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FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius

FEB 2018


Previous Archives

DATE FACT OF THE DAY
2/1/18      In the 17th and 18th centuries, many men in Europe and America would not let their wives breastfeed, especially if their wives had just given birth to a girl, since breastfeeding might have inhibited the conception of their next child. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/2/18      In Africa, 1 out of every 22 women dies during childbirth or pregnancy, while 1 out of every 8,000 women in the United Kingdom dies during childbirth or pregnancy. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/3/18      The ancestors of humans developed the ability to run long distances about 2.6 million years ago, most likely to hunt prey for food. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/4/18      A number of researchers argue that while the human body is capable of digesting meat, our bodies are actually designed to be herbivores. For example, the human molars are similar to those of an herbivore, flat and blunt, which make them good for grinding, not gnashing and tearing. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/5/18      The yoga symbol "Om" is found in Hindu and Tibetan philosophy. It is said to be the primordial sound of the universe and is connected to the Ajna Chakra (the conscience) or "third eye" region. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/6/18      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
2/7/18      In the 1830s, a Presbyterian minister and advocate of dietary reform, Rev. Sylvester Graham, argued that bran was the cure-all for the poor diet of his time. He created Graham flour, which is still used today. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/8/18      Unlike athletes in many other countries, American Olympians receive no direct support from the federal government. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/9/18      The International Olympic Committee does not pay athletes to compete in the games. However, a variety of non-IOC groups do give out money. For example, the U.S. Olympic Committee offers medal bonuses: $25,000 for gold medal winners, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Other countries will offer less or more. Sponsorship money can also be significant for the "elite of the elite" athletes. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/10/18      The Southern Hemisphere typically has milder winters than the Northern Hemisphere. This is because the Southern Hemisphere has less land and a more maritime climate. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/11/18      The name "Korea" comes from Goryeo, which was the name given to the dynasty established by General Wang Geon in AD 918. Goryeo means "high and clear." Some poetic interpretations of the name Korea are "Land of High Mountains and Sparkling Streams" and "Land of the Morning Calm." - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/12/18      The biggest revenue source for the Olympics is broadcast licensing contracts, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) negotiates directly. The Summer Olympics generate nearly double the revenue of the Winter Olympics. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/13/18      Oxford researchers note that the Olympic Games overrun budget with "100% consistency." No other mega-project consistently overruns its budget like the Olympics. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/14/18      Lace is often used on Valentine decorations. The word "lace" comes from the Latin laques, meaning "to snare or net," as in to catch a person's heart. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/15/18      Chionophobia is the persistent fear of snow, especially becoming trapped by snow. The term is derived from the Greek words chion and phobos, meaning "snow" and "fear," respectively. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/16/18      The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. No country in the Southern Hemisphere has hosted, or even been an applicant to host, the Winter Olympics. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/17/18      North Korea is slightly smaller than Mississippi. It constitutes almost 55% of the Korean Peninsula, covering 46,540 square miles (120,538 km.) of the peninsula's 85,052 square miles (220,283 square km.). - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/18/18      In 2013, Pope Francis met a large delegation of Olympic leaders and warned them about the over-commercialization of Olympic athletes. The Pope argued that athletes are reduced to mere trading objects if the Games are seen only in economic terms. The Pope argued that such commercialization threatens the harmony of the games. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/19/18      The top three most expensive Olympic sports in terms of training cost are shooting, sailing, and equestrian. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/20/18      In 2012, a prison in the South Korean city of Pohang became home to the world's first robotic prison guards. The country also uses robots to guard the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea and as teachers. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/21/18      Some animals possess the amazing ability to turn white during the winter: the arctic fox, arctic hare, ptarmigan, barren-ground caribou, and ermine all change colors. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/22/18      While the London Games promised that it would use the Olympic Games to jumpstart the renewal of East London (a historically low socio-economic area), it had to bulldoze several local businesses to make way for the new venues. And despite the commitment that 20,000 Olympic jobs would go to locals, fewer than half actually did. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/23/18      The most powerful computers on earth cannot generate the number of computations it takes to run on two legs. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/24/18      Children who are vaccinated according to the recommended schedule will receive around 26 shots within their first two years, providing immunity to 14 different diseases. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/25/18      The oceans are nearly as old as the Earth itself. Scientists believe that the oceans contained at least some of their water more than 4 billion years ago. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/26/18      Approximately 500 million people around the world, or about 10% of the world's population, practice Buddhism. - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/27/18      King Ramses II is the first mummy to receive a passport. His passport lists his occupation as "king." - Provided by FactRetriever.com
2/28/18      The Rwandan genocide occurred between April and July of 1994. Over the course of 100 days, the ethnic majority group, the Hutu, systematically murdered over 800,000 Tutsi, the minority population. - Provided by FactRetriever.com


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2011
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