FACT-OF-THE-DAY ARCHIVE
"Our life is what our thoughts make it."
- Marcus Aurelius
MAY 2016

Previous Archives

DATE	FACT OF THE DAY
5/1/16	The National University of Mexico was founded in 1551 by Charles V of Spain and is the oldest university in North America. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/2/16	The warriors of Attila, king of the Huns, (A.D. 450) preserved their meat by placing fresh meat under their saddles. All the bouncing squeezed fluids from the meat, and the horse's sweat salted the meat and removed more moisture. When the warrior stopped to eat, they had a dried and salted meal. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/3/16	Nearly 40% of men do not feel confident meeting a woman for the first time. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/4/16	Research suggests that soft drinks, particularly those that contain phosphoric acid, increase the risk of osteoporosis. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/5/16	Whale sharks give birth to the greatest number of pups. They can produce several hundred in a litter. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/6/16	At 268,601 square miles, Texas is the largest state in the contiguous United States and is the second biggest state in the U.S. (only Alaska is bigger). Texas is larger than many nations of the world, including every country in Europe. If it were a country, it would be the 40th largest country in the world, after Chile and Zambia. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/7/16	The manpower to build the Great Wall of China came from frontier guards, peasants, unemployed intellectuals, disgraced noblemen, and convicts. In fact, there existed a special penalty during the Qin and Han dynasties under which convicted criminals were made to work on the Wall. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/8/16	The first woman to run for U.S. president was Victoria Woodhull, who campaigned for the office in 1872 under the National Woman's Suffrage Association. While women would not be granted the right to vote by a constitutional amendment for nearly 50 years, there were no laws prohibiting a woman from running for the chief executive position. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/9/16	A "mega-tsunami" is a tsunami with extremely high waves and is usually caused by a landslide. A mega-tsunami occurred at Lituya Bay, Alaska, in 1958, creating the tallest tsunami ever recorded at 1,700 feet (534 m) high. Miraculously, only two people died. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/10/16	A deficiency of calcium/vitamin D during infancy or childhood results in rickets (deformed bones). The bones can become so weak that they can't withstand the body's weight, causing bow legs or knock knees. Once malformed, bones cannot be straightened. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/11/16	Up until the twentieth century, women who wanted to "swim" in the ocean could merely jump through the waves holding a rope attached to a buoy because their swimwear often weighed over 22 pounds. By 1915, women athletes began viewing swimming as a sport and, consequently, swimsuit fabric started to shrink. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/12/16	Drivers are far more likely to be alcohol impaired during the night than during the day. In 2007, 36% of drivers involved in nighttime fatal crashes were legally drunk versus just 9% during daytime collisions. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/13/16	Before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, the International Energy Agency predicted that nuclear plants would add 360 gigawatts of generating capacity by 2035. After Fukushima, the IEA halved those estimates. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/14/16	The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug occurred in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The emperor documented the drug's effectiveness in treating the pains of rheumatism and gout. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/15/16	If caught by a tsunami wave, it is better not to swim, but rather to grab a floating object and allow the current to carry you. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/16/16	Camels were imported into Texas twice in the 1850s by the U.S. War Department in the belief that they would be handy animals to use during the Indian Wars. They could be seen roaming Texas hills and deserts well into the 1920s. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/17/16	The phrase "tying the knot" initially came from an ancient Babylonian custom in which threads from the clothes of both the bride and bridegroom were tied in a knot to symbolize the couple's union. Literally tying some type of ceremonial knot at a wedding ceremony can be found across cultures. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/18/16	Eau de Cologne and other perfumes were first used during the Black Death plague to cover up odors due to not bathing or changing clothing. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/19/16	With their "echo-location," dolphins can distinguish between types of fish the same size, between aluminum and brass, and between a steel ball that is 2-1/2" in diameter and one that is 2-1/4" in diameter. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/20/16	Hurricane/Typhoon John lasted 31 days in 1994, which is longer than any other hurricane in history. It was both a hurricane and a typhoon because it passed through both eastern and western parts of the Pacific Ocean. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/21/16	Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/22/16	Buying ice cream on Sundays was illegal in Ohio because it was thought to be frivolous and "luxurious." Consequently, ice cream vendors would put fruit on top of the ice cream to make it more nutritious, creating the ice cream sundae. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/23/16	The mudskipper is a fish that spends most of its time out of water and can "walk" on its fins. It carries a portable water supply in its gill chambers when it leaves the water. It can also breathe through the pores of its wet skin. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/24/16	Annual flu viruses (not including flu pandemics) infect up to 20% of Americans, put 200,000 in the hospital with flu-related complications, and kill about 36,000 people. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/25/16	Gerald Ford was the first person to be both vice president and president without being elected by the people. He was appointed vice president when Spiro Agnew resigned and he succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/26/16	Most cats had short hair until about 100 years ago, when it became fashionable to own cats and experiment with breeding. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/27/16	There is no known civilization that did not tax. Even the very first known civilization, the Sumerians, recorded their tax history on clay cones. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/28/16	The oldest known map of the moon, about 5,000 years old, was found carved into a rock in a prehistoric tomb at Knowth, County Meath, in Ireland. Before this was discovered, the oldest known lunar map was by Leonardo da Vinci, which was created around 1505. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/29/16	Eyeballs are a direct physical extension of the brain. - Provided by RandomHistory.com
5/30/16	Memorial Day was long known as Decoration Day for the practice of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. 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
5/31/16	Bears have been known to eat almost anything, including snowmobile seats, engine oil, and rubber boots. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

Fact-of-the-Day Archives

2016
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2015
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2014
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2013
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2012
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2011
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN
2010
DEC	NOV	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL
JUN	MAY	APR	MAR	FEB	JAN

[ Return to Fact-of-the-Day ]
[ Return to Refdesk Home Page ]