The Best Interesting Random Facts
Japan’s population is expected to drop to 95 million by 2050. In 2011 about 127,960,000 lived in Japan, and in the 2010 census the population of Japan was 128,056,026. Yup, that means the country’s population decreased. The main reason for the decline can be blamed on a low birth rate, Japan’s birth rate has been […]
More U.S. presidents are related to each other than one might think. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were father and son. William Harrison and Benjamin Harrison were grandfather and grandson. James Madison and Zachary Taylor were second cousins. And finally, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt were fifth cousins. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the […]
The “F” in F. Scott Fitzgerald stand for Francis. His full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, and yes, he was the second cousin, three times removed, of the Francis Scott Key who wrote the U.S. national anthem. F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, […]
The extract from the yucca plant makes root beer foam more than other soft drinks. Not all commercial root beer companies add this, though. Some are downright ornery when it comes to the subject of froth. Barq’s, for instance, decided to focus more heavily on carbonation instead of worrying about frothiness. Rick Hill, a Barq’s […]
The word Bronx is the possessive form of “Bronk.” In 1639, Jonas Bronk, or Bronck, moved into the area and laid claim to the place, naming a river, burgs, and streets after himself. The Dutch made “Bronk’s” easier to write by using their possessive “x” and spelling it “Bronx.” The Bronx is the northernmost of […]
Cold filtered beer is just an advertising term and clever marketing. All beer is “cold filtered”, it just means using fine screens to remove particulates, including microbes. If combined with sterile handling, the filtering eliminates bacteria, which means that the beer doesn’t have to be pasteurized. Unpasteurized beer can legally be labeled “draft” beer, even […]
To get a one year assignment as a hotdogger, you have to be a recent college graduate, preferably in the field of communications, journalism, advertising, or public relations. Be aware, though, that competition is stiff. The company gets about 1,000 applicants a year. For the 1999-2000 year, they hired 21 hotdoggers, 15 of them women. […]
Postum is a drink made of bran and molasses that was originally concocted as a substitute for coffee and a digestive aid. C. W. Post created Postum in 1895, then had to convince people to buy and consume Postum instead of coffee. So he did what every desperate businessman would do: scared the bejeebers out […]
Two different studies indicate that bright yellow and bright blue are the most visible colors for a car. The University of California found that of the two colors, yellow shows up best at night, blue in fog and daylight. A test by Mercedes-Benz same conclusion, but came up with the suggested that white might be […]
The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. has 365 steps, one representing every day of the year. If you’re patient, you can count as you climb to find the step that represents your birthday. Unless, of course, you were born on February 29, sorry. The word “Capitol” comes from Latin, meaning city on a hill and […]
In baseball, there are six ways a batter can get on base without hitting the ball. Most people know about walking after being pitched four balls or being hit by a ball. But, according to the official rule book, you also get an automatic ticket to first base if the catcher drops the third strike; […]
The word funeral comes from the Latin word funus, meaning “funeral,” which comes from the Latin funus, meaning “torch.” Using torches in death and burial ceremonies dates back to Neanderthal times, and the ancient Romans believed funeral torches showed the deceased the way to their eternal homes. Funeral rites and customs are as old as […]
Here’s how morticians keep a dead person’s mouth shut. Before embalming, it wasn’t uncommon to tie gauze or string around the chin and head until rigor mortis set in. Today undertakers pass a suture through the nasal septum and tie it to the lower lip. Or they use an injector needle gun to place wires […]
You would think that Chock Full o’Nuts would be called Chock Full o’ Beans, wouldn’t you? Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee got its name from the fact that the company used to be a nut business. William Black sold nuts from a street pushcart in the mid-1920s, but sales slowed to the point where he […]
Among the famous name composers who composed the most music were: Franz Josef Haydn, who wrote 340 hours of music in 54 years of composing; George Handel, 303 hours in 54 years; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 202 hours in 29 years; and Johann Sebastian Bach, 147 hours in 47 years. On the other hand, the most […]
The Los Angeles Lakers are actually named after lakes in Minnesota. Los Angeles has a notable shortage of lakes compared to other cities, it’s in a desert, after all. When the team was formed in 1948, it was in Minneapolis, in the “land of a thousand lakes.” When the team got relocated to Los Angeles […]
The double stick Popsicle was introduced during the Depression so that a Popsicle could be shared. Deliberately breaking a double down the middle produces two single Popsicles. Although there aren’t too many Americans who can’t spring for their own Popsicle these days, the idea of sharing this icy treat is still appealing.
Illinois Avenue is the most landed space in Monopoly. It is followed by B&O Railroad, Free Parking, Tennessee Avenue, New York Avenue, and Reading Railroad. Monopoly is a redesign of an earlier game “The Landlord’s Game”, which was first published by the Quaker and political activist Elizabeth Magie. Monopoly is also the most played commercial […]
During medieval times, most people could neither read nor write. Even those who could sign their names were required to follow it with an X, symbolizing the cross of St. Andrew, or the contract would be invalid. Those who couldn’t write their names still had to end the contract with the X to make it […]
Hostess Sno Balls are spongy half-domes of cake and marshmallow, and traditionally come in white and pink. But the Hostess company isn’t beyond surprising consumers with special colors on holidays or for special events. For example, when the Broncos made the NFL play-offs, the Hostess bakery in Denver filled each package with one orange and […]
Train whistles used to mean a lot more back before phones, walkie-talkies, and other ways for the engineer to communicate with the rest of the crew. For example, one urgent toot! signaled the brakeman to jump from car to car, applying the brakes on each one, which at one time was the only way to […]
It would be best not to complain about how basketball got its name, it could have easily been called “box ball” or even “trash can ball.” In 1891, when James Naismith was inventing the game for bored, snowbound students at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, he intended to use wooden boxes for his targets. But […]
Unlike Dr. Brown, Dr. Pepper was very much a real person, Dr. Kenneth Pepper of Rural Retreat, Virginia. The story goes that the founder and creator of the Dr. Pepper Company, Wade Morrison, got his first job at Pepper’s pharmacy in the 1880s. Morrison eventually left and settled in Waco, Texas, where he opened his […]
Superman first appeared in Action Comics in June of 1938. Superman is widely considered to be an American cultural icon, and helped to create and establish the superhero genre within the American comic book industry. The Great Depression of the 1930s was a huge influence on early Superman stories, and Superman took on the role […]
To protect against themselves against theft of idea and business, any clown can register their face with the National Clown and Character Registry for about $20, sort of a trademark locale for clowns. A clown sends photos of his or her made-up face and a replica is painted onto a goose egg for archive purposes. […]
Here’s how the Hearse funeral car got its name. It all began with the huge, elaborate candelabras that the ancient Normans used in religious ceremonies. Because, upside down, they resembled a type of British plow used under Norman rule, these candlesticks were eventually given the same name, herse. The large candlesticks not only were used […]
The name “root beer” is pretty much consumer fraud, pure and simple. In the early 1870s, Charles Hires was served a root and herb tea at a country inn on his honeymoon, and liked it so much he decided to market it as a soft drink. As an anti-alcohol prohibitionist, Hires hoped that drinkers would […]
Mayonnaise is typically made from egg yolks, oil, water, vinegar, and some optional sweeteners, preservatives, and thickeners. Mayonnaise got its name from Port Mahon on Minorca, one of the islands of Spain. The word mayonnaise is believed to be a corruption of moyeunaise, from the very old French word moyeu, which means “yolk of egg”. […]
Duke Ellington’s real name was Edward Kennedy Ellington, a successful big-band leader and composer of more than 2,000 musical works, got his noble nickname because he had a dignified bearing. The name may have been influenced by its similarity to “the Duke of Wellington,” who was famous in schoolbooks for defeating Napoleon in the 1800s. […]
It has been a rumor since the 1930s that Dr. Pepper is made out of prune juice, but it’s not true. Prune juice has never been in Dr. Pepper. So what is the flavor? According to inside sources, the original soda jerk who concocted the brew was looking to duplicate the sweet smells of a […]
You would think Fruit Smack would have been a better name for Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins and his wife Kitty in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. Perkins wanted to do what Jell-O had done, so he kept concocting until he came up with a powdered concentrate for his fruit-flavored drink. He named it […]
In 1923, South Dakota’s tourism board got the idea to carve western heroes Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, and John Colter into a mountain to attract out-of-state tourists. They approached John Gutzon Borglum, who had just accepted a commission to carve Robert E. Lee on the side of Georgia’s Stone Mountain. Borglum hated the idea of […]
Each sumo match is preceded by an elaborate ceremony called dohyō-iri which is based on Shintoist traditions. The judges file into the ring with attendants and sword bearers. Each official is supplied with a small ceremonial dagger, originally provided so that he could disembowel himself if he gave a miscall. They perform a short ritual […]
Pepsi got its name from one of its main ingredients, pepsin, a substance used to relieve indigestion. When pharmacist Caleb Bradham concocted the kola nut, pepsin, sugar, and vanilla mixture in 1893, he called it Brad’s Drink. When it became popular, he changed the name in 1903 and began the PepsiCola company. Bradham, who was […]
Left handers can play jai alai as long as they’re willing to use their right hands. The rules and traditions specifically forbid playing left-handed. The reason is that the court has only three walls, one at each end and a side wall on the left against which the ball can be rebounded. Spectators sit behind […]
Some have said there is a funny story to Eleanor Roosevelt’s maiden name, but that depends on your sense of humor. Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a powerful force to be reckoned with in her own right. What many people don’t realize is that she was a niece […]
