Egyptians Have Heart, Babylonians Choose Liver

Ancient Egyptians held that the heart was the most important of organs. Babylonians, on the other hand, assigned emotion and spirit to the liver. The Mesopotamians tried to hold on to the best of both worlds, linking emotion to the liver and intellect to the heart.

People weren’t quite sure, at first, how to deal with the electric lightbulb. In order to assist and assure consumers, the Edison Company created the following sign: “This room is equipped with Edison Electric Light. Do not attempt to light with match. Simply turn key on wall by the door. The use of electricity for lighting is in no way harmful to health, nor does it affect soundness of sleep.”

Margaret James of Charlestown, Mass., became the first person in America convicted of witchcraft. She was executed on June 15, 1648, almost 50 years before the Salem witch trials.

An expert on dandelions claims that at least 93 different insects visit the flower for its copious supplies of nectar.

The twisting column of air that makes a tornado may reach speeds of up to 400 miles per hour. The average tornado touches down to form a track about an eighth of a mile wide and 10 miles long.