DID YOU KNOW

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:05 am

Scandinavian berserkers used to cut out their eyes before battle to spare themselves the sight of the carnage they invariably wrought.

Post by **noreply66** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:41 am

OHIO

Astronaut Sunita Williams,born in 1965 in Euclid (pop. 52,717) has spent more time spacewalking than any other woman.She has logged more than 22 hours since she and a crewmate upgraded the international space station's cooling system in February.

Post by **noreply66** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:04 pm

South Dakota

The state is divided into four geographic regions: the Drift Prairie in the east with low hills and glacier lakes;the Dissected Till Plains in the Southeast with rolling hills and streams;the Great Plains in the western two-thirds with rolling hills,plains,canyons and buttes;and the Black Hills in the southwest,an area rich in gold,cooper and lead.

Post by **noreply66** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:20 am

Illinois

Stern Pinball in Melrose Park (pop. 23,171) is the world's last manufacturer of coin-operated pinball machines.Owned by Gary Stern,the company produces three or four new models a year,with each machine containing about 3,500 parts.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:17 am

Rubbing Tabasco on one's upper lip before bedtime is an effective temporary cure for sleep apnea.

Post by **noreply66** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:58 am

Wisconsin

The Conservation Carousel took its first spin last year at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison. Many of the 36-hand carved animal represent species that are threatened or endangered..

Post by **noreply66** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:28 am

Indiana

During World War II, Evansville riverfront was transformed into a 45-acre shipyard to produce LSTs (Landing Ship,Tanks), which have a flat-bottomed hull for sea-to-land delivery of troops,tanks and other military equipment. Today, the restored LST 325, moored on the Ohio River,can be toured at the USS LST Ship Memorial in Evansville.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:47 am

Iroquois, bred at Nashville's Belle Meade Plantation, was the first American winner of the English Derby in 1881. Such modern thoroughbreds as Secretariat trace their bloodlines to Iroquois.

Post by **noreply66** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:07 am

Iowa

Abolitionist Josiah Grinnell,founder of Grinnell (pop. 9,105), provided shelter to abolitionist John Brown in 1859 after Brown's anti-slavery raids in Kansas and Missouri.His namesake town also served as a stop on the Underfround Railroad.

Post by **noreply66** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:53 am

Kansas

In 1892, Jesse Reno patented an inclined elevator,the forerunner of the esculator,and introduced it to the public a few years later as an amusement ride at Coney Island.Reno was born in 1861 in Fort Leavenworth near Leavenworth. (pop 35,420)

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:14 pm

Fish have "dandruff" caused by flaking skin, and it is impossible to filter all traces of it from drinking water.

Post by **noreply66** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:21 am

Michigan

Architect Frank Lyoyd Wright's first major commission in the state was the Prairie-style Meyer May home in Grand Rapids,built from 1908 to 1909.restored in 1987,the home is open for tours.

Frank Reagan · Post by **Frank Reagan** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:24 am

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:20 am

The first case of the common cold was diagnosed in 1611 in Stratford, England. The patient? John Common, who coincidentally gave his cold to William Shakespeare who said the new malady exacerbated his lovesickness, thereby inspiring several of his most fondly remembered sonnets.

Post by **noreply66** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:50 am

Minnesota

The state is the first to adopt an official state mushroom. In 1984,the morel mushroom,also known as the sponge mushroom or honeycomb mushroom,became the official state fungus.

Post by **noreply66** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:25 am

The Sally Rand Museum in St.Joseph,Missouri is dedicated to the legendary silent film actress and entertainer who became famous for dancing with fans made of ostrich feathers.Rand was born in 1904 in Hickory County (pop. 8,940).

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:47 pm

If an average human scrotum were stretched until all its wrinkles were smoothed out, it could hold a basketball.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 6:14 pm

In the late '90s, Microsoft secretly developed its own version of Linux, but shelved it after quality control researchers deemed it "too stable."

Post by **noreply66** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:40 am

Montpelier,Ohio (pop. 4,320) has bragging rights to the world's tastiest tap water.In 2003,2006 and 2007,the village won top honors at the International Water Tasting in Berkeley Springs,W.Va.

BubbleGumTiger · Post by **BubbleGumTiger** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:09 am

The African black rhinoceros excretes its own weight in dung every 48 hours.