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

NOV 2020


Previous Archives

DATE FACT OF THE DAY
11/1/20      Located in Wrocław, the “Piwnica Swidnicka” is the oldest restaurant in Europe, open since 1275. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/2/20      Malaria, which is caused by the parasitic protozoa plasmodium, is the deadliest disease of all time. No disease, including the plague or smallpox, has killed more people. It has also killed more people than all wars, famines, and natural disasters combined. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/3/20      Huge herds of bison once roamed the plains of North Dakota. By 1900, fewer than 600 were left. President Roosevelt spearheaded efforts to save the bison, and today about 90,000 live in North Dakota. True buffalo are found only in Asia and Europe. Early European settlers thought bison looked like buffalo and, hence, confused the names. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/4/20      The very first Coca-Cola products contained cocaine, about 9 milligrams per glass. It was removed from the drink in 1903. The original Coke was also alcoholic. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/5/20      An owl has three eyelids: one for blinking, one for sleeping, and one for keeping the eyes healthy and clean. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/6/20      Hours before the Indian Ocean tsunami, people reported seeing elephants and flamingos heading for higher ground. Dogs and zoo animals refused to leave their shelters. After the tsunami, very few dead animals were found. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/7/20      Déjà vu (French for “already seen”) has never been fully explained, though some scientists believe that a neurological glitch causes an experience to be registered in the memory before reaching consciousness. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/8/20      Egyptologists and followers of mysticism have been fascinated for centuries by the fact that the Great Pyramid at Giza seems to approximate pi. The vertical height of the pyramid has the same relationship to the perimeter of its base as the radius of a circle has to its circumference. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/9/20      Approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from stuttering, an involuntary repetition of sounds that impedes speech. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/10/20      The 1906 earthquake in California was before the Richter scale, but scientists estimate it would rank as a 7.8. As much as 90% of the damage in San Francisco was from fires caused by cracked gas pipes. San Francisco burned for three days and nights. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/11/20      The word "mummy" is from the Persian word mūm, meaning both wax and the embalming substance, bitumen. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/12/20      According to French heritage law, the Mona Lisa cannot be bought or sold. The painting belongs to the public. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/13/20      Crochet helped pull the Irish out of the depths of the devastating potato famine (1845–1850). A group of Ursuline nuns taught local women thread crochet, which became known as "Irish Crochet." It became incredibly popular and provided much-needed income. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/14/20      While heart failure can affect either side or both sides of the heart, it usually affects the left side of the heart first. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/15/20      Founded in the year 930, Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, is the oldest parliamentary body in the world. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/16/20      There are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes, 175 of which are found in the United States. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/17/20      "Tornado Alley" is a broad area stretching through the middle of the United States that has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/18/20      Venezuela has designated more of its land to conservation than any other country in the world. Nearly 54% of its land is protected. Slovenia (53.6%) and Monaco (53.4%) round out the top three. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/19/20      The only president to be unanimously elected was George Washington (1732-1799). He also refused to accept his presidential salary, which was $25,000 a year. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/20/20      The heaviest baby on record to survive was a 22 lb. 8 oz. Italian baby born in 1955. In 1879, a woman in Canada gave birth to a 23 lb. 1.92 oz. baby that died 11 hours after birth. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/21/20      The first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Price was Jane Addams (1860–1935). She is also considered to be the founder of the social work profession in the United Sates. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/22/20      Iranians have woven beautiful rugs for over 2,500 years. When creating rugs, Iranian weavers often make a mistake intentionally. They want to show their belief that “only God is perfect.” After oil, Iran’s second largest export commodity is carpets. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/23/20      Because Charon orbits Pluto in the same time it takes Pluto to make one rotation (6½ Earth days), Charon hangs permanently in one place in Pluto’s sky, never rising or setting. This is called “tidal locking.” Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/24/20      In A.D. 1281, a hurricane killed 100,000 Mongols who were attacking Japan. The Japanese thanked their storm gods for the kamikaze, which means divine wind from the gods. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/25/20      In 1918, over 100 waiters were arrested for poisoning bad tippers in Chicago. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/26/20      In the 1830s, English surgeon John Elliotson performed nearly 2,000 surgeries using hypnotism to manage his patients’ pain. The major antagonist in Assassin’s Creed, Syndicate, is based on him. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/27/20      The Cold War led to some ingenious spy gadgets, such as the "Rectal Escape Kit." A spy would hide the escape kit in his or her rectum, just in case they were captured and imprisoned. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/28/20      James Buchanan is the only bachelor president. He was virtually inseparable from William R. King (1786-1853), a senator from Alabama, earning the pair the nickname “Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy” and “Mr. Buchanan and his wife.” Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/29/20      Taiwan has been dubbed the "face mask capital of Asia" because the Taiwanese often wear surgical face masks. They wear masks to protect from illness or announce an illness, to protect their skin from the sun, or to filter out pollutants. Even newscasters will wear face masks while they are on the air. Provided by FactRetriever.com
11/30/20      The study of human aging is called gerontology. Provided by FactRetriever.com


Fact-of-the-Day Archives

2020
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2019
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2018
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2017
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2016
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2015
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2014
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2013
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2012
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2011
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2010
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