During the Civil War, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant believed that onions would prevent dysentery and other physical ailments. He reportedly sent the following message via wire to the War Department: "I will not move my army without onions." Within a day, the U.S. government sent three trainloads of

In the pilot episode of the American televison show The Partridge Family, the group of musical siblings convinces their mother to help them out by singing with them as they record a pop song in their garage. Through the efforts of the 10-year-old son Danny, they find a manager who helps make the song a Top-40 hit. After some more convincing, Mom...Read more

During his rule, Elagabalus (c. 203 – March 11, 222) showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He was married as many as five times and is reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. Elagabalus replaced Jupiter, head of the Roman pantheon, with a new god, Deus Sol Invictus, and forced leading members...Read more

A bee has five eyes, two large compound eyes on either side of its head, and three ocelli (primitive eyes) on top of its head to detect light intensity.

The Greenwich Observatory is currently located at Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy in Central England. However, the site of the observatory was originally in Greenwich, and was arbitrarily established in 1884 as longitude 0 degrees. The observatory was moved because London's fog made celestial observations difficult. A plaque in the...Read more

In Pentagon doublespeak, a "combat emplacement evacuator" is a shovel.

Suzie Derkins is the only character in Bill Watterson's comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes," to have a first and last name. Calvin's parents have no names at all.

In Mexico, Día de la Madre -- Mother's Day -- is celebrated the day before it's observed in the United States. It is a huge gala event, with mariachis starting at noon and family festivities throughout the day.

Each year, more than 300,000 American teenagers become afflicted with some form of venereal disease.

An organization called SCROOGE was formed in 1979 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The acronym stands for the "Society to Curtail Ridiculous, Outrageous and Ostentatious Gift Exchanges."

The original story of a knight rescuing a damsel in distress from the clutches of a marauding dragon came in the tale of Saint George. He was a Roman Calvary officer that rode to the aid of a town in Cappadocia. The people their had been plagued by a dragon and sacrificed their best sheep to try and appease it, failing they offered up a village ...Read more

Wood frogs are freeze-tolerant and spend winters frozen on land, only to thaw in the spring and begin their breeding process in vernal ponds.

The wood of a pencil starts out as two sections, each of which has a long groove. The graphite goes into the groove, and the two pieces are glued together.

In the U.S. and France, a septillion is represented by the number 1 followed by 24 zeroes; in Great Britain and Germany, it is the number 1 followed by 42 zeroes.

The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. It comprises 1.25 million acres and was the first ranch in the world to be completely fenced in. At one time, its borders were guarded by armed patrol.

Spring Heeled Jack (also Springheel Jack, Spring-heel Jack, etc.) is a character from English folklore said to have existed during the Victorian era and be able to jump extraordinarily high. The first recorded claimed sighting of Spring Heeled Jack occurred in 1837. Later alleged sightings were reported from all over England, from London up to ...Read more

This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and

"The Boston Nation," a newspaper published in Ohio during the mid-nineteenth century, had pages seven and a half feet long and five and a half feet wide. It required two people to hold the paper in proper reading position.

The Modern Prometheus is the novel's subtitle. Prometheus, in some versions of Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind, and Victor's work by creating man by new means obviously reflects that creative work. Prometheus was also the bringer of fire who took fire from heaven and gave it to man. Zeus then punished Prometheus by fixing him ...Read more

Wyoming Territory. In 1869 the Wyoming Territory was the first to grant the right to vote to women. In the following year the Utah Territory also gave women the right to vote.