Showing posts with label history trivia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history trivia. Show all posts

Interesting Thanksgiving Trivia

Usually when Thanksgiving gets mentioned what immediately comes to mind first are those delicious desserts and other dishes and that spectacular roasted turkey.

Well, the food is a big part of your celebration but it isn't the only component of the Thanksgiving season. Thanksgiving's really a noteworthy occasion for us to happily celebrate and thank our creator together with family and friends for blessings we have so far received.

Here are some Thanksgiving trivias that you might like to share during your celebration.

1) Sarah Hale, an editor of a woman's magazine, is credited with having Thanksgiving declared as a national holiday by writing to congress for several years.

2) The very 1st Thanksgiving was celebrated during 1621 by Pilgrims. It was also said their Thanksgiving celebration was a total of 3 days.

3) Original name/term for Pilgrims was actually Puritans.

4) Turkey wishbone is considered a charm for good luck so grab it before anybody else gets it. Have fun looking!

5) Before being harvested and sold, a cranberry must bounce at least 4 times before it is considered as not too ripe.

6) The very first meal that astronauts Buzz Aldren and Neil Armstrong ate on the moon was a roasted turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

7) 102 Pilgrims were said to have been aboard the Mayflower who were coming to America (New World).

8) Mayflower is the boat name given for the very first shipping vessel that landed in America bringing Puritans.

9) Abraham Lincoln was the President who made Thanksgiving a national US holiday and before he declared it so, Thanksgiving was celebrated whenever the Governor of a state said so.

10) Thanksgiving is always celebrated on a Thursday because this was the Puritan's mid-prayer week day.

11) Pumpkin pie was not yet served during those early Thanksgiving celebrations during the 1620's because ovens were not yet invented at that time.

12) Approved table manners for Thanksgiving were: eating with your hands; spitting on the floor; throwing bones into the hearth after eating.

13) Not everyone was traveling to the New World to settle, some of these travelers were just out to get furs and lumber to send back to England.

14) Pilgrims traveling to the New World via the Mayflower actually spent 66 days at sea before reaching land again. That's how long it was before to travel.

15) In October of 1777, George Washington declared an "All Colony Thanksgiving" because he was feeling great about his victory over Sarasota.

Thanksgiving is so much more than just great food. It's the time for family and friends to meet again in a festive mood to appreciate all the blessings given and simply to enjoy the companionship of really good people who have made a difference in your life. So have a joyful Thanksgiving!
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Presidential Fun Facts about Ice Cream

Are you wanting to know some presidential facts about ice cream? If you're a fan of ice cream, there is nothing more interesting than discovering presidential fun facts on ice cream. This article will survey chronologically which presidents (and presidential candidates) have loved ice cream - from George Washington to Barack Obama and John McCain! Ready for some fun facts on ice cream?

The current presidential candidates have not been the only candidates who have shared a desire in America's favorite treat. Below are some presidential and some fascinating facts about ice cream.

Presidential Fun Facts about Ice Cream

* George Washington was also known to have had a love for ice cream! In fact, he loved ice cream so much that he had two ice cream makers in his home.

* Thomas Jefferson had two French ice cream machines into his home in order to make homemade ice cream. (Yes, they did have homemade ice cream back then) after he made his ice cream, he would often and vanilla to it, which was the tradition of the French. He would also have a hankering for a French pastry that had ice cream in the middle

* James Madison wanted to impress his guests so much that he had ice cream served to his guests at his inaugural ball. Madison used his very own cows in order to get the milk that was used for the ice cream.

* Franklin Roosevelt demonstrated that ice cream deserves a rank among royalty. He is reported to have served ice cream to King George. FDR loved any type of ice cream, but certainly went for chocolate.

* What about Ronald Reagan? In 1984, he was the one who called July "National Ice Cream Month" and the third Sunday of that month he called "National Ice Cream Day."

Barack Obama does not like ice cream! Yep! His daughters do, but he says he is not a "sweets guy." One of his daughters said that everyone should like ice cream. And don't we all agree!

John McCain has his own ice cream flavor! "Straight Talk Crunch" from Baskin Robbins. He loves it! It's made from caramel, white chocolate and almonds. Obama's is called "Whirl of Change." It has chunks of chocolate covered peanut brittle, peanut-nougat and a caramel ribbon.

These are some of the more popular presidential facts about ice cream. There are many many more all-American facts on ice cream. Do you want to know some?
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Interesting Trivia about Xmas Lights Decorations

Seeing the lights play with the surroundings every Christmas season is always a fun activity. It's so nice to see the all the colorful display of lights that makes every night of the holiday season brighter and more exciting. Xmas lights installation services should be in very good condition since during the season, owners of houses, shops and buildings are all making every effort to make their establishments a very fun source of wonderful illumination during the holiday season. The following are some interesting trivia on Xmas lights display and installation designs:

• Before the high tech lights design people see on the streets, on houses and on buildings, the source of lights display every Christmas started with a simple candle. People from ages ago used candle to illuminate the trees with the aid of candleholders and glass balls.

• It was in 1890s when the first set of Xmas lights is used as a decoration around the Xmas tree or in the house is done by one of Thomas Edison's associates, Edward Johnson.

• Edward Johnson is now known popularly as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights.

• The wide use of lights in homes and shops started only in 1930 because it was created by Johnson in 1890 were very expensive.

• In United Kingdom, Xmas lights are more popularly known as fairy lights.

• Dominic Luberto, owner of the brightly illuminated house in Boston starts his over 10,000 dollars worth of installation as early as October.

• The 2000 movie 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' made use of over 52,000 Xmas lights during the film.

• Aside from the amazing view of wonderful illumination, several lights display all over the world is also accompanied by music. Several lights installation for houses now include music accompaniment.

• There are several designs houses and other establishments utilize for decoration such as icicle, net, rope lights, etc.

• The Osborne family covers the Streets of America of Disney with dancing lights, glittering and surprising people with the dimming of lights then lighting up again in an abrupt and surprising way. The lights display is accompanied by music.

• The Silver Dollar City in Missouri dazzles visitors and tourists with over 4 million Xmas lights display every holiday season.

• During the night, a very nice scene of the group of multi-million houses covered in over the top Xmas lights decorations can be experienced up high through the Huntington Harbor Cruise of Lights.

• Located in Tennessee, the Shadrack's Water Sports hosts one of the world's most amazing lights shows. Bright and colorful lights move in very fun and extremely breathtaking ways transforming the whole place to a dreamy Xmas wonderland. The lights dance with several tunes of Christmas.

• In Georgia, both kids and adults can enjoy a 7 mile ride through amazing lights display of Xmas characters. The event is called the "World's Largest Light Extravaganza."

• Every Christmas, millions of houses try to decorate the house with so many Xmas lights to fully express the bright spirit of the holiday season.
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Buttons - History And Facts

When did buttons begin to be used? What was used to secure clothing before them? Some history and facts about the button:

* Button-like objects have been found in the Indus Valley of ancient Pakistan and date back to around 2000 B.C.E. These were not used for fasteners, but for ornaments. Before they were used for fastening, pins, leather lacing and belts were used to secure clothing.

* Before buttons could be used as fasteners, the button hole had to be devised. Evidence dates the first button and button hole closure systems to the 13th century in Germany. This may have been a solution to the problem of how to secure clothing that was becoming more and more form-fitting, without having to resort to sharp pins.

* As with most anything that is new, they became a fad. Buttons and button holes covered the clothing of the well to do. The number of them and what they were made out of became a status symbol. It has been rumored that King Louis XIV of France spent over $5 million on them in his lifetime.

* Ever wonder why men's suit coats have non-functioning buttons sewn on the sleeves? Some say they are just for decoration, but there is also the story that King Frederick The Great of Prussia started the practice in the 18th century. The rumor goes that after an inspection of his troops, he ordered that buttons be sewn on the sleeves of their coats to discourage them from wiping their noses on them!

* The Scovill Manufacturing Company in America made a set of gold buttons with the profile of George Washington on them that were presented to Marquis de Lafayette during his U.S. visit in 1824.

* With the increased cost of ivory in the 19th century, button manufacturers began to make them out of a nut from a specific kind of palm tree in South America. This is called vegetable ivory, or corozo. When the nut is dried, it is a very reasonable facsimile for genuine ivory, and is still used today.

* The first buttons made from celluloid, one of the first types of plastics, were made in the 1860's.

* Before World War One, most button manufacturing was done in Europe, specifically England. After the war, the United States became the center of button making until modern times.
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Father's Day Trivia

1. A renowned poet and novelist as well as chair of poetry at the University of Cambridge, this academy award-winning actor’s father wrote mysteries under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake.
A. Jack Nicholson
B. Charlie Sheen
C. Daniel Day Lewis
D. Rob Schneider

C. Daniel Day Lewis
QQ: Sure it seemed like a hard question, but really you had a fifty-fifty shot, didn’t you? After all, we all know what Charlie Sheen’s dad does and last time I checked Rob Schneider wasn’t winning any academy awards.

2. Social scientists believe that the modern Western family developed largely from that of the ancient Hebrews for what reason?
A. Their families were patriarchal in structure
B. It was a matriarchal society
C. It was an oligarchy
D. The Hebrews called their god “Father”

A. Their families were patriarchal in structure
QQ: There, now you must feel better after The QuizQueen gave you an easy one…

3. Which “father” figure does NOT exist?
A. Father Cats
B. Father Dogs
C. Father Christmas
D. Father Divine

B. Father Dogs
QQ: Father Cats was a Dutch writer, Father Christmas is the English Santa Claus, and Father Divine was an American religious leader.

4. Who was first named “Father of His Country”?
A. George Washington
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Emperor Augustus
D. Napoleon Bonaparte

C. Emperor Augustus
QQ: In 2 BC, the Roman emperor Augustus is made Pater Patriae (“Father of his Country”).

5. Which ancient Greek god was least likely to celebrate Father’s Day?
A. Zeus, father of the gods
B. Iapetus, the father of Prometheus
C. Hyperion, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn
D. Cronos, god of fertility

D. Cronos, god of fertility
QQ: That’s because Cronos (Kronus) castrated his father and protected himself from a similar fate by eating his children. Some fertility god, eh?

6. If you are a first-born son, is it a good thing or a bad thing for your father to practice primogeniture?
A. Good
B. Bad
C. It depends
D. Who cares

A. Good
QQ: That’s because your inheritance is guaranteed under this system. He can’t cut you out of the will no matter what!

7. American actor Robert Young starred in what 1950’s TV show dedicated to fathers?
A. Father Knows Best
B. Leave it to Daddy
C. My Three Fathers
D. I Dream Of Papa

A. Father Knows Best
QQ: This was a gimmee, wasn’t it?

8. Which “Make Room For Daddy” star fathered “That Girl”?
A. Danny Thomas
B. Carl Reiner
C. Monty Gleason
D. Jon Voight

A. Danny Thomas
QQ: Everyone knows that Marlo was “That Girl,” right?

9. Which “father” figure does NOT exist?
A. Father Flanagan
B. Father Coughlin
C. Father Damien
D. Father Clinton

D. Father Clinton
QQ: Well, OK, maybe Bill is a father, but that is certainly not what he’s known for! Father Flanagan (of course) founded Boys Town, Father Coughlin was a Canadian-American priest and activist, and Father Damien was a Belgian missionary.

10. The ancient Egyptian deity Amon was represented by what animal?
A. Ram
B. Lion
C. Dog
D. Rat

A. Ram
QQ: He was the father of the moon, according to the mythology.

11. Which was NOT one of Spencer Tracy’s “father”-ly roles?
A. Father of the Bride
B. Father’s Little Dividend
C. Boys Town (Father Flanagan)
D. Father Knows Best

D. Father Knows Best
QQ: That’s right, Spencer Tracy was the “Father of the Bride” long before Steve Martin!

12. Which society is NOT patrilineal?
A. Bedouin
B. Ewe
C. Shawnee
D. Tuareg

D. Tuareg
QQ: How many people guessed Ewe? That was pretty tricky of The QuizQueen wasn’t it!

13. According to Greek mythology, the god of sleep was the father of Morpheus. What was his name?
A. Hypnos
B. Doseus
C. Napinus
D. Snoozola

A. Hypnos
QQ: Hypnos god of sleep, often depicted carrying a poppy; son of Nyx, brother of Thanatos, and father of Morpheus

14. What blue-eyed crooner fathered a singer whose boots were made for walking?
A. Elvis Presley
B. Bing Crosby
C. Frank Sinatra
D. Ricky Nelson

C. Frank Sinatra
QQ: Nancy Sinatra recorded “These Boots Are Made For Walking” for those who don’t remember!

15. What happens when a father practices the custom of couvade?
A. He takes to his bed and complains of labor pains
B. He circumcises his son
C. He demands a DNA test to ascertain paternity
D. The male penguin assists the female by sitting on the nest

A. He takes to his bed and complains of labor pains
QQ: Documented by Marco Polo and modern anthropologists, it is taken to be an assertion of his rights and responsibilities as father in some cultures.

16. According to Greek mythology, who was the father of the gods and mortals?
A. Cronus
B. Hades
C. Poseidon
D. Zeus

D. Zeus
QQ: If Homer said it then it must be true! However, it was more an honorary title than a practical one.

17. The country singer Tex _____ fathered a star who among other things played a role on Three’s Company. What is Tex’s last name?
A. Ritter
B. Somers
C. Knotts
D. Williams

A. Ritter
QQ: And he was John Ritter’s Dad of course!

18. Can you name the father-son acting duo where the father was Spartacus and the son became president (on screen)?
A. Kirk and Michael
B. Donald and Kieffer
C. Martin and Charlie
D. James and Josh

A. Kirk and Michael
QQ: This would of course be the Douglases! Did you know that if Kirk hadn’t changed his name they would be the Danielovitchs?

I am a Renaissance Woman Online because I own four ezines, three newsletters, and more web sites than I like to admit. I have a wide number of internet interests and am fortunate that my two chosen career paths--teaching and writing--allow me to purse my various interests and help others. Visit http://RenaissanceWomanOnline.com or follow the link associated with this article to learn more.
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Informative NFL Trivia

NFL History
The National Football League or better known as the NFL is the largest professional American Football league. The league originally was formed in 1920 and was known as the American Professional Football Association which was then changed to the American Professional Football League a year after. Its name changed yet again to its present name a year after that. The league began with a mere 11 members but has increased to 32 teams divided into 2 conferences of 16 teams each. This is turn has resulted in a flood of NFL merchandise being made available such as mini NFL helmets. The long history of the NFL has thus resulted in very interesting NFL trivia.

NFL popularity
American Football has had the privilege of being the most popular sport in America since 1965. The NFL has the largest per-game attendance of any domestic professional sports league on earth, attracting over 67,000 spectators per game for every one of its two most recently completed seasons, 2006 and 2007. Unfortunately, the National Football League's overall attendance is only an estimated 20% of that of Major League Baseball, due to MLB's much longer schedule.

In a sports poll undertaken in 2008, the NFL was the most favored sport of nearly as many supporters (30 %) as the combined numbers of the next four professional sports - baseball (15 %), auto racing (10 %), hockey (5 percent) and men's pro basketball (4 percent). In addition, Football's American TV viewership figures now surpass those of other sports. Moreover, independent studies have revealed that the average global viewership is just over 100 million, with many of whom of whom being U.S. viewers.

The NFL logo
The old NFL logo with 25 stars was used between 1970 and 2008. It was replaced with a new logo, which consists of 4 stars, for the 2008 season.

The Super Bowl Trophy
The trophy a team is given for winning the Super Bowl is the Vince Lombardi Trophy; Lombardi coached the Packers to many NFL Championships in the 1960s.

NFL Players
Interestingly enough, former Charger Defensive Lineman Ernie Ladd also managed a career as a professional wrestler.

NFL Teams
The Green Bay Packers
are not merely the solitary NFL team that is publicly owned by the community and fans. It is the only professional sports team in the United States with such a unique ownership arrangement. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls ever played, though at the time they were not referred to as Super Bowls. The Packers is the oldest team name that is currently in use in the National Football League.

The Indianapolis Colts were the inaugural NFL team to have cheerleaders. The Colts are the very first team ever to start successive seasons with 9-0 records. In 1981 the Colts set a modern record for fewest punts returned in a single season with a measly 12.

Once, the New England Patriots were the sole team in the league who had an image of a football as part of their NFL team helmet logo.
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Mona Lisa Interesting Facts

The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the history of art and continues to inspire oil painting  reproductions, parody, scientific theory, and more. The following are some interesting Facts about Mona Lisa.

o Most people know that Mona Lisa painting is created by Leonardo da Vinci, but the identity of the woman still remains unknow. Some people even think it is Da Vinci in female form. But the most commonly believed is Lisa Gherardini, born in 1479. She was 24 years old and the mother of two sons when she posed for the painting. Why he chose her is still a mystery.

o The original name of the painting is Monna Lisa, it was a common italian shortening of Madonna, meaning "my lady." But can you believe it, the most recognized name of this painting now is because of a spelling error(Mona Lisa).

o In 1956, a man named Ugo Ungaza threw a rock at the painting, which resulted in a small patch of damaged paint next to her left elbow.


o The unrivaled fame of this work is partially because it was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in broad daylight by an employee in 1911. It was quickly recovered two years later.

o The painting now is in the Louvre Museum in Paris and is portected in a climate controlled environment and encased in bullet proof glass which caused seven million dollars to built the room.

o The painting is considered priceless and cannot be insured.

o There is a rumor that Mona Lisa has no eyebrows in the painting because when they were trying to restore the painting, they made an error and removed the eyebrows accidentally. However, ther are others think that Da Vinci never finished the painting because of he was the consummate perfectionist and also because most of Leonardo's paintings were left unfinished.

o There are three different versions painted under the presently viewed version. One version has her hands clutching the arms of the chair instead of in front of her.
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US Presidential Trivia

Who called Eisenhower, Hoover and Truman in the early morning hours of November 23, 1963? A: Lyndon B. Johnson.
Who told Jimmy Carter in a debate: "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe"? A: Gerald Ford.

Whose 1800 presidential campaign did the Hartford Courant offer a formal apology for opposing, in 1993? A: Thomas Jefferson's.

What presidential candidate did Ronald Reagan support when voting for the first time? A: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Which First Lady was born Mamie Doud? A: Maime Eisenhower

In the 60s what was the first name of John F. Kennedy's wife? A: Jackie

Whose assassination was Sam Seymour the last living witness to, until his death in 1956? A: Abraham Lincoln's.

What name did romantic George Bush paint on his bomber during World War II? A: Barbara.

Where was JFK when he said the U.S. "never had to put up a wall to keep our people in"? A: West Berlin.

What three words did George Bush say before "no new taxes" in 1988? A: Read my lips.

Who did Abraham Lincoln promote to major general of volunteers after he captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson? A: Ulysses S. Grant.

Whose 1823 doctrine said the Western Hemisphere was not open to colonization or aggression by European nations? A: James Monroe's.

What card game did Dwight D. Eisenhower play fanatically while planning for D-Day? A: Bridge.

What date saw FDR sign the U.S. declaration of war against Japan? A: December 8, 1941.

What U.S. president's State of the Union address lasted a record 81 minutes? A: Bill Clinton's.

What U.S. president was born William Jefferson Blythe IV? A: Bill Clinton.

What U.S. president had the shortest life? A: John F. Kennedy.

What former president was on an African hunting trip when his enemy J. P. Morgan quipped: "Let every lion do his duty"? A: Theodore Roosevelt.

What conspirator in the Lincoln assassination was pardoned for saving the lives of prison guards during a yellow fever epidemic? A: Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Who was the first president to utter "We shall overcome" before a joint session of Congress? A: Lyndon B. Johnson.

What future president was the only U.S. senator from a Confederate state to remain in Congress after secession? A: Andrew Jackson.

What president's mug graces a $100,000 bill? A: Woodrow Wilson.

What future U.S. president received the last rites of the Catholic Church after an infection following spinal surgery in 1954? A: John F. Kennedy.

What war saw James Madison become the first U.S. president to command a military unit during his term in office? A: The war of 1812.

What document did President Andrew Johnson want a copy of placed under his head upon his burial? A: The U.S. Constitution.

Who was the first daughter of a U.S. president to pose nude for a Playboy video? A: Patti Davis.

How many U.S. states are named after a president? A: One.

Who is the only president to have survived two assassination attempts by women? A: Gerald Ford.

What day does the U.S. president traditionally deliver a weekly radio address? A: Saturday.

What horse-loving future president cheated on an eye exam to join the cavalry reserves in the 1930's? A: Ronald Regan.

What U.S. president threw out the most Opening Day baseballs? A: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

What card game did Dwight D. Eisenhower play fanatically while planning for D-Day? A: Bridge.

What White House lawyer first revealed the existence of an "enemies list" and "hush money" at the Watergate hearings? A: John Dean.

What date saw FDR sign the U.S. declaration of war against Japan? A: December 8, 1941.

What U.S. president installed solar panels on the White House roof? A: Jimmy Carter.

What First Lady of the 1980s was shocked to find "a tremendous rat" swimming with her in the White House Pool? A: Barbara Bush.

What future anchor was the only female reporter to tag along with Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China? A: Barbara Walters.

Who revealed that the U.S. had a hydrogen bomb in his last State of the Union speech? A: Harry S. Truman
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Historical Trivia and the Origins of Barbeque

One of my favorite words is factoid.

If you're like most people out there, and you just go along to get along, I'm gonna bet that you think the definition is something like a little-known, interesting fact or tidbit. Well, I by no means, consider myself a scholar, but I remember my Daddy comin' home from work, sometime in the mid-seventies, talkin' about some yahoo, name of Ted Turner, who did a piece on a show and used factoid as a tid-bit of information. "Ruination of the English language", I can remember him muttering! So, I went and looked it up. I do that...a lot. Got a whole library, now!

Just so's you know, a factoid is a piece of erroneous or incorrect information, that gets spread and repeated so often, that people believe it to be true! Thus, a factoid about the word factoid is, itself, a factoid! Ain't that something?

So, ever since then, I've tried to be kinda careful about how I use words. English teacher of mine, when I was in grammar school, came up with a pretty saying I remember, too. He said, "Bobby, words are the tools and language is a skill. But communication...that's an art." I kinda' liked that.

Anyway, what's that got to do with barbecue? Well, seems all kind of folk want to know where the word comes from, 'cuz it's not as easy as grill.

The word barbecue sounds funny, so it must be foreign. If it's foreign, it must be French. Plus we associate it with the Southern states, like Louisiana, which, as I recall from my fifth grade history, used to be sort of French. But we like to blur the lines just a little more, like that friend of a friend that told you he heard someone who said that thing you can't quite remember...so the story goes somethin' like this.

Way back when, French sailors in the Caribbean saw a pig being cooked whole in a pit and reportedly described the method of cooking as barbe à queue, meaning from beard to tail. More likely, it was just part of the description, because they were somehow awed that anyone might eat more than the hams with their oeuvres! The French, being clever and all, use the same word for barbecue as we do now, so I guess Steve Martin was wrong when he said "those French have a different word for everything!" . But word historians, etymologists, they're called, say that beard to tail tale, just ain't so. Just because it sounds close, don't necessarily make it so...it's just a common thread in folk-etymology explanations. Almost as bad as explanations for cuss words that say they're acronyms...guess again or look it up. I did!

Now, on account of us Americans likin' barbecue so well and kinda takin' it as our own, another claim is that the word barbecue comes from the acronym BBQ, supposedly from roadhouses and beer joints with pool tables that advertised "Bar, Beer and Cues".

Dumbest thing I ever heard! What kinda' bar needs to advertise that it has beer? And I've never been to one that had a swimmin' pool inside, so I don't even know why you'd say "cues" instead of "pool". "Think I'll ride my hog on down to the no-beer-servin' roadhouse for a nice cool lemonade and a game of cues, tonight. You comin'?" According to this fairy tale, the phrase was shortened over time to BBCue, then BBQ, using IFFY (pronounced "iffy") - Inaccurate False and Foolish Yammering. Maybe that'll catch on...but I doubt it!

So, all you can get out of the above is the correct spelling of the word, barbecue, (and yes, I know what the title of my blog is, and that's 'cuz so many people misspell it!) and some cool stuff to tell your friends and neighbors, while you're standing around the barbecue pit, burnin' somethin'!
The actual origins of both the activity of barbecue cooking and the word itself are, as you guessed, not so clear cut. Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives ultimately from the word barabicu found in the language of both the Timucua of Florida and the Taíno people of the Caribbean, which then entered European languages in the form barbacoa. The word translates as sacred fire pit, and describes a grill for cooking meat, consisting of a wooden platform resting on sticks.
So, now that you understand that what you been doin' in the name of barbecue, is actually the desecration of the sacred fire pit, maybe you're ready to learn how to barbecue and earn the admiration of your friends and neighbors and maybe even win back your wife's love, by not messin' up another get-together and learnin' how to barbecue the right way...the Bubba Q way!
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General Knowledge Quiz Questions From Fun Trivia

Question: Who were ziggurats?

Answer: Stepped towers or temple towers

Interesting Fact: A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

Question: Who wrote Bambi?

Answer: Siegmund Salzmann aka Felix Salten

Interesting Fact: Bambi, ein Leben im Walde (Bambi, A Life in the Woods) is a book by Felix Salten, first printed in 1923. Bambi is the name of the main character, a male roe deer beginning life as a fawn, then an adolescent spike, and finally a buck. Felix Salten was the pen-name of Siegmund Salzmann, who was born in Budapest, Hungary but grew up in Vienna, Austria. The book was translated from German into English by Whittaker Chambers, who needed to supplement his income while working at a Communist newspaper. Felix Salten wrote a sequel, entitled Bambi's Children.

Question: What percent of its life does an albatross spend gliding?

Answer: 90 percent

Interesting Fact: Albatrosses are among the most spectacular gliders of all birds; in windy weather they can stay aloft for hours without flapping their wings. They drink seawater and usually eat squid. Albatrosses come ashore only to breed, in colonies typically established on remote oceanic islands. Adults of common species attain wingspans of 7 – 11 feet. Albatrosses live long and may be among the few birds to die of old age. They were once held in awe by seamen, who held that killing one would bring bad luck.

Question: What is the world?s smallest primate?

Answer: lesser mouse lemur

Interesting Fact: These are 1 ounce in size and are nocturnal, with correspondingly large eyes, and essentially arboreal, with relatively long tails. The tarsal bones in the heel region of the foot are mildly elongated. The fur is dense and woolly in all species. As a general rule, species inhabiting the eastern rainforest tend to be rufous (reddish brown) in dorsal coloration, while those living in the dryer forests in the west are grayer. In all species, the ventral fur is considerably lighter and varies from white through cream to yellowish brown. The external ears (pinnae) are relatively large and, in some species, very conspicuous.

Question: In September 1925 what safety feature was added to London streets?

Answer: White lines to mark the center of the road

Interesting Fact: The idea of painting a centre white line was first experimented in 1921 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. Following complaints by residents over reckless driving and several collisions, the Sutton Coldfield Corporation decided to paint the line on Maney Corner in the area of Maney.

Question: How many different kinds of animals are represented in animal crackers?

Answer: 37

Interesting Fact: Animal shaped crackers, first produced in 1902 by National Biscuit Co. as Barnum's animal crackers.

Find more interesting facts and free trivia questions and answers at http://trivialtopics.net/
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Cinnamon - Trivia of Spice

Origin: Imported from China to Egypt as early as 2000 B.C., Cinnamon was given as a prestigious offering to Monarchs. It is even featured with positive and symbolic meaning in the NY Times All-time Best Seller, The Bible, in the books of Exodus and Proverbs.

Plant: A small evergreen tree with oblong leaves and little green flowers with an unpleasant smell. Inside the tree’s small purple berry is a single seed. Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years and then cutting it back in order to grow shoots from the tree's roots over the duration of the next year. The shoots are then stripped of their bark and dried. After naturally drying, the outer portion is removed and only a minimally thin inner bark is used. Finally, the thin bark is layered with other pieces and once more left to dry into the recognizable curled strips. This final result, known as the quill is then cut into spicejar-sized pieces. The oil, also highly utilized is prepared by pounding the bark, soaking it in sea water and then distilling it.

Quality: The best cinnamon comes naturally out of Sri Lanka, as well as commercially grown farms in Brazil, Madagascar, Sumatra, West Indies, Vietnam, and more. It possesses a very thin smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown color. Its fragrant odor is particularly sweet, warm and it gives a very pleasing taste, the result of the concentration of its cinnamon oil.

Benefits: U. S. Department of Agriculture found in studies that using a half teaspoon of cinnamon daily lowered many dangerous blood related levels, including blood sugar in diabetics (especially Type-2), cholesterol, triglyceride and Low Density Lipo-proteins (LDL’s). The same result is achieved by adding cinnamon in tea. To be furthered researched is a notion that ingesting cinnamon can lower blood pressure and whether or not excessive amounts of the fat-soluable components of cinnamon are safe from toxicity.

The Oil of cinnamon also has its benefits - boosting brain function. Research by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences found that products with cinnamon oil enhanced resesarch participant's cognitive processing, especially, in computer-based tasks such as attentional processes, virtual recognition, working memory, and visual-motor speed.

Blurb: When mentioning cinnamon, desserts such as the cinnamon roll come to mind first. However, in all purpose cinnamon does more than just make your food taste good. It also qualifies as an “anti-microbial” food, stopping the growth of bacteria as well as fungi such as yeast (Candida). In laboratory tests, growth of yeast with resistance to anti-fungal medication was often stopped by cinnamon extracts. With this data, cinnamon even proves itself worthy as a natural food preservative...but really, to us it just tastes and smells great!

About The Author
Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of the newly-released book, Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as the humorous side of motherhood.
momlooksgreat.com

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Presidential Facts and Fun Trivia

How much do you know about America 's presidents? Here are some fun facts and little-known trivia about some of our most popular government leaders.

Who was our tallest President?
Abe Lincoln was 6 feet, 4 inches!

Which US President studied to be a medical doctor?
William Henry Harrison, the ninth President.

Who was the first President to have a stepmother?
Millard Fillmore, the 13th President

Who was the fist left-handed President?
James Garfield, the 20th President.

Who was the only single President?
James Buchanan, the fifteenth President, has been our only bachelor.

Who was the heaviest president?
William Taft, the 27th President weighed nearly 350 pounds!

Who was the oldest elected president?
Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was elected at age 69 years old!

Which President announced baseball games for the Chicago Cubs on the radio?
Ronald Reagan, again! He also became a famous actor and was nicknamed "Dutch."

Which presidents were either born or died on the 4th of July?
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 while Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.

Which president was related by either blood or marriage to eleven other presidents?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd President, was related by either blood or marriage to these eleven other presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, and George Washington!

Which President was the youngest to become President?
Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President. He was Vice-President, but took over the office when William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt was 42 years of age. While Kennedy was the youngest elected president, he was not the youngest to become president.

Who was the only person to become President without having been elected?
Gerald Ford, our 38th President, took over the office of president when Richard Nixon resigned.

Which Presidents are featured on Mount Rushmore?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are all featured on Mount Rushmore.

Which President could read Greek, Latin, French and English?
Thomas Jefferson.

Which President was elected by the House of Representatives because neither candidate, (John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson) had enough electoral votes?
John Quincy Adams, the 6th President- he also was known to get up very early each morning to go skinny dipping in the Potomac River!

Which President was the only one to ever kill a man in a duel?
Andrew Jackson.

Which President 's horse liked to much on the White House lawn?
Zachary Taylor 's !

Which President was once arrested because he ran over a woman while driving his horse and buggy?
Franklin Pierce- but the charges were later dropped.

Which President was arrested for speeding while driving his horse and carriage?
Ulysses S. Grant was- he had to pay a fine of $20.00 and then walk back to the White House.

Which President once lost the White House china while gambling?
Warren G. Harding.

Which President 's mother forced him to wear dresses until he was five?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's - he was also the only president elected to four terms.

Which President loved the game of golf so much that he built a putting green on the White House lawn?
Dwight David Eisenhower.

Which President 's father gave him $1 million when he turned 21?
John F. Kennedy.

Which President was captain of the baseball team at Yale University?
George Bush.

Which President was known to walk through the White House turning off lights so that he would not waste taxpayer money?
LBJ- he also ran away from home when he was 15 and ended up in California as a grape picker and then auto mechanic!

Here is a chronological list of all our Presidents!

1 Washington, George (1789-1797)
2 Adams, John (1797-1801)
3 Jefferson, Thomas (1801-1809)
4 Madison, James (1809-1817)
5 Monroe, James (1817-1825)
6 Adams, John Quincy (1825-1829)
7 Jackson, Andrew (1829-1837)
8 Van Buren, Martin (1837-1841)
9 Harrison, William Henry (1841)
10 Tyler, John (1841-1845)
11 Polk, James Knox (1845-1849)
12 Taylor, Zachary (1849-1850)
13 Fillmore, Millard (1850-1853)
14 Pierce, Franklin (1853-1857)
15 Buchanan, James (1857-1861)
16 Lincoln, Abraham (1861-1865)
17 Johnson, Andrew (1865-1869)
18 Grant, Ulysses S. (1869-1877)
19 Hayes, Rutherford Birchard (1877-1881)
20 Garfield, James Abram (1881)
21 Arthur, Chester Alan (1881-1885)
22 Cleveland, Grover (1885-1889)
23 Harrison, Benjamin (1889-1893)
24 Cleveland, Grover (1893-1897)
25 McKinley, William (1897-1901)
26 Roosevelt, Theodore (1901-1909)
27 Taft, William Howard (1909-1913)
28 Wilson, Woodrow (1913-1921)
29 Harding, Warren Gamaliel (1921-1923)
30 Coolidge, Calvin (1923-1929)
31 Hoover, Herbert Clark (1929-1933)
32 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1933-1945)
33 Truman, Harry (1945-1953)
34 Eisenhower, Dwight David (1953-1961)
35 Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1961-1963)
36 Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1963-1969)
37 Nixon, Richard Milhous (1969-1974)
38 Ford, Gerald Rudolph (1974-1977)
39 Carter, James Earl Jr. (1977-1981
40 Reagan, Ronald Wilson (1981-1989)
41 Bush, George Herbert Walker (1989-1993)
42 Clinton, William Jefferson (1993-2001)
43 Bush, George Walker (2001-present)

About The Author
Charlotte Buelow is a contributing writer for Access My Library. Best known for its authoritative reference content as well as its full-text magazine and newspaper articles, AML maintains over 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform. Visit Access My Library.
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Interesting Trivia About Cape Cod

Cape Cod is some 18,000 years old with a history that includes a huge collection of people, places and events. Cape Cod is one of the forbearers of our nation's heritage.

Senators John F. Kennedy and Leverett Saltonstall introduced the legislation that led to the creation of Cape Cod National Seashore in 1959.

President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation into Public Law 87-126 in 1961. This authorized Cape Cod National Seashore.

There were many shipwrecks on the hidden sand bars off the coast between Chatham and Provincetown, so many which, those fifty miles of sea have been called an "ocean graveyard." Between Truro and Wellfleet, there have been more than 1,000 wrecks.

In the early days, when a storm struck the Cape, it was no surprise for townspeople to hear the alarm: "Ship ashore! All hands perishing!" The townspeople would go out to the beach to see if any could be rescued, but the surf was usually too high for them to attempt a rescue. When the storm was over, there was usually no one to rescue.

Sparrowhawk ran aground at Orleans in 1626 as the first recorded shipwreck. The people on board got to shore safely, and the ship was repaired, but before it could sail, the ship "Sparrowhawk" was sunk by another storm and was not seen for over two hundred years. The ribs of the ship are on display in Plymouth at Pilgrim Hall.

The cargo was often saved on these early ships even if the passengers and crew could not be saved. The townspeople would come out after a wreck with their carts and horses and haul away the wine, coffee, nutmeg, cotton, tobacco, or whatever the ship had been carrying. Theory was usually "finders were keepers."

There was an average of two wrecks every month during the winter in the early 1800s. The government created a system to help rescue sailors.

Today there is a demonstration of a breeches buoy drill given weekly during the summer months by national Seashore Rangers at Race Point in Provincetown.

The Old Harbor Life Saving Station is still standing and is currently being restored to its original condition, complete with lifesaving equipment.

Among the bits of trivia about Cape Cod is that the Province Lands area of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown is also known as the second-oldest "common lands" in the nation. The first is Boston Common. The Province Lands area was put aside in the 1600s by Plymouth Colony as a fisheries reserve.

Source: National Park Service US Department of the Interior Online

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights reserved

Written by: Connie Limon For more information about vacationing and living in the Cape Cod Bay area of Massachusetts visit: http://smalldogs2.com/CapeCod For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special article topics visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com

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Christmas Cards Facts

Christmas Cards Facts
by Yannis Samatas

Did you ever wonder who sent the first Christmas Card? The first commercial Christmas card is believed to have been designed and printed in London in 1843, the same year Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol". Previously, people had exchanged handwritten Christmas greetings, first in person and later via post.

By 1822, homemade Christmas cards had become the bane of the U.S. postal system. That year, the Superintendent of Mails in Washington, D.C., complained of the need to hire sixteen extra mailmen. Fearful of future bottlenecks, he petitioned Congress to limit the exchange of cards by post, concluding, "I don’t know what we’ll do if it keeps on."

In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman, wanted a card he could proudly send to friends and professional acquaintances to wish them a "merry Christmas." He asked his friend John Callcott Horsley to design it and Horsley produced a triptych. Each of the two side panels depicted a good deed-clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. The centerpiece featured a party of adults and children, with plentiful food and drink. Puritans immediately denounced the card, since it showed people drinking in the family party. But with most people the idea was a great success and the Christmas card quickly became very popular.

The card’s inscription read: "merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you." "Merry" was then a spiritual word meaning "blessed," as in "merry old England." A batch of 1,000 of the cards were printed on a lithograph stone then hand-coloured by a professional colourer named Mason. Of the original one thousand cards, only twelve exist today in private collections. In December 2005, one of these Christmas cards was sold for £8,469 at a Wiltshire auction.

Early English cards rarely showed winter or religious themes, instead favoring flowers, fairies and other fanciful designs that reminded the recipient of the approach of spring. Humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were popular, as were increasingly elaborate shapes, decorations and materials.

Printed Christmas cards soon became the rage in England; then in Germany. But it required an additional thirty years for Americans to take to the idea. In 1875, Boston lithographer Louis Prang, a native of Germany, began publishing cards, and earned the title "father of the American Christmas card."

Prang’s high-quality cards were costly, and they initially featured not such images as the Madonna and Child, a decorated tree, or even Santa Claus, but colored floral arrangements of roses, daisies, gardenias, geraniums, and apple blossoms. Americans took to Christmas cards, but not to Prang’s; he was forced out of business in 1890. It was cheap penny Christmas postcards imported from Germany that remained the vogue until World War 1. By war’s end, America’s modern greeting card industry had been born.

Today more than two billion Christmas cards are exchanged annually, just within the United States. Christmas is the number one card-selling holiday of the year. However, the estimated number of Christmas cards received by American households dropped from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Today, email and telephones allow for more frequent contact and are easier for generations raised without handwritten letters - especially given the availability of websites offering free email Christmas cards.

Facts About Christmas Cards

Christmas cards were not the first greetings cards. Since 1796, with improvements in printing, merchants had been sending cards to their customers offering "best wishes" for the new year.

In the nineteenth century, the British Post Office used to deliver cards on Christmas morning.

The first Christmas stamp was released in Canada in 1898.

The average person in Britain sends 50 Christmas cards each year.

Only one in 100 Christmas cards sold in Britain contains any religious imagery or message, a Daily Mail survey has revealed.

What do your Christmas cards reveal about your personality?

Modern cards: Extroverted and enthusiastic about life, although somewhat anxious and easily upset, with a tendency to be more creative and unconventional than most.

Humorous cards: Outgoing and emotionally secure, but with a distinct lack of warmth and sympathy for others.

Traditional cards: People who prefer reading a good book to a night out on the town, with a tendency to experience extremes of emotions, and follow the rules.

Abstract cards: Tendency to be disorganized and spontaneous, highly strung, and a low need to surround themselves with others

Cute cards: Sympathetic, calm and open to new experiences, and with a tendency to prefer one 's own company to others.

Religious cards: Emotionally stable, sympathetic to the needs of others, and well-organized.

The article about Christmas Cards has been written by Yannis Samatas of www.greeceindex.com. Send free Christmas Ecards to your friends and family.

Article Source: Content for Reprint
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St. Patrick's Day Trivia

St. Patrick's Day Trivia

St. Patrick's Day is a fun day to celebrate being Irish. All over the world, people of Irish heritage (along with others) celebrate St. Patrick and their country of origin. How well do you know Irish trivia? Here is a quiz to have share with your Irish friends.

* Was St. Patrick real?
Yes, St. Patrick was a real man. He wasn't really Irish, though. He came to Ireland to help teach about God and built many churches, schools and monasteries. He became a saint after his death.

* What year did St. Patrick die?
St. Patrick died in 461 AD

* What is St. Patrick's Day a celebration of?
St. Patrick's day celebrates the death of St. Patrick on March 17, 461 AD

* Why aren't there any snakes in Ireland?
Legend has it that St. Patrick used his spiritual powers to drive poisonous snakes into the sea where they drowned.

* Why do people wear green on St. Patrick's Day?
The color green has come to signify good luck and alliance with Ireland

* Why is the Shamrock an Irish symbol?
The Shamrock is the three-leaf clover found in abundance across all Ireland. St. Patrick to used it to teach the Trinity with each of the leaves signifying the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

* What is a Claddagh ring and what does it signify?
The Claddagh ring is made of two hands holding a heart that wears a crown. The ring stands for love, friendship and loyalty. It is a popular and well-known symbol of love in Ireland.

* When and where was the first St. Patrick's Day parade held?
Interestingly enough, the first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in New York City on March 17, 1762. It was organized by Irish soldiers.

* What Irish beer or ale is considered by many to be the national drink?
Guinness stout. The Guinness company has been brewing the ale since 1759. If you ask for a pint in an Irish pub you will undoubtedly get a Guinness.

* What city in the world dyes it's river green in honor of St. Patrick's Day?
Chicago, Illinois. They have an old tradition of dying the Chicago River green. They use 40 pounds of dye.

* What does the Irish Prime Minister do on St. Patrick's Day?
In a time-honored tradition, the Irish Prime Minister visits the President of the United States in Washington and presents him with a Waterford crystal dish filled with Shamrocks.

* Before St. Patrick became a patron saint of Ireland, what was his real given name and where was he from?
St. Patrick was born Maewyn Succat in the 4th century AD. He most likely came from Scotland or England. St. Patrick led an interesting life. As a young boy he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. Later, he escaped and became a bishop in France. Later, God told him in a dream that he should go to Ireland to help teach Christianity. He spent 20 years traveling and teaching in Ireland before his death.
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