Alaska’s Landfills

At last count, Alaska had 322 landfills — more than any other state. California was second with 188. Delaware and Connecticut had the fewest in the nation with six landfills between them.

The Color of Stop

From 1923 to 1954, all stop signs were yellow with black lettering. The Bureau of Public Roads changed the signs to red with a white border and white lettering in 1954 because reflectorized, red sheeting was less likely than the yellow backgrounds to fade over time.

National Tour

Richard Nixon was the first U.S. President to visit all 50 states.

Backwards Muppets

A majority of the Muppets are left-handed because their operators, the Muppet performers, are mostly right-handed. The primary hand is used to control a Muppet’s head and face.

Oil Floors

Linoleum, created by Frederick Walton in 1863, is named for its primary ingredient — linseed oil. The oil is boiled and mixed with powdered cork, wood flour, ground limestone and other materials that make it something vastly different from modern, vinyl flooring.

Big Lady

The 111-foot Statue of Liberty is truly larger than life. Her index finger measures 8 feet. Each fingernail is 13 inches by 10 inches, and her nose is 4 feet 6 inches long.

Out of town. Back by Monday, Nov. 28.

How to Clear Your Conscience

The U.S. Treasury manages a number of special collections, including the Conscience Fund. This fund accepts donations from those who have cheated on their taxes or stolen from the government. In one letter that came with a $10 donation, a woman told of her younger brother, who took a pair of scissors home from his government job. He gave the scissors to his sister before he died.

National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund
See Definition of Terms: Conscience Fund
Internal Revenue Service
Randomly Selected Letters to the IRS

Monopoly’s Best-Kept Secret

No matter how the game of Monopoly is played, each participant is more likely to land in jail (or Just Visiting) than on any other of the board’s squares. Illinois Avenue is the second-most-frequented location. The space marked “Chance,” between Oriental Avenue and Vermont Avenue, is the least visited spot on the board.

Hasbro’s History of Monopoly
Probabilities in the Game of Monopoly
Who Invented Monopoly?
Anti-Monopoly: the Game

New Englanders Love Ballet

People, who live in New England, are more likely to attend a ballet performance than those in other regions.

Ballet Dictionary
Ballet Companies on the Web
The Art of Ballet
History of Ballet

Blind Man Creates Cruise Control

Ralph Teetor, the blind inventor who created cruise control in the 1940s, came up with the idea after riding with his lawyer, a talkative man who sped up and slowed down while conversing. The 1958 Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker and Windsor models were the first cars to come equipped with Teetor’s invention. In 1960, Cadillac adopted the mechanism for its entire line of cars.

How Cruise Control Works
Cruise Control Legends
Cruise Control and Traffic Flow
The Invention of Cruise Control

Half Have Heartburn Monthly

In the United States, about 50 percent of the population has heartburn at least once a month, and 7 percent has it daily.

National Heartburn Alliance
Heartburn, the Movie
Take the Heartburn Quiz
Famous Heartburn Quotations

Paleontologists Believe in Toilet Paper

Several paleontologists include — on their list of must-have equipment — a ready supply of toilet paper for wrapping fossils.

World Toilet Organization
Toilet Paper Trivia
Yale University Tries Out Two-Ply
Thailand’s Toilet Traditions

Good Dog

Experts on domesticated animals claim that canine bones found in European and Asian camp sites, thousands of years old, suggest that at one time man’s best friend was also his dinner.

National Hot Dog & Sausage Council
Dog-Meat Soup
Smart Dogs
Sparky the Fire Dog

How to Save Money

Andre-Francois Raffray made a money-saving deal with Jeanne Calment (pictured), offering to pay the 90-year-old woman the equivalent of $400 each month for an apartment she owned. When Calment died, the apartment would belong to Raffray. But Raffray was the first to go. He passed away at age 77 after making payments each month for more than 30 years. Calment died the following year. She was 122 years old.

Jeanne Calment’s Obituary
On Youth and Old Age, On Life and Death, On Breathing (Aristotle)
Shattering the Myths of Old Age

The Deep Sea

Medieval painters in Italy used poplar supports for their art, while the Dutch preferred oak. French painters were most likely to choose walnut, and linden was the material of choice for German artists.

Build Your Own Easel
Human Canvas: The Body as an Art Medium
History of Oil Paint
Paint by Number: Accounting for Taste in the 1950s

More Vegetable Lovers Live in Vermont

Residents of Vermont are more likely to eat fruit and vegetables each day than are residents of any other state, according to a 2002 study. New Mexico’s citizens are the least likely to do so.

Vermont Vegetarian Society
Official Cow-Hater Website
International Vegetarian Union
Vegetarian Shoes

The Falcon Is Female

Those who work with Peregrine Falcons know that the female is the falcon. The male is a tiercel.

Send a Peregrine Falcon E-Card
Falcon Club of America (Ford Falcon Owners)
The Peregrine Fund (World Center for Birds of Prey)
Kodak Birdcam 2005

Christopher Columbus: Frugal or Cheap?

Christopher Columbus offered a reward to the first man to sight land during his famed voyage of 1492. But when Rodrigo de Triana did just that in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, October 12, Columbus saved his money by claiming he had spotted land at about 10 the previous evening.

Christopher Columbus: A Culinary History
The Crimes of Christopher Columbus
Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus
Columbus Day Crafts

Kiss me, I’m Irish

The United States has 34.3 million residents, who claim Irish ancestry, almost nine times the size of Ireland’s total population. The state of Massachusetts has the highest ratio of Irish-Americans in the nation: 24 percent.

Irish Traditions
Central Statistics Office Ireland
Mystic May: Monthly Horoscopes from Ireland
Early Music of Ireland

Bowling a Danger to National Security

King Edward III banned bowling because it allegedly kept citizens from practicing their archery, an important part of the national defense during the Hundred Years’ War.

For more information:
International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame
The Science of Bowling
Bowling Shoes
The Bowler’s Dictionary

First Christian Nation

The country of Armenia formally adopted Christianity in the 4th century, making it the first nation to do so.

More:
Armenian Genocide
Armenia: Favorite Destination Since Noah’s Time
Government of the Republic of Armenia

Wealthy Lose Less

Households with an income of $35,000 or less in 2003 experienced higher burglary rates than those with a higher annual income.

Origin of Income Tax

The U.S. income tax was first established in 1862 to support the Union efforts in the Civil War. Although the tax was discontinued in 1872, the government brought it back in 1894. The Supreme Court declared the tax unconstitutional the following year, but a constitutional amendment reestablished the income tax for good in 1913.

Kaa Finds His Voice

Walt Disney tried and rejected eight different celebrity voices for Kaa the snake in the 1967 animated classic, “The Jungle Book,” before asking Sterling Holloway to do the job. Holloway was already well-known for his work as the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

Mundo Mamo Feather Collection

Hawaiians long treasured the now-extinct mamo for its yellow feathers. Professionals would catch the birds, pluck the few yellow tufts from each and then set them free. King Kamahameha I, who reigned in the early 19th century, wore a yellow cloak made from the feathers of close to 80,000 mamos.

Churchill Defends Music Hall

Winston Churchill’s first public speech was made in 1894 at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, defending the pleasures of the music hall.

Robotic Origin

Plans for the world’s first robot were drawn up by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495. But the word “robot” didn’t show up for another 426 years. In 1921, Josef Capek borrowed the Czech word for drudgery — “robota” — to describe a drama, written by his brother, in which mechanical men live in slavery until they rebel and overthrow their human masters.

Pig Heaven

Experts on pigs say the animals are most comfortable when the temperature is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Newest Thing in Bowling

Bowling ball manufacturers launched 288 new balls in 2003.

Washington’s Gold Pheasants

American admirers of gold pheasants know that President George Washington may have been the first U.S. citizen to keep the birds. But he didn’t keep them for long. Washington’s seven golden pheasants arrived in November 1786, a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette. The first of these magnificent birds died only three months later, and Washington reported in a letter that “I am afraid the others will follow him but too soon, as they all appear to be drooping.”

Kill the Queen

At least one species of bull ants has no colony workers, so its queen must raid the colony of another species. She kills the resident queen and brings the nest and its inhabitants under her own rule.

Old-School Fish Tanks

Tropical fish require warm-water aquariums, so fish tanks made before the advent of modern heaters often came with metal bottoms. This construction allowed for heating with an open flame.

Off With His Head

England’s King Charles I was sensitive about his height, and history shows he had good reason. The king stood only a little more than 5 feet tall. But when Charles died, he was an even shorter man. That's because he was beheaded. It was a cold day in January 1649.

Grizzly Has Speed

Big and slow are words that don’t always go together. Take the Grizzly Bear, for example, which can weigh in at up to 800 pounds and has been clocked at speeds of more than 35 miles per hour.

Wilbur May Have Been the Better Pilot

Wilbur Wright may have proved the better pilot, but his brother, Orville, made the flight that has gone down in history. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made four flights. Wilbur’s was the longest at 852 feet and 59 seconds. But Orville’s was the first.

When the Falls Stopped

Niagara Falls dried up for several hours on March 29, 1848, when an up-river ice jam blocked the flow of water. Witnesses reported that some people were brave enough to walk out, into the riverbed, to collect artifacts that had been deposited there. But they could have waited. Another ice jam blocked the river the very next day.