October 2010
37 posts
Olde English 800 3.2 was rated the world's worst... →
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The Ten Awesomest Names of 19th Century Cabinet... →
Via Woot (names link to Wikipedia, visit the Woot post for more good stuff: 1. Columbus Delano
2. Philander C. Knox
3. Lot M. Morrill
4. Salmon P. Chase
5. Elihu Root
6. Return J. Meigs, Jr.
7. Hamilton Fish
8. Reverdy Johnson
9. Cornelius Newton Bliss
10. Cave Johnson
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Can elephants jump?
Probably not. Though it hasn’t been ruled out, it’s thought to be both highly unlikely and unnecessary. Anyone have a rebuttal?
Photo credit: mzacha
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In Japan, "the average price of a home is the same... →
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A thrown wedding bouquet once caused a plane to... →
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WatchMarket Street in San Francisco, ravaged by the 1906 earthquake, was filmed a week before the quake — with early cars, or “horseless carriages,” prominently featured.
h/t Michael Hilt
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Quomodo dicis Latine?
How do you say that in Latin? With Google Translate!
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Senior citizens (not) living with their children
In 1850, 67.9 percent of U.S. seniors lived with their children.
In 1990, 15.6 percent did.
The 1940s was the first time a majority of seniors lived separately from their children, if any.
Data: The Atlantic
Photo: dynamix
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Editors: Not famous, but ready for new media →
Copy editors, paginators and Web editors, aggregators and bloggers can all experience the rush of breaking news, of chaos and upheaval, but it’s (generally) at least one step removed.
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The last president to rock a mustache was ...
William Taft. Also, the last (and only) president to weigh 300 pounds.
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Who was Mickey Mantle named for?
// ]]]]>]]> 79 years ago on October 20 (edit because Tumblr doesn’t get “Scheduled post”), Mickey Mantle was born. The future Hall of Famer was named for then-ballplayer (and future HOFer himself) Mickey Cochrane.
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Dog names -- who's No. 1?
The most popular male dog names are Max and Jake. The most popular female dog names are Maggie and Molly (according to “Planet Dog: A Doglopedia.”)
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What was Dunkin' Donuts originally called? →
60 years ago, a coffee shop called Open Kettle rebranded itself.
Its new name? Dunkin’ Donuts.
Photo credit: Qfamily
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“Historians believe syphilis originated in the New World among the Native...”
– RandomHistory.com
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Kanye West's Tweets that could be album titles →
From NYMag.com, which despises the actual title of Kanye’s latest album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
My favorite: McDonald’s and Museum Toys
A good quote needs no editing, baseball edition →
So, you may have heard that Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter tonight. It’s the first no-no in the playoffs since 1956, decades before the playoff format Halladay pitched in existed.
One player…
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Charles Kuralt was CBS' "On The Road"... →
A secret lover. And family. And monetary support for said family.
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Penicillin, our common lifesaver, was born around... →
Learn about the history of this treatment over at The Scientist.
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How many shutouts did teams throw in MLB this...
329 — the third-most since 1930. You might rhetorically ask, “Where’d the steroids go?”
(h/t @MLB_PR)
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Men get breast cancer, too*
The rates are much lower than for women, obviously, but hundreds of men die every year from breast cancer. Men such as “The Price Is Right” announcer Rod Roddy.
*OK, not all facts are going to be fun. But they’re all (hopefully) worth of dinner-party conversation.
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Did Julius Caesar come, see and conquer salad?
If we ignore the 1,968 years separating Caesar from Caesar salad, then yes. The Caesar salad is named after Caesar Cardini, of Mexico. To recap:
The one who is a Roman.
The one that has romaine.
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The digital camera was invented in 1975. →
The first commercially available digital camera, costing $10,000, wasn’t to come out until 16 years later.
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The NFL once had a player named "Ben Gay." Save... →
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