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Post by sandipaws on Mar 31, 2021 21:04:06 GMT -5
Who Knew??? April Fools’ Day on April 1st has long been a day when practical jokes and tricks are played on the unaware. It’s a time when children convince their parents they’ve broken a bone. Parents get in on the planning, too. Classic April Fools’ jokes include caramel covered onions or fake doggy doo-doo in inconvenient places. Businesses launch impractical or unbelievable products for the fun of the day and newspapers print incredible headlines catching readers off guard.
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Post by MidnightSun on Mar 31, 2021 22:03:11 GMT -5
On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known originally as a switchback railway, it was a way to distract people from sinful activities. It was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, who wanted to provide a family-friendly sin-free way to have fun. Thus, the roller coaster was born. He was inspired by the railroad tracks of the West, specifically one called the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in PA, which featured a high-speed, 665-foot drop. America's first roller coaster traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride.
Who knew?
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Post by johnmori on Apr 1, 2021 4:07:36 GMT -5
Who knew???
April 1, 1918
The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
April 1, 1924
The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
April 1, 1937
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.
April 1, 1954
United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
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Post by BillG on Apr 1, 2021 10:00:17 GMT -5
Who knew??? On April 1, 1938 the first commercially successful fluorescent lamps were introduced.
 
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Post by MidnightSun on Apr 1, 2021 22:48:44 GMT -5
The German word “kummerspeck” means weight gained from emotional eating. One of many words that are untranslatable in English is “kummerspeck,” which literally translates to “grief bacon” or “sorrow fat.” Bacon might not be your binge food of choice, but the idea remains the same. Whether you chow down on cured meats or ice cream during times of emotional crisis, kummerspeck adds insult to injury. It’s also proof that the idea of food as comfort is cross-culturally understood.
Who knew?
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Post by sandipaws on Apr 1, 2021 22:55:19 GMT -5
Who Knew???
On April 2nd each year, National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day celebrates a classic food favorite. The average American will have eaten over 2000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school.
Peanut butter was considered a delicacy in the early 1900s and was only served in New York City’s finest tea rooms. In a May 1896 article published in the Good Housekeeping magazine, a recipe “urged homemakers to use a meat grinder to make peanut butter and spread the result on bread.” That same year, in June, the culinary magazine Table Talk, published a “peanut butter sandwich recipe.”
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soutxed
Champion Member
Posts: 5,176
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Post by soutxed on Apr 2, 2021 8:20:09 GMT -5
April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.)
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Post by johnmori on Apr 2, 2021 9:14:48 GMT -5
Who knew???
April 2, 1930
After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
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Post by BillG on Apr 2, 2021 9:52:59 GMT -5
Who knew??? On April 2, 1792 The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime.
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Post by sandipaws on Apr 2, 2021 20:53:14 GMT -5
Who Knew???
 Each year on April 3rd, National Find A Rainbow Day challenges us to look to the sky and find a colorful ray of hope cast across it.
There are people that see rainbows as an artistic masterpiece in the sky, to others it is a sign of hope and to many a sign of promise. It can be all three; beauty, hope and promise. (Jill Magnus)
A spectrum of light in the form of a multicolored arc, appearing in the sky, is caused by both reflection and refraction of light in water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere. These rainbows always appear directly opposite of the sun. The light is refracted (bent) when it enters a droplet of water, then is reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it.
Red is the color that is visible on the outer part of a rainbow and violet on the inside of a primary rainbow. Children learn in science class the mnemonic ROYGBIV to help them to remember the sequence of colors in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Many forms of airborne water can cause rainbows including, rain, mist, spray, and dew.
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Post by johnmori on Apr 3, 2021 7:29:47 GMT -5
Who knew???
April 3, 1973
Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
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soutxed
Champion Member
Posts: 5,176
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Post by soutxed on Apr 3, 2021 8:58:23 GMT -5
April 3, 1948 Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan. $12.4 billion was allocated to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and prevent communists from seizing control.
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Post by BillG on Apr 3, 2021 9:16:47 GMT -5
Who knew??? On April 3, 1996 Federal agents in Montana apprehended Ted Kaczynski, an American terrorist known as the “Unabomber,” who had killed 3 persons and injured more than 20 with explosives sent through the U.S. postal system.
 
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Post by sandipaws on Apr 3, 2021 22:05:34 GMT -5
Who Knew???
Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox. Considered Christianity’s most important holy day, it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Depending on which calendar a church follows, some will celebrate the holiday earlier than others.
Leading up to Easter Sunday is an entire season of observances beginning with Ash Wednesday, Lent’s official beginning. Lent is a time of fasting and reflection, which represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness for 40 days. Many know this as a time when Christians give something up for Lent.
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Post by MidnightSun on Apr 4, 2021 2:17:48 GMT -5
Happy Easter!
Continental plates drift at about the same rate as fingernails grow. That is, about a millimeter a week. Tectonic plates, which divide the continents, drift because of the heat that pushes its way up to the surface from the Earth’s core. This is the same activity that causes earthquakes and volcanic activity. At the rate they move, the tectonic plates end up drifting between one and two inches each year.
Who knew?
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