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

APR 2019


Previous Archives

DATE FACT OF THE DAY
4/1/19      Greek has been spoken for more than 3,000 years, making it one of the oldest languages in Europe.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/2/19      The soundtrack to the1984 film Amadeus made it to #56 on the Billboard album charts, making it one of the most successful classical music albums ever.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/3/19      Catfish have over 27,000 taste buds. Humans have around 7,000.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/4/19      The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is India's national tree.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/5/19      The average American eats approximately 222 pounds of meat per year. This does not include seafood.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/6/19      Pandas have lived on Earth for two to three million years.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/7/19      The "gumboot" dance originated in the gold mines of South Africa. Because the miners were forbidden to talk, they communicated by stomping their feet and slapping their boots (gumboots), which evolved into a form of dance.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/8/19      The Human Genome Project, which mapped out the complete human genetic code, proved that race could not be identified in our genes. While scientists may use the idea of race to make practical distinctions among fluid sets of genetic traits, all people belong to the same hominid species, Homo sapiens sapiens (Latin for "wise man" or "knowing man"). In other words, biologically, there is one human race.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/9/19      Men and women tend to gravitate toward different stocks. For example, men favor stocks such as Tesla, Coca-Cola, Ford, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Gilead. Women tend to like less trendy stocks, such as Frontier Communication, JP Morgan, Pfizer, Kraft, Boeing, AbbVie, Merck, Amazon, and Google.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/10/19      Snakes evolved from a four-legged reptilian ancestor-most likely a small, burrowing, land-bound lizard-about 100 million years ago. Some snakes, such as pythons and boas, still have traces of back legs.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/11/19      The ancient Mbaya Indians of the Gran Chaco in South America believed that humans originally lived underground until dogs dug them up.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/12/19      The Danish monarchy is the oldest continuing monarchy in the world and has existed for over 1,000 years.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/13/19      A 150-pound woman would have to walk 4 mph for 48 minutes to burn off a 240-calorie donut. This would be equivalent to just over 3 miles.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/14/19      Icelanders love licorice. Salty black licorice is paired with fruit, chocolate, ice cream, and meringue by Icelandic confectioners; and licorice alcohol is an Icelandic specialty.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/15/19      The biggest ocean oil spill in history occurred in 1991, during the Gulf War. Iraqi soldiers retreating from Kuwait opened oil wells and pipelines in an attempt to slow U.S. troops; 240 million gallons of oil spilled into the Persian Gulf, creating a slick roughly the size of Hawaii.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/16/19      The wealth gap between McDonald's CEOs and its workers has doubled over the last 10 years.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/17/19      People who lost their homes often lived in what were called "Hoovervilles," or shanty towns, that were named after President Herbert Hoover. There was also "Hoover Stew" (food dished out in soup kitchens), "Hoover Blankets" (newspapers that served as blankets), "Hoover Hogs" (jack rabbits used as food), and "Hoover Wagons" (broken cars that were pulled by mules).- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/18/19      According to legend, a helpful dragon traced out the course of the Great Wall of China for the workforce. The builders subsequently followed the tracks of the dragon.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/19/19      In the U.S., there are about 2 million single fathers.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/20/19      The earliest recorded forgery was in 540 B.C. when Polycrates of Samos used fake gold coins to a pay debt he owed to Sparta.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/21/19      Unlike most of the other planets in our solar system that are named after a Roman god, Uranus is named after a Greek god.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/22/19      Parasites can have their own parasites, and those parasites can have parasites, too. Scientists call parasites of parasites "hyperparasites."- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/23/19      Harriet Tubman led raids to free slaves during the Civil War. She also taught freed slave women skills that could earn them wages with the Union Army.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/24/19      If none of the presidential candidates receives the required 270 electoral votes, then the decision is handed over to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate chooses the vice president.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/25/19      Although a full moon seems bright, it is actually reflecting just 7% of the sun's rays.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/26/19      Christopher Columbus was the first European to find the Venezuelan coast in 1498.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/27/19      There is a spider in Hawaii that looks like it's smiling. Dubbed the "Hawaiian happy-face spider," the cheerful-looking spider is under the threat of extinction.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/28/19      In 2008, Italian experts proposed insulating Michelangelo's David from the vibrations of tourist footsteps to prevent the marble from cracking.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/29/19      Modern skiing has its origins in the county of Telemark in the 19th century, but an ancient rock carving at Rødøy in Nordland county shows that Norwegians used skis as far back as 4,000 years ago. The oldest preserved ski excavated is a 2,300-year old one found in Finnmark in far northern Norway.- Provided by FactRetriever.com
4/30/19      The longest known cave system on earth is the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It stretches for more than 390 miles, and that's just what has been explored. Scientists believe it may be over 600 miles long.- Provided by FactRetriever.com


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2019
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2018
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2017
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2016
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2015
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2014
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2013
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2012
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2011
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2010
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