Pioneers, People And Places – It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Welcome to another week and another fasab quiz.

Today is the usual random mixture of questions, including as the title suggests, some about pioneers, people and places.

If you get stuck you can find the answers as usual waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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Q.  1:  Which US state is nick-named the ‘Empire State’ ?

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Q.  2:  What sort of creature is a ‘serval’ ?

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Q.  3:  What city is known as the ‘Capital of the Alps’ ?

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Q.  4:  What African tribe represents a letter in the phonetic alphabet?

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Q.  5:  What color are the flowers of the laburnum tree?

            a)  red            b) yellow           c) blue            d) cream

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Q.  6:  Which chemical element has the symbol ‘Fe’ ?

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Q.  7:  What is the only bird capable of flying all day without flapping its wings?

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Q.  8:  How many sides does a rhombus have?

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Q.  9:  Which small shark is also known as a ‘rock-eel’ or ‘rock Salmon’ ?

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Q. 10:  What is the capital of the Falkland Islands?

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Q. 11:  How many balls are on a snooker table at the start of play?

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Q. 12:  In physics, what letter is used to represent the constant that is equal to “9.80665 metres per second squared” ?

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Q. 13:  Who was the United States’ ‘Action Man’ ?

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Q. 14:  What name was given to the women who campaigned to have the vote in the first two decades of the 20th century?

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Q. 15:  What was the fishing dispute between Britain and Iceland during the 1960s and 1970s popularly known as?

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Q. 16:  Founded in 1413, what is Scotland’s oldest university?

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Q. 17:  Who pioneered vaccination as a means of inoculating against smallpox?

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Q. 18:  SS Archimedes was an appropriately named ship which was the world’s first to use what form of propulsion?

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Q. 19:  Julia Margaret Cameron was an early pioneer of which art form?

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Q. 20:  For which Henrik Ibsen play, first performed in 1876, did Edvard Grieg compose the instrumental music?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which US state is nick-named the ‘Empire State’ ?

A.  1:  New York.

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Q.  2:  What sort of creature is a ‘serval’ ?

A.  2:  A Wildcat.

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Q.  3:  What city is known as the ‘Capital of the Alps’ ?

A.  3:  Grenoble.

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Q.  4:  What African tribe represents a letter in the phonetic alphabet?

A.  4:  Zulu, representing the letter ‘Z’.

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Q.  5:  What color are the flowers of the laburnum tree?

            a)  red            b) yellow           c) blue            d) cream

A.  5:  The correct answer is b) yellow.

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Q.  6:  Which chemical element has the symbol ‘Fe’ ?

A.  6:  Iron.

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Q.  7:  What is the only bird capable of flying all day without flapping its wings?

A.  7:  The Albatross.

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Q.  8:  How many sides does a rhombus have?

A.  8:  A rhombus has 4 sides.

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Q.  9:  Which small shark is also known as a ‘rock-eel’ or ‘rock Salmon’ ?

A.  9:  Dogfish.

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Q. 10:  What is the capital of the Falkland Islands?

A. 10:  Port Stanley.

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Q. 11:  How many balls are on a snooker table at the start of play?

A. 11:  22. (15 reds, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 brown, 1 blue, 1 pink, 1 black and the cue ball.)

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Q. 12:  In physics, what letter is used to represent the constant that is equal to “9.80665 metres per second squared” ?

A. 12:  It is the letter ‘G’ (constant is Earth’s gravity pull, the acceleration of free fall)

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Q. 13:  Who was the United States’ ‘Action Man’ ?

A. 13:  He was called ‘G.I. Joe’.

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Q. 14:  What name was given to the women who campaigned to have the vote in the first two decades of the 20th century?

A. 14:  They were known as ‘Suffragettes’.

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Q. 15:  What was the fishing dispute between Britain and Iceland during the 1960s and 1970s popularly known as?

A. 15:  It was known as ‘The Cod War’.

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Q. 16:  Founded in 1413, what is Scotland’s oldest university?

A. 16:  It is the University of St Andrews.

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Q. 17:  Who pioneered vaccination as a means of inoculating against smallpox?

A. 17:  Edward Jenner.

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Q. 18:  SS Archimedes was an appropriately named ship which was the world’s first to use what form of propulsion?

A. 18:  A Screw Propeller.

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Q. 19:  Julia Margaret Cameron was an early pioneer of which art form?

A. 19:  Photography.

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Q. 20:  For which Henrik Ibsen play, first performed in 1876, did Edvard Grieg compose the instrumental music?

A. 20:  Peer Gynt.

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Disappearing Beaches And Dead Fish – It’s Fact Day.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Two of the facts today do indeed relate to disappearing beaches and dead fish.

Rather surprisingly though, the two facts are not related.

Find out for yourself below.

And enjoy.

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The optic nerve,

which connects the eyes to the brain,

is too sensitive to successfully reconstruct.

 

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The most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) weapon

in the world is the

Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP),

nicknamed “Father of All Bombs” or “FOAB’,

a Russian-made air-delivered/land-activated

thermobaric weapon whose destructive power,

according to Russian deputy chief of the general staff

Alexander Rukshin was such that,

“all that is alive merely evaporates.”

The bomb is reportedly four times as powerful as the

US military’s Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb or “MOAB”

mentioned in last week’s fasab facts.

 

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South Africa has eleven official languages,

the highest number of any country in the world.

 

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Swansea Jack was a black retriever dog from Wales

with a big heart and lots of courage that became

famous in the 1930s for rescuing people from the sea.

He saved twenty-seven people and won many

awards for his heroic acts.

Swansea Jack is the only dog to have been

awarded two bronze medals

(‘the canine Victoria Cross’)

by the National Canine Defence League

(now known as Dogs Trust).

 

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Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant in the body

and supports the immune system in

fighting off bacteria and viruses.

Almonds, as well as other nuts like peanuts

and hazelnuts are high sources of vitamin E.

One ounce of dry roasted almonds

contains 6.8 mg of vitamin A,

which is 34% of the daily recommended value.

 

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The first book bought on Amazon was called

‘Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies:

Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.’

 

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Charles Cunningham Boycott was a British

land agent living in 19th century Ireland,

who was ostracized by his local community after

he refused his tenants´ demands for reduction in rates.

His name lives on  and is synonymous with acts of

political or social protest by voluntarily abstaining from

using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country.

 

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At Porthleven in Cornwall (UK) the entire sand

volume mysteriously disappeared due to a freak tide,

but after a second high tide a few hours later,

the entire sand volume was re-deposited on the beach,

returning it to its original state.

A case of now you don’t see it, now you do!

(David Copperfield was not around at the time.)

 

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The Chevrolet Silverado is a mega-selling full-size

and heavy-duty pickup truck manufactured

by General Motors and introduced in 1999

as the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K line.

In 2014 Cheverolet sold 529,755 Silverados,

or almost 1 every minute.

 

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During the medieval period, London and Paris

each had no more than forty thousand residents.

In contrast cities, such as Constantinople and Baghdad,

had about a million people each.

 

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The voices of Mickey & Minnie Mouse,

Wayne Allwine & Russi Taylor,

married each other in real life, too.

 

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Vending machines kill more people per year

than sharks and snakes combined.

According to the available police reports

the deaths usually happen when the vending machine

steals somebody’s snack, drink, or money,

and they decide to hit it a bit too hard causing

the vending machine to fall on them.

 

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In the German city of Hamburg in 1842,

about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed

and an estimated twenty thousand lost their property.

Surprisingly only fifty-one people lost their lives.

 

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In Lyme Regis, a little coastal town

in West Dorset, England,

slapping people with a dead eel is prohibited.

There had been a tradition known as

“the conger-cuddling”, in which people swung

dead eels at each other but in 2006,

the game was banned by local bureaucrats not

because it might have injured the people taking

part in this activity but because

– wait for it –

an animal rights group claimed

it was disrespectful to the dead fish.

 

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Wallilabou Anchorage, situated at Wallilabou Bay

on the west or leeward coast of the main island

of St Vincent on the Caribbean Sea,

was the principal Caribbean location for

Disney’s 2003 blockbuster ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

It is still home to many of the props,

including replicas of cannons.

Many fans visit it annually.

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Popocatépetl. What Else Can You Say, It’s Quiz Day!

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Popocatépetl indeed. Good luck if you can pronounce it let alone answer the question about it.

But don’t let that put you off. There are a lot more easier questions than that in today’s quiz. And of course a few harder ones just to make it a little bit challenging.

As usual, if you get stuck, you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!

Enjoy and good luck.

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Q.  1:  Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?

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Q.  2:  In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?

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Q.  3:  What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?

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Q.  4:  In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?

 

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Q.  5:  What is the home of a squirrel called?

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Q.  6:  Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?

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Q.  7:  In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?

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Q.  8:  What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?

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Q.  9:  What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?

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Q. 10:  George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?

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Q. 11:  Who is the Greek Goddess of love?

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Q. 12:  What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?

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Q. 13:  Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?

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Q. 14:  What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?

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Q. 15:  Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?

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Q. 16:  Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?

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Q. 17:  Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?

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Q. 18:  Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’ ? 

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Q. 19:  What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?

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Q. 20:  What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?

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ANSWERS

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Q.  1:  Which novelist wrote ‘Cannery Row’ and ‘East of Eden’ ?

A.  1:  John Steinbeck.

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Q.  2:  In which sport do you have to navigate on foot to a series of control points?

A.  2:  Orienteering.

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Q.  3:  What African city is known as the ‘Mother of the World’ ?

A.  3:  Cairo.

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Q.  4:  In medieval times, what was an ‘Estampie’ ?

A.  4:  A dance and the music to accompany it.

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Q.  5:  What is the home of a squirrel called?

A.  5:  A Drey.

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Q.  6:  Which fifth-century barbarian leader was nicknamed ‘the scourge of God’ ?

A.  6:  Attila the Hun.

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Q.  7:  In which country can you find the volcano of Popocatépetl?

A.  7:  Mexico.

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Q.  8:  What number is at the 9 o’clock position on a dartboard?

A.  8:  11.

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Q.  9:  What was ‘Mr Blandings’ doing in 1948 that turned into a ‘Money Pit’ for Tom Hanks in 1986?

A.  9: Building his Dream House. The original 1948 movie starring Cary Grant called ‘Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House’ was remade in 1986 as ‘The Money Pit’ starring Tom Hanks.

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Q. 10:  George Stubbs is best-known for his paintings of which animals?

A. 10:  Horses.

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Q. 11:  Who is the Greek Goddess of love?

A. 11:  Aphrodite.

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Q. 12:  What shapes are attached to a line of a weather map to denote a warm front?

A. 12:  Semicircles.

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Q. 13:  Deriving its name from an Icelandic word meaning erupt, what term is given to a natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air?

A. 13:  Geyser.

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Q. 14:  What is the name given to the substance that covers a deer’s antler when it is growing?

A. 14:  Velvet.

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Q. 15:  Which word goes before vest, beans and quartet?

A. 15:  String.

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Q. 16:  Which part of a horse’s anatomy is the equivalent of a human ankle?

A. 16:  Fetlock.

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Q. 17:  Appointed in 1721, who is held to be the first man to be Prime Minister of the UK?

A. 17:  Sir Robert Walpole.

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Q. 18:  Who played ‘Neo’ in ‘The Matrix’ ? 

A. 18:  Keanu Reeves.

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Q. 19:  What is sushi traditionally wrapped in?

A. 19:  Edible seaweed.

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Q. 20:  What was the first name of Agatha Christie’s ‘Miss Marple’ ?

A. 20:  Jane.

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Chain Stores, Axes And Earthquakes Are Just Some Of Today’s Facts.

“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”

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Yes, chain stores, axes and earthquakes are just some of today’s random selection of fabulous facts here at the fasab blog.

Hope find a few things new and interesting.

Enjoy.

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NASA’s New Horizons mission will

be the first probe to study Pluto.

It was launched on January 2006,

and will be near Pluto on July 2015.

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The world’s largest Axe is located

in Nackawic, New Brunswick, Canada.

It stands 15 metres (49 ft) tall,

weighs over 55 tons and the

axe-head is 7 metres (23 ft) wide and

has a time capsule embedded within it.

It sits on a concrete stump 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter.

The axe was commissioned, designed and

built in 1991 by a company in Woodstock and it

symbolizes the importance of the forest industry in the region.

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There is a small town in Estonia (actual name ‘Tartu’)

that has been nicknamed of ‘Souptown’ because most

of its streets are named after various vegetables,

such as Kartuli (Potato), Herne (Pea), Oa (Bean),

Marja (Berry) and Meloni (Melon).

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The town of ‘Superior’ in Wisconsin in the USA

is also known as ‘Soup Town’

but this is simply because the name was shortened

to ‘Soup’ and then ‘Town’ added later.

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The first recorded chain store was British-owned W H Smith,

founded in London in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife.

The store sells books, stationery, magazines, newspapers,

and entertainment products.

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In the U.S., chain stores began with the founding of

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in 1859.

By the early 1920s, the U.S. boasted three national chains:

A&P, Woolworth’s, and United Cigar Stores.

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Ants are known to be able to lift and carry

about 50 times their own bodyweight,

but a recent scientific research study by

Ohio State University suggests it can be up

to an incredible 5000 times their bodyweight.

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It was during the stupid ‘Prohibition’ period

in the Unites States (1920-1933),

when there was a nationwide Constitutional ban

on the sale, production, importation, and

transportation of alcoholic beverages,

that  ‘cocktails’ gained popularity.

They were offered to mask the flavor of poorly made

alcohol and popular versions included

‘Mary Pickford’, ‘French 75’, ‘Barbary Coast’,

‘Bee’s Knees’, and the ‘Sidecar’.

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And, by the way,

it is still illegal in Ohio to get a fish drunk.

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Barack Obama is the USA’s 44th President,

but there actually have only been 43 presidents:

Grover Cleveland was elected for two non-consecutive terms

and is counted twice, as the 22nd and 24th President.

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Although the Great Wall of China has

existed for more than two thousand years,

most of the rest of the world didn’t know

about it until after the first European,

a Portuguese explorer named Bento de Gois,

discovered it in 1605.

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Not quite as old as the Great Wall of China,

but nonetheless impressive, was Brazilian woman

Maria do Carmo Jeronimo who for a while

was the oldest living person on earth.

She was the last Brazilian slave,

and one of very few people in history who

managed to live during three different centuries;

she was born in Brazil in 1871 and

she died on June 14, 2000,

at the incredible age of 129 years and 102 days.

Unfortunately lack of a birth certificate,

which were not often issued in those days especially for slaves,

prevented her official recognition as the world’s oldest woman.

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If you ever wondered what it would be like

trying to eat your dinner during an earthquake

then you should book a table at

Disaster Café, in Lloret de Mar, Spain.

At the “disastrous” dinners customers experience

an artificial 7.8 magnitude earthquake

so don’t wear your best gear as there are likely

to be spilled food and drinks during the meal.

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When James Wan agreed to direct the horror movie ‘Saw’

he also agreed not to receive an “up front” salary

but instead opted for a generous percentage

of the movie’s box office earnings.

‘Saw’ made over $100 million globally and it is

considered one of the most profitable horror movies of all time.

Wan’s risk also enabled him to become one of the youngest

and highest-earning directors in movie history.

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The world’s shortest commercial flight takes place

between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and

Papa Westray, north of Scotland.

Operated by Loganair,

the flight covers a distance of only 1.7 miles (2.7 km)

and if the weather conditions are favorable,

it can be completed in just 47 seconds.

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