Category: History

4th Of July: Trivia and More

independenceTomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day in America.  Here are a few things you might not know about the Land of Milk and Money.

There are more New Yorker Magazine subscribers outside the city of New York than in it, and a lot of them are from that wannabe poser, L.A.

There are 2.2 million farms in America.  However, at its peak of popularity, over 26 million Americans played Zynga’s Farmville every day.  Think about it!  America is so OMG rich that tons more people can play at being farmers than actually have to work on farms.

From space, the brightest thing on Earth is Las Vegas, Nevada which is also the most watched place on Earth with more CCTV cameras per capita than any other city — including Moscow, London and Beijing.

Atheists in America are in big trouble.  According to the legal basis of their system, the Declaration of Independence, Americans are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” notably “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Therefore, strictly speaking, if you don’t believe in God, those legal rights do not exist.

Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber are the same guy — and he might be a Canadian!

miley

If all the Kardashian sisters were laid end to end on YouTube, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

The larger seller of retail women’s clothing in America is Mattel.  Man, that Barbie’s got it all!

America is very oddly shaped.  Reno, Nevada is actually further west than Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan is north of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Buffalo, New York is further east than Fort Lauderdale, Florida which is on the Atlantic Ocean.

And finally, three trivia questions guaranteed to win you drinks at the 4th of July Barbecue.  As always, the honor system applies — no Google.  I’ll give you the answers tomorrow on a special Independence Day post.  Good Luck!

1 — How many states are there in the United States of America?  (Hint: it isn’t 50)

2 — How many presidents were born in Kentucky?

3 — Legally, the president of the United States must be born in the United States.  However, there is no legal requirement that he (or she) must live, die or be buried there.  So, how many ex-presidents (note the plural) are not buried in the United States?  And which ones are they?

Princess Charlotte: The Girl Who Won’t Be Queen

princess charlotteThere are a lot worse things in this world than being George Windsor’s little sister.  As jobs go, being the spare to the heir to the British throne is a pretty good gig.  Just ask Prince Harry.  You don’t have to do all that much and there are plenty of perks —  like palaces and polo.  Although, as a princess, you’re not actually going to be allowed to play polo — you’re just supposed to look good watching it.  Which brings us to the down side of the princess business.

Let’s be honest: being a baby is easy.  Everybody thinks you’re cute.  Nobody cares what you wear.  And you can, if necessary, throw up in public.  Besides, you’re portable and more experienced minds can simply keep you away from embarrassing situations.  Unfortunately, for Princess Charlotte, this isn’t going to last.  As she grows up, she is going to have to face one of the most ruthless bullies in the history of the world — the international media.

Every move she makes, every breath she takes, they’ll be watching her.  And, if history is any indication, there’s always going to be some bitchy somebody out there eager to call her down.  Every hair out of place, every too short/too long dress, every zit, every clumsy pause, every millimetre less than immaculate will be front page news.  And when that isn’t enough to satisfy the headline hunters, even immaculate will be scrutinized.  (Remember her mother was criticized for wearing the same outfit, twice.)  Plus, Princess Charlotte, like her mother before her, is going to be stalked to the limits of the telephoto lens and far beyond the limits of the law.  And when that awkward bikini photography goes viral (and it will) she will have no recourse but to shut up and take it.  At least you and I can sue.

But there’s more.  Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana is Princess Di’s granddaughter, and from now until the end of forever the media is never going to let anybody forget it.  Those are some awfully big Louboutins you’ve got to fill Your Royal Highness.

Personally, I’m glad Prince George has a sister.  Sisters are cool.  And as the years go on, these two are going to need each other.

Easter Trivia II

romania-599437_1280Once again, in keeping with my avowed principle that my readers should go to bed smarter than when they woke up, here are some cool facts about Easter and environs.  Pass this information on between mouthfuls of chocolate and you’ll either look like the smartest person in the room or a pompous ass — your choice.

The tastiest parts of the Easter bunny are the ears, followed by the nose.  This is one of those stupid facts that has actually been statistically verified by years of research.  Why?  Go figure!

On average, North Americans consume over 90 million Easter bunnies every year.  However, this incredible number does include those cheap bastards who buy their bunnies on Monday — when they’re half price.

The first European tourist on Easter Island was Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, in 1722.  He named the island Paasch Eyland (Easter Island) when he mistakenly thought all the large stone statues (Moai) he saw there were waiting for the Easter Bunny.

And speaking of Moai: if you want to make a million dollars, next Easter make a bunch of chocolate Moai and sell them to esoterically obsessed hipsters.  These folks have tons of disposable cash and simply can’t pass up a chance to be ironic.  (FYI, this is my idea.  If you do make a million dollars, I want a Finder’s Fee!)

The name Easter actually comes from the pagan goddess of fertility, Eastre, whose symbols were the rabbit and the egg.  Early Christians (marketing geniuses, BTW) saw an opportunity to piggyback their Holy Week resurrection message on the numerous Spring Festivals already established across Europe.  They slowly pushed Eastre into the background, and 17 centuries later, all we have left are chocolate bunnies, coloured eggs and a misspelt name.

Over one billion jellybeans will be eaten this Easter.  That sound you hear is the American Dental Association cashing their cheques and buying luxury condos.

Of the 50 or so obscenely opulent Faberge eggs produced for the Russian Royal Family, 8 are still missing.  So, next time you have to endure an afternoon with your great-aunt Olga, take a snoop through her china cabinet — you might get lucky.  These things sell for tens of millions of dollars, and if she doesn’t know it’s there, chances are good she won’t miss it.

And finally: Parents, decorating eggs with your children at Easter is a wonderful activity.  It will demonstrate just exactly what kind of a wacko control freak you really are.

Happy Easter!