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FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius

MAY 2011


Previous Archives

DATEFACT OF THE DAY
5/1/11     Weather had a huge impact on the Japanese city of Nagasaki in 1945. If not for a last-minute break in cloud cover, the atomic bomb wouldn't have been dropped there. In fact, Nagasaki wasn't the primary target for the bomb run. The bomb was originally slated to be dropped on Kokura, but cloud cover there prevented it. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/2/11     On July 1, 2009, there were 39.6 million people 65 and older in the United States. This age group accounted for 13 percent of the total population. - Provided by U.S. Census Bureau
5/3/11     There were 39.6 million people 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2009. This age group accounted for 13 percent of the total population. Between 2008 and 2009, this age group increased by 770,699 people. - Provided by U.S. Census Bureau
5/4/11     The Internet started as an initiative from the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency called ARPANET. It brought together four computers using entirely different operating systems. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/5/11     In February 2011, 44.2 million Americans received food stamp benefits. - Provided by US Department of Agriculture
5/6/11     In North America, you might fear the grizzly, but it's white-tailed deer that kill an average of 130 Americans per year by causing auto accidents. Deer collide with cars more than 1.5 million times per year. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/7/11     During the March to May climbing season, the population of the Khumbu region at the base of Mount Everest soars from around 40,000 to 700,000. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/8/11     In 2008, it is estimated there were 85.4 million mothers in the United States. - Provided by U.S. Census Bureau
5/9/11     Mount Everest is literally located at the top of the world, rising 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/10/11     The Dubai World Cup has the distinction of being the world's richest horse race. The sixth race of the event has a prize of $6 million. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/11/11     Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost settlement in the state, stays dark for 84 days from mid-November to late January. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/12/11     If you could fly across our galaxy from one side to the other at light speed, it would take 100,000 years to make the trip. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/13/11     A Leyden jar was one of the first devices used to store an electric charge. It was invented in Leiden (sometimes spelled Leyden), the Netherlands, in 1746. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/14/11     Sun worship was a religious practice that developed in some lands as people came to associate the sun with the growing season and with warmth. It developed especially among agricultural peoples, who needed sunshine for their crops. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/15/11     Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the state has absolute control over almost every aspect of people's lives. The individual is considered a servant of the state and is allowed almost no freedom of choice or expression. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/16/11     Kissing is good for teeth. The anticipation of a kiss increases the flow of saliva to the mouth, giving the teeth a plaque-dispersing bath. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/17/11     Burger King's Double Whopper with cheese contains 923 calories. A man would need to walk for about nine miles to burn it off. Adding french fries and a large cola brings the total calories to an amazing 1,500 calories (2/3 of an adult man's recommended daily caloric intake). - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/18/11     Nine out of ten people are right-handed. Most animals, other than humans who write, are closer to ambidextrous than right- or left-pawed, clawed, etc. - Provided by The World Almanac 2011
5/19/11     Due to jobs, kids, TV, the Internet, hobbies, and home and family responsibilities, the average married couple spends just four minutes a day alone together. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/20/11     Over 75% of people who marry partners from an affair eventually divorce. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/21/11     The lowest point on earth is called Challenger Deep, located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean - nearly 36,000 feet (about 6.8 miles) below sea level.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012
5/22/11     Nevada, Maine, and Oklahoma have the highest percentage of divorced adults. Arkansas and Oklahoma have the highest rates of people who have been married at least three times. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/23/11     CNN reports that the current economy is the biggest stress on married couples in the past 60 years. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/24/11     Of the thousands of chemical agents in tobacco smoke, more than 50 have been proven to cause cancer. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/25/11     Romans discovered that mixing lead with wine not only helped preserve wine, but also gave it a sweet taste and succulent texture. Chronic lead poisoning has often been cited as one of the causes of the decline of Rome. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/26/11     While marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, 13 U.S. states currently have compassionate use laws in place, which allow for regulated medical marijuana use: AK, CA, CO, HI, ME, MI, MT, NV, NM, OR, RI, VT, and WA. An additional 17 states and the District of Columbia have legislated to recognize the value of medical marijuana but do not protect users from federal prosecution. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/27/11     The creamy middle of a Twinkie is not cream at all but mostly Crisco, which is vegetable shortening. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/28/11     Off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, killer whales often come to 'rubbing beaches' - shallow bays lined with smooth rocks. The whales rub their bodies against the rocks, and scientists believe the action may be for no other reason than the sheer pleasure of it. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/29/11     Nearly 50 million tons of e-waste (electronic waste such as cell phones and computers) is created each year around the world. This is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks across half the globe. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/30/11     From the practice of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day was long known as Decoration Day. The name Memorial Day goes back to 1882, but the older name didn't disappear until after World War II. Federal law declared 'Memorial Day' the official name in 1967. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/31/11     Each year, Americans throw out enough soda pop cans bottles to reach to the moon and back - twenty times. - Provided by RandomHistory.com


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