In 1892, Emile Berlinger developed the master disc, from which several copies of a record could be made on vulcanized rubber. Before then, singers had to repeat a song for each copy of a recording
The only active diamond mine in the United States is in Arkansas
Ice cream was invented in China around 2000 B.C. when the Chinese packed a soft milk-and-rice mixture in snow. About 62 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero sent slaves to the tops of the Apennines Mountains to bring fresh snow down to the royal kitchens, where the snow was then flavored with fruits and honey
In 1950, Zenith created the first TV remote control called “Lazy Bones”
Some octopuses differ in size so greatly that the father will never grow to be be larger than an acorn, meanwhile the mother will mature to be the size of a human being (150 lbs or so) - once the female delivers her offspring, she wanders off in a weakened condition to be eaten by a larger predator
Only one US President was a bachelor: James Buchanan, who was rumored to be homosexual after living with another single man for over 16 years and being seen frequenting pubs that catered to gay men - no one has ever found any definitive proof, such as letters or diaries revealing his sexuality, and it is possible that he was socially liberal and simply did not shun homosexual men by avoiding their pubs and gathering places
Opossums don’t “play dead” — when frightened, they become overexcited and actually pass out
Hens don’t actually “sit” on their eggs, they squat over them, supporting their weight on their feet and on the edges of their nest
In 1970, the Oregon Department of Transportation used a half ton of dynamite to blow up a sperm whale carcass. The blast showered the beach with rotten blubber and one piece of debris crushed a car (Pictured below is the car that was crushed when a piece of the whale landed on it)
The early recordings made by Motown singers were produced in a studio in a converted house on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, across from the Henry Ford Hospital. Echo effects were produced by having the singers perform under a large hole cut in the ceiling, leading to a drywalled attic ‘echo chamber’
The 50 tallest mountains on Earth are all located in Asia
Most supermarkets place their bakery areas near the entrance, because studies have shown that the aroma of fresh-baked goods makes customers spend more money
By law, French workers get at least 30 paid vacation days each year - Americans, by comparison, get an average of 15 vacation days and ten major holidays for a total of 25 days off a year, not all paid
The Salem Witch trials did not start in Salem Massachusetts - They started in Salem Village, now known as Danvers
Up until the early 1970s in the US, funeral homes often offered their hearses for use as ambulances to transport patients to hospitals
The Harlem Globetrotters were, originally, a Chicago based team (1927) that did not play a game in Harlem until the 1960’s
Like many high-impact
Teddy Roosevelt’s first wife and mother died on the same day in the same house - Valentine’s Day, 1884
Gilbert L. Loomis of Westfield, Massachusetts, was the first American to purchase an auto insurance policy in 1897
A large percentage of the budget for Monty Python and the Holy Grail was donated by members of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd
Highway 9 in New York runs from Manhattan all the way to the capital city of Albany. You might know it better by its common name: Broadway
The drug name Premarin is derived from the origin of the drug – PREgnant MARe urINe. It is derived of the urine of a pregnant horse - the drug is prescribed to treat symptoms associated with female menopaus
The Chinese used black pepper to cure cholera, Europeans used it as currency, and Attila the Hun demanded 3,000 pounds of the stuff in exchange for discontinuing his sacking of Rome
Some species of birds, like robins, can only lay one egg a day, so to ensure that all the eggs in the clutch hatch around the same time, the female will let the earlier eggs “cool” in the nest between layings to let the later eggs catch up
Norman Mailer coined the word “factoid” in his 1973 biography Marilyn. And it wasn’t just another word for “trivia” — he actually meant something that seems like a fact but isn’t actually factual
More people watched Elvis’ “Aloha from Hawaii” than the landing on the Moon
