Boy and Girl raising hands in art class. Horizontally framed shot.
It’s Friday! Here are some fun facts that have nothing to do with home inspection:
It took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal. They began building it in 1631 and it was completed in 1653 and there were 20,000 workers who helped.
In 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General (PMG).
The Indian Ocean’s average depth is 12,990 feet (3,960 metres), and its deepest point, in the Sunda Deep of the Java Trench off the southern coast of Java, is 24,442 feet (7,450 metres).
January was named for the Roman god Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways, and who symbolized beginnings and endings. Janus is depicted with two faces; one looking into the past, the other with the ability to see into the future. The Romans often made promises to Janus and exchanged good wishes.
Janus am I; oldest of potentates;
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807–82)
Forward I look, and backward, and below
I count, as god of avenues and gates,
The years that through my portals come and go.
Calling “shotgun” when riding in a car comes from the term “shotgun messenger” which was used to refer to the guard who sat next to the Stagecoach driver. The guards would use a shotgun to keep robbers and criminals away. It made its way into society due to Hollywood’s love of Western flicks.
The only letters that don’t appear on the periodic table are J & Q.
Canadians say “sorry” so much that a law was passed in 2009 declaring that an apology can’t be used as evidence of admission to guilt.
Contrary to its portrayal in Jurassic Park, the Tyrannosaurus rex probably didn’t roar. Instead, scientists believe it either hissed or rattled, like a rattlesnake.
The microwave was invented by accident when engineer Percy Spencer walked by a radar set and the candy bar in his pocket melted. The first food cooked by a microwave on purpose was popcorn.
Due to a genetic defect, cats can’t taste sweet things.
Honey is a better cough suppressant than over-the-counter cough suppressants.
The average person will spend a total of 3,680 hours, or 153 days searching for misplaced items. Keys, cellphones, sunglasses and paperwork top the list of commonly lost items.
The American Film Institute cited “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” from 1939’s Gone With the Wind the best movie quote of all time.
The scientific name for brain freeze is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.
A British research study found that watching a horror film prior to viewing abstract art enhances the enjoyment of the art for most people.
The chills you get when listening to music are caused by your brain releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that causes pleasure.
Laughing boosts the immune system, burns calories and reduces stress hormones, making it a very healthy activity.
Scientists found that the most relaxing song ever is “Weightless” by the Marconi Union—it reduced anxiety by 65 percent in the average test subject.
The world’s oldest socks were in fact designed to be worn with sandals. Made in Egypt sometime in the fourth or fifth century, the wool socks have two toes.
The first U.S. town to be completely lit by electric streetlights was Wabash, Indiana, in 1880. It had a population of 320 at the time.
New York City’s oldest house is a cottage in Queens near LaGuardia Airport. It was built in 1654 by the Rikers family (the same family that gave Rikers Island its name) and even has a family cemetery in the backyard.
The Waldorf Astoria hotel once had its own private railroad track at Grand Central so that its guests could clandestinely enter and exit New York City. Largely abandoned now, it operates only when the president is in town, in case the need arises for an emergency exit.