Who was John Bartram, and why are there botanical gardens named after him?
Starting from his farm near Philadelphia during the 1700s, John Bartram traveled north to Lake Ontario, south to Florida, and west to the Ohio River in search of plants and natural history specimens for his own botanic garden and for collectors at home and abroad. He and his son William are credited with identifying and introducing into cultivation more than 200 of America's native plants. By 1765, Bartram's international reputation earned him the notice of King George III who honored him as Royal Botanist, a position he held until his death in 1777. The Historic Bartram Garden is America's oldest living botanical garden.
How much space do glaciers take up?
Glaciers occupy 5.8 million square miles, or 10 percent of the world's land surface, as in an area as large as South America.
Did Robert E. Lee almost become a yankee?
During the Civil War, Robert E. Lee was offered command of the Union Army before he accepted his post with the Confederacy.
Do chute cowboys ride horses?
Probably not - In the film industry, a "chute cowboy" is a slang expression for experienced parachutists that either perform or assist with stunts involving parachutes.
Why do geese eat so much before migrating?
Prior to migration a goose will consume the equivalent of up to 25 percent of its body weight per day, accumulating large amounts of fat. During the migration, geese may cover up to 600 miles per day. At the end of the migration, they often weigh less than before they started fattening up in preparation.
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How did counterfeiting almost bring about what the Confederacy couldn't?
By the end of the U.S. Civil War, 33 percent of all U.S. paper currency in circulation was counterfeit. This was a devastating situation for a nation struggling to recover economically from such a destructive war. On July 5, 1865, the Secret Service was created as a part of the Department of the Treasury to help suppress counterfeit currency.
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Why do firehouses have circular staircases?
Firehouses have circular stairways because, in the olden days, the engines were pulled by horses. The animals were kept in stables on the ground floor, and they learned how to walk up straight staircases.
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How big can a Great White Shark get?
The largest Great White Shark ever caught measured 37 feet and weighed 24,000 pounds. It was found in a herring weir in New Brunswick in 1930. The harmless Whale Shark, holds the title of largest fish, with the record being a 59-footer captured in Thailand in 1919.
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How much did Francis I pay for that famous smile?
King Francis I of France is reported to have paid master artist Leonardo da Vinci 4,000 gold crowns for his masterpiece "Mona Lisa," but the king did not get immediate possession. Da Vinci kept the painting hanging on a wall of his chateau to the day he died.
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How fast can a puffin fly?
In the air, puffins are powerful flyers, beating their wings 300 to 400 times a minute to achieve speeds up to 40 miles per hour (64 kph).
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How many meteors have struck the Earth?
It has been estimated that at least a million meteors have hit the Earth's land surface, which is only 25 percent of the planet. Every last trace of more than 99 percent of the craters thus formed has vanished, erased by wind, water, and living things.
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Does a mustache really make you sneeze?
Men with mustaches may be allergic to their own lip hair. That is because mustaches may harbor airborne pollens that trigger allergies.
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Was Celsius a little batty?
At a glance, the Celsius scale makes more sense than the Fahrenheit scale for temperature measuring. But its creator, Anders Celsius, was an oddball scientist. When he first developed his scale, he made freezing 100 degrees and boiling 0 degrees, or upside down. No one dared point this out to him, so fellow scientists waited until Celsius died to change the scale.
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Who invented the paper clip?
The paper clip was patented by Norwegian inventor Johan Vaaler in 1899. Because Norway had no patent law at the time, he had to travel to Germany where he received his patent in 1900. His U.S. patent was granted in 1901.
Is New York City really the world's melting pot?
Seems that way - There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Everybody talks about telemarketers, but nobody does anything about them...
According to a survey, an estimated 5.5 million Americans believe they have been defrauded into buying something over the phone. A U.S. subcommittee has estimated that while telemarketing fraud costs consumers more than $40 billion a year, only about one in 10,000 victims reports the problem to authorities.
Why wasn't Columbus' chocolates popular?
Christopher Columbus is said to have brought back cacao beans to King Ferdinand from his fourth visit to the New World. Overwhelmed by the countless other treasures Columbus brought, they were virtually ignored.
Which part of the buffalo has the wings?l
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Is it alright to pile stuff on top of your monitor?
Computer monitors need to stay cool. Unfortunately, they make handy resting places for various items. But if papers, manuals, and other miscellany are piled on top of the monitor, the cooling vents are blocked. Internal heat shortens the life of monitors.
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Why shouldn't you sit beneath the balcony in a movie theater?
It's not because the balcony might collapse - When in a movie theater, if there is a balcony, never sit underneath - that's a low sound frequency trap. According to a Sony Cinema Products Corp. representative, there's a "sweet" spot, where the sound is better than anyplace else in the movie theater. To find it, you should look for the speakers and position yourself in between them - usually about three-quarters of the way back from the movie screen.
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Which U.S. town was the first to be nuclear powered?
In July of 1955 - Arco, Idaho, with a population of 1,000, became the first U.S. town powered by nuclear energy. The town's energy was supplied by an experimental boiling-water reactor called the Borax III.
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Can pollen really explode?
Most plant pollen is highly inflammable. It will ignite and explode when placed on an extremely hot surface. In the early days of modern theater, artificial lightning was produced by throwing pollen grains of the club moss onto a hot shovel.
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