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DATE	FACT OF THE DAY
8/1/17	The earliest written record that mentions the practice of medicine is Hammurabi's Code from the 18th century BC in Mesopotamia. This extensive code of laws includes information for physicians about payments for successful treatments and punishments for medical failures. For example, payment was better for curing the wealthy, but failing to do so could result in the loss of a hand. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/2/17	The most literate city in the United States is Minneapolis, with Washington D.C. and Seattle rounding out the top 3. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/3/17	Almost one out of every 100 people worldwide currently has been forcibly displaced from his or her home, the largest number since 1951. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/4/17	The decapitated head of a dead snake can still bite, even hours after death. These types of bites usually contain huge amounts of venom. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/5/17	Today, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products are sold in every country in the world, except North Korea. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/6/17	From northwest to southwest, Costa Rica measures only 285 miles (460 km) and at its narrowest, it is only 74 miles (120 km) wide. It is smaller than Lake Michigan. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/7/17	The first Vegetarian Society was formed in England in 1847. The society’s goal was to teach people that it is possible to be healthy without eating meat. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/8/17	People who lost their homes often lived in what were called “Hoovervilles,” or shanty towns, that were named after President Herbert Hoover. There was also “Hoover Stew” (food dished out in soup kitchens), “Hoover Blankets” (newspapers that served as blankets), “Hoover Hogs” (jack rabbits used as food), and “Hoover Wagons” (broken cars that were pulled by mules). - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/9/17	Rowling’s books were the first children’s books included on the New York Bestseller list since E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web in 1952. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/10/17	Jellyfish are found in every ocean of the world. They are even found in some freshwater lakes and ponds. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/11/17	The organic food movement began in the 1940s in response to the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution marked a significant increase in food production due to the introduction of high-yield varieties, the use of pesticides, and better management techniques. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/12/17	During its construction, the Great Wall of China was called “the longest cemetery on earth” because so many people died building it. Reportedly, it cost the lives of more than one million people. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/13/17	Studies show that breastfed babies have lower levels of cholesterol as adults. Additionally, breast milk is rich in healthy cholesterol and fats, which help prevent adult heart and central nervous system diseases. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/14/17	Nearly 2/3 of military deaths in WWI were in battle. In previous conflicts, most deaths were due to disease. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/15/17	James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were once arrested together for taking a carriage ride in the countryside of Vermont on a Sunday, which violated the laws of that state. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/16/17	Newborns are more likely to turn their head to the right than to the left. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/17/17	The word “multiply” is from the Latin multus, meaning “multi” + plex, meaning “fold”—which, in turn, is from the Proto-Indo-European plek, which means “to plait. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/18/17	The first published book to use the term “UFO” was Donald E. Keyhoe’s 1953 book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/19/17	In 1953, Swanson overestimated the number frozen turkeys that it would sell on Thanksgiving by 26 tons. The company decided to slice up the extra meat and repackage it--creating the first ever TV dinner. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/20/17	The ancient Greeks thought that Earth was the center of the universe and that Mars was one of the five traveling stars that revolved around it. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/21/17	Shakespeare was born under the old Julian calendar, not the current Gregorian calendar that was created in 1582 and adopted in England in 1751. What was April 23 during Shakespeare's life would be May 3 on today's calendar. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/22/17	“Doga” is a type of yoga in which people use yoga to achieve harmony with their pets. Dogs can either be used as props for their owners or they can do the stretches themselves. It reportedly started in New York in 2002 when Suzi Teitelman started “Yoga for Dogs.” - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/23/17	Bears, seals, and dogs are closely related carnivores but are on a different branch of the evolutionary tree than cats and hyenas. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/24/17	Sushi did not originate in Japan but in the rice-growing region of Southeast Asia over 2,000 years ago along the Mekong River. The technique then spread to other regions, specifically appearing in Japan around the 8th century AD. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/25/17	The name “Argentina” comes from the Latin word for silver, argentum. The original European settlers believed the country was full of silver, and a legend existed about a mountain made of silver in Argentina that reached Spain in 1524. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/26/17	Ramon Pane, a monk who accompanied Christopher Columbus to the Americas, is usually credited with introducing tobacco to Europe. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/27/17	Chicago gangster Al Capone (1899-1947), in one of his sporadic attempts at public relations, opened a soup kitchen during the Great Depression. For millions, soup kitchens provided the only food they would see all day. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/28/17	In 1997, Hillary Clinton won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio of her book It Takes a Village. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/29/17	Apple was founded as a partnership on April Fool’s Day 1976 by three people who originally worked at Atari: Steven Gary Wozniak (1950- ), Steven Paul Jobs (1955-2011), and Ronald Gerald Wayne (1934- ). Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his shares back for $800. Wayne wrote the Apple I manual, drafted the partnership agreement, and drew the first Apple logo. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/30/17	In the United States, surveys reveal that teachers are second only to military personal as the occupation that contributes most to society’s well-being. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
8/31/17	Lucille Ball, from I Love Lucy and head of Star Trek’s parent company Desilu Productions, single handedly kept Star Trek: TOS from cancellation during the first season. The series was finally canceled in its third season, after 79 episodes. It then gained immense popularity in syndication. - Provided by FactRetriever.com

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