Fact of the day time again The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a type of lung disease. I’d have problems pronouncing it let alone spelling it

What mammals can fly? Bats are the only mammals that are able to fly. The “flying squirrel” can only do what the gliding opposum does – glide for short distances.

Penelope It depends on, well, your definition of word. The one with over 189,000 letters is insane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English

Giraffes are 30 times more likely to get hit by lightning than people. True, there are only five well-documented fatal lightning strikes on giraffes between 1996 and 2010. But due to the population of the species being just 140,000 during this time, it makes for about 0.003 lightning deaths per thousand giraffes each year. This is 30 times the equivalent fatality rate for humans.

Cats, Giraffes, And Camels all have one thing In common. They walk in a… very specific way. According to Purina: ”[Cats’] walking sequence is both right feet first, followed by both left feet, so they move half of their body forward at once. “Camels and giraffes are the only other animals to walk this way.” That isn’t the only peculiarity when it comes to the way that cats walk, though. Catster said: “Typically, cats move the front and back legs on each side together when walking. “Each paw hits the ground at a different point in the stride, which is known as a four-beat gait. Most of the cat’s weight is centered on the front paws while walking.” Additionally, that dainty little pitter-patter walk that cats do is due to them walking on their toes, as opposed to their whole feet the way that we do.

FACT: i am holding out hope that Hannah finds her way here to build on her factual legacy. 💗

The fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. The 36-letter word was first used by the Roman poet Horace in the first century BCE to criticise those writers with an unreasonable penchant for long words. It was American poet Aimee Nezheukumatathil, possibly afraid of their own surname, who coined the term how we know it in 2000.

KaraZor-El Back by popular demand … Fact Of The Day (for Independence Day) … Abraham Lincoln (6’ 4”) was the tallest U.S. President in American history. The shortest was James Madison, who was only 5’ 4”.

HannahW The hat made him tall he was only 4ft 🙂

Water might not be wet. This is because most scientists define wetness as a liquid’s ability to maintain contact with a solid surface, meaning that water itself is not wet, but can make other objects wet.

The largest piece of fossilised dinosaur poo discovered is over 30cm long and over two litres in volume. Believed to be a Tyrannosaurus rex turd, the fossilised dung (also named a ‘coprolite’) is helping scientists better understand what the dinosaur ate.

Fact of the day

Elara

Miki which is funny because I don’t think they actually swim

Miki

Penelope
Then colonel sanders got hold of it

Falcons_11D

Facts of the Day - July 12, 2024

70 - Romans attack walls of Jerusalam and distroyed the Second Temple.
1543 - King Henry VIII marries his 6th. and last wife, Catherine Parr. Fortunately for Catherine, she outlived him.
1801 - Royal Navy defeats the combined French and Spanish navies in the Second Battle of Algercias.
1812 - U.S. Army captures Windsor, Ontario, Upper Canada in the War of 1812.
1862 - Congressional Medal Of Honor (Highest U.S. decoration for Valor) is authorized by Congress.
1962 - Rolling Stones perform their first concert at London’s Marquee Club.
1979 - U.K. grants independence to the island of Kiribati.

KaraZor-El

@Falcons_11D thanks for putting these “on this day” posts together. 🙂

Falcons_11D

KaraZor-El

Kara, thank you for your kind post. I am happy you enjoy reading my Facts of the Day. 😊

Penelope

Octopuses don’t actually have tentacles. They have eight limbs, but they’re arms (for most species). Technically, when talking about cephalopods (octopuses, squids etc), scientists define tentacles as limbs with suckers at their end. Octopus arms have suckers down most of their length.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 13, 2024.

1568 - Alexander Nowell, Dean of St. Paul’s in London, perfects the way to bottle beer.
1772 - Captain James Cook begins his second voyage aboard the HMS Resolute in seach of Australia.
1787 - U.S. Congress adopts Ordianance of 1787 establishing requirements of statehood for future US states.
1837 - Queen Victoria becomes the first British monarch to live in Buckingham Palace.
1865 - Horace Greeley, Editor of New York Tribune, repudiately advised readers, “Go West, Young Man”.
1917 - Vision of the Virgin Mary first appears to 3 children in Fatima, Portugal.
1930 - First World Cup Competition begins in Urugray.
1934 - Babe Ruth (NY Yankees) hit his 700th career home run against Detroit Tigers.
2014 - FIFA World Cup final Germany beats Brazil in extra time.
2016 Theresa May elected PM by Conservative Party.
2018 - President Trump meets Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

Penelope

Most maps of the world are wrong. On most maps, the Mercator projection – first developed in 1569 – is still used. This method is wildly inaccurate and makes Alaska appear as large as Brazil and Greenland 14 times larger than it actually is. For a map to be completely accurate, it would need to be life-size and round, not flat.

Falcons_11D

Fact Of The Day - July 14, 2024.

I am only going to post one famous fact for today.

1789 - Bastille Day (Fête Nationale Française)

Penelope

NASA genuinely faked part of the Moon landing. While Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface were categorically not faked, the astronaut quarantine protocol when the astronauts arrived back on Earth was largely just one big show.

Falcons_11D

Fact Of The Day July 16, 2024

1381 - John Ball, leader of the Peasants’ Revolt in Egland was hung, drawn and quartered by King Richard II.
1742 - Alkexi Chirikov of Russia is first European to land in Alaska. He declared Alaska to be a Russian province.
1799 - Rosetta Stone is discovered during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign.
1815 - Emperpr Napoleon surrenders to the British after his defeat at Waterloo.
1870 - Georgia, the last confederate state, is readmitted to the USA.
1912 - U.S. athlete Jim Thorpe win decathon gold medal in Stockhokm.
1912 - National Health Insurance Act goes in effect in Britain.
1961 - Spain gives equal rights to women.
1970 - Denmark beats Italy 2-0 in first woman’s wold soccer (football) competition.
1987 - Boy George banned from British TV as a “bad influence”.
2000 - World record rugby attendance of 108,000 saw New Zealand beat Australia 39-35 in Sydney, Australia.
2023 - Lionel Messi signs contract for $50,000,000 a year witn Inter-Miami.

KaraZor-El

Falcons_11D 1987 - Boy George banned from British TV as a “bad influence”.

That’s how a Rocker knows that he or she has made it. 🎸 🤘

Penelope

Comets smell like rotten eggs. A comet smells like rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and… almonds. Traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide were all found in the makeup of the comet 67P/Churyumove-Gerasimenko. Promotional postcards were even commissioned in 2016 carrying the pungent scent of a comet.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 16, 2024

622 - Prophet Muhammad began flight from Mecca to Medina (Hijra)
1053 - Great schism begins between Western (Roman) and Easten (Orthodox) Churches
1377 - King Richard II is crowned King of England succeeding his father Edward III.
1439 - Kissing is banned in Britain to prevent spread of Black Death. (like preventing close contect we had during the Pandemic!)
1661 - First banknotes in Europe are issued by Bank of Stockholm, Sweden.
1790 - Washingtom D.C. is proclaimed USA Capitol by act of Congress.
1862 - Captain David Farragut is permoted to 1st. Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
1904 - USA acquires the islands of American Samoa.
1935 - First parking Meters in the USA are installed in Oklahoma City, OK
1945 - First A-Bomb is detonated in New Mexico by USA. (Manhatten Project)
1967 - British rock band “The Who” begin their first American tour in San Francisco.
1990 - Ukraine SSR declares it’s independence from the USSR.
1994 - Comet Shoemake-Levy collides with Jupiter.
2017 - BBC announces the first female Dr. Who will be played by Jodie Whittaker.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 17, 2024

1505 - Martin Luther ordained an Augustinian monk.
1603 - Sir Walter Releigh arrested for treason by King James !.
1717 - Handel’s “Water Music” premiers in London on a barge in the Thames.
1762 - Catherine (the Great) becomes Tsarina of Russia following murder of Tsar Peter III.
1841 - British magazine “Punch” started publication. It’s ceased publication in 2002.
1861 - U.S. Congress authorizes issurance of paper money. The $ is born!
1867 - First U.S. dental school is opened at Harvard University.
1898 - Spanish-American War starts.
1917 - King George V changes the name of the royal family from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
1918 - Bolsheviks executes Russian royal family at Yekaterinburg, Siberia.
1936 - Spanish Civil War begins.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix quits as “Monkees” opening act.
1974 - John Lennon ordered to leave USA due to marijuana charges in the UK. He stays!
1984 - U.S. passes Mininum Drinking Act prohibiting anyone 21 and under from drinking alcohol.
1992 - Slovakia and Czeck Republic split.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 20, 2024

1304 - King Edward I takes Sterling Castle ending the Scottish war of independence.
1654 - World Oldest Treaty between England and Portugal is reinforced guarantees Portugal’s independence.
1810 - Columbia declares it’s independence from Spain.
1861 - Confederate States Congress meets for first time in Richmond, Virginia.
1868 - USA places tax on cigarettes (to help pay for Civil War debts).
1871 - British Columbia joins the Canadian Confederation.
1890 - Gibbons begins publishing it’s “Stramp Monthly”. (Only philatelists would recognize this fact!).
1914 - Irish begin armed resistance against British rule in Ulster.
1921 - Alice Mary Robinson becomes first woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.
1933 - Vatican signs Concordat with Nazi Germany.
1944 - Dictator Adolf Hitler survives assassination attempt by Claus von Stauffenburg.
1956 - Britain refuses to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam.
1969 - Apollo 11 lands on the moon. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
1976 - Hank Aaron hits his 755th. and last home run against Anaheim Angels..
1994 - Alexandr Lukashenko inaugrated first president of Belarus. He’s still there. So much for democracy!
2005 - Canada becomes 4th. country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
2020 - UK suspends extradiction treaty with Hong Kong over China’s crackdown on citizens there.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 21, 2024

1403 - King Henry IV defeats Henry Percy in the Battle of Shrewsbury
1588 - English fleet first engagement with Spanish Armada near Eddystone Rocks.
1669 - English philosopher John Locke’s constitution for the Carolina colony is approved by Parliament.
1730 - Holland authorizes the death penalty for the crime of sodomy.
1773 - Pope Clemens XIV bans the Jesuit Order.
1831 - Belgium gets it’s independence from Netherlands. Leopold I is made king.
1853 - Central Park (750 acres) in Manhatten is created by New York legislature.
1866 - Cholera epidemic breaks out in London hundreds die.
1904 - Camille Jenatzy set world auto speed record at 65.79 MPH (107 km).
1940 - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania annexed by USSR.
1949 - US Senate ratified NATO Treaty.
1961 - USA launches Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Gus Grisson onboard.
1974 - President Richard Nixon impeached by US House of Representatives.
1978 - Film “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” premiered in New York.
1994 - Tony Blair elected leader of Labour Party.
2017 - Justin Bieber banned by China for “bad behavior”
2020 - EU passes €750 billion bill to combat Covid-19.

Penelope

Ants don’t have lungs. They instead breathe through spiracles, nine or ten tiny openings, depending on the species.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 22, 2024

1298 - Battle of Falkirk English army defeats the Scots.
1587 - English estalbish first colony on Roanoke Island off North Carolina coast.
1794 - Alexander Mackenzie is first European to reach the Pacific Ocean crossing the North American continent.
1864 - US General captured Atlanta, Georgia and burns the city.
1893 - Katharine Bates composes hymn “America The Beautiful” (IMHO this should be USA National Anthem.)
1901 - House of Lords rules that the trade unions can be sued for the actions of its members. (Taff-Vale Case)
1933 - Wiley Post completes first solo flight around the world in 7 days and 19 hours.
1934 - Gangster John Dillinger shot dead by FBI agents in Chicago.
1942 - Rationing begins in USA because of World War II.
1959 - Ed Woods premiers movie “Plan 9 From Outer Space” which is possibly the worse movie ever made!
1975 - US Congress restores US citizenship to Confederate General Robert E, Lee (posthumously).
2023 -Taylor Swift concert in Seattle is so loud that the noise registers 2.3 on the Richter Scale.

Falcons_11D

Facts Of The Day - July 23, 2024

1579 - Sir Francis Drake departs San Francisco to cross the Pacific Ocean.
1664 - British Nany arrives in Boston to force the Dutch from New Amsterdam (New York).
1745 - Charles Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) arrives at Eriskay Island to begin final Jacobite Rebelion.
1777 - King Louis XVI of France announces suport of rhe American colonists against Britain.
1798 - Napoleon Bonaparte conquers Alexandria, Egypt.
1829 - Typewriter (Typographer) is patented in the USA.
1840 - Parliament passes the Union Act uniting Upper and Lower Canada.
1888 - John Dunlop patents first pneumatic tire.
1904 - First ice cream cone appears at St. Louis World Fair.
1920 - British East Africa is renamed Kenya by act of Parli8ment.
1921 - Chinese Communist Party is founded in Shanghai by Chen Duxiu.
1945 - Marshal Petain, head of the Vichy Goverment, goes on trial for teason in France.
1958 - First 4 women named to peerages in House of Lords.
1973 - President Richard Nixon refuses to release Watergate tapes leading to his resignation.
1982 - International Whaling Commission votes to ban commerical whaling.
2000 - Golfer Tiger Woods at the age of 24 wins his 1st. major tournament, the British Open.
2018 - Boris Johnson chosen by Tories to become PM.
2019 - Nike signs Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) to a 7 years $75 million shoe deal.
2022 - World Health Organization (WHO) declares the Monkey Pox to be a public health emergency.

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