● When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, the thermal energy released was enough to meet the power needs of the entire human population for 2½ days.
● Just for perspective, one million seconds is about 11 days; one billion seconds is roughly 31 years; and one trillion seconds is 31,000+ years.
● Former slave Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), the abolitionist and crusader for women’s rights and civil rights, was speaking in Indiana in 1858 when a heckler in the crowd accused her of being a man. She flashed her breasts at him, and he shut up.
● A portmanteau is a word that blends the sounds and meanings of two other words, such as brunch (breakfast and lunch) or smog (smoke and fog).
In French, a portmanteau is a suitcase that opens into two equal sections. In the 1870s, English writer Lewis Carroll applied the word to the act of “packing” two meanings into one word. Nicely done, sir.
● Singer Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman. His stage name reflects his admiration of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
● You may be aware that a margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice, served on the rocks. You may not know that the word margarita is Spanish for daisy.
● Sweden has more islands than any other country — somewhere between 220,000 and 267,000. The exact number depends on how many rocky outcrops you count as islands.
● The halftime show at the first Super Bowl in 1967 featured Al Hirt on the trumpet, two college marching bands, and a demonstration by Bell Aircraft of its experimental rocket backpacks. Bell later scuttled the project because the backpacks burned too much fuel to be practical.
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