arabic language poetic meter into Hebrew poetry?
- ...that blue boxes used for phreaking were also called Spiros, which was a reference to disgraced U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew?
- ...that, according to legend, one of the Holy Nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was incorporated into the Iron Crown of Lombardy?
- ...that a forage harvester is used to create silage feed for livestock?
- ...that Norman architecture is a form of the Romanesque?
- ...that 18th century French salons were often led by those who were creating the Encyclopédie?
- ...that there are several different kinds of baseball gloves, including catcher's mitts, pitcher's gloves, first basemen's gloves and infield and outfield gloves?
- ...that Deepdene is believed to be the world's largest irradiated diamond?
- ...that the Elton John-Bernie Taupin song "Candle in the Wind" is the bestselling single of all time?
- ...that some Trotskyists described the Soviet system under Josef Stalin as one of bureaucratic collectivism?
21 July 2004
edit- ...that the 1903 Tour de France often required riders to cycle through the night?
- ...that scientist Arvid Carlsson won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work leading to the treatment of Parkinson's Disease?
- ...that the 1984 Summit tunnel fire in England may have been the biggest underground fire in transportation history?
- ...that within Superman's Fortress of Solitude there is an apartment set aside for Supergirl?
- ...that the Germanenorden had an early influence on mysticism in Nazi Germany?
20 July 2004
edit- ...that items which were "Banned in Boston" (i.e. censored) came to be seen as more sexy and attractive elsewhere?
- ...that there are at least four methods of plastic welding?
- ...that sex determination in sports is no longer practiced at the Olympic Games?
- ...that the Supreme Court of Pakistan meets in Islamabad?
- ...that the Venetian polychoral style arose because of the unique architectural and acoustical characteristics of San Marco di Venezia, aka St. Mark's Cathedral, in Venice, Italy?
- ...that Thomas Macaulay referred to Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times as "sullen Socialism"?
- ...that holidays celebrated in Greece include Το Όχι, literally day of the "no", which honors Greece's refusal to surrender to the Axis Powers in 1940?
- ...that Louis Mountbatten invented Mountbatten pink, a camouflage paint used during World War II?
- ...that a Greek hero cult usually focused on a great man of history (e.g. Oedipus) or the founder of a city (e.g. Battus of Cyrene)?
- ...that The Sun Sessions album included all of the Elvis Presley tracks recorded by Sam Phillips?
- ...that Chicago Freight Subway was abandoned in 1959 and the tunnels flooded catastrophically in 1992?
- ...that the people of Thailand use the Thai six-hour clock in addition to the usual 24-hour clock?
18 July 2004
edit- ...that Long Ashton Research Station closed in 2003 having served agriculture and horticulture for exactly 100 years?
- ...that actress Hunter Tylo sued producer Aaron Spelling and won after she was fired from Melrose Place?
- ...that the village name Ynysybwl, in South Wales, UK, is pronounced "Un-is-u-bull"?
- ...that the supercontinent Pannotia only lasted about sixty million years before disintegrating into four continents?
17 July 2004
edit- ...that when Lauri Lehtinen narrowly won his gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics, he was booed?
15 July 2004
edit- ...that nine Irishmen died in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike?
- ...that the Coconut Crab is the world's largest terrestrial arthropod?
- ...that every film which actor John Cazale starred in received an Academy Award nomination for best picture?
- ...that Lion Beer was Asia's first brand of beer?
- ...that Joseph Guillemot, winner of the 5000 m at the 1920 Olympics, was a pack-a-day smoker?
- ...that the Welsh language has three kinds of initial consonant mutation?
14 July 2004
edit- ...that the phantom island of Brazil supposedly emerged from the mists only once every seven years?
12 July 2004
edit- ...that the State Historical Museum in Moscow, Russia has 1.7 million coins in its collection?
- ...that the case Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company established the precedents for UK contract law?
- ...that Cockaigne was a legendary peasant utopia of medieval Europe?
- ...that the execution of Flor Contemplacion strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines?
11 July 2004
edit- ...that Daniel Ernst Jablonski in the 1690s tried to bring about a union between Lutheran and Calvinist Protestants?
- ...that a madrigale spirituale is a madrigal with a spiritual rather than secular topic?
- ...that a Baja Bug is a Volkswagen Beetle that has been modified to operate on sand dunes?
- ...that there are fewer than 2000 Indian Rhinoceroses left in the wild?
- ...that the T-Mobile Team is currently racing in the 2004 Tour de France?
10 July 2004
edit- ...that podestà was a powerful position in medieval north Italian cities?
- ...that Mike Woodin was the Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales for 6 years and a city councillor for Oxford for 10 years?
- ...that the bulb of the Wavy-leafed Soap Plant can be used to wash your hair, to stun fish, to cure rheumatism and to make brushes?
- ...that the Mexican War of Independence (1820–1821) resulted in an unlikely alliance between liberales and conservadores?
9 July 2004
edit- ...that Primary Care Trusts are statutory bodies responsible for delivering improvements to their local area in the United Kingdom National Health Service?
8 July 2004
edit- ...that the tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly has been resumed more times than any other?
- ...that bone age is usually determined by examining x-rays of the long bones?
6 July 2004
edit- ...that the Brimstone missile, an anti-tank guided missile, is carried by three Royal Air Force aeroplane types?
5 July 2004
edit- ...that Men's Olympic Football Tournament 2004 will feature U-23 (under 23-year-old) national teams?
- ...that the Battle of Tarawa was the first time in World War II that the US faced serious opposition to an amphibious landing?
- ...that the Siege of Malta cost 1,493 civilian lives?
4 July 2004
edit- ...that Shuri Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- ...Edmund Beckett, the designer of Big Ben, said, "I am the only architect with whom I have never quarrelled."
- ...that the Great Salad Oil Swindle was an infamous attempt at cornering the market?
- ...that Asclepiodotus was King of the Britons, until he died in a battle fighting Coel?
3 July 2004
edit- ...that the political party at European level is a type of organization in the European Union eligible to receive funding from the Union, and is recognized in the Maastricht Treaty and the draft European Constitution?
- ...that the Frankfurt kitchen was the first built-in kitchen, and was designed with space efficiency in mind?
- ...that the Pergamon Museum in Berlin hosts a reconstruction of a 113 meter long sculptural frieze?
- ...that dramatic structure has been diagrammed by both Aristotle and Gustav Freytag?
1 July 2004
edit- ...there are two known Polyomaviruses which infect humans?
- ...that Ruffini's rule allows the rapid division of any polynomial by a binomial of the form x - r ?