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