UNIVAC and the Census

The thing I learned today is that UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer), the computer developed by the  Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1951, was first used by the U.S. Census Bureau to tabulate and sample survey information.

Aubrey holes

The thing I learned today is that Aubrey holes, named after a 17th-century antiquarian, are 56 cremation pits that line the inside ring of Stonehenge. It is possible that their placement was used for astronomic calculations.

Axel Paulsen

The thing I learned today is that ice skating's move the Axel jump is not named for the rotating axle, as I always thought, but a 19th-century Norwegian speed skater, Axel Paulsen, who invented it.  Who knew?  Lots of people, certainly.

Delaware's nickname

The thing I learned today is that Delaware's motto is "Liberty and Independence," but its nickname is "The First State," which is printed on their license plates. (It was the first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution.)

Delaware
is well aware
it was the first state

John O'Groats

The thing I learned today is that John O'Groats is a village on the northeast coast of Scotland.  It is mentioned in the phrase "from Land's End to John O'Groats," meaning a great distance, as the distance between those two towns (875 miles) is the longest distance between two inhabited points in the UK.  It is named for Jan de Groote, a Dutchman who settled there.

Mashgiach

The thing I learned today is that a mashgiach (from the Hebrew for "supervisor") is a Jew who oversees a food-service establishment to ensure it is keeping with kashrut, or kosher, dietary laws, and that nothing is trayf, or forbidden.

Size of the Sahara Desert

The thing I learned today is that the Sahara Desert is 3.6 million square miles in area, which means it is nearly as large as the United States or China (both around 3.7 million square miles).

The first St. Patrick's Day parade

The thing I learned today is that the first St. Patrick's Day parade in America was held in Boston, 1737. It was organized by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston.

Marfan syndrome

The thing I learned today is that Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue, which may affect heart, lungs, eyes, spinal cord, and skeleton and cause a number of complications.  People with Marfan syndrome tend to be tall with long, slender fingers; if the fingers fold over the thumb and the thumb extends past the hand that is a sign of Marfan syndrome.  The disease is named after Antoine Marfan, a French pediatrician. 

Cain the farmer

The thing I learned today is that Cain was the brother who offered grains ("fruit of the ground") to God, while Abel, a keeper of sheep offered the lord lamb meat. God, naturally, preferred the carnivorous food. Here is a mnemonic: Cain rhymes with grains, and "Abel" put a bell on the lamb (his name may derive from a Semitic word meaning "herdsman").

The Shard

The thing I learned today is that Europe's tallest building as of June, 2014, is called the Shard, named for its resemblance to a shard of glass. Completed in November, 2012, it is located in London and is commercial real estate. 

Wall socket voltage

The thing I learned today is that a standard wall socket in the US has 110-120 volts of current.  The voltage varies considerably by country.

Tom Cruise's marriages

The thing I learned today is that Tom Cruise has been married three times.  He was married to actress and poker player Mimi Rogers, who introduced him to Scientology, 1987-1990; Nicole Kidman 1990-2001; and Katie Holmes 2006-2012.  He was romantically linked with Penelope Cruz but not married to her.

The Securitate

The thing I learned today is that the Securitate (from Department of State Security, or DSS) was the brutal secret police of Communist Romania from 1948 to 1991.

The Manhattan

The thing I learned today is that the Manhattan, the classic cocktail cocktail made from whiskey, vermouth, and bitters, is traditionally topped with a maraschino cherry!  But it's the drink of the sophisticated man.  Isn't the cherry a bit, you know, girly?  (This one has an orange peel.)

Edward Brooke

The thing I learned today is that Edward Brooke was a Republican politician who served as Senator of Massachusetts from 1967-79.  He was the first African-American senator elected popularly, and the only to serve multiple terms.  Barbara Walters claimed in her memoir Audition that she had an affair with Brooke in the 1970s.

The Meyer lemon

The thing I learned today is that the Meyer lemon, a cross between a true lemon and mandarin, is native to China and was named for the explorer Frank Meyer who brought it to the U.S. in 1908.

The Brenner Pass

The thing I learned today is that the Brenner Pass is one of the principal passes over the Alps, and the lowest such pass. It connects Innsbruck, Austria and Verona, Italy. Today it is one of the most important transit routes between northern and southern Europe.  It is the site of a few battles and in 1940 Hitler famously met Mussolini there.

Conjunctions

The thing I learned today is the classification of conjunctions.

• A coordinating conjunction (which I knew about) joins two main clauses, such as "I saw the bird and she saw the cat."  Examples are: and, but, or, yet, as soon as.
• A subordinating cunjunction (which I'd forgotten) joins a subordinate (or dependent) clause to a main clause, such that one of the clauses is given more importance, as in "Although I saw the bird, she saw the cat." Examples are: after, though, unless, until, while, if.
• A correlative conjunction (new to me!) is a pair of words such as either.. or, neither... not, and not only... but also, which joins two clauses, as in "Neither she nor I saw any animals."

Subluxation

The thing I learned today is the definition of the word subluxation, which means the dislocation of an organ or joint.  A vertebral subluxation is a vertebra out of place; a peroneal subluxation is dislocation of the ankle; etc.

The hoazin

The thing I learned today is the existence of the hoazin, also known as stinkbird, a bird found in swamp regions and forests of South America.  It is interesting because its young possess claws on their wingtips, and because it is primarily a folivore and has a digestive system similar to that of ruminants.  For this reason, some have posited the hoazin as an ancestor of the Archeopteryx.

The origin of the term "rock and roll"

The thing I learned today is that Cleveland DJ Alan "Moondog" Freed is popularly credited with the introduction of the phrase "rock and roll" to refer to the popular music of the '50s.  He is thus known as "father of rock and roll."  It should be noted that the phrase predated Freed, but that he helped popularize it and applied it to the music itself.

Bedloe's Island

The thing I learned today was that Bedloe's Island is the former name of Liberty Island, New York, where the Statue of Liberty stands. The name was changed in 1956.

The Thirty-Nine Articles

The thing I learned today is that the Thirty-Nine Articles are the statements of doctrine of the Church of England, first established in 1563 and finalized in 1571.  They are largely based on the writing of noted Anglican martyr and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer.

William the Bastard

The thing I learned today is that William I, the Conqueror's, other nickname was William the Bastard, because he was the son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and a woman whom the Duke did not marry.

Vena amoris

The thing I learned today is that "vena amoris" is the name of a traditional belief that the vein of the fourth finger runs directly to the heart (and thus is the reason wedding bands are placed there).  This belief is false.

The chau gong

The thing I learned today was that the name of the Chinese gong used in Western orchestras is called the Chau gong, or tam-tam.

The Boston Tea Party ships

The thing I learned today was that the names of the three ships boarded by colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians in December, 1773, to destroy their cargo of tea were the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver.

The kuna

The thing I learned today is that the unit of currency of Croatia is the kuna.  As of mid-2014, the kuna is worth about one-fifth of a dollar.  The word kuna means "marten" in Croatian!

Stone skipping

The thing I learned today is that a group of French researches discovered that the optimum angle for a stone to hit the water so it skips across the surface is 20 degrees.  Lydéric Bocquet, a physics professor at the University of Lyon, and his team found that even if other variables are changed, the stone has the best chance of skipping when hitting the water at 20 degrees, the "magic angle."This was confirmed by Japanese scientists as well.

Annie Hall's working title

The thing I learned today is that Woody Allen's masterpiece, Annie Hall, had several working titles, including Anhedonia, which means the inability to experience pleasure.

Puja

The thing I learned today is that a puja is a Hindu prayer ritual performed at weddings, births, temple ceremonies, and so on, to commemorate the event.  The activities of the puja vary by school of Hinduism and by the occasion; it may involve libation, chanting, bowing, offering food to a deity, lighting incense sticks, and so on.

The Dover test

The thing I learned today is that the Dover test is a phrase used to express the American public's willingness to support an overseas war.  It refers to the mortuary center at Dover air force base, where over 50,000 flag-draped coffins have arrived since 1955.  The phrase may have been coined by John Glenn.

Simmering

The thing I learned today is that simmering is defined as a temperature just under boiling, or usually about 200 degrees F (93 C).

Haganah

The thing I learned today is that the Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization from 1920 to 1948 in British Palestine.  It was preceded by the Hashomar and, after the Haganah was disbanded in 1948, replaced with the IDF.

Naval Support Facility Thurmont

The thing I learned today is that Camp David, the Presidential country retreat, is a military installation and is officially known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont (it is located near Thurmont, Maryland).

The stages of human hair growth

The thing I learned today is there are three stages of human hair growth, and they are named the anagen, catagen, and telogen phases.  The anagen phase is the growth phase.  The catagen phase is the transition phase that signals the end of growth.  The telogen phase is the resting phase; effluvium follows.  Here is a mnemonic: ACT. Anna is growing, cats just sit around not doing much, and you can tell this one is about to fall out.

The Spanish American War

The thing I learned today is that the Spanish-American War lasted less than a year, from April to August of 1898. Independence of Cuba was the question; the explosion of the USS Maine, American corporate imperialism, and yellow journalism ruled the day.

The US Open prize money

The thing I learned today is that in 1973, the US Open tennis tournament became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men's and women's champions, $25,000 at the time.

Peter Drucker

The thing I learned today is that Peter Drucker was an Austrian-American consultant sometimes called "the father of modern management." He is known for his book "Concept Of the Corporation," a study of how business leadership works. Drucker taught that management is a liberal art, and that managers should provide leadership for the common good.

The bones of the leg

The thing I learned today is that the main bones of the human leg are the femur (thigh bone), fibula (calf bone), and tibia (shin bone).  Of course there is also the patella, or kneecap.  Here is a mnemonic: associate females with thighs, fibbing with calves (about where they come from)?, and tipping with shin (hitting your shin on the tip of something).

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The thing I learned today is that The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted, via the Mexican Cession, the US the region that is now California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona, as well as part of Wyoming. It came at the end of the Mexican-American war (1846-48). The Treaty provided for property rights of Mexicans in the area, which largely went unhonored.

The term "atomic bomb"

The thing I learned today is that the term "atomic bomb" was first coined in 1914 by H.G. Wells in The World Set Free, thirty-one years before "The Gadget" was first tested in New Mexico.

Saturday Night Fever

The thing I learned today is that the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever was based on an article written by Nik Cohn called "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night," about young men haunting the disco club Odyssey.  In the 1990s, Cohn revealed his article was fabricated, as he could make no sense of the actual disco scene.

The syrinx

The thing I learned today is that the syrinx is the avian equivalent to the mammalian larynx. It is forked and is set lower than the voice box, so birds can create a wider variety of sounds and appear to sing without taking a breath.

NBC Nightly News theme music

The thing I learned today is that the theme song for the NBC Nightly News since 1985 is composed by John "Star Wars" Williams and is called "The Mission."

Tom Sawyer

The thing I learned today is that Tom Sawyer, the character, appears in no less than four novels by Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884); Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894); and Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896).

The Caspian Sea

The thing I learned today is that the Caspian Sea is not technically a sea, because it does not connect to the ocean, but is considered the world's largest lake (by surface area).  However, note that Lake Baikal is the world's largest lake by volume.

The Tasman Sea

The thing I learned today is that the Tasman Sea is situated between, not (as you might expect) Australia and Tasmania (that's the Bass Strait) but rather Australia and New Zealand.

The people who have walked on the moon

The thing I learned today is that twelve men have walked on the moon.  Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, followed immediately by Buzz Aldrin; this was on July 21, 1969.  The next two moon walkers were Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, who trod the dusty surface of Luna November 19 and 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 12 mission.  And the fifth and sixth on the moon were Alan Shepherd and Edgar Mitchell, who walked the moon in February of 1971.  The last person to have walked on the moon (for now!) is Eugene Cernan, in 1972.  Here is a mnemonic: Arm All Conquering Bears; Sheep Might Scamper.

Calorie to body fat ratio

The thing I learned today is that it takes approximately 3500 calories to make one pound of body fat.

Highway Gothic

The thing I learned today is that Highway Gothic is a popular name for the FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) series of fonts.  This series is a collection of fonts used on road signs in over a dozen countries.  Originally developed during WWII by the Public Roads Administration, the sans-serif fonts have been modified over the years, such as the implementation of a lower-case set of letters.