First Posted: 5/15/2014
By Samantha Weaver
* It was beloved “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz who made the following sage observation: “Life is like a 10-speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.”
* If you’re like the average American, you will consume 22 pounds of lettuce this year.
* You might be surprised to learn that some fish can hibernate. During the long, dark winters, the Antarctic cod will burrow under the seabed and stay there for days at a time, cutting its metabolism by two-thirds.
* The name of the state of Wyoming comes from the Algonquian word chwewamink, which translates as “at the big river flat.”
* If you pay attention to politics at all, you’ve almost certainly heard the term “gerrymander” used to describe the practice of carving up electoral districts in such a way that one party has an advantage. You probably don’t know, though, how that term entered the lexicon. In 1812, a new district in Essex County, Massachusetts, was created, and a journalist thought the twisting boundaries caused the district to resemble a salamander. A cartoon highlighting the resemblance was created, and because the party that did the redistricting was led by Gov. Elbridge Gerry, the practice was dubbed “gerrymandering.”
* Even the world’s best high jumper is unable to stay in the air for more than a single second.
* Before he became a comedian and actor, Bob Newhart worked as an accountant at the Illinois State Unemployment Office.
* Those who keep track of such things say that Elvis Presley had 18 TVs at Graceland. One of them was installed in the ceiling over his bed.
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Thought for the day: “It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” – Carl Sagan
