Discover the real story of Smokey Bear, from his World War II origins and the rescued New Mexico cub to his role as America’s wildfire prevention icon and complicated legacy.
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When it comes to complexity of the written language, few can compete with the Chinese. Take, for example, the above character for the word nàng. It consists of 36 individual strokes, and it represents the sound one’s voice makes as a result of having a congested nose. Few characters exceed the complexity of biáng, above.…
What are the longest words in the English language? Find out here!
“The trouble ain’t that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right.” — Mark Twain
British Member of Parliament Horatio Bottomley made a lot of money through fraud. He also lost a lot of money the same way. In a classic case of karma, in 1914 Bottomley bought all the horses that would run a race. He paid the jockeys to finish in a certain order and bet large sums…
John Heidegger rose to fame in Switzerland and later in England as a promoter of masquerade balls. It should be no surprise that Heidegger was drawn to a profession that depended on masks and disguises. Heidegger, by his own admission, was the ugliest person in the country. Called “Count Ugly” by some and described by…
George Washington is the highest-ranking officer to have served in the United States military. Still, it took 178 years since his last promotion and 177 years after his death before that accomplishment was realized.
While records are sometimes sketchy and inconclusive, the following is a list of the last surviving veterans of the United States’ wars and major military operations.
Sir Max Beerbohm is best remembered as an English essayist and caricaturist. Perhaps more attention should be paid to his practice of planning ahead. As he was getting ready to draw his last breath, Beerbohm said, “You will find my last words in the blue folder.” As it turned out, those were his last words.
Albert Einstein’s 1896 Report Card. An often-repeated legend tells of Albert Einstein struggling so hard with math and physics that he failed his college entrance exams. In reality, Einstein excelled in both subjects. One possible reason for this urban legend is the fact that Einstein’s school changed its grading system part-way through his tenure as…
Is glass a liquid? Find out the truth behind the myth.
The work of art that has sold for the highest price is Paul Gauguin’s oil painting “Nafea faa ipoipo”. The title is Tahitian for “When will you marry?” When sold in a private sale in February 2015, this 1892 piece brought $300 million.
Thomas Midgley, Jr. held over one hundred patents for his mechanical engineering and chemistry advancements. Certainly not winning any prizes from environmentalists, it was Midgley who developed the lead-based additive for gasoline, as well as some of the first chlorofluorocarbons. His work with chlorofluorocarbons resulted in the first non-combustible and non-flammable refrigerant: freon. His work…
General Motors developed a civilian model of its military vehicle, the Humvee, largely due to the persuasive efforts of actor and future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The result — the Hummer — rolled off the assembly lines in July 1992. The first one was delivered to Schwarzenegger, himself. source
In South Korea, a law passed in 2000 requires anyone burying a loved one to remove the grave after 60 years. Because of dwindling graveyard space and this resulting law, cremation has become much more popular. But families don’t always opt for ashes. Several companies there compress remains into gem-like beads in turquoise, pink or black.…
